Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Spencer Files | 2018 | Oliver Dean Spencer | Buy |
| 2 | Call of the Nightingale | 2019 | Oliver Dean Spencer | Buy |
| 3 | The Case of the Runaway Orangutan | 2020 | Oliver Dean Spencer | Buy |
The James Cartwright, P.I. Mystery series by Oliver Dean Spencer follows a hard-nosed private detective through the streets of Detroit. Starting with The Spencer Files in 2018, the series introduces Cartwright as a cynical but capable investigator who takes on cases others avoid.
The series continued with Call of the Nightingale in 2019 and The Case of the Runaway Orangutan in 2020. Each book presents a new case for Cartwright while building on the Detroit setting and the detective’s personal history. Spencer’s background in visual arts gives the series a cinematic quality, with vivid descriptions of the city’s darker corners.