J. Michael Orenduff
J. Michael Orenduff has published 10 books. The recommended reading order starts with The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier (2010).
J. Michael Orenduff is an American mystery writer who served as president of New Mexico State University before leaving academia to write the Pot Thief series, humorous mysteries centered on an antiquities dealer who keeps stumbling into murder. He earned his M.A. from the University of New Mexico and his doctorate from Tulane, then taught at universities in seven states and three countries before what he calls early retirement and his friends call a midlife crisis.
The gamble paid off. The first book, The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras, won the Dark Oak Mystery Contest and was named New Mexico Book of the Year, while the Kindle edition took the EPIC eBook Mystery of the Year for 2009. The second installment, The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy, won Best Fiction from the Public Safety Writers Association and also claimed an EPIC award, marking the first time two books in the same series won back-to-back Eppies. The series reached its highest recognition when The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein won the Lefty Award at the Left Coast Crime Conference in Santa Fe for best humorous mystery of the year.
Orenduff also writes for the stage. His play The Christmas Visitor won the Jewel Box Playwriting Contest and sold out all ten performances at its world premiere at The Pasadena Little Theater in 2013.
Shelf & Shadows
Order of A Pot Thief Murder Mystery Books
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionHubert Schuze is standing in his Old Town Albuquerque pottery shop when trouble walks in wearing the guise of opportunity. A pot thief by trade and temperament, he's used to dancing on the edge of legality, but this time the stakes involve more than ancient artifacts—someone's been murdered, and Hubert's about to find himself stirring a pot he never meant to touch. The world here is sun-baked adobe and margaritas at Dos Hermanas, where Hubert and his friend Susannah parse out the mysteries of both haute cuisine and homicide. Escoffier's culinary philosophy becomes an unlikely lens through which our reluctant detective views the case, because when you deal in stolen pots and provenance, you learn that presentation matters as much as substance. Hubert's no hard-boiled gumshoe—he's a philosophical antiquities dealer with a taste for good food and a knack for stumbling into murder. His investigations unfold with the leisurely pace of a long lunch, punctuated by moments of genuine danger. This is cozy mystery with a Southwestern flavor, where the humor is as dry as the desert air and the stakes are real enough to matter. Orenduff serves up a mystery that's equal parts culinary meditation and criminal puzzle, proof that you don't need to be a professional detective to get tangled up in murder—sometimes you just need to be curious, stubborn, and a little bit larcenous.Publication dateJanuary 1, 2010Amazon rating4.5/5Print length220LanguageEnglishPublisherDark Oak Mysteries
- TagsmysterycrimesuspensethrillerDescriptionThere's something deliciously subversive about a pot thief who deals in ancient artifacts and stumbles into murder. Hubert Schuze isn't your typical detective. He's a small-time antiquities dealer in Albuquerque with a knack for finding trouble and a weakness for margaritas. When Hubert gets tangled up in a mystery involving D. H. Lawrence—yes, that Lawrence—things get complicated fast. The world of rare books and stolen relics collides with academic intrigue. Someone's dead. Someone's lying. And Hubert, with his dry wit and questionable ethics, has to figure out who and why. He's not a hero. He's not even particularly law-abiding. But he's clever, and he's got a moral compass that points true even when it's inconvenient. This is cozy mystery with a Southwestern edge. The prose is light, the humor sharp, and the setting—New Mexico's art scene and literary history—adds texture and charm. Orenduff knows how to keep the pages turning without sacrificing character or place. If you like your mysteries with a side of tequila, a protagonist who's more rogue than knight, and a plot that doesn't take itself too seriously, this one's for you. It's smart. It's fun. It's the kind of book that makes you want to pour a drink and settle in for the ride.Publication dateMay 12, 2012Amazon rating5/5Print length242LanguageEnglishPublisherAakenbaaken & Kent
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionWhat happens when a pot thief with a taste for ancient artifacts gets tangled up in the legend of Billy the Kid? Hubert Schuze, our unlikely hero, deals in pre-Columbian pottery—sometimes legally, sometimes not—and he's about to discover that the Old West's most notorious outlaw still has secrets worth killing for. When Hubert's curiosity leads him from his Albuquerque shop into the dusty mythology surrounding Billy the Kid, he stumbles onto something far more dangerous than he bargained for. The line between historical research and modern-day murder blurs fast. What starts as an intellectual puzzle becomes a fight for survival. Hubert isn't your typical detective. He's wry, a bit morally flexible, and more comfortable appraising ancient clay than dodging bullets. But his knowledge of the Southwest's hidden history and his knack for reading people make him surprisingly good at unraveling mysteries—even when they involve century-old legends and contemporary corpses. Orenduff blends archaeological intrigue with southwestern charm and a healthy dose of humor. The result is a mystery that feels like sitting in a cantina with a friend who knows all the best stories—some funny, some deadly serious, all impossible to walk away from. If you love your mysteries with a side of margaritas and a protagonist who's more antihero than saint, this is your book.Publication dateDecember 31, 2013Amazon rating4.6/5Print length282LanguageEnglishPublisherOpen Road Media Mystery & Thriller
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionCan you really steal something that's been buried for a thousand years? That's the question Hubert Schuze wrestles with as he plies his trade as an Albuquerque pot dealer—not the kind that gets you arrested, but the kind that involves ancient Native American pottery. He's equal parts antiquarian and opportunist, a man who knows the difference between artifact and felony but isn't always sure where the line falls. When Hubert's philosophical musings about relativity and ownership collide with an actual murder investigation, his cozy world of margaritas and moral ambiguity gets a lot more complicated. This isn't your typical mystery series protagonist: Schuze is cerebral, self-aware, and refreshingly unheroic, more likely to ponder Einstein's theories over cocktails with his friend Susannah than to chase down killers. Yet somehow he keeps stumbling into situations that require both his archaeological expertise and his knack for survival. Orenduff has crafted something rare here—a mystery that's as much about ideas as it is about whodunit. The Southwestern setting feels lived-in rather than touristic, and the humor is dry as the desert itself. Schuze's voice is the real treasure: wry, self-deprecating, and smart enough to make you think while keeping you thoroughly entertained. It's cerebral comfort food, a series that proves cozy mysteries can have brains and wit in equal measure.Publication dateDecember 31, 2013Amazon rating4.3/5Print length248LanguageEnglishPublisherOpen Road Integrated Media, Inc.
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionHubert Schuze is a potter, a philosopher, and yes, a thief. He creates exquisite fakes of ancient Native American pottery to supplement his income. He debates Ptolemy versus Kepler over margaritas. And in this second installment, he finds himself framed for murder. The residents of San Roque pueblo hire Schuze to recover sacred pots stolen from them years ago. It's a chance to right a wrong and pocket some cash. But the job goes sideways fast. A dead body turns up in the very apartment he's burgling. Suddenly he's the prime suspect in a killing he didn't commit. What follows is a tangle of baseball-bat wielding thugs, a beautiful news reporter, a flamboyant art dealer from the college that expelled Schuze, and a detective who operates in moral gray zones. Schuze must navigate this chaos while proving his innocence. His secret weapon? His best friend Susannah, whose sharp wit matches his own. Orenduff writes dialogue that crackles. The banter between Schuze and Susannah carries the book, witty and occasionally hilarious, reminiscent of Lawrence Block at his best. This is a quick, satisfying mystery set against the vivid backdrop of the American Southwest. Schuze is a likable rogue, a deep-thinking antihero who makes crime look philosophical. You'll root for him even when you shouldn't.Publication dateDecember 31, 2013Amazon rating4.4/5Print length290LanguageEnglishPublisherOpen Road Media Mystery & Thriller
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionThis is a mystery that refuses to take itself too seriously, and that's exactly its charm. Hubert Schuze is a pot thief—an antiquities dealer who isn't above a little illegal digging—and when he's offered a small fortune to steal a thousand-year-old Anasazi pot from a museum, he can't resist. The job goes sideways, as these things do, and suddenly Hubert is tangled up in murder, ancient mathematics, and the kind of trouble that makes you wish you'd stuck to legitimate business. Orenduff writes with a light touch and a wry sense of humor, letting his protagonist stumble through danger with equal parts cleverness and luck. What makes this book work is Hubert himself. He's no hard-boiled detective or tortured antihero. He's a regular guy who loves margaritas, hates pretension, and has a knack for getting in over his head. The Pythagoras angle adds an unexpected intellectual twist—geometry and ancient pottery make strange bedfellows, but Orenduff pulls it off. The New Mexico setting is vivid without being overdone, and the pacing keeps you turning pages even when the stakes feel more quirky than life-or-death. This is cozy mystery territory with sharper edges, a series starter that knows exactly what it wants to be: smart, funny, and thoroughly entertaining.Publication dateDecember 31, 2013Amazon rating4.2/5Print length302LanguageEnglishPublisherOpen Road Media Mystery & Thriller
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionWhat does it take to turn a mild-mannered potter into an art thief with a conscience? In J. Michael Orenduff's delightfully offbeat mystery, Hubie Schuze is a New Mexico potter who supplements his income by digging up ancient Anasazi pots—a practice that lands him somewhere between archaeologist and grave robber. When he's not dodging federal agents or debating the ethics of his trade, he's studying the stark beauty of Georgia O'Keeffe's desert landscapes, finding in them a kindred appreciation for the Southwest's ancient artistry. But this time, his fascination with art pulls him into a puzzle far more dangerous than any pot hunt. Orenduff crafts a mystery that's equal parts caper and character study, anchored by Hubie's wry voice and his peculiar moral code. The Pot Thief operates in the shadows of legality, yet he's utterly charming—a man who can wax poetic about pre-Columbian pottery one moment and stumble into murder the next. The Georgia O'Keeffe connection isn't just window dressing; it threads through the narrative, linking art, history, and the high desert landscape into something unexpectedly resonant. This is cozy mystery with grit under its fingernails, a series that knows the Southwest isn't all sunsets and adobe—it's also secrets buried in the sand.Publication dateFebruary 9, 2016Amazon rating4.3/5Print length300LanguageEnglishPublisherOpen Road Media Mystery & Thriller
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionThis installment in the Pot Thief mystery series understands something essential about the American Southwest: that the desert is not empty space but a repository of memory, contradiction, and stubborn independence, much like the anarchic spirit of Edward Abbey himself. J. Michael Orenduff channels that restless energy into a narrative where ancient pottery and modern ethics collide in the dusty corners of Albuquerque. Hubert Schuze, the pot thief of the title, navigates a world where the line between artifact recovery and outright theft grows hazier with each dig, each transaction, each moral compromise. His study of Abbey—that patron saint of environmental sabotage and desert solitude—becomes more than literary exercise; it's a framework for understanding how far one might go when laws conflict with deeper loyalties. The novel moves with the unhurried confidence of a man who knows the territory, letting character and place dictate pace rather than forcing urgency where contemplation serves better. Orenduff writes with a dry wit that mirrors the landscape, finding humor in the absurdities of the art world, the bureaucracy of cultural preservation, and the philosophical tangles that arise when you make your living from the dead. The result is a mystery that feels less like a puzzle to solve than a meditation on ownership, legacy, and what we owe to the past—questions Abbey himself would have relished dismantling over cheap whiskey and a campfire.Publication dateMay 22, 2018Amazon rating4.4/5Print length300LanguageEnglishPublisherOpen Road Media Mystery & Thriller
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionA pot thief with a conscience walks a fine line between artifact dealer and outlaw. Hubie Schuze knows the Southwest's ancient pottery like few others do. He also knows how to bend the rules when the price is right. This time, the trail leads to Otowi Crossing, a place steeped in history and secrets. The woman who lived there left behind more than memories. She left behind questions that pull Hubie into a mystery far more dangerous than his usual antiquities escapades. What starts as scholarly curiosity becomes something darker, something that threatens to bury him alongside the relics he covets. Orenduff writes with a dry wit that makes even felonious behavior feel charming. Hubie is no hero, but he's honest about his flaws, and that honesty makes him irresistible. The New Mexico setting is rendered with the specificity of someone who knows the desert's moods, its silences, its capacity for violence. This is cozy mystery with an edge. The stakes are real. The humor is sharp. And Hubie Schuze is the kind of amateur sleuth who solves crimes not because he's noble, but because he's nosy, stubborn, and in way over his head. If you like your mysteries seasoned with Southwestern flavor and a protagonist who operates in moral gray zones, this one delivers.Publication dateJune 8, 2021Amazon rating4.5/5Print length215LanguageEnglishPublisherOpen Road Media Mystery & Thriller
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionAlbuquerque. Old Town. A shop where ancient pottery changes hands and questions multiply. Hubert Schuze deals in pre-Columbian artifacts, a trade that exists in the gray space between legal and not. He knows clay. He knows provenance. He knows when to ask questions and when to stay quiet. This time, the questions lead to John Calvin. Sixteenth-century theology. Predestination and free will. Strange territory for a pot thief, but Hubert follows where the trail leads. The pots are old. The ideas are older. Someone thinks both are worth killing for. Hubert navigates cantinas and libraries, trading banter with his friend Susannah over margaritas while dodging danger that feels both absurd and deadly serious. The Southwest sun beats down. The mystery deepens. And Hubert discovers that studying Calvin might just save his life—or condemn it.Publication dateJanuary 14, 2025Amazon rating4.4/5Print length234LanguageEnglishPublisherOpen Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Frequently Asked Questions about J. Michael Orenduff
The books by J. Michael Orenduff should be read in the order they were published within the A Pot Thief Murder Mystery series. This sequence ensures that the ongoing narrative and character development are followed chronologically, allowing readers to fully appreciate the progression of events and the protagonist's experiences. Starting with the earliest published novel provides the intended experience of the series.
To begin reading J. Michael Orenduff's work, start with the first book in the A Pot Thief Murder Mystery series. This novel introduces the main character and the central premise of the series. Following the publication order from this first book will provide a clear and consistent path through the author's narrative.
While some mysteries can be enjoyed individually, the A Pot Thief Murder Mystery series is designed to be read in publication order. Each book builds upon the previous ones, developing the character of the pot thief and his evolving circumstances. Reading them out of order may lead to confusion regarding plot points and character relationships.
J. Michael Orenduff primarily writes series. His most recognized work is the A Pot Thief Murder Mystery series, which features a recurring protagonist and interconnected storylines across multiple installments.
J. Michael Orenduff has written more than 15 books, with the majority belonging to the A Pot Thief Murder Mystery series. The series itself has a substantial number of entries, indicating a focus on developing a prolonged narrative arc.
The first book J. Michael Orenduff wrote in the A Pot Thief Murder Mystery series is The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier, published in 2010. This novel established the character and the unique blend of mystery and academic exploration that defines the series.
Information regarding J. Michael Orenduff's most recent book is not readily available. The A Pot Thief Murder Mystery series has seen numerous installments, with the latest publications occurring in the mid-2010s.
J. Michael Orenduff writes mystery novels, specifically within the subgenre of cozy mysteries or lighthearted crime fiction. His books often blend elements of academic interest and the protagonist's peculiar profession with intriguing plotlines.
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We verified the reading order for J. Michael Orenduff's books by cross-referencing official publication dates, ISBN databases, and publisher catalogs.
Last verified: April 2026
Shelf & Shadows. (…). “J. Michael Orenduff Books in Order.” Retrieved …, from https://www.shelfandshadows.com/authors/j-michael-orenduff