John Ryder Books In Order

Publication Order of Grant Fletcher Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

John Ryder is a bestselling mystery fiction author that loves to describe himself as a former joiner and farmworker.
During his earlier days, he worked all manner of odd jobs just to put clothes on his back and put food on his table. Nonetheless, despite having to hold different jobs over the years, he was always been a bibliophile.
As a lifelong reader, he ultimately had the courage to take a stab at writing for himself. Ryder published “First Shot,” his debut novel in 2020, and now has at least five titles to his name.

He has often said that his novels particularly those in the “Grant Fletcher” series of novels have been inspired by the likes of Matt Hilton, Lee Child, Zoe Sharp, and Tom Cain.

When he is not penning his novels, John Ryder loves to spend much of his time socializing with friends, reading, and playing with his son.

He is also a fanatic supporter of his local football team and often attends their matches to encourage young men much fitter and younger than he is.

John freely admits that he has always hated writing about himself in the third person and that he is very lazy at updating his website. Still, he loves to stay in contact with his fans and readers through his newsletter.

As a bibliophile, John Ryder has always been a huge fan of thriller and crime fiction works. As such, it was only natural that he would gravitate toward that when he began writing his own novels.

He has hardly read any other genres of fiction and has often said that he would never write a romance or science fiction novel, even if he was given all the money in the world since he would not know how to write them.
What is interesting is that his experiences as a joiner and farmer have been highly influential in his work. The many experiences he has had provide a lot of material that he draws upon in the writing of his fiction novels.
Many of his novels are set in rural settings and hence it makes it easy for Ryder to put himself in the mindset of the characters.

He has also been a joiner and as such, he understands the danger of the many power tools and this comes through in his portrayal of how the characters use them for nefarious purposes.

As a full-time author, John Ryder usually wakes up and has a cup of coffee so that he can write for half an hour. He gets his inspiration from just about anywhere as even a half-overhead conversation, or news story could spark an idea.
As for how much he reads, the author has said in interviews that he likes reading gripping stories that entertain and educate but are written in words that seem like honey for the yes.
If he was to collaborate with anyone dead or living on a writing project, he would go for Alistair MacLean.

He has said that he always loved stories such as “Ice Station Zebra,” “Fear is the Key,” and “HMS Ulysses,” which he keeps reading and rereading over the years.

John Ryder’s novel “First Shot” is a story that opens with the news that Lila a twenty-four-year-old has gone missing.

It is the type of case that Grant Fletcher a former military man and now a loner likes to take on if he was paid the right kind of money. However, this is personal and he intends to do it for free.
He owes his life to the missing girl’s father who had once saved him in Afghanistan. Fletcher knows that bringing back Lila sound and safe would bring back cheer to his wheelchair-bound friend.
The news soon comes that the last call from her father had been made from a rural Georgian town named Daversville and Fletcher decides to head there.

Upon arriving, he learns that people in the small town love to keep to themselves and that much of the economy depends on the giant sawmill that looms large over the town.
But before he starts looking for the girl, he finds himself troubled as he learns that Lila was not the first girl who had disappeared while traveling through Daversville.
Things get interesting when the last person to have seen Lila disappears. They become even more complicated when Fletcher finds himself the only suspect.

In “Final Second” by John Ryder, Fletcher is in Medford, Wisconsin where he is investigating the killing of the wife of a young farmer. On her forehead had been found curved “#1” which is a symbol no one understands.
The woman had been childhood friends with Zoey ever since she was a child but since she was working on another case and did not trust the police she asked Soter her enigmatic boss to get Grant.

Grant Fletcher is under threat of being banished back to Georgia where he may have to face the repercussions from his previous case. Since he has little backup and no official status, Grant will be forced to solve the case the hard way which is very dangerous.

But he has to do it given that the body count is rising and no one can find any obvious motive or suspects.
Ryder showcases his excellent storytelling skills and crafts another well-paced thriller in the third person.
The novel follows Fletcher as he gets in and out of trouble, interviews potential witnesses and somehow does not leave a pile of bodies as he investigates clues on the way to an explosive climax.

John Ryder’s novel “Third Kill” sees Fletcher working alongside Zoey his handler in Las Vegas where they had been sent by Soter their enigmatic overlord.

They had been sent there to take care of “the Mantis,” a remorseless killer that has been killing gangsters in charge of some of the biggest casinos in the city.

While Soter has never worried about the elimination of bad guys, the killer has been taking out some innocent people who are caught in the crossfire of revenge.

He believed that Fletcher’s exceptional skills would be needed to track down and neutralize the Mantis. But this is a difficult case as the only thing they know about the killer is that she is very good at her job and that she is a female.
The local chief of the FBI does not like them interfering in the case while they also get a lot of resistance from the potential victims who would prefer to use their own ways to resolve the crisis.
It makes for an interesting work in which Zoey and Fletcher will probably have to deal with one of the most dangerous cases yet.