River City Crime Books

A violent robber is loose in River City. Meet the cops that must take him down. Stefan Kopriva, a young hotshot. Katie MacLeod, a woman in what is still mostly a man’s world. Karl Winter, about to retire but with one more good bust left in him. And Thomas Chisolm, a former Green Beret who knows how dangerous a man like the Scarface Robber can be. These are the patrol officers of River City – that mythical thin blue line between society and anarchy. They must stop the robber, all the while juggling divorces, love affairs, internal politics, a hostile media, vengeful gang members and a civilian population that isn’t always understanding or even grateful. Written by a real cop with real experience, Under a Raging Moon is like a paperback ride-along. Enjoy the ride.

The men and women of the River City Police Department are sworn to protect and to serve. But when a six-year-old girl is kidnapped off a residential street in broad daylight, each cop must rise to heroic levels. Detectives scramble to solve the kidnapping while patrol officers comb the streets looking for the missing girl. Racing against time, every cop on the job focuses on finding her. Before it is too late. Before they fail her. Heroes Often Fail delivers what we've come to expect from Frank Zafiro, sharp-edged dialogue, vivid characters, and an intimate knowledge of the way things work in an urban police department. A tense, frightening tale, and the best River City novel to date. John M. Floyd, award-winning author of Rainbow's End [An] affecting novel from a writer who knows not only the job, but the grueling toll certain cases can take on the victims and those charged with upholding law and order. Russel McLean, Crime Scene Scotland. Heroes Often Fail is the second River City Crime Novel

River City is plagued by a serial rapist. His attacks are becoming more brutal and Detective John Tower is sure that he'll go from rape to murder if he isn't stopped soon. Meanwhile, the attacks stir up ghosts for both Officer Katie MacLeod and Officer Thomas Chisolm. Both struggle to put those haunted memories to rest even as they are drawn into the center of Tower's investigation. When a series of missteps and near misses push the rapist even further, everyone involved must face their old fears... or be destroyed by them. A book that would've made Ed McBain proud! Dave Zeltserman, author of Bad Thoughts Frank Zafiro channels Ed McBain and Joseph Wambaugh in this taut and frightening thriller. Simon Wood, author of Terminated Mr. Zafiro's writing deserves more than comparison with the greats of the police procedural sect, it holds it's own amongst them. Todd Robinson, editor of Thuglit Beneath A Weeping Sky is the third River City novel.

These are the many and varied characters of River City, brought to life in short stories that fill in gaps and moments within the River City series that the novels don't explore, including: *A frustrated crime scene cleaner *An off duty cop in a jam * A patrol officer who believes in a strange fate *A holier-than-thou Internal Affairs whose world gets turned upside down Plus those that are criminally insane, surrounded by sadness or just trying to get by in a tough world. Read these exciting 17 stories set in River City before you move on to the next novel in the series!

Russian gangs are taking over the River City underworld. The men and women of the police department are the last line of defense against the former Soviet bloc criminals. But both groups will soon learn how far the other will go to win this battle. They’ll learn that the price of victory can be high. They’ll learn that sometimes blood flows...And Every Man Has to Die.

After two tours in Vietnam and 25 years as a police officer, Thomas Chisolm is looking forward to a quiet retirement. That hope is quickly shattered when Mai, a ghost from his past, finds him and demands justice for the horrors she suffered during the Vietnam War…horrors Chisolm couldn't save her from. Now Chisolm must find the man responsible and bring him to justice to repay an old debt and in the hopes of putting his own demons to rest…once and for all. Chisolm’s Debt is a s River City novel featuring one of series's most iconic characters. Follow Chisolm on his search as he explores the nature of moral debt, war, forgiveness, and guilt on his way to an explosive ending.

An undercover cop and a vigilante uncle are pitted against the human trafficking industry in River City. Detective “Gus” Dow works deep undercover in the sex slave industry as a woman who buys and sells other young women. She's committed to her mission to bring the traffickers to justice but how long will that take? How much misery can she watch and still walk the line between duty and human decency? “Bull” Porter blurs those lines when he finds out his niece is kidnapped. Rather than hunting in the wilds, he stalks his prey on the dirty streets of River City's underbelly where the hunted can turn the tables in an instant. How far will Bull go to save his niece? What lines will he cross? When Gus and Bull collide in their battle to rescue the latest victims, the stakes escalate to include not only freedom and family, but also careers and life itself, hanging in the balance. Everything has a trade off and both Gus and Bull must decide what’s worth losing to save what's worth saving... if they can. "The Trade Off is a thought-provoking look at some of the issues involved in sex trafficking that affect women and girls all over the world. It is also a suspenseful, action-packed story that should appeal to people who liked the Taken movies." - Brian Triplett, 5-star Amazon review

It is December 1999, and the spectre of Y2K hangs over the police department. More menacing yet, officers respond to a hate-fueled home invasion robbery. As the entirety of the River City Police Department prepare for possible chaos when the calendar turns over to the year 2000, they also must stop a gang of white supremacists who plan to use that same chaos to mask their biggest crime yet. Meanwhile, Officer Katie MacLeod falls under the suspicion of Internal Affairs. Officer Thomas Chisolm tries to keep the remnants of his platoon intact. Officer Connor O'Sullivan mourns the loss of his partner while he tries to care for the fallen officer's family. In spite of these significant, real life struggles on and off the job, the men and women of RCPD strive to stop the brutal robberies, to do what is right, and to survive.

A young woman has been murdered in River City… Police Detective John Tower is assigned to the case but there are few clues to go on. As he digs into the case, he’s soon picking up hints that this murder may not be the killer’s first…or his last. Virgil Kelly lives in the shadowy world of the criminal underground. He’s just arrived in River City with a single-minded mission: find his daughter’s killer and bury him. In his search for a murderer, Tower uses his experience and training along with all the expertise of modern forensics. In the hunt for his prey, Kelley uses intimidation and violence, tools which he wields with precision and anger. Virgil Kelley and John Tower are on a collision course. Somebody is going to die. River City will never be the same.

It is the nightmare of every community – a school shooting. When a disturbed teenager masterminds this terrible event, everyone in River City is plunged into the darkness that surrounds it. The students and teachers try to survive, and the men and women of RCPD try to save them. But when things go horribly wrong, everyone seems to be looking elsewhere for someone to blame. Officer Katie MacLeod is among many who discover that the nightmare doesn’t end when the shooting stops. Takes place in 2001.

SUGAR GOT LOW is an eclectic collection of short stories set in the River City universe, including a tale of grifters, a prequel story to the well-regarded Ania series, several trips back to the early days of River City and one to La Sombra, Texas. Enjoy a Walter Mitty homage set in San Francisco, and a deadly day in Roman Britain, the heartbreaking story of a junkie, and the suspenseful one of a murderer in a black car. At the end of it all, you'll experience the dark but inspiring title story of perseverance that was only made possible because of a misunderstood lyric. Four-time Derringer finalist Frank Zafiro weaves a lucky thirteen tales drawn from throughout his career with one thing in common - characters you may love or hate, but will certainly feel .

Times are tough for the River City Police Department. The city budget is collapsing, forcing an already understaffed department to contemplate laying off cops. The community is upset over the handling of recent events, and their anger is impacting the agency from the ground up. Negotiations with the police union are somehow both heated and stagnant at the same time. To "fix" the problem, the mayor appoints a new chief, but the cure may be worse than the disease. Worse yet, a killer is stalking the streets of River City, targeting vulnerable women. Rookie detective Katie MacLeod is assigned to assist in the effort to stop him but the case is stymied. Somehow, the men and women of RCPD have to put aside all the distractions and focus on their jobs—to serve and to protect. Takes place in 2003. Dirty Little Town was selected by the Independent Fiction Alliance as one of the best "truly independent" titles of 2021!

Detective Katie MacLeod has her hands full. It has been four years since her promotion to detective, and after paying her dues in property crimes investigations, she has made it to the Major Crimes unit. This is where the highest profile cases land—homicides, robberies, serious assaults, and sexual assaults. Katie catches two rape cases almost back-to-back. One victim is a prostitute with an unknown suspect… who Katie fears may be gearing up for more assaults. The other victim is a college student who has accused her boyfriend, a popular baseball player, of raping her at a party. Both cases have their own set of perils. Katie juggles her time investigating each one, encountering many obstacles—a lack of evidence in one, and wondering how to parse conflicting statements in the other. As she battles past these difficulties, Katie faces another fact… that both cases hit home with her in very different ways. Solving them becomes more than just a job for her, but something deep-seated and personal… something that may exorcise some of her own demons from the past. Or will they consume her? The Worst Kind of Truth was selected by the Independent Fiction Alliance as one of the best "truly independent" titles of 2022! This book also won the PSWA award (honorable mention) for novels in 2023!

Detective Katie MacLeod must contend with secrets from the past. 2010. River City, Washington. Detective Katie MacLeod is already working a pair of burglaries involving a suspect who cuts window screens to enter homes and steals money and drugs from elderly victims. Then she gets handed a cold missing persons case that comes with political pressure. Katie must balance finding a dangerous burglar with discovering the fate of a woman who disappeared five years ago. As she digs into both cases, she finds frustration in one and a slew of secrets in the other. How far will someone go to keep their secrets? Detective Katie MacLeod is about to find out.