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Home / Authors / Earl Emerson Earl Emerson American author Earl Emerson is best known for his Thomas Black detective series and the Mac Fontana firefighter mysteries. A two-time Edgar Award nominee, his work is praised for its gritty realism. This page provides the Earl Emerson books in order, including both chronological and series reading order.
All books · chronological
1979 Fill The World With Phantoms POoSN · 1 Buy ↗ 1985 The Rainy City POoTBB · 1 Buy ↗ 1985 Poverty Bay POoTBB · 2 Buy ↗ 1986 Nervous Laughter POoTBB · 3 Buy ↗ 1987 Fat Tuesday POoTBB · 4 Buy ↗ 1988 Black Hearts And Slow Dancing POoMFB · 1 Buy ↗ 1988 Deviant Behavior POoTBB · 5 Buy ↗ 1990 Help Wanted: Orphans Preferred POoMFB · 2 Buy ↗ 1991 Yellow Dog Party POoTBB · 6 Buy ↗ 1993 Morons and Madmen POoMFB · 3 Buy ↗ 1994 The Portland Laugher POoTBB · 7 Buy ↗ 1995 The Vanishing Smile POoTBB · 8 Buy ↗ 1996 Going Crazy In Public POoMFB · 4 Buy ↗ 1996 The Dead Horse Paint Company POoMFB · 5 Buy ↗ 1996 The Million-Dollar Tattoo POoTBB · 9 Buy ↗ 1997 Deception Pass POoTBB · 10 Buy ↗ 1998 Catfish Cafe POoTBB · 11 Buy ↗ 2002 Vertical Burn POoSN · 2 Buy ↗ 2003 Into the Inferno POoSN · 3 Buy ↗ 2005 The Smoke Room POoSN · 5 Buy ↗ 2006 Firetrap POoSN · 6 Buy ↗ 2008 Primal Threat POoSN · 7 Buy ↗ 2009 Cape Disappointment POoTBB · 12 Buy ↗ 2013 Monica's Sister POoTBB · 13 Buy ↗ 2015 Two Miles of Darkness POoTBB · 14 Buy ↗ 2017 Jackson Street POoTBB · 15 Buy ↗ Book series · browse all →
Publication Order of Standalone Novels 7 books · 1979–2008
01 Fill The World With Phantoms 1979 Buy ↗ 03 Into the Inferno 2003 Buy ↗ 05 The Smoke Room 2005 Buy ↗ Publication Order of Mac Fontana Books 5 books · 1988–1996
01 Black Hearts And Slow Dancing 1988 Buy ↗ 02 Help Wanted: Orphans Preferred 1990 Buy ↗ 03 Morons and Madmen 1993 Buy ↗ 04 Going Crazy In Public 1996 Buy ↗ 05 The Dead Horse Paint Company 1996 Buy ↗ Publication Order of Thomas Black Books 15 books · 1985–2017
01 The Rainy City 1985 Buy ↗ 03 Nervous Laughter 1986 Buy ↗ 05 Deviant Behavior 1988 Buy ↗ 06 Yellow Dog Party 1991 Buy ↗ 07 The Portland Laugher 1994 Buy ↗ 08 The Vanishing Smile 1995 Buy ↗ 09 The Million-Dollar Tattoo 1996 Buy ↗ 10 Deception Pass 1997 Buy ↗ 12 Cape Disappointment 2009 Buy ↗ 13 Monica's Sister 2013 Buy ↗ 14 Two Miles of Darkness 2015 Buy ↗ 15 Jackson Street 2017 Buy ↗