John Jordan Mysteries Books In Order

Publication Order of John Jordan Mystery Books

John Jordan Mysteries series by Michael Lister

Author Michael Lister pens the “John Jordan” series of mystery novels. The series began publication when “Power in the Blood” was released in the year 1997.

“Blood Sacrifice”, the fifth book of the series, won a Florida Book Award in the year 2012.

John Jordan is a prison chaplain, working in the Florida Panhandle. He used to be a cop. He is divorced and goes to AA, in an effort to work on his drinking problems.

“Power in the Blood” is the first novel in the “John Jordan Mysteries” series, which was released in the year 1997. John Jordan witnesses the brutal, bloody death of Ike Johnson, who is one of the inmates at the Potter Correctional Institution. What did he really witness? Was it an accident, murder, or suicide? John finds that in a closed society of captives and captors there is no act that goes unwitnessed and nobody takes too kindly to a cop wearing a collar. He finds his career and reputation, even his life is at stake.

The plot of this one is tight, and there is not a bunch of unnecessary and outside details to muck things up. Jordan has got some issues from his past that Lister is able bring out effortlessly. This gives the reader a better view of Jordan, without detracting from what happens in the present. Lister also does a great job of giving the reader facts slowly while the investigation progresses.

“Blood of the Lamb” is the second novel in the “John Jordan Mysteries” series, which was released in the year 2004. John’s hunt for the peace that has long eluded him has been interrupted by a killing. He tries to be one of the good guys in a bad place, as he attempts to maintain a rocky sobriety. John looks into the killing of a seven year old adopted daughter of an ex-con that became a televangelist, named Bobby Earl Caldwell. It was a killing that happened in John’s locked office when Bobby Earl was conducting a service inside the Potter Correctional Institution.

The act, along with the investigation that follows, will make John face his beliefs and fears, which causes this man of mercy to want justice. As he is torn between his two roles, cop and cleric, he has to figure out the killer’s identity as well as his own. His past continues to haunt him in the form of Susan, his ex-wife, coming back into his life and the troubling thoughts he has of failure.

Putting aside the distrust he has for the slick televangelist as well as his seductive wife, John must ignore intimidation and resist any and all manipulation so that he can locate a killer among some unusual suspects. The lists includes a child molester, a teacher with something to hide, two killers, and Bobby Earl. Since he exposed his own kid to such a risk makes him a suspect right from the start.

With all of the private crises and torturous experiences of a sensitive and thoughtful guy who works in this pitiless place, nothing short of death will end John’s hunt for Nicole Caldwell’s killer. John wants to be pardoned from the life sentence he inflicted upon himself and exoneration from the regret he bears.

“The Body and the Blood” is the third novel in the “John Jordan Mysteries” series, which was released in the year 2010. John witnesses the Justin Menge, an artist, get murdered. He has no idea how he was killed or who did it.

John attempts to balance the high-stakes investigation and the delicate reconciliation with Susan, and begins wondering if the life he hoped for is really possible. While the pieces of the puzzle begin falling into place, he is disturbed, shocked, and is faced with an impossible choice that will determine his future. Is John going to solve the case and pay the price being asked of him?

“Blood Sacrifice” is the fourth novel in the “John Jordan Mysteries” series, which was released in the year 2012. John, after working on a rather brutal and costly case, heads off to a remote retreat center. Here, he comes across one of the most haunting cases of his career. A young lady who died under suspicious circumstances while undergoing an exorcism.

As he fights a losing battle against violence and loss, he winds up on Bridgeport, a coastal town, at St. Ann’s Abbey. The place is a retreat center carved out of slash pines of the Florida Panhandle. Leaving his regular duties behind, and is looking to find some serenity while he is there. John finds anything but while he is there.

The place has dedicated itself to psychology, religion, and art. The place is operated by three women, one is Sister Abigail, who is a wise and witty middle-aged nun who supervises the counseling center. There is Father Thomas Scott, who is an earnest and devout middle-aged priest. There is also Kathryn Kennedy, an acclaimed novelist that is responsible for the artistic studies and conferences conducted at the Abbey.

He attends counseling with Sister Abigail, which is a result of his depression and self-destructive behavior. As a result, John resists investigating the death of a young boy, who had been staying at St. Ann’s, that was found in the Gulf. Sister Abigail is able to convince him that it is not his marriage, nor his pride, nor his career he is attempting to save, rather his soul.

Tammy Taylor, a highly sexual young heiress to the Gulf Coast Paper Company fortune, is savagely killed during an exorcism performed by Father Thomas. John is no longer able to resist temptation. He has to find out how she died and who did it. With Father Thomas looking more and more guilty and St. Ann’s future at stake, Sister Abigail asks him for help.

Father Thomas, the only one that could have killed her, says that it was the demons inside her that is responsible for her death. The skeptical Jordan thinks it was a human with much more earthly motives.