Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Man Burned by Winter | 2022 | Pete Zacharias | Buy |
| 2 | The Man Trapped By Shadows | 2023 | Pete Zacharias | Buy |
| 3 | The Man Feared by Darkness | 2024 | Pete Zacharias | Buy |
Pete Zacharias’ Rooker Lindstrom series follows a journalist whose father was a notorious serial killer. Rooker has returned to his father’s cabin in Minnesota after helping catch a murderer in California, and he wants nothing to do with crime. But when Minnesota detective Tess Harlow asks for his help with a string of killings, his knowledge of how serial killers think makes him too valuable to ignore. The first book, The Man Burned by Winter, introduces the core cast and sets up Rooker’s complicated relationship with law enforcement.
Zacharias grew up in Connecticut, studied creative writing in college, and has cited Michael Connelly’s The Poet as the book that made him want to write thrillers. The influence shows in the series’ dark tone and its focus on the psychological profiles of both hunters and killers. Published by Thomas & Mercer, the series has grown to three books, with The Man Trapped By Shadows (2023) and The Man Feared by Darkness (2024) continuing Rooker’s reluctant career as a crime consultant turned private detective.