Vic Varallo Books In Order

Publication Order of Vic Varallo Mystery Books

The Vic Varallo series is a popular series of suspense and mystery stories. It is comprised of 13 novels in total, which were released between the years 1962 and 1985. The series was written by a prolific writer from the United States named Elizabeth Linington under the pseudonym of Lesley Egan. Each and every novel of this particular series consists of the lead protagonist in the role of a small town police officer named Vic Varallo. He is shown as getting transferred to Glendale, California, where he comes across numerous cases of mysterious murders and suspenseful deaths. Vic Varallo puts in all his effort to solve each of the cases and catch the culprits. The series showcases a number of intriguing twists and turns that help to make the stories even more interesting.

Author Egan has described the plots in very interesting ways that make the readers keep turning pages of every book. Some also felt like not putting down the books until they have finished reading the whole series. The series feels much more interesting and exciting due to its rich cast of characters. In addition to Vic Varallo, author Lesley Egan has mentioned many other important characters, who play excellent roles in carrying the stories forward. Some of the most important characters described by Egan in the books include Charles O’Connor, Conway, Goulding, Delia Riordan, Wayne Burgess, Gloria Carson, etc. Vic Varallo and Delia Riordan are described as working in the Glendale police department under the leadership of Lieutenant Charles O’Connor.

The stories of all the thirteen books penned by Lesley Egan in this series appear very intriguing. Egan’s depiction of the evil villains in the form of serial killers was highly appreciated by many critics worldwide. Readers from many foreign countries read and praised the books for their unique content and characters. All the rave reviews given the various readers, critics, and fellow writers gave a huge boost to author Egan to continue writing more books in the series as well as in her other novel series. She went on to establish herself as one of the prominent writers of mystery novels with the success of this series.

Lesley Egan was born as Elizabeth Barbara Linington on 10th March, 1921 in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois, U.S. She was regarded as a novelist with exceptional skills. Her novels have reached out far & wide and have entertained countless number of readers for many years. Egan was highly active during the 1960s and 1970s as many of her books were published during this era. Besides having an interest in mystery stories, author Egan also loves to write thrillers and historical fiction novels. She rose to fame with her very first book, Case Pending, in 1960. This book was the first one to introduce Egan’s most popular novel character named Homicide Lt. Luis Mendoza. Egan has also received nominations for the prestigious Edgar Award on two occasions.

Author Egan is famous for her unique description of procedurals of police in her stories. For years, this genre was dominated by male writers and Egan was among the first few women writers who began the new trend of women writers describing police procedurals in their books. In addition to writing as Lesley Egan, she used to make use of several other pseudonyms such as Anne Blaisdell, Dell Shannon, Egan O’Neill, etc. Besides these, she also wrote some books under her original name of Elizabeth Linington. Author Egan had interests in foreign languages, archaeology, gemstones, the occult, and antique weapons. Her death occurred in Arroyo Grande, California on 5th April, 1988. For a large part of her career, author Egan was represented by a literary agent named Barthold Fles. Her death came as a great shock for her fans, who can now remember her only through her books.

An exciting book of the Vic Varallo book series written by author Lesley Egan is entitled ‘The Nameless Ones’. It was released in the year 1967 by the Harper & Rowe publication. The main characters of this book are described as Charles O’Connor and Vic Varallo. At the start of the book’s story, it is shown that someone is murdering the elderly housewives in Glendale in their own homes. All the signs and evidences at the crime scenes give the indication that a serial killer is roaming freely in the town. It appears that the murderer was well aware of the daily routines of each of the victims. However, the police wonder how the killer would know exactly about the victims living at the town’s opposite ends?

Also, they find it difficult to understand that how the killer had the knowledge about what the victims’ exact locations will be be at the time of committing the crime? Vic Varallo is handed over the charge of investigating the multiple murder case and find out the identity of the killer. He begins by trying to establish the connection between the housewives who lost their lives to the serial killer. However, it is not just this case that he has his hands full with at the moment. Vic Varallo is required to keep himself away from the flu epidemic that has squeezed through the entire department, and also he has to pay attention to the new baby that is about to enter into his life. Vic Varallo keeps all his focus on the killer’s trail and hatches out a plan to hunt him down. He knows that it is only by catching the killer that he can ensure the citizens of Glendale that there are safe in their homes.

Another mind blowing book penned in the series is called ‘The Hunters & the Hunted’. It was also published in 1979 by Harper and Rowe publishers. This novel features Wayne Burgess, Delia Riordan, and Vic Varallo in the central roles. At the beginning of the story of the book, it is depicted that Wayne Burgess murdered his parents around 4 years ago. And when he was arrested for his brutal crime and tried in the court, Wayne had filed an insanity plea, claiming that he had lost control of his mind and had become insane when his parents got killed by him.

As a result, the court had passed the judgement that he was not guilty and had given the order of admitting him into a mental asylum. Now, after 4 years, he gets released based on positive improvements. Soon after his release, Wayne Burgess becomes obsessed to kill his wife and daughter. The case lands on the desk of Delia Riordan, the newest recruit in the Glendale police bureau. Just as she begins to investigate the case, Delia learns about the abduction of a small girl in another part of town. It appears that the girl can be helpful in solving the Burgess case by providing an important lead. But, the police don’t seem to be aware of this fact. Delia Riordan succeeds in finding the connection and puts all her effort in rescuing the girl and putting a stop to Wayne Burgess’ killing spree.