John Jordan Series

A conflicted ex-cop who now wears a clerical collar investigates baffling cases of murder in these beloved, acclaimed, and bestselling suspenseful mysteries by New York Times Bestselling and award-winning author Michael Lister.

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Power in the Blood

Detective John Jordan thought he had put murder investigation behind him for good—his own good. Leaving Atlanta, he returns to Florida in search of the serenity that has so long eluded him.

Until he witnesses the shocking and bizarre death of an inmate in state prison custody and is asked to find a missing mom by her young children.

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Blood of the Lamb

John Jordan’s search for the peace that has so long eluded him is interrupted by an unimaginable murder. Attempting to be a good man in a very bad place while also maintaining his shaky sobriety, John investigates the murder of the seven year-old adopted daughter of ex-con turned televangelist, Bobby Earl Caldwell, a murder committed in John’s own locked office while Bobby Earl conducts a service in the Potter Correctional Institution chapel.

The Body and the Blood

An Impossible Crime. An Improbable Detective. A thrilling case that takes locked-room murder mystery to a whole new level! 

In one of the most baffling murder cases of his career, John Jordan actually witnesses an impossible murder—one he would swear couldn’t have happened had he not seen it with his own eyes.

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Blood Sacrifice

John Jordan investigates the death of a troubled young woman undergoing exorcism – a case he’s uniquely qualified to investigate. 

Following a particularly brutal and costly case, John Jordan goes to a secluded retreat center and encounters one of the most bewildering and haunting cases of his career—the suspicious death of a troubled and sexualized young woman undergoing an exorcism.

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Rivers to Blood

An escaped inmate. A shocking lynching. A harrowing river rescue. A thrilling mystery featuring a detective like no other! 

John Jordan searches for an escaped prisoner, investigates a shocking murder, and confronts a sadist forcing his victims violate themselves —all while trying to take care of his family, friends, and those in his care.

Innocent Blood

When John Jordan was twelve years old, he came face-to-face with the man who went to prison for the Atlanta Child Murders. Six years later, John returns to Atlanta to discover the truth. 

As he battles his demons and embarks on his first murder investigation, Jordan learns the ropes from the one and only Harry Bosch. 

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Blood Money

The body of a young woman propped against a prison fence. A series of suicides with a unique calling card. A stolen corpse. A young man fighting for his life. A single mother who has lost her only child. 

Perplexing puzzles and people in need are John Jordan’s specialties. 
 

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Blood Moon

Running. A daring escape. A race against time. Locked in with a vicious, relentless killer. Can John save the life of the woman he loves?

The stakes have never been higher. Success seems impossible. Failure unimaginable. All in a single night beneath a Blood Moon!

Blood Cries

A young John Jordan continues his investigation into the Atlanta Child Murders, interviews Wayne Williams, investigates the disappearance of Cedric Porter, and uncovers a series of murders with devastating consequences.

Witness the beginning of one of crime fiction’s most fascinating detectives. Every great character has a past, and ex-cop turned prison chaplain turned cop again John Jordan’s is equal doses tragedy and inspiration. 

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Blood Oath

John Jordan is once again carrying a gun and a badge—and he’s going to need them. Balancing family life with being a cop and a prison chaplain takes grit and grace—and John has plenty of both. Working two cases that may or may not be connected, John is investigating the disappearance of a young army ranger home on leave and one of the most sadistic serial killers he’s ever encountered. 

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Blood Work

Did America’s most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy, kill Janet Leigh Lester? 
On the same weekend Janet was crowned Miss Valentine at the pageant and Queen at the Sweethearts dance, she disappeared, her car found in an empty field, its interior covered in blood. 
The case, known as the Broken Heart Murder, is decades cold now, but a new clock is ticking and John Jordan has one last chance to get it right.
 

Cold Blood

Randa Raffield crashed her car on a secluded stretch of Highway 98 near the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds of miles from where she was thought to be.

A witness who came upon the scene moments after the accident, testified that Randa was fine and not in need of assistance. Seven minutes later when the first Gulf County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived at the car, Randa was gone, vanished without a trace.

She has never been seen again.

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Blood Betrayal

January 16, 1999: a magical night for a group of high school seniors in Panama City, Florida. They listened to Maya Angelou read poetry. They danced. They celebrated life. By the time they noticed their friend Angel Diaz was missing, it was too late — she was never seen again.

Her boyfriend, convicted of her murder, has sat in prison for 18 years. Their friends have never looked at each other the same way; each sure one of the others killed Angel.

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Blood Shot

The thrilling sequel to both DOUBLE EXPOSURE and BLOOD BETRAYAL.

In the swamps of northwest Florida, Remington James' camera captured the best of nature and the worst of humanity, and it cost him his life. Three years later, his widow turns to the one man who can answer her questions and solve the mysteries—John Jordan. Corrupt cops, drug dealers, and killers await him. Can he solve Remington's murder without becoming a victim himself?

Blood Ties

John Jordan returns from his honeymoon to discover that in the early morning hours of July 4th, the unimaginable murder of 9-year-old Mariah Evers has taken place in a rented Gulf-front mansion in Cape San Blas, Florida.

 Mariah's father, rising rap star Trace Evers, and his family want answers, but they appear to be suspects themselves.

There are no signs of forced entry and only Mariah and five other family members were known to be in the house at the time.

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Blood Stone

Atlanta. 1988. The one-hundredth anniversary of the Jack the Ripper case. 

College student John Jordan gets his first job in law enforcement, and his first case will change his life forever. 

When young women start disappearing, John begins putting clues together that point to a chilling reality: a sadistic, ritualistic serial killer is on a mission.

The small town of Stone Mountain and its police department are no match for the cunning and twisted Stone Cold Killer – is John Jordan?

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Blood Trail

When the body of Anna’s ex-husband and stalker is found murdered at the Dead Lakes Campground everyone is a suspect—but no one more so than John Jordan and those closest to him.

The brutality with which the body has been beaten indicates a crime of rage and personal vendetta. The staging of the crime scene demonstrates a crafty criminal skilled in the art of both subterfuge and homicide investigation techniques. 

Is there any way that John can see this case clearly? Is there any way he wants to?
 

Bloodshed

An active school shooter leads John Jordan on a riveting chase into a stunning mystery.

While attempting to prevent a school shooting, sheriff’s investigator John Jordan becomes an unwitting witness to the evolution of a particular type of evil.

When the echoes of the gunfire cease and the smoke clears the biggest mystery of all still waits to be solved. Who planned and perpetrated this devastating deed and how did he hide his identity?

But a cunning killer isn’t the only thing John is battling. Old demons have resurfaced to threaten everything he’s worked so hard for.

Can John expose the killer or will he die trying? Read Bloodshed today and find out.

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Blue Blood

What would you risk to prevent a murder?

Private investigator Merrill Monroe enlists the services of detective John Jordan to protect Malia Goodman, a civil rights and police shooting activist with a target on her back.

But Merrill doesn’t just want John to help protect Malia, he wants him to find out who’s trying to kill her and help him stop them.

Malia is surrounded on all sides by suspects—rogue cops, homegrown terrorists, right-wing militants, and even some supposed friends very close to her—and Merrill wonders if even John Jordan, with his considerable skills and experience, can figure out who the killer is before it’s too late.

Can John save a life? What about the would-be killer’s very soul? Or is Malia fated to be another martyr for the cause of justice and equality?

And The Sea Became Blood

Will he survive?

The murder of kindly old retired priest Andrew Irwin begins like any other homicide investigation for sheriff’s Investigator John Jordan. But it is soon interrupted by an existential superstorm of apocalyptic proportions that threatens to destroy John and his family. 

Can John catch a killer under such extreme and extraordinary circumstances? Will he live long enough to even be able to try? 

The stakes have never been higher, survival never more in question. Don’t miss this thrilling mystery adventure if your heart can take it. 

The Blood-Dimmed Tide

While on trial for wrongful death, John Jordan must catch a cunning killer who is using the chaos of the decimated post-Hurricane Michael landscape to hide his heinous acts of cold-blooded murder. 

John is not only fighting for his very soul but that of his beloved community—and he’s never seen a predator quite like this one. It takes a particularly cruel killer to prey on those who have just been devastated by the most powerful hurricane to ever hit North Florida.  

Can John be triumphant again or has he finally met his match? 

Blood and Sand

Who took Magdalene Dacosta? Why? Where is she now?

On the night of her parents' Winter Solstice party, three-year-old Magdalene Dacosta vanishes in the night, never to be seen again. 

But how did this happen? The home was locked up securely, and security cameras show no one entering or leaving the residence. Detective John Jordan must figure out how this seemingly impossible crime was committed and who is capable of such wickedness before it's too late for another innocent.

John Jordan has never had a more baffling case, and the stakes for him have never been higher! 

Inspired by the real-life case of Madeleine McCann. Blood and Sand is a heartstopping, thought-provoking standalone mystery thriller. 

Compelling. Thrilling. A whodunnit with a soul! Grab your copy of BLOOD AND SAND today. 

A VERY John Jordan Christmas! 

It's the most wonderful time of the year. And the most stressful. 

But John Jordan is determined to give his friends and family a very merry Christmas. 

In order to do so, he'll have to be the man his family and friends have come to expect him to be--a kind, wise, compassionate counselor, and an attentive father, son, husband, and friend--all while his own life lies in ruin. 

Can John bring joy to those he loves? Can he save Christmas and help his best friend to have a romantic and meaningful Christmas wedding? 

Blood Lure

John Jordan must help his dying father solve the strange and mysterious disappearance of Naomi Newman and Sasha Grande before it's too late.

The two young women went hiking in the river swamps of North Florida's Appalachicola River Basin and were never seen again.

Later, a backapck with some of their belongings was discovered, including a camera and a phone that show haunting images of their final terrifying night in the merciless swamp. But these images only deepen the mystery of what happened to them. 

Jack Jordan failed to clear the case back when he was the sheriff of Potter County. Now, he's hoping his son, John, can help him solve it so he can die in peace.

Blood Pathogen

Who’s killing the Tupelo Queens?

Why? And why in so public and dramatic a manner?  

Is it related to one of them testing positive for the coronavirus? Is it revenge? Random? Or is a money motive behind the entire scheme? 

John Jordan investigates the murders of the famed Tupelo Queens—lifelong friends, one of whom is John’s own aunt, who grew up together, perform together, and were each crowned Tupelo Queen at the annual Tupelo Festival back in their day.

The murders are particularly wicked and ingenious—and his own life and future and that of his family are at stake.   

Does John have what it takes to uncover the culprit and save the day, or will more victims join the others that weigh so heavily on his conscience?

Find out now in BLOOD PATHOGEN—the timely mystery thriller written by a true master in real-time during an actual global pandemic. 

It’s a thrilling mystery like no other. Don’t miss it.

Beneath a Blood-Red Sky

Four drunken young people climb a high bluff to their cliffside campsite on the Apalachicola River in the middle of the night. The next morning only three are still alive.

How did the outgoing, fun-loving, and beautiful Blake Scott die? Was she murdered by one of her so-called friends to cover up being sexually assaulted, or did a jealous lover exact revenge?

Though Blake’s suspicious death was ruled accidental by a sheriff's investigator working his first case, her family and friends believe she was murdered. But after five long years of failed private investigations and a stalled wrongful death lawsuit, Blake’s mother asks for Detective John Jordan’s help.

Can he do what no one else has and give the grieving mother the answers she’s seeking? And if Blake was killed, can he bring the guilty party to justice? He’ll have to risk his life and relationships to do so, and do battle with powerful and fiendish forces.

Get Beneath a Blood-Red Sky today and see if John has what it takes and if you saw the shocking conclusion coming.

Out for Blood

Someone close to legendary detective John Jordan is murdered and now he is . . . OUT FOR BLOOD!

Lister’s sterling new novel, featuring empathic chaplain-turned–sheriff’s investigator John Jordan, finds Jordan nearing a turning point in his storied career.

His longtime boss and close friend, Sheriff Reggie Summers, has lost a reelection bid and has just weeks to go in her tenure—and Jordan’s not a fan of her successor. Meanwhile, he’s thrust into a high-profile case.

While investigating the brutal attack of two teenage girls, Ava Branch and Olivia Colvin, Jordan uncovers the shocking secrets someone is willing to kill for. Still, he never suspects the killer's next victim will be someone he cares about so much.

Can John solve not one but two baffling murders and protect those he loves?

What Child is This?

Tiana Capri, a young pre-teen girl from a good family goes missing on Christmas Eve. She vanishes without a trace from her locked house while her mom and brother sleep nearby, leaving no clues and little hope of finding her alive. Can John Jordan find her before it's too late? For the first time in his career, he enlists the help of his daughter, Johanna Jordan, who is a friend of Tiana's and who might just hold the key to discovering what happened to Tiana and the sinister forces behind her disappearance. Can the two Jordans save Christmas for Tiana and her family or will tragedy strike their own family as they try to?

Blood Reckoning

John has been like a father to her since she was 16. Now she is missing.

He’s still grieving the loss of a close friend and co-worker and he’s not prepared for this.

Carla Pearson vanishes from a river camp cabin after her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Mason Hayes, leaves her there following an argument. The cabin is only accessible by boat and beyond it are thousands of acres of jungle-like swamps and dense, nearly impenetrable woods. What happened to Carla and who is responsible for her disappearance? Is it Mason Hayes? Is it her ex, Easton Stevens? His jealous wife? Or someone John hasn’t even thought of?

John is in no condition to work this case but has no choice. He must find Carla before it’s too late. He can’t lose another loved one.