Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Runaway Man | 2013 | David Handler | Buy |
| 2 | Phantom Angel | 2015 | David Handler | Buy |
The Benji Golden series consists of two mystery novels: Runaway Man (2013) and Phantom Angel (2015). The series features a private investigator protagonist, giving David Handler a different angle on the mystery genre compared to his amateur-sleuth Stewart Hoag books or his police-involved Berger and Mitry series.
Benji Golden represents Handler’s later-career experimentation with PI fiction. The two books appeared during the gap between the original and revived runs of the Stewart Hoag series, suggesting Handler was exploring new directions. The series has not continued past its second entry, but both books deliver the witty, character-focused mystery writing Handler’s readers expect.