Tina Whittle Books In Order

Publication Order of Tai Randolph & Trey Seaver Mystery Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Tina Whittle is an American author best known for writing a series of mysteries, the most popular of which is the Tai Randolph mystery series of novels. Her short stories have been featured in Mystery Magazine by Alfred Hitchcock, and in The Savannah Literary Journal. The short story “Lost Causes and Other Reasons to Live” was also featured on “Gulf Stream” and was the winner of the 2004 Mystery Fiction contest. She is a two time Georgia Author of the Year Award nominee and is a member of the Sisters in Crime Atlanta Chapter, Low Country Sisters in Crime in Savannah and several national mystery chapters. When she is not writing she can be found reading tarot cards, eating sushi and spending time with her family of husband and daughter, two bossy chickens, and a neurotic Maltese.

Growing up, Whittle had always had a fascination with issues of identity, including how people create a sense of self, and if the processes are subconscious or accidental. For Whittle, the self is a very fluid and changeable thing even as cognitive scientists have often argued that it is nothing more than an illusion. Through her writing and particularly through her lead character Trey Seaver and Tai Randolph, she explores issues of identity in her Tai Randolph novel series. The lead character is the victim of a traumatic brain injury, after he was involved in a car accident and hence has to deal with many cognitive challenges because of his injuries. Having read and researched a lot on cognitive psychology and neuroscience, the author writes about a character struggling with identity issues, making him a very complex character. Unlike her lead character, Tai who is an energetic, bold, and brash character who is never afraid to speak her mind in whatever situation she may find herself in, Whittle is the complete opposite. She is methodical and slow and will never engage in anything that may be considered rash or reckless. Tina would be lost in the streets and would never keep up with the likes of Tai, even though just like her lead she is a southern daughter. Nonetheless, she has in common with the character a love for historical narratives, ghost tales, folklore, and a suspicion of any activity that may call for the purchase of new clothes.

When we are first introduced to Tai Randolph, she is thirty year old dealing with a quagmire of issues. She has just celebrated her thirtieth birthday and is fighting a battle to keep true to her ideals, which she has been steadily losing. For the first time in her life, she finds herself in what would be deemed a serious romantic relationship. She is determined and headstrong woman trying to leave the past in the past but finding that her family is her biggest obstacle to improvement. In her new life, she is the owner and operator of themed gun shop focusing on the confederate era. Tai’s best friend and partner is Trey Seaver an Atlanta, Georgia based cooperate security expert. She is glad to have gotten away from her hometown in Savannah, and hopes to build a new life in Atlanta. Trey is a very intriguing character that is an ex sniper, SWAT team member that is some kind of hero. At heart though, he remains a math geek, who a few years ago had undergone a traumatic brain injury that had left him with the propensity for predictable and routine arithmetic. He is the perfect foil for the lead Tai who can be reckless, messy, headstrong, and unpredictable. As opposed to his partner, Trey strives for discipline and lives for training, as he needs order if he is to function at full capacity and keep his weird appetites at bay. For Trevor, it is important to keep his private and professional lives in balance and Tai respects his decisions even as she is more spontaneous. They have an excellent relationship that makes for spicy little romance subplots enjoyable even for non-romance fans.

“The Dangerous Edge of Things” is an excellent novel in the Tail Randolph series of novels by Tina Whittle. Tai has inherited confederate themed gun shop, which has turned to be a very big headache, until she stumbles on a dead body on her brother’s lawn. To complicate things even further, she is now not so sure that her brother is innocent in the entire thing. The man has disappeared and last been heard of in Bahamas, leaving her to deal with all the suspicion from the Atlanta PD. All of a sudden, she is forced into amateur sleuthing to try to clear her name and that of her brother. To make things even worse is the arrival of Trey Seaver, a corporate field investigations agent brought in to investigate the case. Seaver is a focused and brave man that will not fall to deception, threats, or bribes. He lives a life of routine and certainty and the only thing he wants to do is to resolve the murder case as outlined in his brief from the PD. But this is one case that will not be so easy to crack as he finds himself in the midst of a bucketful of suspects, vengeful sisters, violent stalkers, and paparazzi with a taste for illicit drugs. Still, it is when there is another murder and threat to his life that he relents, and accepts the help of the mysterious Tai.

“Darker Than Any Shadow”, the second title in the series takes the intrigue to a higher level as Tai gets used to running her confederate themed gun shop. Her hands are full with helping her friend Rico prepare for a poetry completion, and at the same time deal with a new relationship with Trey Seaver. Dating the math geek while fascinating in itself can be quite challenging, as Seaver is something of a walking lie detector with the lethal skills to take out a man with his bare hands. Just when she thinks she may have a hang on things, one of Rico’s newest friends is killed in cold blood and Rico is the lead suspect. Tai is back to type to try to get her out with her little snooping and lying here and there that gets both Rico and Trey worried. It would seem that every poet in town has something to hide and would do anything to keep it hidden. But the biggest mystery is that someone has been feeding her clandestine clues, that may point to a person that may be downright deadly or positively heroic.