Robert P. French Books In Order

Publication Order of Cal Rogan Mysteries Books

Robert P French is a thriller and mystery author best known for the “Cal Rogan Mysteries Series.” French began writing in 2003 when he resigned from his job as Chief Technology Officer at a company he had invested his heart and soul into. He always had wanted to become an author but when he resigned, he resorted to what most techies do when they have nothing to do – try to find a consulting job. After a long morning talking to prospective clients, he retrieved the story that had been percolating in his mind for several months and began writing. Once he got into his groove, he did not stop and wrote until midnight as he was hooked. He would work on the manuscript for several months but at 30,000 words, he got the dreaded writer’s block and had to seek help. He dug out “The Writer’s Handbook” which had been a trusty helper in the many times he had got stuck. In the handbook was a series of essays that had been penned in the 1960s by popular authors of the time. In the book, he was advised to move on to another novel when he got stuck and this is what he did. He decided to move on to a business thriller that was inspired by the many experiences he had while working as a techie. He would get more than seventy rejections for the manuscript he titled “Vengeance dot com.”

French’s biggest break came from his discovery of the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, which is one of the biggest writers’ conferences in the United States. During this time, he was convinced that he did not make any headway because of poor marketing though in hindsight, he now knows that his manuscript was not that great. He attended the conference determined to learn how to pitch a manuscript and pen a query letter. It took only two days for him to discover that his manuscript was not ready for pitching and that he was not prepared to do any pitching. He adjusted his plans and decided that he first needed to make progress in the craft of writing. One very enlightening session was offered by an independent editor named Lisa Rector-Maass from New York. He was so impressed with what the tutor had to say that he asked if she would be willing to help him with his novel that he had retitled “Sting the Scorpion.” The tutor wrote a thirty-seven-page review of his manuscript and pointed out what was wrong and what was right with it. After reading the review, he decided to do a major rewrite as he mentally declared the three years spent on the manuscript as an apprenticeship.

While Robert was penning his novels, he still worked as a consultant and had a client in East Vancouver. Every day while commuting to work, he would have to step around and over drug paraphernalia and needles that are thrown away by addicts. Many times he would walk past alleys full of addicts and he would become obsessed with how terrible it must be to live and wake up in those alleys. It was from such thoughts that “Junkie” his debut novel was born. He worked with an editor from New York who would become his friend, writing mentor, and editor. By 2010, he was finished writing the manuscript for the novels and began querying agents. After six months he got tired of waiting for a traditional publisher to pick up his manuscript and decided to go the indie way. French has never looked back since.

“Junkie” the debut novel of the “Cal Rogan Mysteries” series introduces Cal Rogan. He is a former detective that has fallen into a deep hole after leaving the Vancouver Police Department. He had become a heroin addict and then lost everything including his family and career and now makes a living on the streets. Nonetheless, when he has his moments of clarity when he is off the drugs, he often thinks of his daughter and this makes him want to sort out his life. When he comes back from visiting his daughter, he finds his best friend stabbed and killed. The authorities have declared the homicide a potential suicide though Rogan is not ready to believe that his friend who was so successful in his career would take his own life. Rogan decides to investigate and soon earns some interesting things that could help build his case for homicide worse than suicide. He is determined to fight and find everything he can. But then he starts stepping on the toes of powerful businessmen who will do anything including killing anyone that digs too much into their business. Since Rogan will not back down, someone or something has to crack though he will need something more than his word to get the cops to look into what he has found.

Robert P French’s “Oboe” opens to Rogan having been reinstated by the Vancouver Police Department. He has been assigned the case of Terry Wright a boy that disappeared from home. In a few days, the boy’s body is found in the woods with odd markings on his face and body and Rogan passes the terrible news to the parents after learning that he is an autistic child. They also get the boy’s body to autopsy where they hope they can glean more insights into what or who might have killed him. In the meantime, Rogan is charged with investigating a hit and run that he believes to be a targeted attack. Terry’s mother and the victim are members of the same church, which has been rumored to be heavily involved in spiritual symbolism. He wonders if their membership in the church could have anything to do with Terry’s mysterious murder, given the bizarre markings on his body. But his interest is piqued when an autistic friend of the dead boy starts talking of “oboe is blood.” He finds a few leads but while he is chasing them down, he is taken and injected with heroin. He believes this is a ploy to ensure he fails the random drug tests administered by his bosses. But there is more to the story than meets the eye and what he thought was a good lead might not be one.

In Robert P French’s “Lockstep,” Cal Rogan and Stammo have come together to start a private investigations agency. Stammo his partner is wheelchair-bound and hence while Cal performs the legwork, he calls on favors from their former colleagues and does the research. But Rogan still tends to get into all kinds of trouble when he goes off the reservation from time to time. Nonetheless, they are very effective at what they do and are getting a lot of work. Cal has to help his old friend Walter who needs a security consultant for several political functions he will be holding. He also has to find the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy woman. But it is the political job which is giving him headaches as he has to work with politicians promoting the legalization of drugs, which could stir the hornet’s nest when he looks into drug dealers. As such, he has to be extra vigilant and keep an eye out for people he might know from his drug-taking days. He had hoped it would only be a job that lasts a few weeks but when he spots some odd things, he is forced to continue for several more weeks even as he would have loved being on the case of missing child. In the meantime, an old friend of Stammo approaches him concerned that his son might be involved with drug dealers. Could the three cases be connected in some way?