Dead Detective Casefiles Series by TJ O’Connor

This inventive, well-written series features Oliver Tucker, a deceased detective who solves his own murder in the first of the series, Dying to Know, and goes on to continue his career solving crime in the next two books.

Dying to Know Description

Detective Oliver Tucker’s dead—murdered—and back as an earth-bound spirit to help his wife, Professor Angela Tucker, crack the most important case of his life—his own. But, this is not a ghost story; it’s a murder case. 

Tuck knows why he is back among the living but not one of them—Detective Solve Thyself. Perhaps he was murdered because of his last case—a murder involving a retired mob boss, a local millionaire land developer, a New York hit man, and the local university elite. Or could it be that Bear Braddock, his best friend and partner for more than fifteen years, wants Angela? Tuck knows that everything surrounds Kelly’s Dig where the discovery of Civil War graves may put an end to a multi-million dollar highway project. If it does, who stands to gain the most? Enough to kill? 

Using his unique skills, Tuck weaves through half-truths and generations-old lies chasing a madman. And he’s not alone—others, dead and alive—are hunting the same killer. Still nothing can change the truth—it is the living, not the dead, who are most terrifying.

Dying for the Past Description

Still an earth-bound spirit-detective, Tuck is on the case of the murder of a mysterious philanthropist with ties to the Russian mob and 1930’s gangsters. With the help of his wife, Professor Angela Tucker, and his former partner, Detective Bear Braddock, they must find the killer and be the first to read “the book”—an old gangster’s journal of the roots of espionage, racketeering, and corruption leading to the identity of modern-day powerbrokers and spies. Tuck finds a colorful cast of allies in a tough Assistant U.S. Attorney General, a secretive FBI agent, and the spirits of a long-dead 1930’s gangster and his sassy girlfriend. 

As Tuck searches to learn the secrets of “the book,” he begins to unravel his own ancestry of mobsters, adventurers, and wayward spirits. Is being a ghost hereditary?

Dying to Tell Description

Detective Oliver Tucker never knew how perilous dying was until he stumbled onto William Mendelson—murdered in a hidden vault where Egyptian relics and World War II secrets were once stashed. Now those relics are missing. The secrets are coming out. The dead are talking. 

Tuck, the detective for the dead—the Dead Detective—is pulled into the case by the spirit of a World War II Office of Strategic Services operative with his own agenda. OSS Captain Ollie Tucker I—Tuck’s namesake—knows the past is catching up to the survivors of an Egyptian spy ring from more than seventy years ago. With the help of his beautiful and brilliant wife, Angel, and his gruff former partner, Detective Bear Braddock, Tuck must unravel a tale of spies, murderers, and thieves. 

As Tuck’s case unfolds, he confronts the growing distance between his death and Angel’s life—and the solution is a killer of its own.

My Thoughts

As I raced through all three of these books, I found myself thinking that I’ve found the next David Handler, whose Stewart Hoag series I have thoroughly enjoyed over the years. O’Connor writes with the same sense of style, sophistication, and wit as Hoag and some of the best of detective fiction authors, but adds the currently-popular paranormal component by making the main character a ghost. I’ve read some paranormal mysteries that handle this well and many more that don’t; O’Connor handles the trope very well indeed.

Tuck’s character is mouthy, smart, and industrious, ferreting out clues and information using his newfound abilities while also moving through space and time in unusual ways. The rest of the characters are also memorable and very likable, particularly Tuck’s widow Angel who is by turns smart, sassy, and very much able to take care of herself.

As the series progresses, O’Connor does a good job of fleshing out the characters and building their backstories. I especially enjoyed the revelation in book 2 about Tuck’s family. In addition to great characterizations, O’Connor is also a really, really good storyteller. The mysteries here are complex and well-plotted and plumped up by dialog that is by turns snarky and sparkling.

I’ll be recommending this series and author for sure.

Book Details

Genre: PI Cozy Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: September 2024
Purchase Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Shortlinks

Author’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/POgxP    
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/51toN    
BookBub    https://pictbooks.tours/F7ro0    @tj37
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/r1frE    @tjoconnorauthor
Twitter    https://pictbooks.tours/PfTAy    @Tjoconnorauthor
Facebook    https://pictbooks.tours/H85ge    @TjOConnor.Author
YouTube    https://pictbooks.tours/CUDyd    @tjoconnorauthor3905
Amazon Author    https://pictbooks.tours/y2JAz    
Amazon Series    https://pictbooks.tours/tX9X2  

THE DEAD DETECTIVE CASEFILES
Amazon Series    https://pictbooks.tours/tX9X2
Tj’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/0eM21

DYING TO KNOW
Amazon –    https://pictbooks.review/nXbMGw6G
BN –    https://pictbooks.tours/tDi0z
Goodreads –    https://pictbooks.tours/sBZpL

DYING FOR THE PAST
Amazon –    https://pictbooks.review/kr1NBMHW
BN –    https://pictbooks.tours/zEBKE
Goodreads –    https://pictbooks.tours/EZRwe

DYING TO TELL
Amazon –    https://pictbooks.review/yblBme22
BN –    https://pictbooks.tours/FVFbr
Goodreads –    https://pictbooks.tours/T9qUg

Author Bio

Tj O’Connor is an award-winning author of mysteries and thrillers. He’s an international security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism, investigations, and threat analysis—life experiences that drive his novels. With his former life as a government agent and years as a consultant, he has lived and worked around the world in places like Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and throughout the Americas—among others. In his spare time, he’s a Harley Davidson pilot, a man-about-dogs (and now cats), and a lover of adventure, cooking, and good spirits (both kinds). He was raised in New York’s Hudson Valley and lives with his wife, Labs, and Maine Coon companions in Virginia where they raised five children who supply a growing tribe of grands.

Catch Up With Tj O’Connor:
tjoconnor.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @tj37
Amazon Author
Instagram – @tjoconnorauthor
Twitter/X – @Tjoconnorauthor
Facebook – @TjOConnor.Author
YouTube – @tjoconnorauthor3905