Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mean Town Blues of Crime | 1991 | Sam Reaves | Buy |
| 2 | Dooley’s Back | 2002 | Sam Reaves | Buy |
| 3 | Homicide 69 | 2006 | Sam Reaves | Buy |
| 4 | Cold Black Earth | 2015 | Sam Reaves | Buy |
| 5 | Running in the Dark | 2018 | Sam Reaves | Buy |
Sam Reaves’ standalone novels let him explore settings and stories outside his series characters. These books range from Mean Town Blues of Crime (1991) to Running in the Dark (2018) and cover everything from Chicago street crime to rural Illinois suspense. Cold Black Earth was particularly well received for its portrayal of a small farming community hiding dark secrets.
Each standalone is independent, so you can pick them up in any order. They share the spare, direct prose style and strong sense of place that runs through all of Reaves’ work.