Sean Doolittle Books In Order

Dirt

On a clear autumn L.A. morning, sitting in the front row of his best friend’s funeral, professional loafer Quince Bishop can’t think of anything more depressing than watching yet another loved one being lowered into the ground until a band of guerilla environmentalists crash the ceremony to deliver a lecture on the high cost of dying in America. One violent impulse later, Quince finds himself up to his waist in dirt…
and he hasn’t even begun to dig himself a hole. With the help of beautiful funeral rights advocate Maria Casteneda not to mention the complicated ambitions of reporter and perennial ex girlfriend Melanie Roth Quince learns just how an unscrupulous funeral director can turn death into a high class living. Unable to let buried skeletons lie, Quince Bishop unwittingly sets himself on a collision course with two entrepreneurial ex cons who are hatching a burial plot of their own. Chaos, confusion, and double dealing are on the program, and only one thing is certain: all paths lead to the cemetery.

Burn

In California the hills are on fire. Not a good sign for Andrew Kindler, who just came from back east to get away from his past as an arsonist. In fact, almost from the moment he sets foot in his cousin’s Santa Monica beach house, the heat starts swirling around him. First there s the cop who thinks Andrew might know something about a murder suspect. Then there s the suspect s beautiful sister, who is willing to pay Andrew $5,000 for the same information.

But Andrew really uninformed. And with a sensational murder case burning a hole in the gut of the LAPD as well as the star studded L.A. fitness industry ignorance is dangerous. Now Andrew must solve a murder he knows nothing about, find a killer he s never met, and unravel a family s explosive secret. His reward for success? To live another day: one step ahead of his burning past…

An exceptionally well crafted and well told tale of arson, police work, misplaced zeal, bad relationships, good relationships, family bonds and, oh yes, exercise videos. Quirky, compelling, intelligent, and funny…
If you like Elmore Leonard, do yourself a favor and pick up BURN. Lincoln Journal Star
A cult writer for the mas*ses hip, smart and so mordantly funny that the casual reader might be laughing too hard to realize just how thoughtful Doolittle s work is. Get on the bandwagon now. Laura Lippman, author of By a Spider s Thread

Sean Doolittle combines wit, good humor, and a generosity of spirit rare in mystery fiction to create novels that are both engrossing and strangely uplifting. He deserves to take his place among the best in the genre. John Connolly, author of The White Road

An estimable addition not only to the publisher s list but also to crime fiction…
Doolittle delivers a briskly plotted, hard boiled mystery that has its roots in the Elmore Leonard school of dark comedy. South Florida Sun Sentinel

Gold medal winner for mystery in ForeWord Magazine s Book of the Year Award

A Best Crime Fiction of 2003 pick from January Magazine

Rain Dogs

It was one hell of an inheritance for former Chicago reporter Tom Coleman: a broken down pickup truck, ramshackle campground, a canoe livery and one pot smoking, barely working employee he doesn t need, doesn t want, and can t afford. But the truth is, after losing a child and a marriage, Tom doesn t really care. And life is nice and quiet in the middle of nowhere. Until a drug lab blows up near his property putting Tom in contact with the woman he once loved, a small town cop with a chip on his shoulder, and a powerful local who doesn t want him poking his nose where it doesn t belong. Tom doesn t want to get involved in the first place. But in the hardscrabble Nebraska Sandhills, storms gather suddenly and bad blood runs deep. Now a quiet summer on the river is turning into a dangerous season of grudges, betrayal, and violent reckoning and it’s already too late to find shelter…

The Cleanup

Matthew Worth is a mess. Somewhere between a good cop and a bad screwup, he botched a marriage and a career. His fellow officers think he’s a joke. His commanders are tired of cutting him breaks. Even his wife has left him for a flashy homicide detective. Busted to night patrol at a robbery prone Omaha supermarket, Worth is doing time, wearing his uniform and asking shoppers if they want paper or plastic. If that isn t enough, he suspects he might be falling for Gwen, the shy checkout girl who may be an even bigger mess than he is. It couldn t get any worse. Until it does. When Gwen comes to him one night scared and desperate for help, Worth discovers just how far he s willing to go to protect and serve. The next thing he knows, he s driving a stolen car with a corpse in the trunk, a pistol in the glove box, and no way to turn back. Everything he doesn t know could get them killed. And things haven t even begun to get messy yet…
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Safer

From Dirt to The Cleanup, Sean Doolittle has dazzled critics and defied expectations, garnering bolder critical raves with each new novel. Stylishly written hailed the New York Times Book Review Superb declared the Wall Street Journal Heart stopping, gut clenching, eye opening raved the Chicago Tribune. Now Doolittle fulfills all that promise and more in his latest novel, a powerhouse of suspense that will catch you off guard at every turn. Because in Safer, a young couple moves into an idyllic little cul de sac and ignites a harrowing journey into darkness as a shocking accusation is made, a family is shattered, and the mystery of a long ago crime begins to unravel. For Paul Callaway and his wife, Sara, moving from the East Coast to a quiet midwestern town was a major adjustment. But right from the start, Paul has tried to fit in. He’s played golf with the guys. He s even joined the Neighborhood Patrol, grabbing a flashlight and a walkie talkie to make these neatly tended streets even Safer. Then Paul makes one mistake and now they want him gone. But nothing could have prepared Paul and Sara for the quarrel that has erupted between Paul and a neighbor the self appointed leader of the Neighborhood Patrol. Or for the next outrage, as police arrest Paul for a sordid crime he didn t commit. Suddenly Paul s life, university career, and marriage are at risk, as he finds himself locked in a desperate fight with an angry man, a dark conspiracy, and a secret that began with a child s disappearance ten years before.