Where to Start Reading Elaine Viets
Elaine Viets is a versatile writer whose works span from lighthearted cozy mysteries to grit-filled forensic procedurals. Because her main series differ significantly in tone and setting, the best place to start depends on your personal taste:
- For the classic cozy mystery reader: Start with Shop Till You Drop, the first book in the Dead-End Job Mystery Series. This is Viets' most famous and longest-running series, offering a perfect mix of working-class humor, Florida sunshine, and clever whodunits.
- For those who prefer a hometown cozy vibe: Start with Dying in Style, the opener of the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper Series. Set in the author's home city of St. Louis, it focuses on fashion, local shopping, and single-motherhood.
- For fans of darker, forensic suspense: Start with Brain Storm, the debut of the Death Investigator Angela Richman Series. This series has a much more serious, procedurally accurate tone and is heavily inspired by Viets' personal experiences surviving strokes and brain surgery, as well as her real-world medicolegal training.
- For lovers of classic newsroom drama: Start with her debut novel Backstab, which kicks off the Francesca Vierling Series. It is a great choice if you enjoy 1990s journalism backdrops and hardboiled suspense.
1. Dead-End Job Mystery Series
This series stars Helen Hawthorne, a woman on the run from her alimony-grubbing ex-husband. To avoid leaving a paper trail, Helen flees St. Louis for South Florida and takes on low-wage, off-the-books jobs. Elaine Viets famously worked every single job featured in this series—from bookstore clerk to telemarketer and pet boutique worker—to ensure the struggles of minimum-wage workers were depicted accurately. It is highly recommended to read this series in publication order to follow Helen's personal growth, relationship developments, and long-term character arc.
- Shop Till You Drop (2003)
- Murder Between the Covers (2003)
- Dying to Call You (2004)
- Killer Blonde (2005)
- Just Murdered (2005)
- Murder Unleashed (2006)
- Murder with Reservations (2007)
- Clubbed to Death (2008)
- Killer Cuts (2009)
- Half-Price Homicide (2010)
- Pumped for Murder (2011)
- Final Sail (2012)
- Board Stiff (2013)
- Catnapped! (2014)
- Checked Out (2015)
- The Art of Murder (2016)
2. Josie Marcus: Mystery Shopper Series
Josie Marcus is a struggling single mother in St. Louis who makes ends meet by working as a mystery shopper, evaluating local businesses and stores. Naturally, her evaluations frequently lead her to crime scenes. This series has a lighter, more fashion-centric tone compared to the Dead-End Job books. The books should be read in order of publication to follow Josie's life, family dynamics, and career progression.
- Dying in Style (2005)
- High Heels are Murder (2006)
- Accessory to Murder (2007)
- Murder with All the Trimmings (2008)
- The Fashion Hound Murders (2009)
- An Uplifting Murder (2010)
- Death on a Platter (2011)
- Murder is a Piece of Cake (2012)
- Fixing to Die (2013)
- A Dog Gone Murder (2014)
3. Death Investigator Angela Richman Series
The Angela Richman series represents a shift toward darker, forensic-heavy suspense. The protagonist is a medicolegal death investigator working in Chouteau County, Missouri. Viets drew heavily on her own training as a death investigator and her personal recovery from six strokes and subsequent brain surgery to write these novels. Reading this series in order is essential, as Angela's physical recovery and professional struggles are central to the overarching plot.
- Brain Storm (2016)
- Fire and Ashes (2017)
- Ice Blonde (2018) – Novella (best read between books 2 and 3)
- A Star is Dead (2020)
- Death Grip (2021)
- Life Without Parole (2021)
- Late for His Own Funeral (2022)
- The Dead of Night (2023)
- A Scarlet Death (2024)
4. Francesca Vierling Mystery Series
Elaine Viets' debut series features Francesca Vierling, a tall, sharp-tongued columnist working at a major newspaper in St. Louis. Reflecting Viets' own 25-year career as a journalist, the series provides a nostalgic and authentic look at newsroom politics, local reporting, and crime in the late 1990s.
- Backstab (1997)
- Rubout (1998)
- The Pink Flamingo Murders (1999)
- Doc in the Box (2000)
Short Stories and Collections
For readers who enjoy short fiction, Viets has published several award-winning short stories. Her most notable collection is Deal with the Devil (2018), which compiles 14 stories. This collection is particularly important for fans because it contains:
- "Gotta Go": The very first appearance of death investigator Angela Richman.
- "Wedding Knife": The Agatha and Anthony Award-winning short story.
- "Red Meat": An Anthony Award-winning short story.
- Two exclusive short stories featuring Helen Hawthorne from the Dead-End Job series.