Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolf | 2016 | Kelly Oliver | Buy |
| 2 | Coyote | 2016 | Kelly Oliver | Buy |
| 3 | Fox | 2017 | Kelly Oliver | Buy |
| 4 | Jackal | 2018 | Kelly Oliver | Buy |
| 5 | Viper | 2019 | Kelly Oliver | Buy |
| 6 | Cottonmouth | 2021 | Kelly Oliver | Buy |
The Jessica James Mysteries draw on Kelly Oliver’s own academic background to create mysteries set in the world of university life. Jessica is a philosophy graduate student whose analytical thinking helps her solve crimes that the police overlook or mishandle. The six books, titled with animal names from Wolf through Cottonmouth, were published between 2016 and 2021.
Oliver uses the campus setting to good effect, populating the books with the kind of personalities and politics that anyone who has spent time in academia will recognize. The mysteries themselves are conventional in structure, but the university backdrop and Jessica’s philosophical perspective give them a flavor distinct from other amateur sleuth series.