Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Bound by Mystery |
2017 |
Buy |
Buryin’ Barry Mysteries Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Dangerous Undertaking |
2003 |
Buy |
| Grave Undertaking |
2006 |
Buy |
| Foolish Undertaking |
2007 |
Buy |
| Final Undertaking |
2008 |
Buy |
| Fatal Undertaking |
2010 |
Buy |
| Risky Undertaking |
2014 |
Buy |
| Secret Undertaking |
2018 |
Buy |
Plays#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A Dying Business |
2012 |
Buy |
Sam Blackman Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Blackman’s Coffin |
2003 |
Buy |
| The Fitzgerald Ruse |
2009 |
Buy |
| The Sandburg Connection |
2011 |
Buy |
| A Murder in Passing |
2013 |
Buy |
| A Specter of Justice |
2015 |
Buy |
| Hidden Scars |
2017 |
Buy |
| Murder in Rat Alley |
2019 |
Buy |
| Fatal Scores |
2021 |
Buy |
Secret Lives Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Secret Lives |
2022 |
Buy |
| Dangerous Women |
2023 |
Buy |
Secret Lives Mysteries Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Secret Lives |
2022 |
Buy |
| Dangerous Women |
2023 |
Buy |
| Desperate Spies |
2025 |
Buy |
Short Story Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Two of a Kind |
2011 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A Conspiracy of Genes |
2008 |
Buy |
| Death on a Southern Breeze |
2009 |
Buy |
| The 13th Target |
2012 |
Buy |
| Double Cross of Time |
2013 |
Buy |
| The Singularity Race |
2016 |
Buy |
Mark de Castrique is an American mystery writer whose fiction is rooted in the mountains of western North Carolina. He has published more than two dozen novels since 2003, working primarily in two mystery series: the Buryin’ Barry Mysteries, featuring a small-town funeral director, and the Sam Blackman series, about a wounded veteran turned private investigator.
Beyond his series work, de Castrique has written standalone thrillers, a short story collection, and even a play. His books combine traditional whodunit plotting with a strong sense of Appalachian place, and his protagonists tend to be ordinary people drawn into extraordinary situations by the close-knit communities they serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Mark de Castrique written?
Mark de Castrique has written 28 books across eight series.
What was Mark de Castrique's first book?
Mark de Castrique’s first book is Blackman’s Coffin, published in 2003.
Are Mark de Castrique's mystery series connected?
The Buryin’ Barry Mysteries and the Sam Blackman series are both set in western North Carolina but feature different protagonists and storylines. Readers familiar with the Appalachian setting of one series will feel at home in the other, but they can be read independently.