Oak Cliff Mystery Series
Enjoy all of the Oak Cliff Mysteries
In the Shadows of
Oak Cliff
Available July 2026
The sleepy Wisconsin village of Oak Cliff is known for its century-old charm and the mystique of a legend involving tons of lost Civil War gold. When a prominent Oak Cliff resident is murdered, police chief Nick Garrett and the entire town are shocked and looking for answers. As the investigation unfolds, Nick quickly learns not everything in his peaceful village is as it seems. He wonders if the town’s dark past and the legend of the missing gold might be enough to drive someone to kill.
A Perfect Crime
Available Fall 2026
Peter Spalding, a best-selling crime novelist, is looking for new plot ideas. Three cold case bank robberies in rural Wisconsin catch his attention. When he starts asking questions, something goes terribly wrong. Instead of writing about fictional crime, Peter must solve a real one, or die trying.
Won 2nd place –
Mystery Writers of America 2018 Midwest Hugh Holton Award.
Hidden Impact
Available T.B.D.
A fiery train wreck in the middle of the night and a mysterious box thrown from a moving freight car thrust small-town police chief Nick Garrett into the sinister world of cybercrime. He joins forces with a seasoned female FBI agent and a geeky NSA cyber expert to pursue an elusive hacker and unravel a series of crimes with billions of dollars and classified government secrets at stake.
Smuggler’s Ridge
Available T.B.D.
After the unhinged relative of Oak Cliff’s founder attempts to destroy the quaint village and two people are murdered at the Smuggler’s Ridge Supper Club, small-town Police Chief Nick Garrett, a retired Chicago homicide detective, races against time to stop a killer and to solve an eighty-year-old riddle, hoping it will prevent the village’s imminent demise.
Won 1st place –
Mystery Writers of America 2021 Midwest Hugh Holton Award
Finalist –
2022 Clayton Award for Best Mystery.