Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Six Mile Creek | 2010 | Richard Helms | Buy |
| 2 | Thunder Moon | 2011 | Richard Helms | Buy |
| 3 | Older Than Goodbye | 2014 | Richard Helms | Buy |
| 4 | A Kind and Savage Place | 2022 | Richard Helms | Buy |
The Judd Wheeler series by Richard Helms is set in Prosperity, a small town in North Carolina where Wheeler serves as police chief. The job was supposed to be quiet — traffic stops and minor disturbances — but the books consistently deliver more serious crimes than the setting might suggest. Wheeler is a thoughtful investigator whose small-town knowledge gives him advantages that urban detectives lack.
The series began in 2010 with Six Mile Creek and continued with Thunder Moon (2011), Older Than Goodbye (2014), and A Kind and Savage Place (2022). The long gaps between books reflect Helms writing across multiple series simultaneously, but each Wheeler novel stands on its own as a complete investigation.
The rural North Carolina setting is central to the series’ character. Helms uses the specific social dynamics of a small Southern town — old grudges, tight community bonds, economic pressures — as the backdrop for crimes that range from domestic tragedy to more complex conspiracies.