Books To Die For Books In Order

Publication Order of Books To Die For Books

“Books to Die For” is a series of mystery novels by Richard Houston, an American bestselling mystery author. While he took a roundabout way to become a professional author, he had his breakthrough with the “Books to Die” for series, a mystery series in which a Golden Retriever plays a huge role in solving crime mysteries. He published “A View to Die For” his debut novel in 2012 and has never looked back since writing a novel every year. His biggest hit thus far has been “Letters to Die For” his fourth novel which became an instant bestseller after selling 7000 copies in a single day. It would later become a USA Today bestselling title between 2016 and 2017. It has also ranked high and received critical acclaim on both Goodreads and Amazon. The novel has also been included in the Top 100 Nook Books list on Barnes and Noble where it trounced Paula Hawkins’ “The Girl on the Train.”

Richard Houston majored in Math in college though he also took some courses in English. While he always wanted to pursue a career as a professional author, it was not to be for a long time. For a time, while he went to college, he earned a living as a carpenter. During a carpentry career of more than two decades, he was writing his first manuscript which would take him more than thirty years to do. Once he graduated from college, he got a job working with NASA on the Space Shuttle in California. He then worked in Houston Texas at the Johnson Space Center where he was in charge of the computer graphics system. After more than a quarter-century practicing as a software engineer for some of the most prestigious institutions in the US, he retired to Truman Lake to become a professional author. Given that he had always dreamed of becoming an author, he took the opportunity he had to attend all the creative writing classes he could. Several years later, he had not published anything until he was jolted into life in 2011 after he had bypass surgery. After complications that nearly caused his death, he decided that he had to write his novel or he would never do it, He got his inspiration watching an episode of a criminal gang known as the “Knights of the Golden Circle” that has buried some of their stolen loot in Kansas. He currently lives with Cherie his wife on their home on the banks of Truman Lake.

The “To Die For” Series are mystery novels that feature burned out software engineer turned handyman who solves mysteries alongside his Golden Retriever Fred. Jacob Martin is a sweet, sensuous, generous, and witty man who is adored by most women. Jake too has an appreciative eye for women and when he gets into a relationship, he is a brave loyal, handy, and smart man that any woman would love to have. The lead character is inspired by Richard Houston’s life including the Golden Retriever Fred who was his pet dog that died under mysterious circumstances in 2013. While they are often called mysteries, Houston believes that the settings and type of characters and plots he writes about make the novels cozies. Jacob is not a detective, cop, or a private eye but rather he is an amateur sleuth. Just like his contemporaries, he often gets involved in a homicide without asking for it just like “Murder She Wrote’s” Jessica Fletcher. Jake also uses methods such as computer hacking, surveillance camera sabotage, unlawful entry, and violation of federal regulations on individual privacy.

“A View to Die For: the first of the “To Die For” series is a thrilling murder mystery with a bizarre assortment of characters, an unlikely hero, a sister as a murder suspect, a canine sidekick, and local color in plenty. The lead in the novel is Jacob Martin, a down on his luck software engineer who gets by on odd jobs, eats at McDonald’s, suffers from failing sight and a shrinking bladder, and drinks a lot of beer. He is a smart, generous, and well-mannered man who aspires to become an author and is an unusual sleuth as compared to his contemporaries. He works alongside his Golden Retriever Fred who is a smart dog that works as some kind of ice breaker, early warning system, assistant detective, and clue finder. When Jake learns that his sister is in a jam and needs his help, he gets to her side as fast as he can. The sister is the lead suspect in a black widow insurance fraud case and is suspected of killing her husband. While doing his investigations he is run off the road, stalked, loses his credit card, money, his vehicle, and is hospitalized.

“A Book to Die For” by Richard Houston is set in the foothills of Denver and continues the story of Jake Martin the aspiring novelist, handyman, and part-time software engineer. Bonnie who is one of Jake’s best friends asks him to help edit a manuscript left behind by his recently deceased father. Almost immediately, he is derided by Bonnie’s sister, nearly killed in a mysterious explosion, called a hack and ridiculed by a stranger and then accused of being a murderer and a poacher. Since he has been accused of manslaughter, he needs to investigate and prove that the death was murder so that he can find the true killers. While doing his investigations, he runs into an elaborate poaching scheme and then meets a beautiful game warden and falls in love. But he still needs to prove his innocence as he is certain that someone is trying hard to set him up to take the blame for their crimes.

“A Treasure to Die” for the Second novel of the “To Die For” series is set in Colorado and this time involves Jake the author, handyman and unemployed software engineer, his Golden Retriever, and his 69-year-old widow. They have to track down a killer that is looking for an old edition of Tom Sawyer which he wants so desperately, that he was willing to kill to get his hands on it. He is not looking to read a boy’s tale but rather the book has special value as it may have the location of a lost Tenderfoot mine in the Rockies. It is believed that a 19th-century miner had written down the location of the mine he had found only for him to die before he could tell anyone. Since it had been written in code, it had escaped the notice of most people that had the book before who got it only for the story value. The message had then been discovered by some uranium miners during the fifties but they had been unable to decode it until now. It is an interesting narrative full of the unexpected.