Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercy Watts Box Set, Books 0.5-3 | TBD | A.W. Hartoin | N/A |
| 2 | Coke with a Twist | 2012 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 3 | A Good Man Gone | 2013 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 4 | Touch and Go | 2012 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 5 | Double Black Diamond | 2014 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 6 | Diver Down | 2013 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 7 | Drop Dead Red | 2015 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 8 | Nowhere Fast | 2013 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 9 | In the Worst Way | 2015 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 10 | The Wife of Riley | 2016 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 11 | Dry Spell | 2014 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 12 | A Sin and a Shame | 2016 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 13 | Bottle Blonde | 2020 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 14 | My Bad Grandad | 2017 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 15 | Brain Trust | 2017 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 16 | Down and Dirty | 2018 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 17 | Small Time Crime | 2019 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 18 | Black Bandana | 2024 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 19 | Mean Evergreen | 2021 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 20 | Silver Bells at Hotel Hell | 2022 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 21 | So Long Gone | 2023 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
| 22 | Origin Story | 2025 | A.W. Hartoin | Buy |
The Mercy Watts Mysteries is a long-running series by A.W. Hartoin that began in 2012 and has reached twenty-two books as of 2025. The series follows Mercy Watts, a former nurse whose father happens to be a successful private investigator. Mercy has no interest in detective work, but trouble has a way of finding her, and her medical training gives her a useful edge when it does.
The books balance mystery plotting with humor and family drama. Mercy’s relationships with her father, her aunt, and an expanding cast of recurring characters give the series a warmth that sits alongside the darker elements of the cases she investigates. Hartoin has maintained a steady publishing pace, and long-time readers appreciate how the character has developed across more than two decades of stories. The series works well read in order, as personal storylines carry forward from book to book.