Mike Tucker Books In Order

Publication Order of Black Bat Mystery Books

The “Mike Tucker” series by prolific American author Dean Koontz and it is a caper series. Dean Koontz released this series of novels in the seventies under the name Brian Coffey, which is one of his many pen names that he wrote under during the seventies. The series is a bit more obscure than Koontz’s later work that he would become known for; as this series is hard to get a hold of without paying an arm and a leg. The series is a trilogy with one book being released per year, the first novel coming out in the year 1973 and the last came out in the year 1975.

The series stars a man who is named Mike Tucker and is an art thief, dealer, and is also a perfectionist. This character is a bit of an enigma that Koontz explores in these books, but does not shed all of his secrets about this character.

“Blood Risk” is the first novel in the “Mike Tucker” series by Dean Koontz that was released in the year 1973. A quartet of men waited on a narrow mountain for the car with the money. The money totals over $340,000 and is the biweekly taking by a Mafia cell. They had never made a mistake or failed before while robbing someone. Back to the four member crew. There is Shirillo (who hides and watches in the long grass), Mike Tucker (he is an art dealer, professional thief, and perfectionist), Bachman (who is the getaway driver), and Pete Harris (who is armed with a sub-machine gun). As the Cadillac comes up toward them, they did not realize that Tucker made a horrible mistake that would sink them all into a war against the Mafia. Are they going to be able to adapt and fix their plan so that they can accomplish their mission?

Fans of the novel liked the way that this novel moved like that of a Richard Stark book. Things move decently along in a streamlined manner. Once the story gets going, it really picks up and starts to fly into a nice thriller that will keep the pages flying and readers up until the crack of dawn, until the novel is finished. It also features a nice and simple plot. It is a nice read, not a lot of twists to be found in the novel, but you will still be unable to put the book down. There is plenty of action that does not let up, even for an instant. Some feel that this series is one worth following and it is one recommended for anyone, whether or not they are Koontz fans. Some feel that this is an interesting book, but that some characters needed more work, as does some of the plotting here. It is a nice work and shows promise for the future novels in the series.

“Surrounded” is the second novel in the “Mike Tucker” series by Dean Koontz that was released in the year 1974. Tucker is put in touch with Frank Meyers by someone named Felton. Meyers is looking to set up a crew that will rob a bank that is found in a nice exclusive shopping mall that is located close to Santa Monica (in California). With the help of a safe cracker who is named Edgar Bates, they plan to rob a jewelry store as well as the bank. They plan to do both jobs while the mall is closed. After he takes down the guards, it is then that Tucker finds out that Meyers wants more than money while doing this heist. What Meyers does brings in the police and Tucker has to figure out how to get the money, not to mention all of them out of the mall. Without any of their crew getting killed. A mall that is now surrounded.

Fans of the novel found that the main character, Tucker, grows quite a bit in this book, but you still do not feel as if you really know him all that much. Readers felt that the way that the robbers are able to evade capture was quite clever. This is quite the book to read while you need something to do to pass the time. Some feel that it is a nice series, but you get what you pay for here. This novel avoids the sophomore slump by being a better read than the first novel. It is also great to see a young writer, in Koontz, as he is just starting out his long and extremely productive career in writing.

“The Wall of Masks” is the third novel in the “Mike Tucker” series by Dean Koontz that was released in the year 1975. Jimmy Shirllo is teaming up with Mike Tucker once again. These two, with the help of George Knight plan on stealing a bunch of masks that hang on a wall. These are not just some ordinary masks, but were taken from what was an undiscovered Mayan ruin located in the Mexican jungle. A local general comes to them and demands that he be paid his usual fee for looking the other way on this. He kills all of the people involved in the caper, except for Knight, Shirllo, and Mike Tucker. They must figure out a way to get out of the jungle while they are still alive.

Fans of the novel left some readers wanting more. You wind up having more questions about who Tucker is than when you start reading the series. This is the most ambitious of the three novels in this series. This is definitely the best of the three, it has a solid story. It is certainly too bad that Koontz did not continue writing the series, as he ends it just when it got really good. Each novel in this series gets better and better each time out. Had Koontz decided to write more novels for this series, it could have gotten very good and ran hot. Fans will just have to settle for thinking about what might have been. For fans of thriller novels, look to this series to read, it surely delivers.