370 followers
1,547 books added

T Jefferson Parker

(b.1953)

T Jefferson Parker was born in Los Angeles and has lived all his life in Southern California. He was educated in public schools in Orange County, and earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, in 1976.

Awards: Shamus (2018), Edgar (2009), LA Times (2001) see all

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Literary Fiction

New and upcoming books

November 2025

Wild Instinct

Series

Merci Rayborn
   1. The Blue Hour (1999)
   2. Red Light (2000)
   3. Black Water (2002)

Charlie Hood
   1. L.A. Outlaws (2008)
   2. The Renegades (2009)
   3. Iron River (2009)
   4. The Border Lords (2011)
   5. The Jaguar (2012)
   6. The Famous and the Dead (2013)

Roland Ford
   1. The Room of White Fire (2017)
   2. Swift Vengeance (2018)
   3. The Last Good Guy (2019)
   4. Then She Vanished (2020)

Novels

   Laguna Heat (1985)
   Little Saigon (1988)
   Pacific Beat (1991)
   Summer of Fear (1993)
   The Triggerman's Dance (1996)
   Where Serpents Lie (1998)
   Silent Joe (2001)
   Cold Pursuit (2003)
   California Girl (2004)
   The Fallen (2006)
   Storm Runners (2007)
   No Rest for the Dead (2011) (with others)
   Full Measure (2014)
   Crazy Blood (2016)
   A Thousand Steps (2022)
   The Rescue (2023)
   Desperation Reef (2024)
   Wild Instinct (2025)

Novellas and Short Stories

Silent Hunt (2014) (with John Lescroart)
Amazonia (2016)

Anthologies edited

Hook, Line & Sinister (2010)

Non fiction show

Omnibus editions show

Books containing stories by T Jefferson Parker

The Year's Best Crime and Mystery Stories 2016 (2016)
edited by
John Helfers and Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Manhattan Mayhem (2015)
(Mystery Writers of America Presents)
edited by
Mary Higgins Clark

Last Seen off Stingray Point (2014)
And 8 Other Dances With Death On The Western Edge
edited by
Wayne Carlson

More books

Awards

	2018 Shamus Award for Best PI Novel : The Room of White Fire
	2009 Edgar Award for Best Short Story : Skinhead Central
	2005 Edgar Award for Best Novel : California Girl
	2002 Edgar Award for Best Novel : Silent Joe
	2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller : Silent Joe

Award nominations

	2010 ITW Award for Best Hardcover Novel (nominee) : The Renegades
	2005 Macavity Award for Best Novel (nominee) : California Girl
	2005 Anthony Award for Best Novel (nominee) : California Girl
	2002 Macavity Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Silent Joe
	2002 Barry Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Silent Joe
	2001 Edgar Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Red Light

T Jefferson Parker recommends

Beyond All Doubt (2024)
Hilton Reed
"Beyond All Doubt is a taut, smart, and emotionally rich thriller. Reed has a sharp eye for character and a screenwriter's feel for action. This tale is sleek as a mink and fast as a bullet."

Valley of Refuge (2023)
John Teschner
"A sleek, stylish thriller about the high cost of living in paradise. Keen-eyed, heartfelt, and hard to put down."

The Last Songbird (2023)
(Pacific Coast Highway Mystery, book 1)
Daniel Weizmann
"The Last Songbird is rock noir at its best. It sneaks up on you like a hook line, and when it's over, you can't get it out of your head. Hapless hero/songwriter Addy Zantz is witty, gritty and determined to solve the murder of his idol and muse, the legendary rock star, Annie Linden. Daniel Weizmann's L.A. is half Warren Zevon and half Raymond Chandler. Bravo."

The Planner (2022)
Brian M Wiprud
"Andascious, and always original."

Prior Bad Acts (2020)
(Cain/Harper, book 2)
D P Lyle
"Hums like a tuning fork in perfect thriller pitch. Further proof that lyle is at the top of his game."

Stop at Nothing (2020)
(Michael Gannon, book 1)
Michael Ledwidge
"Stop at Nothing is a smart, brawny thriller that moves fast and surprises often. The action is tense, the characters are surely drawn, and a wonderful sense of authenticity drives the story. Best of all, the writing is assured and stylish. Stop at Nothing is a high speed roller coaster that will carry you away."

Crossing Borders (2020)
Lisa Brackmann and Matt Coyle
"This splendid collection of border fiction is haunting and intense. Bravo to San Diego Sisters in Crime."

The Animals After Midnight (2019)
(Darby Holland, book 3)
Jeff Johnson
"What wonderful Northwest noir. Jeff Johnson cruises through Portland's underworld with a raunchy grace and an unfailing sense of black humor."

Gary Phillips' Hollis For Hire (2018)
(Nate Hollis, book 2)
Scott Adlerberg, Sarah M Chen, Phillip Drayer Duncan, Naomi Hirahara, Sara Paretsky and Gary Phillips
"Yes, this is a violent world that Nate inhabits, but he steers a true and moral course through the layers of deception, skullduggery and sometime worse that make these stories such high-density entertainment."

The Disappearance of Maggie Collins (2018)
Roger Angle
"NYPD Lt. Daniel Dupree is on the trail of a torture-killer of prostitutes, using his PD lover—Maggie Collins—as bait to trap the murderer. What follows is a blacker-than-noir journey through Manhattan’s one-time pit of wickedness. Steeped in sex and violence, hinting at Dupree’s redemption, this dark adventure is not for the faint of heart."

By His Own Hand (2018)
(Newberg, book 3)
Neal Griffin
"The police work is definitive, the emotions run high, and[the] hero is one you will root for. Griffin is a solid storyteller."

High White Sun (2018)
(Sheriff Chris Cherry, book 2)
J Todd Scott
"High White Sun is a striking novel from one of the most formidable crime writers working today. J. Todd Scott captures the rough beauty of Big Bend, Texas, and the even rougher men and women living on both sides of the law. Whispers of Winslow and McCarthy sound across these pages, but the determining voice is all Scott's - specific, lyrical and keen to time and place. This is an authentic contemporary Western in the best sense of the words."

The Return of Kid Cooper (2018)
Brad Smith
"The Return of Kid Cooper is Brad Smith at his best—clear-eyed, tough-minded and true of heart. Smith— once a farmer, signalman, truck driver, bartender, teacher and carpenter— understands that work will take its toll, even when it's the only thing holding a soul together. This is a powerful novel, fully felt and beautifully written."

The Driver (2017)
Hart Hanson
"Hart Hanson has given us a wonderful debut novel in The Driver."

The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes (2017)
(Daughter of Sherlock Holmes, book 1)
Leonard Goldberg
"Loaded with suspense and believable characters."

The Disposables (2014)
(Bruno Johnson, book 1)
David Putnam
"A dark and disturbing insider's novel that may not make you feel safer on the mean streets of L.A. Dark, disturbing and all too believable, this is the tale of one man's quest for atonement in a world where innocence is a liability."

License to Lie (2012)
(License to Lie, book 1)
Terry Ambrose
"...fast and well written almost sure to satisfy..."

Dark Side of the Moon (2006)
(Laura Cardinal, book 2)
J Carson Black
"A strong new voice in American crime fiction."

Baby Game (2005)
Randall Hicks
"A comic mystery in the best sense of words."

Dead Water (2001)
(Loon Lake Fishing Mystery, book 3)
Victoria Houston
"Gripping, atmospheric and smart."

The Guards (2001)
(Jack Taylor, book 1)
Ken Bruen
"The Guards blew me away. It's dark, funny and moving - just for starters. With a sharp eye and a lyrical voice, Ken Bruen takes us on a powerful odyssey through the mean streets of Galway, straight into the Irish heart. Bruen's tale is a potent draft of desire and hopelessness, conviction and surrender, inadvertent heroism and unexpected grace. This is mystery writing f a high order."

Only in the Ashes (1997)
(Anne Menlo, book 2)
Maxine O'Callaghan
"O'Callaghan... takes us into the extremes of evil and innocence."

More recommendations

Visitors also looked at these authors