Alan Russell books in order

Although it’s been many years since the death of his father―an infamous serial killer known as Shame―Caleb Parker still struggles to free himself from his father’s dark shadow. Caleb wishes only for a normal life without being branded a “killer’s son,” but his dreams are shattered when a new string of murders surfaces that are all too reminiscent of Shame’s terrible killings.

When the police label him the prime suspect, Caleb forges an unlikely partnership with true-crime author Elizabeth Line, a writer whose career began when she survived an encounter with Shame and who then went on to document his life―and death. As the body count begins to pile up, Elizabeth and Caleb come to the conclusion that one of them has been targeted by the killer, and a game of cat and mouse begins as they try to uncover the murderer’s identity before becoming his next victims.

Capturing the seedy and sordid side of life isn’t anything new for photojournalist-turned-paparazzo Graham Wells. But when a shoot turns deadly―secretly causing the car crash that takes the lives of two beloved public figures―he knows the ensuing media spotlight could easily destroy him. Fortunately, no one else knows his shameful secret except for a mysterious CIA operative, and that clandestine agent swears he’ll keep quiet…for a price.

Blackmailed into documenting the orchestrated downfalls of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Graham finds his role in the operation disturbingly murky. But the picture soon begins to clear and comes into horrifying focus after he prevents the suicide of celebrated actress Lanie Byrne, revealing a sprawling web of lies that reaches from the glittering lights of Hollywood to the dark political intrigue of Europe and Washington, DC.

Will Travis, an investigator who specializes in small-time jobs like looking into employee theft at hotels and bars, falls into a much bigger case when he unwittingly foils a murder attempt on a politician's daughter. Sitting in a hotel bar he sees a man drop something into a woman's drink, then watches as she begins to lose consciousness. Unable to sit by and watch her in peril, he comes to her rescue only to nearly get killed himself by a hitman out to get her.

The woman, Claire Harrington, tells a farfetched but believable story, given what they've just She's in danger because she believes her father's death--ruled a suicide by the police--was actually murder. What's more, she believes that one of the candidates in the upcoming presidential election was behind it.

Will gets drawn further and further into this dangerous situation, caught between wanting to go to the authorities, whom Claire doesn't trust, and wanting to help her himself. When events begin to spiral out of control, he knows there's no way out until they find the truth, wherever it takes them.

When Santa Claus is a cop, you better watch out.

It’s not looking like a very merry Christmas for San Diego cop Nick Pappas. Suspended from his job, alienated from his family, and persecuted by the press, he’s sorely tempted to turn his gun on himself. Except for his first name, he couldn’t possibly have less in common with jolly old St. Nicholas. But when a local mall decides it needs a secret Santa to help collar some vicious muggers preying on its holiday shoppers, Nick’s persuaded to red-suit up so as to take the naughty punks down and avert a ho-ho homicide. 

For a chance to bust bad guys, Nick’s willing to deal with crying kids, pushy parents, and a chronically cheerful “elf” sidekick. But the biggest challenge for this cop-turned-Claus is one that would confound even the real Kris Kringle: making a pair of next-to-impossible Christmas wishes come true for two children in need…before it’s too late.

Nina Granville believes her business trip to Alaska will give her a short respite from the merry-go-round that came with her engagement to Congressman Terrence Donnelly. But instead of allowing her the peace she craves, Nina’s getaway from the public eye means that no one witnesses her abduction into a very cold hell.

Taken by a mountain man who calls himself Baer and then transported to a remote cabin surrounded by nothing but frozen wilderness, Nina descends into a nightmare of terror, privation, and bitter cold. Nina’s privileged life did not prepare her for imprisonment at the hands of this survivalist trapper. If she is to live―and to escape―Nina realizes she must do it on her own.

Undaunted and with startling determination, Nina pits herself against her captor, her fear, and nature itself in a battle for her life―but can she win against such deadly opponents?

Holly Troy’s mind is a complex maze of myth and reality, multiple personalities vying for time in the spotlight. As an artist, she is creative and compelling. 

As a witness, she is painfully unreliable, unsure of even which person she was the night of the murder. Even Holly can’t be sure of her own innocence. Homicide detective Orson Cheever never thought he would find himself playing psychologist to a Greek goddess in a modern-day murder investigation, but many of Holly’s personalities come straight from classical mythology, from Cronos and Pandora to the Fates. 

As Cheever attempts to unravel truth from myth, he learns that there is even more to Holly than meets the eye. One personality in particular―that of a five-year-old girl―hits a little too close to home, and Cheever is forced to finally pull back the dark curtains of his own past in order to uncover the truth.

Seven years ago, young Stella Pierce vanished from the face of the earth. Now her grieving, broken family―along with Detective Orson Cheever, who never stopped working her case―is stunned by her mysterious return.

The now-teenage girl claims to have spent her missing years in the company of Travelers―extraterrestrial nomads―voyaging through space.

Despite her family's effort to keep Stella's incredible tale secret, the story becomes a national sensation. Most people want to discount her story, saying it's the result of trauma; only Detective Cheever seems to want the same thing Stella does: the truth.

The enigmatic Stella finds herself in the eye of the storm while vying forces―some visible and some not―swirl around her. Is it her tale that is incredible, or is it Stella? As new questions surrounding the girl gain terrifying urgency, Cheever learns that there is nothing―and no one―he can trust.

LAPD cop Michael Gideon and his police dog partner Sirius became reluctant celebrities after capturing a notorious serial killer in the midst of an inferno. For their heroism, they were chosen to head up the newly formed Special Cases Unit. Now the duo tackles out-of-the-ordinary cases, anything deemed unusual or bizarre even by Hollyweird standards.

When a teenager is found crucified in a city park, Gideon and Sirius are handed the bizarre case. Confronting the gruesome tableau and having to work the case worsens Detective Gideon’s PTSD, a condition he has tried to hide from others. Gideon’s burns may have healed, but the fire haunts him still…in more ways than one.

Eerily prescient since that terrible night of the fire, Gideon has unusual insights into the crimes he investigates, a skill he and Sirius must learn to trust as much as they do each other if they are to solve―and survive―this case.

As the sole members of LAPD’s Special Cases Unit, Detective Michael Gideon and his German shepherd partner Sirius work investigations considered bizarre even by Los Angeles’s standards. Yet their latest case is more than strange―it might be out of this world.

Ronald “Wrong” Pauley is a homeless man long fallen from grace. When Pauley’s late-night drinking is interrupted by a detonation of light, he sees what he describes as a “being of light” in the alley below. Pauley tries to help, but ends up as a witness to what he believes is the murder of a fallen angel.

Gideon and Sirius are already in the midst of trying to determine the identity of the so-called “Reluctant Hero” who seemed to magically appear just moments after shots began ringing out at an elementary school. Braving gunfire, the hero tackled the shooter, and then disappeared.

Both cases defy easy answers, but when Pauley turns up dead, the detectives are left with two murders to solve and lots of questions. Gideon and Sirius―along with help from a newfound friend―investigate that thin line between the real and surreal to make sense of these possible crimes.

Detective Michael Gideon is used to being handed L.A.’s oddest cases, but his newest one assigned itself. When Gideon’s K-9 partner, Sirius, rescues a lost dog from a pack of coyotes, the duo tries to return her home―only to discover her owner is missing.

Heather Moreland has clearly disappeared under suspicious circumstances, and the more Gideon digs into her past, the more he’s convinced of her abduction.

As Gideon strives to help the missing woman, he is also troubled by the suspicious death of Detective Langston Walker, the leader of a support group for families of murder victims. The last time they’d met, Walker told Gideon about a cold case he had reopened, making Gideon wonder if the detective’s demise is the accident everyone believes.

LAPD detective Michael Gideon and his German shepherd K-9 partner, Sirius, walked through fire to catch an infamous serial killer, and Gideon is still paying the price with his PTSD fire dreams. 

To assist the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, Gideon has agreed to monthly prison visits with Ellis Haines, aka the Weatherman. This time, a homicide case the FBI wants Haines to analyze sparks a chilling discovery: A new serial killer has struck, and he's lacing his crime scenes with hidden messages intended for Haines.

Haines isn't the only killer whose twisted game Gideon must try to break up. A missing man's love poems are delivered to his fiancée with the message: So sorry for your loss. And when a sweet pit bull named Emily is rescued after being left for dead, Gideon and Sirius pull out all the stops to try and bring down the dogfighting ring that abused her.

LAPD detective Michael Gideon and his K-9 partners try to outmaneuver not one but two serial killers, while investigating the suspicious death of a woman who belonged to a cult.

When a woman in Bel Air dies of a rattlesnake bite, the case doesn’t seem to fit the usual purview of LAPD’s Special Cases Unit. But Carrie Holder was no ordinary LA woman. She was a member of the city's latest cult, the Church of the Gate, which counts Hollywood's movers and shakers among its devotees.

Investigating the cult's secrets takes Detective Michael Gideon, his German shepherd K-9 partner, Sirius, and pit bull rescue Emily across Los Angeles's canyons, neighborhoods, and movie studio lots—but all the while, an even darker threat looms closer. 

The All-In Killer has left a trail of victims across the Southwest, but he's no longer content to couch his threats in poker clues—the latest crime scene leaves no doubt that he's coming for Gideon, and Sirius, too. With the FBI pressuring Gideon to visit Ellis Haines, aka the Weatherman, for insights on the case, can Gideon outwit not one but two serial killers?

Years ago, LAPD Detective Michael Gideon and his German shepherd K-9 partner, Sirius, walked through fire to save Los Angeles from serial killer Ellis Haines, known as the Weatherman. Now, they prepare for a final showdown with their mortal foe.

It's been a year of change for Gideon and Sirius. Both are new parents, but for the two of them, the joys of fatherhood have to wait. After a few months of silence, the All-In Killer has begun his murderous spree again—and his latest victim died only miles from Gideon's doorstep. 

The All-In Killer has made it no secret that his homicidal countdown will end only with the deaths of Gideon and Sirius. When Gideon decides he can no longer hide the encroaching threat from his wife, they prepare together for the approaching storm.

While Gideon chases down a new lead that might prove his suspicion that the All-In Killer has been communicating with Ellis Haines, an ecoterrorist bomber strikes California, and a recently retired deputy US marshal and her bomb-sniffing dog go missing. Gideon and Sirius join in that manhunt, doing what they do best—saving lives.

When the security director of the posh Hotel California abruptly departs, assistant manager Am Caulfield steps into the role. The newbie hotel detective is quickly overwhelmed when a murder-mystery weekend descends on the hotel at the same time as a Bob Johnson convention (yes, the attendees are all named Bob Johnson)—and that’s before a bra thief strikes, a contractor leaps to his death, and two more dead bodies turn up.

Mayhem has checked in to the Hotel California. So, as it turns out, has a murderer. Like the little Dutch boy, Am must try and plug one leak after another. Will he be able to get the job done before yet another hotel guest checks out forever?

The fog isn’t the only thing wreaking havoc at La Jolla’s landmark Hotel California. A prankster has been hiring employees for nonexistent jobs, a decomposing whale interrupts a grunion run, and a group of swingers has arrived at the property for a love-in. Not for the first time, hotel detective Am Caulfield is overheard saying, “Hotels are like a circus without the tent.”

In addition to those headaches, Am has more than a few mysteries on his hands: Which one of the guests murdered the famed paranormal debunker in room 374? What changes does the hotel’s new owner—aka the Fat Innkeeper—have in store? And can Am juggle a new romantic interest and the increasing animosity of the local police while still nabbing a killer?

For Nick “Deke” Deketomis, going where angels fear to tread in waging legal battles has long been a way of life. As managing partner for one of the nation’s largest plaintiffs’ law firms, Deke has gone toe to toe with some of the largest corporations in the world. His firm specializes in the tough, even quixotic, cases that few lawyers would dare to take on. Like human trafficking. 

Deke’s target this time is Welcome Mat Hospitality, a firm known for its truck stops and lodging throughout the United States. What Welcome Mat doesn’t advertise is the human trafficking—for sex work and slave labor—going on at many of its properties. For the sake of better profits, Welcome Mat’s ownership has turned a blind eye to this lucrative enterprise.

As invested as Deke is in the case, though, it takes on even greater urgency when the past comes calling with word that his fifteen-year-old goddaughter, Lily Reyes, is missing. When Deke learns that Lily has fallen prey to a notorious trafficker, his personal and professional worlds converge. For his goddaughter to survive, Deke must prevail not only in the legal arena but outside of it.

Here is the complete list of books in the series:

1. Law and Disorder (2016) by Mike Papantonio

2. Law and Vengeance (2017) by Mike Papantonio

3. Law and Addiction (2019) by Mike Papantonio

4. Inhuman Trafficking (2021) by Mike Papantonio and Alan Russell

If Hollywood needs another reality show (Heaven forbid), they might consider the Ken and Alan show.

Ken Kuhlken and Alan Russell are mystery writers. The two of them have written over a dozen critically acclaimed novels, and yet neither has become a household word. A few years back they had the idea of doing an "international" book tour together, and naturally everything went to hell. Their hilarious book Road Kill documented their journey to the heart of darkness.

Just when they had sworn off any more road trips, the two of them received the invitation they couldn't refuse: guest spots on the Oprah show. No Cats, No Chocolate reports on their misadventures in pursuing the writers’ Holy Grail of fame and fortune.

"It is On the Road meets Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," boasts Russell.

Kuhlken promises, "This signed limited edition will be worth a fortune once the thousand copies are sold out. Anybody who passes up the chance to buy it must be loco."

NB: Co-authored with Ken Kuhlken.

San Francisco P.I. Stuart Winter looks into the death of a young, deaf heiress who volunteered as a sign language instructor—for a gorilla who may have witnessed her murder.

When P.I. Stuart Winter investigates the death of an environmental activist in a redwood forest, he encounters a radical ecocommune, a fundamentalist preacher, and a trio of marijuana moguls.