Charles Ardai Books In Order

Publication Order of John Blake Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Gun Honey Comic Books

Publication Order of Gabriel Hunt Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Charles Ardai is an American author, editor, publisher, founder and TV producer, all rolled into one. As an author he is best known for writing the books; Hunt Through the Cradle of Fear, The Good Neighbor Policy, Fifty-to-One, and The Nice Guys.

Among Ardai’s most notable undertakings is founding the ISP-oriented Juno Online Services, and contributing to editing the realistic Hard Case Crime books. Ardai serves in high-profile positions in many organizations including D.E. Shaw alongside Schrodinger Inc., wherein he serves as a managing director and chairman, respectively.

Ardai was born in 1969 in New York. Charles Ardai attended the Manhattan-based Hunter College High School wherein he completed in 1987. For his undergraduate studies, Ardai attended Columbia University where he pursued literature, specializing in romantic poetry, and finished in 1991.

Various publications including Alfred Hitchcock’s and Ellert Queen’s mystery magazines have published Charles Ardai’s work. Ardai writes books using both the pen name of Richard Aleas and his actual name, Charles Ardai, in his literary work. Ardai has co-authored books with the late Richard Stark, crime novelist Lawrence Block, Martin Meyers, and Isaac Asimov.

Charles Ardai’s parents survived the Holocaust and they would share with him the scary stories of the situations that they underwent at the hands of the Nazis. According to Ardai, these stories that his parents told him during his childhood inspired his character’s tribulations and, generally, have greatly shaped his literary work.

John Blake is the featured central character in Charles Ardai’s book, Little Girl Lost. Blake is a visionary school dropout who is in his late twenties and now works as a private detective. He is the only other partner in a small-time detective agency. Blake had first love, called Miranda Sugarman while he was a high school student. His former girlfriend was allegedly domiciled in the Midwest where she worked as an ophthalmologist.

The turning point in Charles Ardai’s book, Little Girl Lost, is when, a decade later, John Blake notices a news headline recounting the gory death of his former lover Miranda Sugarman on the roof of a seedy strip club. Blake’s partner law enforcer tries to dissuade him from sleuthing, but Blake ignores the request. Eager to know the motive for the murder, Blake starts an investigation and in his quest for unraveling the murder mystery, witnesses the dark underbelly of corporate New York. The closer that he gets to the truth, the more dangerous the investigation becomes, until a faceoff that will change his life forever.

Author Charles Ardai has both clinched and been nominated for several prestigious literary prizes. In 2005, Ardai was nominated for the Shamus Award, in the Best PI Novel category, thanks to his 2004 book titled Little Girl Lost. In 2005, Ardai was nominated for the Edgar Award, in the Best First Novel category, courtesy of the aforementioned book.

In 2007, Charles Ardai published a book entitled Songs of Innocence which was the second book in the serialized John Blake series. This book won the Shamus Award in the Best Original PI Paperback.

Charles Ardai penned a short story entitled The Home Front; in 2007, the story bagged the Edgar Award, in the Best Short Story category. In 1994, a short story titled Nobody Wins was nominated for the Shamus Awards, in the Best PI Short Story category. Lastly, Ardai bagged the Ellery Queen Award in 2015, in virtue of his input in the publication of the Hard Case Crime series.

Charles Ardai’s books are not only presently being adapted for the silver screen, but he has also undertaken novelization projects. Universal Pictures has optioned Ardai’s two books contained in the John Blake series. The team behind the film adaptation of Ardai’s book Little Girl Lost includes Jonathan Levine and Michael Bacall who are the director and screenwriter, respectively, with Marc Platt listed among the producers.

Charles Ardai’s media tie-ins include the movie named The Nice Guys which he novelized in 2016. He also worked on the adaptation of Stephen King’s book named The Colorado Kid which becmae the (SyFy) TV series entitled Haven.

The following are the best books authored by Charles Ardai. The first is the just discussed Little Girl Lost.

The second is called Songs of Innocence. It is in the wake of a former lover’s murder that shook John Blake to the core. Blake has since discontinued his sleuthing job and opted to advance his university education.

Blake comes back to investigate the apparent suicide of Dorothy Louise Burke. She was a beautiful college student with a bright future, who also lead a double life. Blake will uncover secrets about Dorothy’s life, dangerous secrets that could blow the lid off of New York City’s sex trade. Only if they don’t kill him before he can do so.

Another notable book is titled Fifty-to-One that was published in late 2008. It revolves around a teenage mob-affiliated showgirl who doubles up as a writer. She publishes a fiction book in which the mobsters lose a fortune something that is soon replicated in real-life, prompting the mob to come after her. She is quick to learn that writing pulp novels is a lot more fun than living in one.

Readers who liked the books penned by Charles Ardai also liked the following series of books. The first is called Quarry series, authored by Max Allan Collins. It revolves around a deranged Iowa-based Vietnam veteran called Quarry who works as an assassin.

The second is entitled Max & Angela series, penned by Ken Bruen. It features Max Fisher, a shady New York magnate, and Angela Petrakos, his attractive assistant. The third is named Jammer Davis series, a trilogy penned by Ward Larsen. It features Jammer Davis, an aviation accident investigator and former airman; Davis is called in to investigate a series of mysterious and well-orchestrated aircraft incidents.