Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Chicago Way | 2007 | Michael Harvey | Buy |
| 2 | The Fifth Floor | 2008 | Michael Harvey | Buy |
| 3 | The Third Rail | 2010 | Michael Harvey | Buy |
| 4 | We All Fall Down | 2011 | Michael Harvey | Buy |
| 5 | The Governor’s Wife | 2015 | Michael Harvey | Buy |
The Michael Kelly series is a five-book run of Chicago-set crime fiction. The Chicago Way (2007) establishes Kelly as a former cop working as a private detective, taking on cases that the police either cannot or will not handle. The book draws on Chicago’s real geography and political atmosphere to create a convincing noir backdrop.
The Fifth Floor (2008), The Third Rail (2010), and We All Fall Down (2011) continued Kelly’s investigations, each involving different aspects of Chicago’s power structure. The Governor’s Wife (2015) was the final entry, tackling the world of Illinois politics. Harvey writes in a lean, direct style that moves the plots forward without wasting pages.