Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | True Detective | 1983 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 2 | True Crime | 1984 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 3 | The Million-Dollar Wound | 1986 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 4 | Neon Mirage | 1988 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 5 | Stolen Away | 1991 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 6 | Carnal Hours | 1994 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 7 | Blood and Thunder | 1995 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 8 | Damned in Paradise | 1996 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 9 | Flying Blind | 1998 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 10 | Majic Man | 1999 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 11 | Angel in Black | 2001 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 12 | Chicago Confidential | 2002 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 13 | Bye Bye, Baby | 2011 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 14 | Target Lancer | 2012 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 15 | Ask Not | 2013 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 16 | Better Dead | 2016 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 17 | Do No Harm | 2020 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 18 | The Big Bundle | 2023 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
| 19 | Too Many Bullets | 2023 | Nathan Heller | Buy |
The Nathan Heller series follows a Chicago private eye from the Depression era through the second half of the 20th century. Each novel places Heller at the scene of a real unsolved crime or historical controversy, mixing detective fiction with meticulously researched history. Max Allan Collins has kept the series going since 1983, and the 19 novels cover everything from Prohibition-era gangsters to Cold War espionage.
True Detective, the first book, sets up Heller as a young cop turned PI in 1930s Chicago. From there the series ranges across decades and locations, always anchored by Heller’s first-person narration and his tendency to end up in the middle of trouble. The historical detail is a major draw, and Collins includes author’s notes in each book explaining what is real and what he invented.