Eamon Gold Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Grass Sandal |
2004 |
Buy |
| Cordite Wine |
2005 |
Buy |
| Brittle Karma |
2020 |
Buy |
| Doctor Hate |
2021 |
Buy |
Judd Wheeler Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Six Mile Creek |
2010 |
Buy |
| Thunder Moon |
2011 |
Buy |
| Older Than Goodbye |
2014 |
Buy |
| A Kind and Savage Place |
2022 |
Buy |
Pat Gallegher Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Joker Poker |
2000 |
Buy |
| Voodoo That You Do |
2001 |
Buy |
| Juicy Watusi |
2002 |
Buy |
| Wet Debt |
2003 |
Buy |
| Paid In Spades |
2019 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Gods for Vengeance Cry |
2010 |
N/A |
| Busting Red Heads |
2014 |
N/A |
| Sweeps Week (in Ellery Queen) |
2021 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Amadeus Legacy |
2001 |
Buy |
| The Valentine Profile |
2002 |
Buy |
| The Daedalus Deception |
2010 |
Buy |
| The Unresolved Seventh |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Mojito Coast |
2013 |
Buy |
| Bobby J. |
2019 |
Buy |
Richard Helms is an American mystery writer who has published across three detective series as well as standalone novels and short fiction. His work draws on classic American private eye traditions — particularly the hard-boiled California school of Chandler and Ross Macdonald — while placing his characters in distinct regional settings from New Orleans to the Carolinas.
The Pat Gallegher series, set in New Orleans, features a jazz cornet player who operates informally as a private investigator. The Eamon Gold books put a San Francisco private eye in morally complex cases, and the Judd Wheeler series follows a small-town police chief in Prosperity, North Carolina, who finds himself dealing with crimes far beyond routine traffic stops. Each series has a strongly defined sense of place, and Helms shifts voice and tone between them effectively.
He has been recognized by the major mystery awards bodies multiple times. His novel Brittle Karma won the Shamus Award in 2021, and the Pat Gallegher stories have collected nominations and wins across the Thriller, Silver Falchion, Shamus, Derringer, and Macavity awards. Helms has been publishing steadily since 2000, with new work continuing into the 2020s.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Richard Helms written?
Richard Helms has written 22 books across five series.
What was Richard Helms's first book?
Richard Helms’s first book is Joker Poker, published in 2000.
Has Richard Helms won any major mystery writing awards?
Yes. His Eamon Gold novel Brittle Karma won the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award for Best Original Private Eye Paperback in 2021. The Pat Gallegher series has been nominated for the Shamus, Derringer, Macavity, Silver Falchion, and Thriller Awards, winning the Thriller Award for Best Short Story in 2011 and the Silver Falchion Award in 2020.