David Handler Books In Order

The Boss

Kiddo is back and a decade older. At 23, he’s not much wiser or thinner, but the family business needs him, and so does the woman of his dreams. It’s time to grow up whatever that means.

The Man Who Would Be F. Scott Fitzgerald

Wildly bestselling first time novelist Cam Noyes writes with a lyrical voice like F. Scoot Fitzgerald and looks like he leapt right out of a Ralph Lauren ad. The media’s latest darling, he s having a ball running with the brat pack, posing for magazines, rolling in and out of beds, brawling in bars, swigging tequila, and snorting cocaine. But with such a busy schedule, Cam simply can t find the time to write his long overdue second book. Enter Stewart Hoagy Hoag?ghostwriter of celebrity memoirs and reluctant amateur detective?to tackle Cam s tell all expos of the dirty business behind megabuck book deals. Unfortunately, cutthroat takes on a whole new meaning as the bodies start piling up faster than the pages of the manuscript. If Hoagy doesn t act fast, there ll be no one left in publishing to tell the tale.

The Man Who Cancelled Himself

The author of Kiddo and Boss returns with his latest ”Hoagy” mystery as ghostwriter Stewart Hoag deals with his very pregnant ex wife and his new client a TV sitcom star arrested in a po*rno theater.

The Girl Who Ran Off with Daddy

Celebrity ghostwriter Hoagy Hoag is dismayed when Thor Gibbs, his former mentor, arrives on his doorstep begging for asylum with his much younger stepdaughter, now his lover, who is fleeing with him from her incensed mother.

The Man Who Loved Women to Death

A serial killer is showing Hoagy his novel in progress and every chapter is murder…
. Once Stewart ‘Hoagy’ Hoag was the toast of the publishing world and the husband of luscious Broadway beauty Merilee Nash. Now, reunited with Merilee in proud parenthood, Hoagy ghosts celebrity memoirs to pay the rent. And solves the occasional murder, aided by Lulu, his anchovy eating basset hound.A ghostwriter usually chooses his clients, but this time Hoagy finds himself chosen. His new client calls himself the Answer Man, and he’s mailing Hoagy anonymous installments of his work in progress. Each one narrates the stalking and strangling of a lovely young woman and it’s no sooner in Hoagy’s mailbox than the cops find her corpse: branded with orange lipstick question marks. Hoagy’s deadly pen pal bent on a megabestseller and a movie deal is seeking his literary advice, and Hoagy’s being tagged by both the police and the press as a twisted killer’s go between. Hoagy has some questions of his own for the elusive Answer Man. But the closer he gets to the truth, the less he likes what he finds. For Hoagy fears the prolific killer may be someone too close to him for comfort. And that the next chapter of the Answer Man’s grisly opus might be Hoagy’s last.

The Cold Blue Blood

Mitch Berger, a top film critic with a major New York newspaper at a surprisingly young age, has become almost a recluse since his wife died one year ago. He spends his time secluded in his apartment or in the dark recesses of a screening room. Although he continues to dazzle moviegoers and the film elite with his criticisms, his editor and good friend is alarmed about him. As a scheme to pull him out of the doldrums of his grief, she gives him a non film assignment to do a color story on the wealthy and social homeowners on Connecticut’s Gold Coast. It takes some doing, but in the end Mitch agrees. He is fortunate to find a cottage to rent on Big Sister, the absolute top of the line private island outside the town of Dorset. His landlady, Dolly, is pleasant and friendly, but some of the other inhabitants of this small piece of land, although too well bred to come right out and say it, are not happy to have Mitch, born of parents only one generation away from Eastern Europe and raised on the city’s pavements, arrive in their back yard. But Dolly, whose husband has recently left her, needs the money, and at least she is more than gracious. The discovery of a body during a bout of optimistic gardening in Dolly’s back yard brings on the other main player Lieutenant Desiree Mitry, one of only three women on the Connecticut State Police major crimes squad, the youngest of the three, and the only black. A dedicated officer, she is the terror of everyone who doesn’t really want to give a home to one of her stray cats. She is, as well, a closet artist and a complicated and beautiful woman, and she intrigues Mitch from the start.

The Hot Pink Farmhouse

So much for the peace and quiet New York film critic Mitch Berger expected to find in his antique carriage house overlooking Long Island Sound. Nothing can shelter him from the goings on in nearby Dorset. A violent death in a speeding Porsche…
an attempted suicide by the school superintendent…
and dirty politics are about to propel Mitch out of the shadows into a starring role. And then there’s his new love, resident state trooper Desiree Mitry…
Des has transferred out of her position as the highest ranking black woman in the state police homicide department to give more time to the art for which she has a sure talent. But as she soon learns, Dorset’s bucolic exterior hides some ugly secrets. The femme fatale daughter of a famous local sculptor is killed in a car explosion that makes tabloid headlines. Now Des is on the case, saddled with a pushy former colleague, and reaching out to Mitch for an extra pair of eyes and arms in a case that threatens to tear the town apart…

The Bright Silver Star

An Edgar Award winning Author

It’s the peak of the tourist season on the Connecticut gold coast. But this is no ordinary July for the picture perfect village of Dorset or for transplanted New York film critic Mitch Berger and his alluring love, resident State Trooper Desiree Mitry. When famous and combustible movie star Tito Molino plunges to his death from a cliff just outside town, Mitry’s investigation threatens to reveal secrets too terrible to imagine.

Available only in Americana 5.

The Burnt Orange Sunrise

YOU RE INVITED TO THE LAST PARTYEveryone from Hollywood heavy hitters and supermodels to rap music stars and high profile athletes are invited to a party to honor legendary film director Ada Geiger at the faux Castle her husband built for her in Dorset, Connecticut. This is just the kind of event Mitch Berger hates even though he idolizes Ada and credits her for inspiring him to become a film critic. It’s too late for him to cancel. But Mitch gets a lucky break when a snowstorm hits. OF YOUR LIFE One by one, the regrets come flowing in. The gathering is pared down to just a few people: Ada s son and his wife up from New York, the Castle s caretaker and her brother Les, Mitch and his beautiful police officer lover, Des Mitry, and a few others. It s the snowiest winter anyone under the age of ninety can remember in Dorset with six more inches falling every three days, stranding the guests at the Castle. But any romantic notions that may have crossed Mitch s mind are dashed when one by one the people at The Castle are killed off. Delving into the investigation, Des and Mitch are faced with their toughest case yet one that might leave both of them dead

The Sweet Golden Parachute

A storm is brewing in Dorset. Poochie Vickers, the local aristocrat, is becoming even more eccentric in her old age. She’s taken up shoplifting and reckless driving but refuses to see a doctor. Her worrisome daughter, Claudia, is angling to take over the family fortune, which makes some of the would be beneficiaries uneasy. Two of Dorset’s biggest troublemakers are being released from prison. And the bad blood between these two families, rich on the one hand, swamp Yankee on the other, could come to a boiling point: Two young people from the families are dating, to no one’s delight but their own. Someone is bound to snap, and someone does, resulting in the brutal murder of a harmless and homeless man who went about town collecting recyclables. While Des is trying to track down the murderer, she’s also trying to wrap her head around the idea of marrying Mitch. When so many things are going wrong, loving someone seems like a big risk. Handler’s fifth novel in this charming and edgy series displays his deftness in creating memorable, distinctive characters and for crafting uniquely entertaining mysteries.

The Sour Cherry Surprise

Something has gone very wrong on bucolic Sour Cherry Lane. A straight arrow high school student has started throwing wild sex parties. The distinguished history professor across the lane has gone missing. His estranged wife, a popular author of children’s books, is strung out on crystal meth. And the new man in her life is under surveillance by a joint federal and state drug task force. It s not exactly a day in Yankee paradise for Desiree Mitry, the alluring resident trooper of Dorset, Connecticut. Especially when you throw in those unwelcome fainting spells she s been having ever since she broke it off with pudgy New York film critic Mitch Berger and took up again with her ex husband, U.S. Attorney Brandon Stokes. Mitch has moved on with his life, saying good bye to Dorset and hello to a new high profile television career. Not to mention a newly slimmed down and styled self. Des is completely out of his system. Or so Mitch thinks. Des, meanwhile, is furious to discover that a major drug cartel has been operating in Dorset right under her nose. Matters escalate when one of those troubled Sour Cherry Lane residents turns up dead. Des pursues the case in her own way. The problem is that her way gets her in way too deep. And there s only person who can possibly get her out. The question isn t whether Mitch will ride to her rescue. The question is whether the two of them will live to tell about it. The newest in this solidly entertaining series promises more twists and turns for the likable odd couple, and an astounding, heart pounding conclusion.

The Shimmering Blond Sister

In this delightful new adventure featuring the mismatched crime fighting duo of film critic Mitch Berger and Connecticut state trooper Des Mitry, Mitch’s New York City past and his Dorset present collide head on. Back when Mitch was a chubby thirteen year old living in Stuyvesant Town, Beth Breslauer, a lovely blond single mother, lived across the hall with her son, Kenny. These days, she s a wealthy widow who owns a condominium in the Captain Chadwick House, the Dorset Historic District s most exclusive condo complex. Kenny is engaged to marry Mitch s yoga teacher, Kimberly Farrell. Kimberly s parents are Beth s neighbors. They are also social pariahs. Her father was one of the Wall Street power brokers responsible for the sub prime home loan meltdown and her mother is praying that Kimberly s elaborate engagement party will endear them to their lost friends. Meanwhile, Augie Donatelli, a retired police detective who manages the Captain Chadwick House, is positive he s figured out the identity of the infamous Dorset Flasher, an elusive, ski masked figure who has been terrorizing wealthy widows after dark. He also believes that Beth is the proud descendent of a long line of professional thieves. He demands that Des do something about it, but Des dismisses his charges as the wild rants of a lonely, bitter drunkard, which is rather unfortunate because when Augie turns up dead, Des is included in the round up of suspects. That leaves it up to Mitch to find out what really happened, even though it means he ll have to find out more about the people in his life than he ever wanted to. The Shimmering Blond Sister is David Handler s most emotionally gripping book in the series yet.

The Blood Red Indian Summer

This newest mystery featuring Mitch Berger and Connecticut State Trooper Des Mitry presents Des with her first genuine racially charged case in the historic New England village of Dorset, the gem of Connecticut’s Gold Coast. Tyrone Da Beast Grantham, the famously volatile NFL superstar linebacker, has just been suspended for conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the league. When Tyrone and his entourage decide to spend his season in exile in bucolic Dorset much to the dismay of his early to bed, ultra white neighbors Des is put on the spot. And when Tyrone s eighteen year old sister in law, Kinitra, washes up on Mitch s beach one morning, bloodied and barely alive, Des is on the case. Especially when it turns out that Kinitra is eight weeks pregnant. Good thing there s nothing else serious going on in our heroes lives right now. Like, say, Mitch s parents arriving from Florida at long last to meet the new woman of color in their nice Jewish boy s life. The Blood Red Indian Summer makes a fine and entertaining addition to David Handler s award winning, critically acclaimed series.

Aphrodite (As:Russell Andrews)

It looked for all the world like a terrible, tragic accident. Susanna Morgan had gotten up in the middle of the night, tripped, fallen, and broken her neck. Yet when detective Justin Westwood inspects the victim’s apartment, he can t help noticing that the details don t quite add up. The glass on the bedside table is knocked over but there are no cuts on her body. The scrape on her knee looks suspiciously fresh. And then a terrified witness comes forward, confirming his worst fear.

This is no accident. This is murder.

Justin Westwood moved to East End Harbor to escape a dark, disturbing past, and to lead a quiet life. He had retreated from reality by taking a menial post with a small town Long Island police department, drowning his troubles in mindless traffic duty and lots of booze. Now his dormant professionalism is awakened after Susanna s brutal murder. This is just the kind of reality check that Justin needs, and he will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this madness to find the meaning of the mysterious ‘Aphrodite’ and maybe save himself in the process.

Midas (As:Russell Andrews)

New York’s Hamptons are the summer playground for Wall Street big shots, Hollywood starlets, and all species of glitterati in between. But when a Middle Eastern man rigged with explosives walks into a chic restaurant and blows himself up, all that glamour is shattered. And so is the security and safety of the entire United States. Drawn into this case is Justin Westwood, a local East End Harbor cop who is still haunted by the violent deaths of his wife and daughter years before. After meeting a beautiful woman whose hunger for human contact and comfort matches his own, he believes he is finally winning the battle with his old ghosts. Yet just as he is beginning to grasp hold of the new life he s been craving, he is saddled with this new murder investigation one far more dangerous than any he s ever tackled. Soon after the restaurant explosion the first suicide bombing ever to hit U.S. shores a small plane crashes in the middle of East End Harbor. It is initially deemed an accident but after the pilot s body disappears, as do all traces of his identification, Justin realizes he s dealing with sabotage. When more terrorist strikes occur, each more devastating than the last, Justin also begins to understand that they all share an elusive, undeniable link one that will plunge him into a terrifying journey leading to some of the country s most powerful figures and their darkest, most closely held secrets. If he is to survive, Justin must wend his way through a complicated maze of corruption and confront startling truths about big business and politics and, most of all, about himself. For a long time, Justin Westwood has wondered if he could ever truly be frightened again, or if anything could reclaim his soul. Some part of him hoped it was possible. He is about to get his wish…

Hades (As:Russell Andrews)

Police Chief Justin Westwood is content to escape his big city past in sleepy East End Harbor, but the brutal murder of a Wall Street shark is about to change all that not least because Westwood was in bed with the victim’s wife at the time.

National bestselling author Russell Andrews returns with an intricately layered novel of suspense, as Justin Westwood tries to clear himself of involvement in murder while a multinational financial conspiracy brings destruction in its wake. Westwood is willing to do whatever it takes to solve this crime, even if it means teaming up with an FBI agent who once broke his heart.
A trail of dead bodies draws him back home to Providence, RI, where he must deal with his own personal demons as well as reconnect with troubling memories of the past. Here he will discover a complex corporate scam with unimaginably murky depths, and at the heart of it an evil, scheming intelligence and a deadly temptress whose greatest joy lies in human suffering and death. HADES is a dark and atmospheric tale of obscene wealth and sad*istic violence, opposed by one flawed but honorable man.

Gideon (As: Russell Andrews)

‘The first and only thing you need to know about Gideon is that you’ll get no answers whatsoever about him. None. You will never meet him, you will never speak to him, you will never have any contact with him…
. Gideon is in an extremely sensitive position.’Framed for two murders he didn’t commit, Granville is a man on the run. He knows too much but not enough to save himself. Pursued by the FBI, hunted by an assassin who kills with lethal precision, and desperate to escape the hell that is threatening to destroy him, Granville turns to the one person he can trust: his ex girlfriend, journalist Amanda Mays. With her investigative skills and Granville’s instincts for survival, they strive to uncoil the tightly wound truth. But they are embroiled in something far greater than either could ever have imagined a dark conspiracy that will forever change the course of history. Granville’s only hope: penetrate the enigma of the name that began his nightmare unearth the real identity of…
GIDEONRelentlessly paced, Gideon is an exciting, chillingly original thriller packed with startling double crosses, tense pursuits, whiplash twists of plot, and shocking revelations about the nature of power and those who really possess it. It is a masterpiece of suspense. Gideon. An identity shrouded in mystery the anonymous source who holds the key to an explosive secret. In a clandestine meeting, writer Carl Granville is hired to take the pages of an old diary, articles, letters documents in which all proper names and locations have been blacked out and turn them into compelling fiction. He will be paid a quarter of a million dollars. But he can never tell a soul. As he is fed information and his work progresses, Granville begins to realize that Gideon’s book is more than just a potential bestseller. It is a revelation of chilling evil and a decades long cover up by someone with far reaching power. He starts to have second thoughts. How will his book be used? Whose lives will be shattered? What is the truth behind the story and who is the true storyteller?Then someone close to Granville is bludgeoned to death. Another is savagely murdered. His apartment is ransacked, his computer destroyed, all his records stolen. Suspicion falls on Granville. He tries to explain the shadowy assignment. No one believes him. He has no proof, no alibis.

Icarus (As: Russell Andrews)

As a young boy, Jack Keller witnessed a life altering tragedy the murder of his mother. Thirty years later, Jack has it all a great marriage, a successful chain of restaurants bearing his name, lifelong friends, and good health. But in one second it all becomes worthless when a second tragedy occurs during the opening of a new restaurant. As Jack recovers from his injuries and the resulting psychological trauma, he is nursed back to health by Kid Demeter, a mysterious young man who was once as close to Jack as any son could be. As Kid trains his mentor and father figure, he confides to Jack about various women in his life. Each one is identified only by her nickname and each one is presented as appealing, sexy…
and extremely dangerous. And then a third tragedy occurs. Kid is found sprawled on the pavement after plunging twenty stories to his death. Jack refuses to accept the police theory of suicide. Convinced that one of Kid’s women is a killer, he finds himself searching for answers in Kid’s world, a world of lap dancing and after hours clubs, of drugs and violence, and of overwhelming sensuality. But as Jack’s suspicions rise, as he draws closer to the truth, an unknown threat lurks just ahead of him, anticipating his every move and killing whoever is in the way. As past and present merge, as Kid’s world overtakes Jack’s, as Jack begins to understand just how high the stakes are in the game he has elected to play, he knows only one thing for certain: He must find the killer before the killer finds him.

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An electrifying thriller from an Edgar Award winning crime writer A dying TV star reaches out to a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with an explosive revelation: the truth behind an infamous Hollywood murder spree, which will destroy a US senator’s bid for the presidency. For former star reporter Hunt Liebling, it s a chance to get his career back on track until he walks in on an all new Hollywood massacre, and becomes the prime suspect himself…