Brian Thiem Books In Order

Publication Order of Matt Sinclair Books

Brian Thiem is an American author that writes crime fiction. Before he became a published author, Thiem enjoyed an illustrious career as a homicide detective. Thiem’s books bring to bear the full brunt of his experience on the force.

+Biography

Brian Thiem spent most of his childhood in Pennsylvania and Phoenix. The second born of a family of five boys, Thiem was a very active and athletic student, trying his hand at football, basketball, and baseball.

The author even ran track, and considering the hectic nature of his schedule, you wouldn’t expect him to spare much time for reading. However, that was one hobby that Thiem never neglected.

The author always found time to read. He had a preference for gallant heroes who faced off against evil and won, undoing injustices and setting things right.

Writing eventually came into the picture, though Thiem never took it seriously. He loved to write stories like the ones he read but Thiem lived in a world where writing wasn’t the sort of practical career that could pay the bills and put food on the table.

So he never pursued it. Rather, following his time at Arizona State, the author saw fit to enter the army. Thiem spent four years with the military police before realizing how unfulfilling his position as Lieutenant in the peacetime army was.

An opportunity to enter law enforcement came his way soon after. Brian Thiem was in San Francisco where he had enrolled in a hostage negotiation course. Thiem had it in mind to join the FBI.

However, an Oakland Police Officer there told him that even if they accepted him, he would be just as bored. The officer in question told Thiem that he was clearly thirsting for real police work. And the only way he would scratch that itch was if he went to Oakland; they had more police work there than they could handle.

Thiem can attest to the accuracy of that officer’s words because he went on to enroll at the police academy, graduated six months later and got his first assignment in uniformed patrol.

The resulting experience was incredible, with the author making numerous arrests in the first week alone. Thiem learned about the Swing Shift, heard that it elicited plenty of action and immediately volunteered for it.

The author’s star rose rather quickly. It wasn’t long after that he joined a Special Street Unit of the police department designed to target high crime areas. Months later, Thiem ended up in Vice Narcotics. He got to work undercover investigating organized crime and prostitution.

Another promotion saw Thiem join the Criminal Investigation Division. 24 months later, he was assigned to the Homicide Unit where he played the role of lead investigator on hundreds of murders.

From Patrol Lieutenant to Watch Commander and Senior Police Official on duty, Brian Thiem fulfilled every role of note that the Oakland Police department had to offer. He saw it all.

More importantly, he did it all. So he wasn’t too heartbroken when in 2003, the Army called him to active duty. The Lieutenant Colonel had stayed in the Army reserves after departing from active duty two decades earlier.

He was called upon once more to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Thiem spent a year in Iraq before finally being released from Active Duty.

By that point in time, the author had spent 28 years of service in the army. He returned to Oakland where he quickly retired from the Police Department, eventually moving to Northwest Connecticut with his wife.

Of course, just because he was done with the army and the police didn’t mean Brian Thiem was ready to settle down to a life of peace and tranquility. In Connecticut, Thiem managed to find work as a private security consultant.

He also jumped at opportunities to do security work for government organizations. One of the author’s more interesting careers was his stint at Champlain College where he worked as an adjunct professor in their criminal justice program.

It was around this time that writing and publishing came into the picture. Initially, Thiem merely dabbled in fiction writing as a hobby. Then he got serious enough about his goals that he enrolled at the Western Connecticut State University MFA program.

As he polished his skills, the author embarked on the production of ‘Red Line’, his debut novel which he finished while at University.

Brian Thiem loves golf and kayaking. He also loves to ride his Harley. The author and his wife share their home with a cat and a dog.

+Red Line

A teenager is dead. His remains were discovered at an inner city bus stop. He seems to have originated from a wealthy suburb outside Oakland.

Matt Sinclair is a Homicide Detective and he has been assigned the case. Matt has been on desk duty for quite a while, his punishment for a drug bust that went wrong. So he is quite eager to get back on the horse.

Unfortunately for Matt, this is one murder case that seems determined to frustrate him. He has no leads to speak of and yet the murder case keeps drawing attention.

Matt has too much to prove for things to go wrong again. And even if his career wasn’t on the line, he must also contend with the additional bodies that begin to pile up, bodies that are seemingly unconnected.

There’s a killer on the loose and it looks like he’s only getting started. Matt must find his footing and take steps to stop him before more bodies drop and his career goes up in flames.

+Thrill Kill

Ten Years ago, Matt Sinclair met and arrested Dawn. She was a teenage runaway at the time. A decade later, Dawn is dead. Her remains are discovered hanging in a tree. And it is up to Matt and his partner Cathy Braddock to find her killer.

The task won’t be easy. Dawn had many clients who do not want the police digging into her life. And some of those clients are local and federal officials. They will stop at nothing to impede Matt’s work.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, Dawn’s killer is still at large. If Matt wants to stop him, he must uncover the secrets Dawn was protecting before it’s too late.