David Loogan Series

The David Loogan series is a set of mystery books written by Harry Dolan. It features David, a mysterious and intriguing character whose past we get a glimpse into in the author’s third book, The Last Dead Girl. In that prequel, David was a home inspector and had a girlfriend, a law student, who was murdered.

After some events (that I will leave out to avoid spoilers), David Malone changes his name to David Loogan, moves to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and starts work for a local mystery magazine.

Here are the David Loogan books in order for his new series. After three books, the author took a pause while he was writing a standalone novel, which was published with the title The Man in the Crooked Hat, however, he mentioned that he will soon continue his crime mystery series, so here’s hoping.

David Loogan Series

1. Bad Things Happen, 2009
2. Very Bad Men, 2011
3. The Last Dead Girl, 2014 (prequel, could be read as first)

David Loogan is a guy with a troubled past. No matter where he goes, trouble follows him and he is constantly accused of murders he didn’t commit.

Before the third book in the series, we really didn’t know all that much about David. We did understand, however, that he had skeletons buried in his closet – whether of his own hand or due to circumstanced, we never really knew.

Once he got past the events in the first book, David became an editor of the same mystery magazine, Gray Streets, he first sent his initial work to.

Having read all three books, I do recommend you start the David Loogan with the third book, which puts the series in chronological order rather than publication order. If you do want to live with the suspense until the last book, then the order of publication works well too.

David is a guy with a high sense of justice who has a strong sense of curiosity (much of which gets him into trouble). His girlfriend, Elizabeth, who is a local detective, is tasked with solving a particular murder which is also detailed in a manuscript David Loogan received at his doorsteps. You can only imagine the confusion that this causes in that particular household.

Since the third book in the series really goes back to the main character’s roots, I truly hope that it will continue once again with new adventures. I want to know what this entertaining, witty and intelligent editor has more in store for us.

If you like noir type crime mysteries, this book fits the bill nicely. It has that Raymond Chandler flair that so many love, in a modern setting. Many readers consider the series a literary mystery.