J.R. Sanders Books In Order

Publication Order of Nate Ross Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Images of America: California Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

J.R. Sanders is an American published author. He has won awards for his writing and is a native Midwesterner as well as a longtime Los Angeles suburbs citizen.

He has written fictional books as well as nonfiction articles, which have been published in such periodical magazines as Law & Order and Wild West. He has also written books such as Some Gave All, which extends to the reader real accounts of Old West lawmen who have since been forgotten but were originally killed acting in the line of duty.

Sanders is the creator and the author of the Nate Ross series. The series kicked off with Stardust Trail in 2020, introducing the reader to the detective story set among film production in Hollywood in the thirties for the first time. The book was received well and was a 2021 Spur Award Finalist for best western historical novel as well as a Silver Falchion Finalist for best investigator.

The second novel to come out in the series was titled Dead-Bang Fall. It was the winner of the 2023 Shamus Award for the best original PI paperback. The third book, Bring the Night, was a 2024 Shamus Award Finalist for the best original PI paperback.

The author grew up in Newton, Kansas, one of the original towns known for cows. He has had an interest in the history of the Old West ever since his childhood, when he would go with his family to visit various sites such as Abilene, Dodge City, and the Dalton Gang hideout.

Meanwhile, Sanders’ interest in crime was also likely influenced from his own experiences. The author has previous worked in southern California as both a private investigator and a police officer.

The author used to serve as a living historian. He has portrayed all types of roles from cowboys to lawmen to soldiers and prospectors of the Gold Rush in presentations for historical societies, colleges, schools, and institutions (which have extended to the Huntington Library and the Autry Museum of the American West).

J.R. has also written public service spots to be broadcast on local cable television and has been behind the scenes as well as on-camera for the documentary series Dangerous Missions for A&E and the History Channel. His books have been utilized in various educational programs that include the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

The author is married to his wife Rose. They reside in southern California along with Ruby and Marlowe, their rescue dogs. He belongs to a variety of writing groups, including the Western Fictioneers, the Western Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, Private Eye Writers of America, the American Crime Writers League, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Stardust Trail is the first book in the Nate Ross series of fictional novels by J.R. Sanders. If you have been looking for a private investigator detective story but haven’t been successful, you are in luck! Grab a copy and your favorite beverage and settle in for a classic mystery ride.

Readers are introduced to the main character of Nate Ross for the first time in this debut mystery. Nate is a private investigator and although he works out of Hollywood, he also hates it. But he’s got to pay the bills and stock the fridge somehow, so when a juicy case comes along he feels he’s got to take it.

It goes against his better judgment, but he’s in no position to turn down work. It’s the spring of 1938, and the whole job sounds like a milk run. Of course, he’s been in the game long enough to know better. His mission is to track down a screenwriter known for enjoying the drink.

The alcoholic artist has vanished without notice, and his absence is holding up production on the latest Western picture from Republic Pictures. The rummy’s disappearance is cause for concern, but there’s no need to worry about what has happened to him anymore once the author turns up dead.

Nate knows for sure now that someone is going to great lengths to keep the movie– named Stardust Trail– from ever being made. Just like that, his easy case has turned into something vastly more complicated. It’s also clear to him that the killer will go to great pains to keep the movie from being made. It’s not a great stretch of the imagination to think that he could be the next target.

As the lines between the real West and the generated one start to blur, Nate does his best to keep things straight and try to get to the bottom of it all. Can he save the day and the movie by catching the killer? Or is this private eye about to find out that this murder is his most difficult case yet and a trial by fire? Read this Wild West crime story to find out!

Dead-Bang Fall is the second novel in the Nate Ross series by J.R. Sanders. It is the 2023 Shamus Award Winner for best original PI paperback and a great sequel to the first story which introduced Nate Ross to reading audiences for the first time!

Nate Ross is back again, and it’s March of 1939. He’s still a private eye, and he still can’t seem to get away from Hollywood. Oh well, it’s all part of the detective game, he supposes.

Nate has a new case, and it’s about to get even more intense when one of the ‘miscreants’ of the case is killed, and it’s looking like murder. Worse, Nate appears to be the prime witness. To top that off, the top suspect of the LAPD shows up asking for his help. The old friend and former colleague quickly disappears again to go on the run from Nate and the cops alike.

Meanwhile, the private eye must contend with ghosts from his past and his attempt to try to prove the innocence of his client, who has gone on the lam. His decision brings him to clash with hostile police and everyone from mobsters to assassins to a damsel in distress. Can he solve the case and get back to business as usual? Read the second book in the Nate Ross series to find out!