Joseph O’Loughlin Books in Order: How to read Michael Robotham’s series?

From Australian crime fiction writer Michael Robotham, this series is about a psychiatrist solving crimes. The psychologist is forty-two-year-old Joseph O’Loughlin, a man who had every reason to be happy until his life took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Then the police asked for his help. That’s when he starts working with Vincent Ruiz, a hard-drinking tough-talking homicide detective.

How to read the Joseph O’Loughlin Series in Order?

Every entry in the Joseph O’Loughlin book series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.

1. The Suspect – Psychiatrist Joe O’Loughlin seems to have it all: a thriving practice, a beautiful wife, an adoring daughter. But Joe’s snug, happy world is crumbling. Recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he’s dreading the inevitable and all too palpable deterioration of his body and mind. Then, when the police ask for his help in solving the brutal murder of a woman they assume is a prostitute, he’s horrified to recognize the victim as a nurse he once worked with.
2. Lost – One cold London night, Detective Ruiz is rescued from the Thames with a bullet in his leg and no memory of what happened. When a murder victim is discovered in a nearby boat, and Ruiz finds the photograph of a kidnapped child in his own pocket, the detective is driven to recover his memory of that fateful night. His only chance to do this is with the help of psychologist O’Loughlin.
3. Shatter – A naked woman is perched on the edge of Clifton Suspension Bridge weeping into a mobile phone. Joseph O’Loughlin is only feet away, desperately trying to talk her down. She whispers, ‘you don’t understand,’ and jumps. Later, Joe has a visitor – the woman’s teenage daughter. She refuses to believe that her mother would have jumped off the bridge. Joe wants to believe her.

4. Bleed For Me – When Sienna Hegarty, a troubled friend of his daughter, comes to Joe O’Loughlin’s door terrorized, incoherent, and covered in blood, he vows to unearth the dark secrets her mind has buried. The police find a major piece of the puzzle at Sienna’s house: her father, a retired cop, murdered.
5. The Wreckage – In London, ex-cop Vincent Ruiz rescues a young woman from a violent boyfriend but wakes next morning to find that he’s been set up and robbed. As he tracks down the thieves, he discovers the boyfriend’s tortured body and learns that powerful men are looking for the girl. What did Holly Knight steal that is so important to them?
6. Say You’re Sorry – During the worst blizzard in decades, a husband and wife are brutally killed in their home while half of London is without power. The suspect is in custody, unable or unwilling to explain his presence in the couple’s home. Joe O’Loughlin is certain the young man is hiding something-but with murders this methodical, and a suspect who exhibits the signs of developing schizophrenia, the young man seems anything but responsible.

7. Watching You – Marnie Logan often feels like she’s being watched. Nothing she can quite put her finger on – a whisper of breath on the back of her neck, or a shadow in the corner of her eye – and now her life is frozen. Her husband Daniel has been missing for more than a year. Depressed and increasingly desperate, she seeks the help of clinical psychologist Joe O’Loughlin.
8. Close Your Eyes – A mother and her teenage daughter are found murdered in a remote coastal home, one defiled by multiple stab wounds and the other posed like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince. Joe O’Loughlin is drawn into the investigation when a former student, trading on Joe’s reputation by calling himself “the Mindhunter,” jeopardizes the police inquiry by leaking details to the media and stirring up public anger.
9. The Other Wife – Childhood sweethearts William and Mary have been married for sixty years. William is a celebrated surgeon, Mary a devoted wife. Both have a strong sense of right and wrong. This is what their son, Joe O’Loughlin, has always believed. But when Joe is summoned to the hospital with news that his father has been brutally attacked, his world is turned upside down.

If you like the Joseph O’Loughlin reading order, you may also want to take a look at our James Hayman reading order, or our guide to Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series. Don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.