Christopher Valen
Christopher Valen has published 13 books across 3 series. The recommended reading order starts with Writes of Spring (2012).
Christopher Valen writes police procedurals featuring Colombian-born, St. Paul Homicide Detective John Santana. His interest in writing began with the Hardy Boys, and after studying to be a teacher, he worked as a high school teacher and principal before becoming a college professor. A course with author Will Weaver set him on the path to publishing his novels, many of which are set in the Twin Cities. Valen has authored eleven John Santana novels, including White Tombs, The Black Minute, and Every Broken Thing. He also co-authored the historical murder mystery City of Stones with Dan Cohen and wrote the literary novel All The Fields. Valen resides in Arizona and Minnesota with his wife, Martha.
Shelf & Shadows
Order of Anthologies
- Tagsshort-storiesnon-fictioncrimeDescriptionSpringtime blooms in unexpected places, bringing crime along for the season. Christopher Valen presents a collection of short stories where the season of renewal is anything but peaceful. Authors were invited to use springtime as a setting and to weave crime into their narratives. Some tales veer into speculative fiction, while others explore different genres entirely. A few nonfiction pieces offer a different perspective, and some stories serve as tantalizing previews of novels still in progress. Within these pages, readers will find a diverse array of stories, each blooming with the promise of suspense.Publication dateMarch 22, 2012Amazon rating4.5/5Print length237LanguageEnglishPublisherNodin Pr
Order of John Santana Books
- TagshorrorDescriptionForced to flee Colombia at sixteen, Homicide Detective John Santana is haunted by guilt for leaving his younger sister, Natalia, behind. Now, a blood-spattered Mercedes belonging to the daughter of a prominent psychologist is found abandoned, with a million dollars' worth of reasons why someone might want her dead. Santana confronts a list of suspects: a philandering boyfriend, the victim's estranged sister with a penchant for drugs, an angry man whose adopted son committed suicide, and a shady lawyer. Santana’s search leads him to a mysterious woman who may hold the key, but finding her means returning to Colombia to face his past and the man who has vowed to kill him.Publication dateDecember 28, 2021Amazon rating4.4/5Print length382LanguageEnglishPublisherConquill Press
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionYoung men have been found in the Mississippi River for years, deaths ruled accidental and tied to alcohol. Then an Iraq war vet with PTSD surfaces in the water. St. Paul Homicide Detective John Santana must determine if this death is different, if something more sinister is at play. He finds himself caught between a reporter seeking a comeback, an FBI agent with a history, and a private investigator hunting a serial killer. Santana is drawn into a world of greed, seduction, and death. To uncover the truth, he must confront his own memories and a killer determined to silence him.Publication dateDecember 28, 2021Amazon rating4.4/5Print length342LanguageEnglishPublisherConquill Press
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionA beautiful escort’s death in a hotel room seems like a tragic accident. But when a woman arrives at the police department with her young daughter and a story of a similar death six years prior, Homicide Detective John Santana finds himself pulled into a dark world of drugs, sex, and deceit. He is on the trail of a secret buried in the past—a secret that could ruin powerful men and forces Santana to confront the very meaning of life and death, and the fragile boundary between the living and the dead.Publication dateDecember 28, 2021Amazon rating4.6/5Print length360LanguageEnglishPublisherConquill Press
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionTwo young women, murdered in caves along the Mississippi. St. Paul Detective John Santana sees the signs of a serial killer. But one victim doesn’t fit. Her connection to an NTSB investigator links her to an airliner’s crash off the California coast. Santana’s search for answers pulls him into a dangerous investigation. It spans from St. Paul to Washington D.C., and finally to Colombia. He races to stop a technology that could trigger a global economic meltdown. Facing internal and external politics, Santana must speak for the dead. He must also confront his own past.Publication dateDecember 28, 2021Amazon rating4.5/5Print length372LanguageEnglishPublisherConquill Press
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionThe body of a young woman is found on Harriet Island near the Mississippi River. It appears to be a simple case of murder and revenge. But what begins as a routine investigation for St. Paul Police Detectives John Santana soon morphs into something far more sinister. Paired with a Hmong partner he’s not sure he can trust, and attracted to a beautiful woman with dark secrets, Santana is drawn into a maze of political intrigue and broken promises made during the Vietnam War. Trusting his instincts and determined to find justice, Santana uncovers a web of lies and a terrifying plot that could lead to a national disaster––and to his own death.Publication dateDecember 28, 2021Amazon rating4.6/5Print length334LanguageEnglishPublisherConquill Press
- TagsmysterycrimesuspensethrillerDescriptionDetective John Santana takes on a cold case: the murder of an environmental engineer. He finds echoes of another investigation, the killing of a young Native American woman. Someone wants these deaths hidden. Santana hunts the killer, confronting his own past and a conspiracy that endangers him and the woman he loves.Publication dateDecember 28, 2021Amazon rating4.4/5Print length379LanguageEnglishPublisherConquill Press
- TagscrimemysteryDescriptionOne detective, two murders, and a web of secrets. Santana enters the heart of darkness to bring justice to the fallen. The death of a DEA agent pulls Santana off the cold case investigation of a young woman's murder and into the dark and lethal world of drug smuggling and sex-trafficking. Soon, he suspects there is a link between the two cases and a group of wealthy and highly influential men belonging to a secretive club. Working with the DEA agent's partner and hunted by a deadly sicario searching for the cartel's missing half-million dollars and the young woman who stole it, Santana is in a race against time to solve two murders and save the young woman's life.Publication dateOctober 1, 2021Amazon rating4.6/5Print length374LanguageEnglishPublisherSanta Rita Press
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionDetective John Santana promised a dead man's wife he would find the killer. Now, that promise could cost him his life. A leader in St. Paul's Hispanic community is dead, and the investigation ignites a dangerous chain of events. Suspects are murdered before they can talk. Santana's partner faces scrutiny from Internal Affairs. A shocking photo emerges. A snow plow becomes a weapon. The police brass wants Santana off the case. But Santana is hunting a vengeful assassin, haunted by his past, with one last chance to stop the killer and save a young woman's life.Publication dateDecember 28, 2021Amazon rating4.1/5Print length354LanguageEnglishPublisherConquill Press
- TagsmysteryDescriptionSnowfall at the St. Paul Winter Carnival unearths human remains in Como Park. Homicide Detective John Santana and his rookie partner, Gabriel Cruz, begin an investigation that pulls them into a dangerous current of secrets. An Afghani refugee connection and the apparent suicide of Tara Easton, a former Army vet found dead in her bathtub, deepen the mystery. The arrival of a government agent signals a threat far beyond their initial understanding. Santana and Cruz must navigate their own pasts and the unearthed bones to find the truth about Tara Easton and the secrets buried beneath the snow.Publication dateSeptember 1, 2023Amazon rating4.7/5Print length368LanguageEnglishPublisherSanta Rita Press
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionIn the sultry heat of a late July evening, the body of Sabrina Lockwood, the rebellious 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy venture capitalist, is found ritualistically posed on a pile of rocks in Shadow Falls Park. Strangled and left as if on an altar, her murder sends shockwaves through St. Paul. Homicide Detectives John Santana and Gabriel Cruz are tasked with untangling the mystery of Sabrina's death—a case that seems to lead only to more questions. As Santana and Cruz dig deeper, unsettling secrets emerge, linking Sabrina to a dangerous underworld of cults, blackmail, and AI conspiracies. A mysterious photo, an affair with ties to a Satanic leader, and a haunting video of Sabrina meeting a stranger in a parking garage—all seem to implicate those closest to her. With protests raging outside the home of cult leader Ezekiel Shade, and a mounting web of suspects, the detectives race against time to solve Sabrina’s murder. But with each lead, they uncover a deeper, darker web of deceit, where no one is innocent, and no one can be trusted.Publication dateJanuary 1, 2025Amazon rating4.5/5Print length360LanguageEnglishPublisherSanta Rita Press
Order of Standalone Novels
- Tags---DescriptionThe crack of the bat was the sound of Michael Collins’s future. But a single decision, born of love for a tormented woman, shattered his relationship with his father and forever altered his life’s trajectory. Now, the professional baseball player must navigate a world of betrayal and personal demons, unlocking the past to find his place in the present. Set against the landscapes of Virginia and Minnesota, this is a powerful tale of love, loss, and redemption.Publication dateNovember 15, 2018Amazon rating3.5/5Print length222LanguageEnglishPublisherIndependently published
- TagscrimemysterysuspensethrillerDescriptionThe rain is falling on Minneapolis, a city rife with anti-Semitism and corruption. When a police officer is murdered, two young Jewish men are accused. The investigation into their deaths unearths a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the city. Detective Jake Cafferty, battling his own demons, sees a chance for redemption. Nick Cole, a war hero eager for a promotion, will stop at nothing to succeed. And Kate Dawson, the DA's first female attorney, risks her career and her life to expose a crooked cop. In this deceitful city, everyone has a secret, and the truth could cost them everything.Publication dateDecember 28, 2021Amazon rating4.2/5Print length395LanguageEnglishPublisherConquill Press
Frequently Asked Questions about Christopher Valen
Christopher Valen writes the John Santana police procedurals, a series best read in order. The series began with Bad Weeds Never Die in 2021. Other books in the series include Bone Shadows, Death's Way, Speak For The Dead, and The Black Minute, all published in 2021. He also has standalone novels. If you are new to Valen's work, starting with the first John Santana novel, Bad Weeds Never Die, will provide a solid introduction to his detective and the world he inhabits.
The best place to start with Christopher Valen's work is the beginning of his John Santana series. The first novel in this series is Bad Weeds Never Die, published in 2021. This book introduces St. Paul Homicide Detective John Santana and establishes the procedural style Valen employs. Reading the series chronologically allows readers to follow Santana's development and the unfolding narrative arcs within the Twin Cities setting.
While some of Christopher Valen's John Santana novels may be read as standalones due to their procedural nature, reading them in order is recommended. The series follows Detective John Santana and his investigations, and a chronological reading order allows for the best understanding of character development and recurring plot elements. The first book in the series is Bad Weeds Never Die, published in 2021.
Christopher Valen writes both series and standalone novels. He is known for the John Santana series, which features a recurring detective and is set in St. Paul. Within this series, there are multiple books, all published in 2021, starting with Bad Weeds Never Die. Valen has also written standalone novels, including the literary novel All The Fields from 2018 and the historical murder mystery City of Stones from 2021, which he co-authored.
Christopher Valen has written at least eleven books in his John Santana series. In addition to these, he has authored the literary novel All The Fields and co-authored the historical murder mystery City of Stones. He also has a collection titled Writes of Spring. This brings the total number of his published books to over thirteen.
The first book published by Christopher Valen was Writes of Spring, released in 2012. This collection is part of his Order of Anthologies. Following this, he began his popular John Santana series with the novel Bad Weeds Never Die in 2021. His other works include standalone novels like All The Fields and City of Stones.
Christopher Valen's most recent book appears to be City of Stones, a historical murder mystery co-authored with Dan Cohen, published in 2021. This was released in the same year as several entries in his John Santana series, such as Bad Weeds Never Die, Bone Shadows, Death's Way, Speak For The Dead, and The Black Minute.
Christopher Valen writes police procedurals, featuring the St. Paul Homicide Detective John Santana. He also writes literary novels and historical murder mysteries. His interest in writing was sparked by the Hardy Boys, and his novels often draw on his experiences and observations from his time living and working in the Twin Cities.
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We verified the reading order for Christopher Valen's books by cross-referencing official publication dates, ISBN databases, and publisher catalogs.
Last verified: July 2026
Shelf & Shadows. (…). “Christopher Valen Books in Order.” Retrieved …, from https://www.shelfandshadows.com/authors/christopher-valen