Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Retrieval Artist | 2002 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 2 | The Disappeared | 2002 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 3 | Extremes | 2003 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 4 | Consequences | 2004 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 5 | Buried Deep | 2005 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 6 | Paloma | 2006 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 7 | Recovery Man | 2007 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 8 | The Recovery Man’s Bargain | 2010 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 9 | Duplicate Effort | 2009 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 10 | The Possession of Paavo Deshin | 2010 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 11 | Anniversary Day | 2011 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
| 12 | Blowback | 2012 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
| 13 | The Impossibles | 2012 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 14 | The Retrieval Artist Short Novel | 2010 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 15 | A Murder of Clones | 2013 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
| 16 | Search and Recovery | 2014 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
| 17 | Sole Survivor | 2015 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 18 | Vigilantes | 2015 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
| 19 | Starbase Human | 2015 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
| 20 | Inhuman Garbage | 2016 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | Buy |
| 21 | Masterminds | 2015 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
| 22 | Sole Survivor: A Retrieval Artist Universe Short Story | 2015 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
| 23 | Inhuman Garbage: A Retrieval Artist Universe Novella | 2015 | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | N/A |
The Retrieval Artist series is one of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s most acclaimed bodies of work, blending science fiction worldbuilding with detective fiction plotting. Set on the Moon in a future where humanity coexists uneasily with multiple alien species, the series follows Miles Flint, a former police detective turned Retrieval Artist. His job is to find “Disappeared” people who have gone into hiding to escape alien legal systems that humans find unjust.
The series runs over twenty books, including novels, novellas, and short stories, beginning with The Retrieval Artist in 2002. The cases grow increasingly complex, eventually building toward the Anniversary Day Saga, a multi-book arc involving a massive attack on the Moon’s domed cities. Rusch uses the mystery structure to explore questions about justice, cultural conflict, and what happens when very different legal traditions collide.