Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | True-Life Adventure | 1985 | Julie Smith | Buy |
| 2 | Huckleberry Fiend | 1987 | Julie Smith | Buy |
The Paul MacDonald series by Julie Smith follows a mystery writer in San Francisco who keeps getting dragged into real-life criminal situations. True-Life Adventure (1985) kicks things off when MacDonald’s ex-girlfriend goes missing along with a potentially valuable manuscript, sending him on a hunt through the Bay Area. Huckleberry Fiend (1987) takes a literary turn when a rare first edition of Huckleberry Finn is stolen, and MacDonald gets pulled into the case.
These two books were written between Smith’s Rebecca Schwartz novels, and they share the same San Francisco setting with a lighter, more humorous tone. The series gives readers a fun “writer investigates” premise, with MacDonald using his knowledge of crime fiction tropes to navigate actual danger.