Robert I. Katz Books In Order

Publication Order of Chronicles of the Second Interstellar Empire of Mankind Books

Publication Order of Kurtz and Barent Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Richard Kurtz Medical Mystery Books

Publication Order of The Survivors Books

Publication Order of High-Tech Crime Solvers Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Robert I. Katz
Robert I. Katz is a Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and he attended Northwestern University Medical School and Columbia College.

Robert grew up on Long Island, in a pleasant and suburban town roughly thirty miles from New York City. He loved to read from a young age, reading five or more books each week. Even then, he had a dim idea that he could do at least as well as many of these stories he was reading.

He graduated with an English degree in 1974 from Columbia. Not encouraged by the job prospects for English majors during this time, he went on to medical school at Northwestern, where he acquired, along with his medical degree, a lifelong love for deep dish pizza. He did his residency in Anesthesiology at Columbia Presbyterian and spent much of his career at Stony Brook. It was here that he eventually rose to the academic rank of Professor and Vice-Chairman for Administration, Department of Anesthesiology.

Finally, around the year 1985, with a job and a family as well as his first personal computer, he started writing. He soon found that it was not nearly as easy as he first imagined, and like most writers just starting out, it took him several years to produce anything publishable.

His agent at this time urged him to pen mystery stories, since mysteries supposedly have a much larger readership and are easier to publish than science fiction. Since he had read nearly as much mystery as science fiction and fantasy, and since he liked them equally, he didn’t have any objections to this plan. His “Kurtz and Barent Mystery” series followed getting positive reviews.

“Edward Maret” won the ASA Literary Prize in the year 2001 and got excellent reviews from InfinityPlus, Science Fiction Chronicle, Scavenger’s Newsletter, as well as many others.

Robert’s debut novel, called “Edward Maret”, was released in the year 2001. His work is from the thriller, mystery, science fiction, and nonfiction genres.

“Surgical Risk” is the first novel in the “Kurtz and Barent” series and was released in the year 2002. Don’t you just love a hero that never gives up and pulls no punches?

Richard Kurtz has got a reputation as a tough guy, one that he considers absurd, despite the three hundred biker on a drug induced rampage that Kurtz knocked out in the ER recently. Kurtz works as a surgeon, a good one, if he says so himself, which he does. Despite that old joke about if you should ask a surgeon to name the three very best surgeons in the entire world, he will have issues thinking of who the other two. Kurtz has a luxury apartment out on the East side, a busy practice, and a good looking girlfriend.

Kurtz demands the very best, from his residents, from all of his colleagues, and from himself. He is a man that never runs away from a fight. So when Sharon Lee, a former girlfriend, is found to be strangled in a hospital call room, he cannot resist getting involved. Along with Lew Barent, a police detective, he quickly finds himself caught up in a twisted story of brutal revenge, betrayal, and murder.

The medical details are utilized well, and the story line and plot work rather well. Robert makes it easy to connect with the detectives, the medical staff, and even the criminals. It is a well written tale that keeps you on your toes as to what is going to happen next.

“The Anatomy Lesson” is the second novel in the “Kurtz and Barent” series and was released in the year 2004. Kurtz, while trying to put his past behind him, gets swept up into another murder investigation.

Kurtz, having solved Sharon’s murder, settles back into a routine of teaching medical residents and students and taking care of his patients. He has a new love interest in Lenore Brinkman, a graphic artist, and life it seems has returned to normal when anatomy professor Rod Mahoney is discovered savagely murdered in his office.

Lew Barent has seen quite a few corpses in his job as a homicide investigator but even he is terrified by what has been done to Rod Mahoney. Kurtz got reluctantly pulled into the Sharon Lee investigation however his assistance proved to be crucial. Barent is certain that he can count on Kurtz once more, even more so when he learns that Kurtz and Mahoney were old friends.

Mahoney led a quiet life with a job he loved and a happy family. Mahoney didn’t have any obvious enemies however someone hated him enough to kill him and tear his corpse into pieces. Kurtz and Barent, who are determined to learn who killed Mahoney and why, find themselves investigating a warped story about decades-old revenge and bitter-regret all of a sudden. However some powerful forces do not want want this case solved, and Kurtz finds that while he’s hunting this killer, this killer is also hunting him.

These characters are well developed, likable, and entirely believable. The story line is enjoyable, the plotting fast paced, fun, and interesting read with enough twists that leave you guessing until the reveal. Kurtz and Barent each have engaging story lines outside of their tough case, adding depth to this story.

“Seizure” is the third novel in the “Kurtz and Barent” series and was released in the year 2009. A surgeon that lives the high life, with a detective that cannot wait to retire.

Barent is a police detective that has chronic migraine headaches, a job he looks forward to leaving, and a son-in-law that he can barely stand. Richard Kurtz has a luxury apartment on the East Side of Manhattan, a gorgeous girlfriend, and a growing practice. Together they have solved two improbable murders at Easton Medical Center and neither one of them expect a third.

However Eleanor Herbert, an elderly philanthropist, dreams she has witnessed a murder and there is a young hospital administrator who is discovered strangled. These two get pulled into a warped story of long simmering revenge, greed, and conspiracy.