Best Craig Schaefer Books
Craig Schaefer writes noir urban fantasy with the soul of a crime thriller — his Daniel Faust series drops a Las Vegas con man and sorcerer into a criminal underworld where demons are just another faction fighting for turf. The Long Way Down sets the tone immediately: sharp, propulsive prose, morally complicated protagonists, and a city that feels genuinely dangerous rather than decoratively seedy. Schaefer layers occult mythology over heist mechanics with real craft — the magic never overwhelms the plot, it complicates it. Titles like A Plain-Dealing Villain and The Neon Boneyard signal exactly what he's doing: classic noir sensibility reframed for readers who want their darkness supernatural. Adam Verner's narration in the audiobooks is a perfect fit, lean and street-smart. If you love Dresden Files but want something grittier and more grounded in genre crime fiction, Schaefer is the writer you've been looking for.
Where to Start with Craig Schaefer
- Best entry point → The White Gold Score
- Start the Daniel Faust series → The Long Way Down
- Quick read, big payoff → Down Among the Dead Men
- What readers keep coming back to → Redemption Song
- Highest rated by readers → Dig Two Graves (Daniel Faust #11)
Best Craig Schaefer Books
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Down Among the Dead Men
Daniel Faust • Book 10
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After betrayal and death, occult con-man Daniel Faust finds himself literally in hell, racing against a countdown that will sever his final connection to life. Urban fantasy that takes its supernatural elements seriously.
★ 4.51 Goodreads (993 ratings) - 2
Double or Nothing
Daniel Faust • Book 7
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Sorcerer-thief Daniel Faust owes a debt payable only through a dangerous heist targeting his arch-nemesis—a man with a Cheshire smile and godlike powers protecting a sacrificial dagger.
★ 4.35 Goodreads (1.9K ratings) - 3
The Locust Job
Daniel Faust • Book 9
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A magician-mobster learns he's imprisoned in the universe's original story, condemned to repeat the role of Thief forever. Schaefer explores fate versus free will through supernatural crime fiction.
★ 4.42 Goodreads (1.2K ratings) - 4
The Castle Doctrine
Daniel Faust • Book 6
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Fresh out of prison, occult detective Daniel Faust walks into a supernatural mob war tearing Las Vegas apart. Magic and bullets fly as Chicago muscle faces Vegas mysticism.
★ 4.30 Goodreads (2.2K ratings) - 5
The Killing Floor Blues
Daniel Faust • Book 5
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The Iceberg prison sits deep in the Mojave with no escape—until Daniel Faust arrives, framed for murder and trapped by a deadly curse that makes survival nearly impossible.
★ 4.23 Goodreads (2.8K ratings) - 6
The Neon Boneyard
Daniel Faust • Book 8
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Las Vegas sorcerer Daniel Faust has clawed his way to mob boss status, but the past never stays dead in a city built on illusion. Blood-soaked rise to power meets supernatural consequences in neon-lit streets.
★ 4.29 Goodreads (1.7K ratings) - 7
A Plain-Dealing Villain
Daniel Faust • Book 4
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Broke and hunted by a rogue FBI agent, Daniel Faust flees Vegas for Chicago, where a promising heist hides the kind of risks that get sorcerers killed.
★ 4.19 Goodreads (2.9K ratings) - 8
Dig Two Graves
Daniel Faust • Book 11
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Hell-returned Daniel Faust sports a new face and a murder list: tiger-queen Naavarasi and his backstabbing brother both need killing in Schaefer's brutal fantasy.
★ 4.45 Goodreads (735 ratings) - 9
The Living End
Daniel Faust • Book 3
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While Daniel fights to survive FBI attention and supernatural gang wars, homeless people disappearing from Las Vegas streets signals a threat that makes his other problems seem trivial. Schaefer escalates both personal and cosmic stakes expertly.
★ 4.10 Goodreads (3.4K ratings) - 10
Redemption Song
Daniel Faust • Book 2
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Sorcerer Daniel Faust's no-innocent-kills rule gets tested when infernal Prince Sitri demands murder as the price for reuniting him with his lover Caitlin.
★ 4.05 Goodreads (4.1K ratings) - 11
The Long Way Down
Daniel Faust • Book 1
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Las Vegas sorcerer-for-hire Daniel Faust takes what seems like straightforward revenge work, only to find himself caught between dirty cops, violent filmmakers, and his own criminal past. Urban fantasy meets noir detective fiction.
★ 3.94 Goodreads (6.5K ratings) - 12
The White Gold Score
Daniel Faust #1.5 • Book 1
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When a high roller's ghost refuses to leave his Vegas suite, modern sorcerer Daniel Faust discovers some hauntings run deeper than death. Schaefer blends urban fantasy with casino noir in this tight supernatural thriller.
★ 4.13 Goodreads (1.4K ratings)