Thomas Mullen Books In Order

Publication Order of Darktown Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Thomas Mullen is an American author best known for writing the Darktown series of books as well as muliple standalone novels.

Mullen was born in the mid-1970s in Providence upon Rhode Island. However, Mullen spent his formative years predominantly in Barrington, a town situated in Illinois.

For his undergraduate studies, Thomas Mullen went to the Oberlin College wherein he received his bachelor’s degree in 1996. Mullen has a laundry list of short stories and essays to his credit, Thomas Mullen’s work has graced different publications including the literary essays-oriented Atlanta Magazine, Grantland, the digital magazine named Paste, and The Huffington Post. Thomas Mullen frequents literary festivals and has lectured universities. Thomas Mullen’s work is partly based on real-life stories.

Thomas Mullen is unsure when he resolved to become a writer. Even then he remembers one occasion during his formative years when he wrote flash fiction that was probably his start to becoming an author.

Mullen uses the mixed method when writing. Mullen’s characters are developed using both the autobiographical method and biographical method; the starting points for Mullen’s fictitious characters are part observation and part extensive research. For instance, the inspiration for Mullen’s 2016 book titled Darktown came hard on the heels of relocating to Decatur in 2008. Eager to familiarize himself with the new neighborhood, Mullen started reading materials containing information on Atlanta’s history. It is in this light that he came to know about about the earliest African Americans serving in Atlanta’s police force, dating back to 1948, which helped to inspire teh writing of Darktown.

Mullen often reads books set in the backdrop of Atlanta, and he was particularly inspired by Gary Pomerantz, especially Pomerantz’s coverage of the history of black law enforcers.

Thomas Mullen debuted in the mid-2000s. The first edition of his first book was initially published in January 2006, entitled The Last Town on Earth. This standalone book is shelved under the fiction (particularly historical fiction), war novel, and adult fiction genres.

Philip Worthy is the featured central character in Thomas Mullen’s book called The Last Town on Earth. Worthy is adopted and his warmhearted adoptive father, called Charles, operates a mill and founded a town named Commonwealth. Philip Worthy is a hardworking teenager who never lets his handicap get in the way. He was involved in an accident wherein he lost a section of his leg, prompting him to start using an artificial leg.

Commonwealth’s population is mostly comprised of males who are conscientious objectors to the war. The turning point is the historic 1918/9 flu pandemic. Commonwealth’s administration opts to quarantine its residents and prohibits moving into or away from town. Soldiers infiltrate the safe and secure town and jeopardize the Commonwealth resident’s quarantine. The ensuing conflict is suspenseful in this award-winning book.

Dreamworks secured the film rights of Thomas Mullen’s debut, The Last Town on Earth.

In 2007, Thomas Mulllen’s book called The Last Town on Earth clinched the James Fenimore Cooper Prize, by virtue of excelling in the historical fiction genre. USA Today hailed the book with the award of “Best Debut Novel”. What’s more, the said book was termed as a notable book of the year in a listing compiled by Chicago Tribune.

The following are the best books authored by Thomas Mullen. The first one is Mullen’s award-winning book titled The Last Town on Earth. Refer to a previous section for a description on this book.

The second one is called Darktown. The first edition was published in 2016. This book chronicles the plethora of problems faced by the earliest African American law enforcers serving in the Atlanta Police Department. These include hostile white workmates, inability to freely exercise their powers, and being ill-equipped. A white man apparently assaults an African American woman and the authorities give scant credence to the case. Two African American policemen go across the grain and resolve to investigate the assault case.

The third one is Thomas Mullen’s thriller entitled The Revisionists, originally published in January 2011. Zed is the featured protagonist in this futuristic book. Unlike the present-day world, the future planet is devoid of conflicts, starvation, and desperation. Agent Zed is mandated to safeguard the ideal future and he ends up ruffling a few feathers.

Mullen is also the author of The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers. The book takes place in the Depression Era when Jason and Whit Fireson, the Firefly Brothers, are known bank robbers with many fans. One of their crimes leads to a police shootout which sees the brothers die. Or do they? There are rumors abound that the brothers are alive and still at-large. The brother’s girlfriends, Darcy and Veronica, struggle with their grief, but hold out hope that the brothers are alive.

Other Book Series You May Like
Readers who liked the books authored by Thomas Mullen also sought the following books. The first one is called Change and Cherish Historical series and is authored by Jane Kirkpatrick. This series, which is set in the mid-1800s, features protagonist Emma Wagner; Wagner, an individualistic and willful young woman, surmounts difficulties albeit through an isolationism lifestyle.

The second one is called The Plague Tales and is authored by Ann Benson. The trilogy, set in the 1300s and is centered on the damnable historic bubonic plague (the so-called Black Death), features protagonist Janie Crowe. Crowe, a present-day physician, unearths the hitherto dormant centuries-old disease. She is now grappling with a recurrence of the bubonic plague and the salvation is a Jewish physician’s age-old journal.

The third one is named Aristide Ravel and is penned by Susanne Alleyn. This tetralogy, which is set in the late 1700s, features protagonist Aristide Ravel. Ravel, who is a prospective author and an undercover agent, scours Paris for killers in his quest for solving murder mysteries and save a seemingly innocent suspect from a murder rap which, if found guilty, is punishable by death.