in 1982
Quarry series This series features a former
U.S. Marine sniper turned professional
assassin after returning from the
Vietnam War in 1973. The books are narrated in first person by Quarry (a code name). He maintains his own code of honor, and rationalizes his crimes by taking contracts to kill people who he believes brought about their own demise and will eventually be murdered by one enemy or another (e.g., corrupt politicians, mobsters, exploitative businessmen, drug traffickers). Quarry becomes a hit man following his legal exoneration for killing a man who was sleeping with his wife, an act which attracts the interest of a man known as Broker who schedules and organizes assassinations. After being betrayed by Broker, Quarry steals a batch of classified documents and shifts his focus to offering his services to those who are targeted for assassination. •
Quarry (a.k.a.
The Broker) (1976) • ''Quarry's List
(a.k.a. The Broker's Wife'') (1976) • ''Quarry's Deal
(a.k.a. The Dealer'') (1976) • ''Quarry's Cut
(a.k.a. The Slasher'') (1977) • ''Quarry's Vote
(a.k.a. Primary Target'') (1987) • ''Quarry's Greatest Hits'' (contains 'Primary Target' and a short story) (2003) •
The Last Quarry (2006) •
The First Quarry (2008) •
Quarry In The Middle (2009) • ''Quarry's Ex'' (2010) •
The Wrong Quarry (2014) • ''Quarry's Choice'' (2015) •
Quarry In The Black (2016) • ''Quarry's Climax'' (2017) •
Killing Quarry (2019) • ''Quarry's Blood'' (2022)
Cinemax created a
TV adaptation of Quarry. Written by Michael D. Fuller and Graham Gordy based loosely on the book series, the project centers on a Marine marksman who, upon returning home from Vietnam in 1972, finds himself shunned by those he loves and demonized by the public. The disillusioned vet is quickly recruited into a network of contract killers and corruption spanning the Mississippi River. The show was cancelled in May 2017 after the first season.
Nolan series This series features a professional thief, similar to and apparently inspired by
Richard Stark's "
Parker" character, who operates in the Midwest. •
Bait Money (1981) •
Blood Money (1981) •
Fly Paper (1981) •
Hush Money (1981) •
Hard Cash (1981) •
Scratch Fever (1982) •
Spree (1987) •
Mourn the Living (1999) Collins's first written novel, but not published until 1999) •
Two for the Money (omnibus reprint of the first two books
Bait Money and
Blood Money) (2004) •
Skim Deep (2020) •
Double Down (omnibus reprint of the third and fourth books
Fly Paper and
Hush Money) (2021) •
Tough Tender (omnibus reprint of the fifth and sixth books
Hard Cash and
Scratch Fever) (2022) •
Mad Money (omnibus reprint of the seventh and eighth books
Spree and
Mourn the Living) (2023)
Mallory series The Mallory series is about a mystery writer in Iowa who solves crimes. •
The Baby Blue Rip-Off (1983) •
No Cure for Death (1983) •
Kill Your Darlings (1984) •
A Shroud for Aquarius (1985) •
Nice Weekend for a Murder (1986)
Nathan Heller series Collins' longest running series and arguably his best known work is his Nathan Heller series. Featured in 19 novels and several short stories published over 40 years (1983–2023), Heller is a Chicago private investigator who gets involved in famous crimes and meets famous people from the 1930s to the 1960s, including
Orson Welles,
Frank Nitti, and
Sally Rand. Extensively researched historical novels, the Heller books usually deal with well-known historic events, including assassinations, murders, suicides, and kidnappings. Some, however, are not well known and a few don't involve any crime. In every novel, Collins offers a solution to the crime or events that differs from the generally accepted explanation. For example, the first novel in this historical fiction series,
True Detective, deals with what is generally accepted as a failed assassination attempt on
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt with the accidental killing of the mayor of Chicago; Collins suggests it is a successful assignation of the Chicago mayor. Each novel concludes with “I Owe Then One,” where Collins explains that the novel includes real people with their real names and composite characters. He also lists the books, newspaper and magazine articles, and other sources he used for both the specifics of the case and for the milieu, the descriptions of buildings and places in the book. Collins won the 1984
Shamus Award for Best P.I. Hardcover from the Private Eye Writers of America for
True Crimes. Collins won his second Shamus in 1992 for the Heller novel
Stolen Away, In 2024,
Robert Meyer Burnett and Mike Bawden released a ten-episode
radio drama True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak based on the series' first novel
True Detective.
Michael Rosenbaum voiced Heller, with a supporting cast including
Adam Arkin,
Barry Bostwick,
Jeffrey Combs,
C. Thomas Howell,
Patton Oswalt,
Katee Sackhoff,
William Sadler,
Bill Smitrovich,
Anthony LaPaglia and
David Strathairn. •
True Detective (November 1983) •
True Crime (December 1984) •
The Million-Dollar Wound (February 1986) •
Neon Mirage (February 1988) •
Stolen Away (May 1991) •
Dying in the Post-War World (October 1991) – Novella •
Carnal Hours (April 1994) (about
Harry Oakes' murder) •
Blood and Thunder (August 1995) (about
Huey Long's assassination) •
Damned in Paradise (October 1996) •
Flying Blind (August 1998) •
Majic Man (September 1999) •
Angel in Black (March 2001) •
Kisses of Death: A Nathan Heller Casebook (
Crippen & Landru, June 2001) – Short story collection •
Chicago Confidential (June 2002) •
Bye Bye, Baby (August 2011) •
Chicago Lightning: The Collected Nathan Heller Short Stories (October 2011) •
Triple Play: A Nathan Heller Casebook (April 2012) – Includes "Dying in the Post-War World", "Kisses of Death", and "Strike Zone" •
Target Lancer (November 2012) •
Ask Not (2013) •
Better Dead (2016) •
Do No Harm (2020) •
The Big Bundle (January 2023) •
Too Many Bullets (October 2023)
Eliot Ness series This series of novels is about real life
Untouchable Eliot Ness's career as Director of Public Safety in Cleveland. Ness is regularly featured in the Heller series as the private eye's "best friend/police contact," similar to the roles played by DA's Investigator Bernie Ohls in
Raymond Chandler's novels and short stories featring
Philip Marlowe, or NYPD Homicide Captain Pat Chambers in
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer series. •
The Dark City (1987) • ''Butcher's Dozen'' (1988) •
Bullet Proof (1989) •
Murder by the Numbers (1993) •
An Eliot Ness Mystery Omnibus (2020) – contains all four novels in one volume Collins has also collaborated with historian A. Brad Schwartz on two non-fiction books about Ness. •
Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago (2018) – co-written with A. Brad Schwartz • ''Eliot Ness and the Mad Butcher: Hunting America's Deadliest Unidentified Serial Killer at the Dawn of Modern Criminology'' (2020) – co-written with A. Brad Schwartz
Dick Tracy series •
Dick Tracy (May 1990), film novelization •
Dick Tracy: The Secret Files (June 1990), Editor (with
Martin H. Greenberg), also contains short story
Not a Creature Was Stirring •
Dick Tracy and the Nightmare Machine with Dick Locher (January 1991) – comic strip collection •
Dick Tracy Goes to War (February 1991) – novel •
Dick Tracy Meets His Match (February 1992) – novel •
Dick Tracy: The Collins Casefiles Volume 1 (October 2003) – comic strip collection •
Dick Tracy: The Collins Casefiles Volume 2 (October 2004) – comic strip collection •
Dick Tracy: The Collins Casefiles Volume 3 (January 2005)- comic strip collection
Novelizations •
In the Line of Fire (1993) •
Maverick (1994) •
I Love Trouble (1994) •
Waterworld (1995) •
Air Force One (1997) •
U.S. Marshals (1998) •
Saving Private Ryan (August, 1998) •
The Mummy (May 1999) •
U-571 (2000) •
The Mummy Returns (2001) •
The Scorpion King (2002) •
Windtalkers (April, 2002) •
I-Spy (October 2002) •
The Pink Panther (July 2005) •
American Gangster (2007) •
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (July 2008) •
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (July 2008) •
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) •
G.I. Joe: Above and Beyond (2009)
Road to Perdition series (*) Note:
Road to Perdition: On the Road, is a single-volume collection of
On the Road to Perdition Books 1–3.
Disaster series •
The Titanic Murders (April 1999) •
The Hindenburg Murders (June 2000) •
The Pearl Harbor Murders (May 2001) •
The Lusitania Murders (November 2002) •
The London Blitz Murders (May 2004) •
The War of the Worlds Murder (July 2005)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation novels • Note:
Mortal Wounds is a trade paperback omnibus which collects
Double Dealer,
Sin City, and
Cold Burn into a single volume.
CSI: Miami novels Criminal Minds novels Jack & Maggie Starr series A mystery series set in and around the American comic book industry during the tail end of the
Golden Age of Comic Books •
A Killing in Comics (May 2007) – A murder mystery set around a fictionalized version of the
Superman ownership dispute •
Strip for Murder (May 2008) – A fictionalized version of the
Al Capp/
Ham Fisher feud and Fisher's suicide •
Seduction of the Innocent (June 2013) – A murder mystery set around a fictionalized version of
Frederic Wertham's crusade against comic books J.C. Harrow Series • ''You Can't Stop Me'' (2010) •
No One Will Hear You(2011)
Other television novels •
NYPD Blue: Blue Beginning (1995) •
NYPD Blue: Blue Blood (1997) •
Dark Angel: Before the Dawn (2002) •
Dark Angel: Skin Game (2003) •
Dark Angel: After the Dark (2003) •
Bones: Buried Deep (2006)
With Mickey Spillane •
Dead Street (2007) •
The Goliath Bone (2008) – Mike Hammer • "The Big Switch" – (2009) – Mike Hammer short story •
The Big Bang (2010) – Mike Hammer • "A Long Time Dead" (2010) – Mike Hammer short story • "Grave Matter" (2010) – Mike Hammer short story in
Crimes by Moonlight •
Kiss Her Goodbye (2011) – Mike Hammer •
The Consummata (2011) •
Lady, Go Die! (2012) – Mike Hammer • "Skin" (2012) – Mike Hammer e-book short story •
Complex 90 (2013) – Mike Hammer • "So Long, Chief" (2013) – Mike Hammer short story •
King of the Weeds (2014) – Mike Hammer • "It's in the Book" (2014) – Mike Hammer e-book short story •
Kill Me, Darling (2015) – Mike Hammer • "Fallout" (2015) – Mike Hammer short story •
The Legend of Caleb York (2015) •
Murder Never Knocks (2016) – Mike Hammer • "A Dangerous Cat" (2016) – Mike Hammer short story •
The Big Showdown (2016) – A Caleb York story •
A Long Time Dead: A Mike Hammer Casebook (2016) – reprints Mike Hammer short stories and e-book short stories •
The Will to Kill (2017) – Mike Hammer •
The Bloody Spur (2018) – A Caleb York story •
Killing Town (2018) – Mike Hammer •
Murder, My Love (2019) – Mike Hammer •
The Last Stage to Hell Junction (2019) – A Caleb York story •
Hot Lead, Cold Justice (2020) – A Caleb York story •
Masquerade for Murder (2020) – Mike Hammer •
Shoot-Out at Sugar Creek (2021) – A Caleb York story •
Kill Me If You Can (2022) – Mike Hammer •
Dig Two Graves (2023) - Mike Hammer • ''Baby, It's Murder'' (2025) - The Final Mike Hammer Novel
Writing as Barbara Allan (with wife Barbara Collins): Trash 'n' Treasure series •
Antiques Roadkill (August 2006) •
Antiques Maul (August 2007) •
Antiques Flee Market (September 2008) •
Antiques Bizarre (March 2010) •
Antiques Knock-Off (March 2011) •
Antiques Disposal (May 2012) •
Antiques Chop (May 2013) •
Antiques Con (May 2014) •
Antiques Swap (May 2015) •
Antiques Fate (May 2016)
Other Barbara Allan books •
Regeneration (1999) •
Murder: His and Hers (2001) •
Bombshell (2004)
Writing as Patrick Culhane •
Black Hats (April 2007) – A novel featuring
Wyatt Earp and
Al Capone in 1920s New York •
Red Sky in Morning (August 2008) – A historic mystery set in San Francisco during
World War II, shortly after the
attack on Pearl Harbor.
Miscellaneous •
Midnight Haul (1986) •
Mommy (1997) • ''Mommy's Day'' (1998) •
Protect and Defend (1992) •
Blue Christmas and other Holiday Homicides (2001) – short story collection •
Tales of the Slayer (2002) – co-author, short story collection •
My Lolita Complex (2006) – short story collection •
Deadly Beloved – A Ms. Tree Novel (See Comics Section) (2007) • ''What Doesn't Kill Her'' (2013) •
Early Crimes (2013) •
Supreme Justice (2014) •
Fate of the Union (2015) •
Murderlized (2020) with Matthew V. Clemens, 11 short stories •
Shoot the Moon (and More) (2021) unpublished crime novel (written in 1974) and two short stories •
Reincarnal & Other Dark Tales (2021) stort stories •
The Many Lives of Jimmy Leighton (2021) with
Dave Thomas •
Return of the Maltese Falcon (2026)
Comics Aardvark-Vanaheim •
A-V in 3-D #1 (1984) •
Ms. Tree #10–18 (1984–1985)
AiT/Planet Lar •
Johnny Dynamite: Underworld #1 (2003)
Big Entertainment/Tekno Comix • ''
Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger'' #1–11 (1995–1996) • ''Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger'' vol. 2 #1–10 (1996–1997)
Dark Horse Comics • ''Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor'' #1 (1995) •
Johnny Dynamite #1–4 (1994)
DC Comics •
Action Comics Weekly #601–609, 615–622, 636–641 (1988–1989) •
Batman #402–403, #408–412,
Annual #11 (1986–1987) •
Batman: Child of Dreams (2003) •
Batman: Scar of the Bat #1 (1996) •
Ms. Tree Quarterly #1–8 (1990–1992) •
Ms. Tree Special #9–10 (1992–1993) •
On the Road to Perdition: Detour (2004) •
On the Road to Perdition: Oasis (2003) •
On the Road to Perdition: Sanctuary (2004) •
Road to Perdition (1998) • ''
Who's Who in the DC Universe'' #10 (1991) •
Wild Dog #1–4,
Special #1 (1987–1989) •
Wild Times: Grifter #1 (1999)
Eclipse Comics •
Eclipse Magazine #1–6 (1981–1982) •
Ms. Tree #4–9 (1983–1984) • ''Ms. Tree's Thrilling Detective Adventures'' #1–3 (1983)
First Comics •
Grimjack #11 (1985) • ''P.I.'s: Michael Mauser and Ms. Tree'' #1–3 (1985)
IDW Publishing •
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation #1–5 (2003) •
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Bad Rap #1–5 (2003) •
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Demon House #1–5 (2004) •
CSI: NY – Bloody Murder #1–5 (2005)
Marvel Comics •
Captain America: Red, White & Blue HC (2002)
Renegade Press •
Ms. Tree #19–50 (1985–1989) •
Ms. Tree Summer Special #1 (1986) • ''Ms. Tree's 1950s Three–Dimensional Crime'' #1 (1987) •
Ms. Tree 3-D #1 (1985)
Titan Comics • ''Quarry's War'' (2018) • ''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: The Night I Died'' (2018) ==References==