Dan Petrosini Books In Order

Publication Order of A Luca Mystery Books

Publication Order of Suspensful Secrets Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Dan Petrosini is an Amazon and USA Today bestselling author that penned his first story aged ten. He has said that he has always been a person that cannot help but ask the question “What If?”

His nonstop mind spin usually provides a lot of material that he usually turns into all manner of interesting stories. Dan has said that he has always been a huge fan of films and books with turns and twists which are impossible to predict.

He published “Am I the Killer,” the debut novel of the “Luca Mystery” series of novels in 2015 and has never looked back since. Petrosini now has more than two dozen works to his name among them several series, and single-standing novels.

For Dan, writing is something that he just needs and has to do as he is a passionate believer in focus and action as key components for success.

The author currently makes his home in Southwest Florida, where he lives with his two children and their rambunctious Maltese. A native of New York, Dan is a member of several jazz bands where he plays tenor, teaches at local colleges, drinks too much wine, and writes fiction novels.

Petrosini got into writing from a very young age since he always enjoyed telling stories. The biggest issue for him had always been finishing his manuscripts.

He always had good ideas and at the beginning, he did well but once in the middle, he often got stuck and lost the words to tell his story. It would take Dan Petrosini decades to get out of that rut and become a productive storyteller.

Growing up and up to today, he has always been fascinated with true crime. To Dan, true crime is a representation of the ultimate struggle between evil and good. Moreover, there is all manner of real crimes from which to draw inspiration in the writing of his novels.
The author has said that he got the inspiration for his lead detective Luca from necessity. He was penning “Am I the Killer” and felt that there had to be a protagonist to look into a mysterious murder. The lead is introduced a third of the way in and he developed a life of his own.

When it comes to writing, Dan Petrosini has said that he is for the most part a pantser even though he sometimes tries to be more structured. The reason for adopting a mixed approach is that he always felt his creativity was inhibited when he tried outlining.
Moreover, he always felt that writing lost all the fun when he tried being strict with how he wrote. He now begins with an idea then develops broad bullet points which he develops and is free to modify as he sees fit.

As for his inspiration, Dan Petrosini has been greatly influenced by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn the nonfiction author and leading critic of communism. His depiction of the dignity and suffering of oppressed people in Russia had a great impression on the author.
Other authors whose works he enjoys reading include John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Alexandre Dumas.

Dan Petrosini’s novel “Am I the Killer” opens with Peter Hill charged with the killing of William Wyatt nicknamed Billy. According to the police, he had beaten the victim to death but he says he never committed the homicide.

Peter lacks an alibi and thinks that maybe he could have committed the crime even though he has no memory of what happened on that day. The biggest problem Peter has is that he seems to be suffering from amnesia given that he suffered a head injury while in Afghanistan.
Two years prior to his arrest, Peter and Tony Burato his best friend in the army were done with their tour and were heading back to base when they were attacked leaving the former with a traumatic brain injury.

Peter was flown to Germany for medical help while his friend contacted his brother Vinny in Dallas. His brother was to contact Mary Peter’s girlfriend while plans were made for Peter to be transferred to a Washington hospital for rehabilitation.
This novel is told from multiple perspectives including the investigator Frank Luca and Peter the lead protagonist.

“Vanished” by Dan Petrosini is the story of the investigation into the disappearance of Phil Gabelli, who was Dominic Stewart’s best friend.

He had gone missing without a trace but this was not unusual since he is a philanderer known for disappearing for days when he was on his playing around. But things are different this time around as the man has not come back as he usually does and neither his family nor friend have any idea where the man is.

Dom Stewart soon learns that obsession can turn very deadly as he sees an opportunity to strike given that he has for the longest time coveted Robin his friend’s wife. Detective Luca has also developed a fascination with Robin even though he thinks that she could have something to do with Phil going missing.

Luca is struggling with his intense attraction for Robin even as the investigation shows that the case is not only about Phil and his disappearance.

There is something disturbing and dark behind the scenes. As romantic interests and fraud that verge on pathological fixation come to the fore, the big question is What happened to Phil?

Dan Petrosini’s novel “The Serenity Murder” sees Detective Luca second-guessing his gut which is not a good thing. This means that he may have to rely on his creativity to catch the killer, even as he worries that divorce and cancer have dulled his once razor-sharp instincts.
As such, the detective is hugely relieved when he is charged with working on a simpler case. The victim is a wealthy person that was found dead while vacationing on their private island and it seems the gold-digging husband may be responsible.

As Luca digs deeper into the clues, he finds a whole slew of suspects and he can no longer rely on gut feeling and needs to put the victim’s rivalries and sordid affairs under the microscope. Time is running out and Detective Luca has to solve the case by regaining the swagger before the homicidal killer strikes again.

It makes for a novel full of unexpected plot twists making for a gripping story.

One Response to “Dan Petrosini”

1. Lynn: 11 months ago

   I just finished Buried at the Lake, my first book I have read by this author. I really enjoyed it and plan to read more of his books.

   [spoilers warning]

   I did think about 1/2 way through the book that Benny Alison was going to be involved in the murder but never expected Kate Swift to still be alive!

   Reply