Manuel Ramos books

Manuel Ramos is a Chicano crime fiction author and former lawyer whose novels are set in Denver's Latino neighborhoods. His books include the Luis Montez series and the Mile High Noir trilogy.

Akashic Noir Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
San Francisco Noir 2002 Buy
Seattle Noir 2003 Buy
Bronx Noir 2003 Buy
Brooklyn Noir 2004 Buy
Hasidic Noir 2004 Buy
Brooklyn Noir 2 2005 Buy
Chicago Noir 2005 Buy
Dublin Noir 2005 Buy
Manhattan Noir 2006 Buy
Miami Noir 2006 Buy
D.C. Noir 2006 Buy
Baltimore Noir 2006 Buy
Twin Cities Noir 2006 Buy
London Noir 2006 Buy
New Orleans Noir 2007 Buy
Los Angeles Noir 2007 Buy
Wall Street Noir 2007 Buy
Havana Noir 2007 Buy
Detroit Noir 2007 Buy
Queens Noir 2008 Buy
Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth 2008 Buy
Toronto Noir 2008 Buy
Las Vegas Noir 2008 Buy
Trinidad Noir 2008 Buy
D.C. Noir 2 2008 Buy
Manhattan Noir 2 2008 Buy
Paris Noir 2008 Buy
Istanbul Noir 2008 Buy
Boston Noir 2009 Buy
Rome Noir 2009 Buy
San Francisco Noir 2 2009 Buy
Portland Noir 2009 Buy
Delhi Noir 2009 Buy
Phoenix Noir 2009 Buy
Los Angeles Noir 2 2010 Buy
Mexico City Noir 2010 Buy
Richmond Noir 2010 Buy
Orange County Noir 2010 Buy
Indian Country Noir 2010 Buy
Moscow Noir 2010 Buy
Lone Star Noir 2010 Buy
Philadelphia Noir 2010 Buy
Haiti Noir 2010 Buy
Copenhagen Noir 2010 Buy
Pittsburgh Noir 2011 Buy
San Diego Noir 2011 Buy
Barcelona Noir 2011 Buy
Cape Cod Noir 2011 Buy
New Jersey Noir 2011 Buy
Staten Island Noir 2012 Buy
Mumbai Noir 2012 Buy
Long Island Noir 2012 Buy
Venice Noir 2012 Buy
Kingston Noir 2012 Buy
St. Petersburg Noir 2012 Buy
Kansas City Noir 2012 Buy
Boston Noir 2 2012 Buy
USA Noir 2013 Buy
Manila Noir 2013 Buy
Buffalo Noir 2013 Buy
Dallas Noir 2013 Buy
Haiti Noir 2 2013 Buy
Singapore Noir 2014 Buy
Prison Noir 2014 Buy
Tel Aviv Noir 2014 Buy
Tehran Noir 2014 Buy
Belfast Noir 2014 Buy
Helsinki Noir 2014 Buy
Rio Noir 2014 Buy
Providence Noir 2015 Buy
Chicago Noir: The Classics 2015 Buy
Memphis Noir 2015 Buy
Zagreb Noir 2015 Buy
Marseille Noir 2015 Buy
Beirut Noir 2015 Buy
New Orleans Noir: The Classics 2016 Buy
Stockholm Noir 2016 Buy
Brussels Noir 2016 Buy
Mississippi Noir 2016 Buy
St. Louis Noir 2016 Buy
Prague Noir 2016 Buy
San Juan Noir 2016 Buy
Oakland Noir 2017 Buy
Trinidad Noir: The Classics 2017 Buy
Atlanta Noir 2017 Buy
New Haven Noir 2017 Buy
Montana Noir 2017 Buy
Buenos Aires Noir 2017 Buy
Montreal Noir 2017 Buy
Berlin Noir 2018 Buy
São Paulo Noir 2018 Buy
Santa Cruz Noir 2018 Buy
Lagos Noir 2018 Buy
Marrakech Noir 2018 Buy
Baghdad Noir 2018 Buy
Vancouver Noir 2018 Buy
Sydney Noir 2018 Buy
Hong Kong Noir 2018 Buy
Amsterdam Noir 2019 Buy
Milwaukee Noir 2019 Buy
Houston Noir 2019 Buy
Nairobi Noir 2020 Buy
Columbus Noir 2020 Buy
Santa Fe Noir 2020 Buy
Alabama Noir 2020 Buy
Berkeley Noir 2020 Buy
Addis Ababa Noir 2020 Buy
Tampa Bay Noir 2020 Buy
Miami Noir: The Classics 2020 Buy
Accra Noir 2020 Buy
Belgrade Noir 2020 Buy
Palm Springs Noir 2021 Buy
Paris Noir: The Suburbs 2022 Buy
Denver Noir 2022 Buy
South Central Noir 2022 Buy
Cleveland Noir 2023 Buy
East Jerusalem Noir 2023 Buy
West Jerusalem Noir 2023 Buy
Honolulu Noir 2024 Buy
Sacramento Noir 2025 Buy
Hamburg Noir 2025 Buy

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Borderland Noir 2015 Buy

Luis Montez Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz 1993 Buy
The Ballad of Gato Guerrero 1994 Buy
The Last Client of Luis Montez 1996 Buy
Blues for the Buffalo 1997 Buy
Brown-on-Brown 2003 Buy

Mile High Noir Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Desperado 2013 Buy
My Bad 2016 Buy
Angels in the Wind 2021 Buy

Sherlock Homie

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Golden Havana Night 2018 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Moony’s Road to Hell 2002 Buy
King of the Chicanos 2010 Buy

Manuel Ramos practiced law in Denver for over 25 years before turning to fiction full time. His debut novel, The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz, won the Colorado Book Award and introduced readers to Luis Montez, a Denver lawyer who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Ramos draws heavily on his own legal career and his roots in the Chicano community, giving his crime fiction an authenticity that’s hard to fake.

Beyond the Montez books, Ramos has written the Mile High Noir trilogy and several standalone novels, all set in and around Denver. He also contributed to the massive Akashic Noir anthology series, which collects city-specific crime stories from writers around the world. His work has been recognized with an Edgar Award nomination and multiple Colorado Book Awards, and he remains one of the most prominent voices in Chicano crime writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Manuel Ramos written?

Manuel Ramos has written 133 books across six series.

What was Manuel Ramos's first book?

Manuel Ramos’s first book is The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz, published in 1993.

What is the Luis Montez series about?

The Luis Montez series follows a Chicano lawyer in Denver who gets pulled into criminal investigations. Starting with The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz in 1993, the five-book series blends legal drama with street-level crime across Denver’s Latino community.

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