Walt Williams is the protagonist of Robert Thornhill’s Lady Justice series, a long-running cozy mystery series set in Kansas City. A retired police officer, Walt takes a job as a property manager at a local apartment complex after leaving the force. But retirement doesn’t stick. Case after case finds its way to him, and Walt keeps getting dragged back into the world of crime-solving.
Walt is not a typical action hero. He’s an older man who’d rather be enjoying his golden years, and the humor in the books comes largely from the gap between what he wants (a quiet life) and what he gets (kidnappings, murder, cons, and every other kind of trouble). He’s helped along by his wife Maggie, his friend and fellow retiree Ox, and an assortment of Kansas City locals.
The Lady Justice series spans 45 books published between 2009 and 2021, making it one of the longer-running cozy mystery series in recent memory. Thornhill, who started writing in his sixties, based much of the Kansas City setting on his own experience living there.
You can find the complete list of books in the Lady Justice series reading order.