Craig McDonald

Craig McDonald is a bestselling author, particularly known for his Hector Lassiter series. The series debuted in 2007 with "Head Games," which was a significant success for McDonald, earning nominations for several prestigious awards including the Gumshoe Award, the Edgar Award, and the Anthony Award for best first novel in the United States.

McDonald is an American writer who has made a name for himself in the thriller, literature & fiction, historical fiction, and mystery genres. He has gained international acclaim for his Hector Lassiter series, which has earned him nominations for prestigious literary awards such as the Edgar Award and the Anthony Award. Besides writing novels, he also works as a journalist and editor. "Head Games," McDonald's first book, received a lot of recognition, with nominations for the Crimespree Magazine and Gumshoe awards, in addition to an Anthony and Edgar, in the category of the best first book. The book is also famous for its planned adaptation into a graphic novel by First Second.

In addition to the Hector Lassiter series, McDonald has also written a standalone thriller titled "El Gavilan," which was published in autumn 2011 and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. The book was also selected for several year's best lists. In 2012, McDonald launched a new series of direct-to-eBook thrillers featuring crime novelist Chris Lyon, with crossovers by characters from the Hector Lassiter series. He has also published two volumes of author interviews, "Art in the Blood" and "Rogue Males." In 2022, McDonald launched a new series featuring pulp magazine-style heroine Zana O'Savin in a pastiche of classic pulp fiction heroes such as Doc Savage and The Shadow.
Chris Lyon Thriller Books
# Title Year
1 Parts Unknown 2012
2 Carnival Noir 2013
3 Cabal 2013
4 Angels of Darkness 2013
Hector Lassiter Books
# Title Year
1 Head Games 2007
2 Toros & Torsos 2008
3 Print the Legend 2010
4 One True Sentence 2011
5 Forever's Just Pretend 2014
6 Roll the Credits 2014
7 The Great Pretender 2014
8 The Running Kind 2014
9 Death in the Face 2015
10 Three Chords & the Truth 2016
11 Write from Wrong 2021
Hector Lassiter Series in Chronological Order
# Title Year
1 One True Sentence 2011
2 Forever's Just Pretend 2014
3 Toros & Torsos 2008
4 The Great Pretender 2014
5 Roll the Credits 2014
6 The Running Kind 2014
7 Head Games 2007
8 Print the Legend 2010
9 Death in the Face 2015
10 Three Chords & the Truth 2016
11 Write from Wrong 2021
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 El Gavilan 2011
2 Once a World 2019
Graphic Novels
# Title Year
1 Head Games: The Graphic Novel 2017
Non-Fiction Books
# Title Year
1 Art in the Blood 2006
2 Rogue Males 2009
Craig McDonald Anthologies
# Title Year
1 Crimespree Magazine #52 2013
2 Crimespree Magazine #58 2015
3 Borderland Noir 2015
4 Crimespree Magazine #61 2015
5 Crimespree Magazine #63 2016