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By the author of the Miss Fortune Mystery series.
What is the Shaye Archer series about?
Written by New York Times author Jana DeLeon, the Shaye Archer series is a crime series about an amnesiac PI.
Shaye Archer is a licensed private investigator dedicated to getting answers for her clients when the police can’t help. The one answer she can’t get is about herself: Who is she?
Everything began effectively nine years ago when the police found Shaye Archer wandering in the French Quarter, beaten and abused, and with no memory of the previous fifteen years, not even her name…
How to read the Shaye Archer Books in Order?
Every book in the Shaye Archer series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.
- Malevolent (2015) – Emma Frederick thought her nightmare was over when she killed her abusive husband, but someone is stalking her and tormenting her with mementos from her past. With no evidence to support her claims, the police dismiss her claims as post-traumatic stress, but private investigator Shaye Archer is convinced that someone is deliberately terrorizing Emma…playing a cat and mouse game with only one goal in mind. To kill Emma.
- Sinister (2016) – Street kids are disappearing, but how do you report that to the police when, from their standpoint, the missing people didn’t exist to begin with? Hustle is certain that something bad has happened to his friend Jinx, and the only person he can turn to for help is private investigator Shaye Archer.
- Diabolical (2016) – Shaye Archer’s life effectively began the night police found her in an alley, beaten and abused, and with no memory of the previous fifteen years, not even her name. Her last case uncovered more than anyone anticipated, and pieces of Shaye’s missing past have surfaced with unexpected consequences. She’s starting to remember. Will Shaye unlock the secrets buried deep in her mind? And more importantly, can she handle the truth if she does?
- Wicked (2017) – College student Tara Chatry is certain something bad has happened to her best friend Ethan Campbell. The smart, geeky student has disappeared, and when Tara tries to get the police involved, they dismiss her concerns, convinced Ethan is just another college student off on a bender. Shaye Archer hasn’t even been back in New Orleans for a full day when Tara knocks on her door, asking for help.
- Unseen (2017) – Madison Avery is a young woman with a huge problem. From her penthouse apartment, she witnessed a murder in the building across the street, but by the time the police arrived, the crime scene had been wiped clean. Unfortunately, Madison suffers from prosopagnosia—face blindness—so even though she had a clear view of the murder, she can’t describe the victim or the killer. With no forensic evidence that a crime was committed and no description of the victim to match with a body, the police have no choice but to close the file. But Shaye Archer doesn’t have the same limitations.
- Dreadful (2018) – Six years ago, five friends went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Four of them returned. One simply disappeared. Jenny Taylor has never gotten over the disappearance of her twin sister, Caitlyn, but now things are even worse. Caitlyn calls to Jenny in her dreams, begging her sister to find her. But Jenny’s memory of the entire night is completely gone. Shaye Archer knows better than anyone what it’s like to have gaping holes in your past, and how horrific dreams can cripple you. But this case presents problems on every level.
- Damned (2019) – When young priest Nicolas Chatry took his vows, he thought the hardest thing he’d have to deal with was accomplishing his duties from a wheelchair. Until a murderer steps into the confessional. Unable to recognize the voice or maneuver quickly enough to get a look at the killer, Nicolas has no way of identifying who admitted to such a horrific deed. And even if he did, his vows prevent him from telling anyone about it. Unable to live with the knowledge that a predator is walking the streets of New Orleans, Nicolas breaks his vows and hires Shaye to do the impossible—find the killer before he strikes again.
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This article was last updated on May 18, 2023.