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Earl Emerson Complete Bibliography

Browse books by Earl Emerson in publication order, including standalone books, complete series lists, reading order, and publication years.

Updated 2026-07-11 / 27 books / 3 series

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.

Books by Earl Emerson in Publication Order

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
2004 Pyro POoSN / 4 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

Complete Earl Emerson Series Reading Order / browse all ->

Standalone Reading Order 7 books / 1979-2008
01 Fill The World With Phantoms 1979 Buy
02 Vertical Burn 2002 Buy
03 Into the Inferno 2003 Buy
04 Pyro 2004 Buy
05 The Smoke Room 2005 Buy
06 Firetrap 2006 Buy
07 Primal Threat 2008 Buy
Mac Fontana Reading Order 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
Thomas Black Reading Order 15 books / 1985-2017
01 The Rainy City 1985 Buy
02 Poverty Bay 1985 Buy
03 Nervous Laughter 1986 Buy
04 Fat Tuesday 1987 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
11 Catfish Cafe 1998 Buy
12 Cape Disappointment 2009 Buy
13 Monica's Sister 2013 Buy
14 Two Miles of Darkness 2015 Buy
15 Jackson Street 2017 Buy

Where to start with Earl Emerson

What is the best order to read Earl Emerson books?

Publication order is usually the safest place to start. If a book belongs to a series, follow the numbered series reading order shown on this page.

Are standalone books and series both included?

Yes. Standalone titles appear in the full chronological bibliography, and series are broken out separately with reading-order links when catalog data is available.

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Source note: Sequencebooks organizes author, book, and series records from its catalog data. Publication years and series order are shown when available.