Sam Blackman Books In Order

Publication Order of Sam Blackman Books

Soldiers know too well that, in extreme cases, death is an occupational hazard. Losing one’s limb, another downside of joining the military, is relatively less severe but also fateful. Losing body parts while serving in the armed forces is a notable aspect in the Sam Blackman series. On the one hand, the protagonist has lost a leg. On the other hand, the contagonist has lost an arm. While we are at it, it is, for example, less likely for a person to die in the same manner and at the same place like an ancestor. Even then these aspects are the turning points in the said literary series.

As a matter of fact, Sam Blackman is the featured protagonist in the “Sam Blackman” series of books penned by American scribbler Mark de Castrique. There are over ten editions of the first novel in the serialized Sam Blackman. In spite of the various editions, the first one was originally published in June 2008, titled Blackman’s Coffin; and the whodunit series is shelved under various genres ranging from paranormal, mystery, thriller, detective fiction, historical fiction to contemporary crime genres.

Gradually, this hard-boiled series segues into an old and unresolved murder case; an old and seemingly petty offense leading to a fatal blow-back; a latter-day professional misconduct, actually a smokescreen, wherein an award-winning scholar dies; a burglary case wherein old pictures, which are potentially evidence, are stolen; and a damnable courtroom shootout which renders the victims’ children orphans.

Meet protagonist Sam Blackman. Blackman previously served in the United States Armed Forces and was deployed during the Iraqi War. During the armed conflict, he held the rank of the chief warrant officer and was attached to the Criminal Investigation Command unit of the military. Unfortunately for Blackman, his leg was injured, prompting amputation. As such, he has since left the military and is domiciled in Ashville, North Carolina, where he is being rehabilitated in a war veterans’ medical facility; he is currently being shown how to start using prosthetic legs. Together with contagonist Tikima Robertson, who previously served in the US Marines and has also been amputated, they operate a start-up detective agency called Blackman & Robertson.

The first book in the Sam Blackman series, titled Blackman’s Coffin, is predominantly set in the backdrop of Ashville upon North carolina. In this context, Blackman, who also has mental problems, has been discharged from the US military following his permanent injury during a tour to Iraq. On voicing his concerns about the lack of proper medical care, he is relocated to the Ashville-based veterans hospital, wherein he strikes a friendship–it segues into a professional relationship– with the fellow war veteran Tikima Robertson.

At this jucture, Tikima, who is a female veteran, informs him that his sleuthing prowess can augur well for a sleuthing gig which she had in mind. She is looking forward to return at a later date and with full details when she is killed and her corpse dumped along a river wherein, quite suspiciously, her great-great-grandfather, Elijah Robertson, was found murderer about nine decades previously. Her blood sister, a certain Nakayla, kits him out with an old journal seen in her residence. The journal’s entries were made by a juvenile who followed his father-cum-mortician, hired to deliver the ancestor’s corpse to a far-flung burial site.

Blackman and Nakayla revisit Ashville’s dark past wherein the Vanderbilt and Biltmore Estates come in handy. Mark de Castrique, who has won several awards, albeit for other ventures, is angling for reconciling the current death with the old murder case.

Sam Blackman Series Awards
Different books authored by Mark de Castrique have garnered starred reviews courtesy of celebrated publications. However, de Castrique, who also doubles up as a filmmaker, has also clinched desirable awards such as the Telly, Clio, and Emmy for his film-making and television production pursuits.

Best Sam Blackman Series Books
The following is a selection of the best three books in the Sam Blackman series, based on readers’ views. Expectedly, the first is the 2008 book titled Blackman’s Coffin. There is no need to revisit this because it has already been analyzed. The second one is the 2009 book titled Fitzgerald Ruse; this book revolves around the start-up detective operated by Blackman and Tikima, and which they hope to use to cash in on the region’s cases. Their first customer, a certain aged female, makes a seemingly easy request: to force open another person’s lockbox so as to return a manuscript which she allegedly robbed from its rightful owner.

The other notable one in the series is the 2011 book titled The Sandburg Connection; hereby, a Pulitzer-award winning scholar is angling for seeking legal redress in a medical case involving what is, at face value, professional misconduct. On sober reflection, there was an ulterior motive which culminated in the eventual death of the scholar.

Other Book Series You May Like
The following three series were also popular with the readers who enjoyed the Sam Blackman series. The first one is known as the Holt series and is authored by Justine Davis. In this case, the featured main characters are Stevie Holt and Chase Sullivan; the former is a loner and has a troublesome love story while the latter, attracted by his physique, inveigles herself into his charms. But her sexy lover boy is reluctant to open his wounded heart to her.

The second one is named the Tally Whyte series and is penned by Vicki Stiefel. Hereby, the featured protagonist is Tally Whyte, a Boston-based counselor who targets the kin of homicide casualties. Whyte’s responsibilities involving tracking or dealing with serial murderers; his responsibilities ranges from exonerating a patient, finding clues in a bid to fasten on to a serial murderer, saving a serial killer’s intended target, to resolving a murder mystery.

The third one is called Robert Amiss series and is written by Ruth Dudley Edwards. Pensioner and former civil servant Robert Amiss is the featured protagonist in this British mystery which most notably revolves around a serial killer who is targeting Amiss’ workmates and their kith.