Davis Way Crime Caper Books In Order

Publication Order of Davis Way Crime Caper Books

Davis Way Crime Caper Series is a set of novels by Gretchen Archer, a cozy mystery author and Tennessee housewife best known as the author of the “Davis Way Crime Caper” series. She had always loved reading and writing but never got to writing until her daughters went to college and she had a lot of time on her hands. She published her debut novel Double Whammy that was the first of the Davis Way Crime Caper series in 2013. Since then she has gone on to make a name for herself with more than nine titles in her debut series and more than two in the Bellissimo Casino Crime Caper series. While she only recently started writing, many of her works have been bestselling titles on several lists including USA Today and the New York Times bestselling list. She currently lives with her husband and son on Lookout Mountain.

Archer has said that neither her first novel, her second or third will ever get published. The manuscripts that she wrote before her big break are hidden away on some flash drives in her basement never to see the light of day. It took her four narrative commercial fiction manuscripts over five years before she got an agent. Once she had an agent, she decided to go for it and put everything else on hold and began reading mysteries. During this time, she read nearly two hundred capers, cozy mysteries, hard-boiled, procedurals, amateur series to get a feel on how to write. It is only then that she at down to write her debut novel. It took her only four months to write Double Whammy before she started submitting to agents. A few weeks after she started her submissions, she got a call from FinePrint Literary’s Stephany Evans who wanted to become her agent. However, it would take more than a year before she landed a deal with Henery Press who published her novel in 2013.

Gretchen Archer sets her “Davis Way Crime Caper” series of novels in Tennessee which is a place she has lived in for years. From her home within a few meters from the Mississippi, she has been witness to approved dockside gambling in the 90s and had to watch as the Gulf Coast was transformed from a remote backwater into little Vegas. The lead protagonist of the novels is a former police officer with a degree in information technology and criminal justice. Davis Way is a twice-divorced woman that was brought up by her police chief father in the small town of Pine Apple, Alabama. At the beginning of the series, she was looking for a job in Biloxi for weeks until she is offered one at the Bellisimo Casino and Resort. She soon learns how to pick herself up and start over though over the course of the series she learns about abuse, the repercussions and pain of prejudice, and the importance of friendships and family ties. Davis grows a lot in both her personal and professional life as she goes from a police officer in a small Alabama town to undercover casino investigator to a newly married woman and then mother to twins. Even as she becomes a mother, she still retains her adventurous nature, and trouble and mystery never seem so far away from her life.

“Double Whammy” the debut novel of the “Davis Way Crime Caper” series introduces Davis Way, who is forced to leave Lower Alabama after weeks of unsuccessfully trying to find a job. She had been on unemployment for more than a year and believes she stands a better chance in Mississippi. She lands in Biloxi and sends her application to a casino. She finally got her interviews with Natalie Middleton the executive after photoshoot extensive interviews in which she had someone look into her psychiatric profile and test her marksmanship. She also had to try out several wigs and costumes which she was told she would have to wear in the yet to be specified job. She soon learns that she is the new odd job woman at the Belissimo casino. She is expected to perform an odd assortment of tasks including trying to find out why the same people were winning big at the tables. Davis soon realizes that she looks like Bianca the wife to CEO and president of the casino company named Richard Sanders. She also realizes that Eddie her former husband has been frequenting the casino and is having an affair with Bianca. Davis’ investigations indicate that there is someone killing anyone associated with Bianca.

“Double Dip” the second novel of the series is the story of the first tournament of the season for Davis Way. She is still employed undercover for the casino and also stands in for Bianca Sanders when she cannot make the public appearances herself. The story opens with Davis and several colleagues hearing gunshots and on reaching the offices of Sanders, they find her on the floor bleeding from a bullet wound. The adventure then ramps up as Davis and her partner Bradley move into a new condominium in town. While her boyfriend is traveling out of town, Eddie her ex-husband comes into town and lives at the condominium while her sister is doing the decorations while Davis lives with her grandmother at the Casino. When Bradley comes back home unexpectedly, things go haywire as he finds Eddie in the house and enraged, he storms out. The entire episode is too much for Davis who is constantly sick and even starts fainting. While Davis and her colleague Jeremy are trying to find a solution to some problem at work, she is also busy pretending to be Bianca and running a slots tournament. She is also trying to get Bradley back on her side by assisting him with issues back at home and with several lawsuits.

In “Double Strike,” the third novel of the “Davis Way Crime Caper” Series Super Spy Davis of the Bellissimo Casino and Resort knows three things. Money does not grow on trees, men like David Hasselhoff are not to be trusted and you do not have to be an excellent cook to have a happy marriage. But none of that will be important when a giant storm strikes the gulf during the Strike It Rich Sweepstakes the most anticipated event in town. They might need a stray bullet or two to secure the property, staff, and guests. Davis has three problems – she has no clothes as they have been confiscated by Bianca, she has a new boss who insists on speaking in hashtags and she wants to get married fast. All of these cause a lot of headaches and ultimately, she may have to steal a dingbat lawyer’s car. Her goals are finding the man that had written the exceptional software for futureGaming, get back her relationship, and ensure the Sanders family does not end up in prison.