Bob Reiss / Ethan Black books

Bob Reiss is an American thriller and spy novelist who also writes the Conrad Voort detective series under the pen name Ethan Black, with 16 books published between 1979 and 2026.

Conrad Voort Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Broken Hearts Club 1999 Buy
Irresistible 2000 Buy
All the Dead Were Strangers 2001 Buy
Dead for Life 2003 Buy
At Hell’s Gate 2004 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Summer Fires 1979 Buy
The Casco Deception 1983 Buy
Divine Assassin 1985 Buy
Saltmaker 1988 Buy
Flamingo 1990 Buy
The Last Spy 1993 Buy
Purgatory Road 1996 Buy
Black Monday 2005 Buy
The Side Effect 2006 Buy
Still Hungry 2022 Buy
The Impossible Detective 2026 Buy

Bob Reiss / Ethan Black has been writing thrillers for more than four decades. His debut novel, Summer Fires, appeared in 1979, and he followed it with a steady run of standalone thrillers through the 1980s and 1990s. The Casco Deception (1983) and Divine Assassin (1985) established his ability to write fast-paced plots, while The Last Spy (1993) is often considered one of his strongest books, a Cold War espionage novel about a deep-cover Soviet agent living in Washington, D.C.

Under the pen name Ethan Black, Reiss launched the Conrad Voort series in 1999 with The Broken Hearts Club. Voort is an unusual detective, a wealthy NYPD investigator from an old New York family, and the series ran for five books through At Hell’s Gate (2004). Meanwhile, Reiss continued publishing standalones under his own name, including the pandemic thriller Black Monday (2005) and The Side Effect (2006). After a long gap, he returned with Still Hungry (2022) and has a new book, The Impossible Detective, scheduled for 2026. His career spans nearly 50 years of genre fiction, with 16 books across spy novels, procedural mysteries, and contemporary thrillers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Bob Reiss / Ethan Black written?

Bob Reiss / Ethan Black has written sixteen books across two series.

What was Bob Reiss / Ethan Black's first book?

Bob Reiss / Ethan Black’s first book is Summer Fires, published in 1979.

What is the difference between the books Bob Reiss writes under his own name and as Ethan Black?

Under his own name, Bob Reiss writes standalone thrillers and spy novels, ranging from Cold War espionage (The Last Spy, 1993) to pandemic suspense (Black Monday, 2005). As Ethan Black, he writes the Conrad Voort detective series, which follows a wealthy NYPD detective solving crimes in New York City. The Ethan Black pen name was used specifically for the Voort books.

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