Books by Ned Hickson
Hickson has done a magnificent job creating characters that fit the traditional archetypes of a crime novel and yet imbuing each with texture and nuance. These are people, not caricatures, and but for Hickson’s natural sense of humor, would seem completely comfortable within your favorite Film Noir. It takes little to envision the cast of characters being played by a less cynical Humphrey Bogart, a mature Lauren Bacall, and a greasier Sidney Greenstreet.
No Safe Harbor is a quick read because the characters are authentic and compelling, and the narrative reads like whitewater rafting feels. And yet, for the speed with which I read the story, I never felt short-changed. This is a very complete story and Hickson has done a great job making sure there are no loose threads, which can be so annoying in mystery novels. Everything makes sense. Everything is accounted for.
Hickson’s experience as a newspaper journalist may also explain why this is such an easy read, as each scene is compact. Chapters are short—for those who like to stretch the experience out—and moments are broken out and self-contained. This isn’t a novel of long-winded introspection and extensive prose descriptions. This is a novel filled with action, offering just enough self-examination and description to make sure everything makes sense.
This is a movie or TV series bound by hardcover.
‘Authentic and Compelling Characters'
Randy Willis
Nothing better in my estimation than a mystery series. Author Ned Hickson has gifted us with a winner of a series. Having introduced us to his intriguing lead character Shane McPhearson in his series opener, “No Safe Harbor” Hickson now unveils cleverly in his second offering,”Harbinger of Truth” a past to his private investigator that locks the reader into the need to know more of the story. What a story it is set in the Pacific Northwest’s beautiful “Rose City” of Portland, Oregon! Hickson again has provided us with enough excitement and mystery that we will both want and need to know more. So bring on the third Shane McPhearson mystery soon!
‘Loved the first, the second, waiting for the third!'
Rev. Dennis Forsberg
What a fun read. I savored it over a couple weeks, and each night I looked forward to my nightly humor fix. There are so many laugh-out-loud moments. From a note to a doctor to make sure the right body part is operated on and mobile restaurants to keep you trim, to catfish noodling and snoring dogs. But I think my biggest laugh-out-loud moment was when Hickson described how he still squeezes into his old tattered jeans just because he can, even if “...the contents of my pockets look like they’ve been vacuum packed.”
If you need a good dose of humor, I highly recommend this entertaining read.
No Safe Harbor
A Pacific Northwest Crime Novel
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In this debut novel that kicks off the Pacific Northwest-based Shane McPhearson, P.I. series, what begins as a simple attempt by McPhearson to find the guardians of an 8-year-old boy discovered hiding in Seattle's Lincoln Park reveals a wide-spread web of lies, cover-ups and deception woven throughout the city's Eighth Precinct, with ties to organized crime — and Jacob knowing the secret that threatens them all.
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Harbinger of Truth
A Shane McPhearson, P.I. novel
The Shane McPhearson, P.I., series continues in this discovery-driven sequel to No Safe Harbor, as Shane learns the truth behind how massive corruption among Portland's lawmakers and police in the late 1950s is directly connected to his own abandonment as a child — creating a ripple effect tying his newly discovered past to the ongoing threat he has been trying to end.
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Requiem for Revenge
A Shane McPhearson, P.I. novel
In this third book of the series, Shane McPhearson leaves his beloved Pacific Northwest as he tracks down mob boss Rick Sparlo and must eventually decide between his personal desire for revenge, and society's need for justice — and the ultimate consequences of each for himself and Jacob.
Coming September 2026
The Truth About Emily
A YA paranormal mystery
After starting life over again in Los Angeles with his mom, 16-year-old Clint Taylor's world is turned upside down again when, after the tragic death of his mother, he is sent back to Oregon to live with his alcoholic father. Angry and feeling utterly alone, Clint soon discovers someone even more alone — a teen named Emily who needs his help in revealing the truth behind her death 15 years earlier at a now abandoned Troubled Teen Institute.
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Coming spring 2026
Humor at the Speed of Life
A collection of humor columns
From the dangers of family forays in the kitchen (Flaming Pop Tarts), and the careful maneuvering of male-female relations (Women are From Venus, and Men Won't Ask for Directions), to the dangers of working as an under-appreciated JURNALIST, Ned takes us through day-to-day misadventures we can all relate to. "It is fascinating following the workings of Ned Hickson's clever mind as he deftly turns ordinary daily happenings into pure hilarity. Hickson reminds us that life can be very funny indeed, especially when viewed through his lens." — Gay Shook - Editor of The Weekly - Gwinette, Georgia
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This brisk new crime novel from the incomparable Ned Hickson does a thrilling job of transporting the reader into an analog Seattle at the dawn of gentrification, when you could still find a payphone on the corner to respond to your pager, and the worst drug on the street was heroin. Even as the pace accelerates and pirouettes in the way every good thriller should, at the center there is the admirable essence of pure “dad” — Shane, a big hearted, clever and experienced guy, doing his best to do right while drinking from the firehose of circumstances beyond his control.
Shane’s world is class conscious, with a through-line of disdain of those with money or power, and his guarded emotional landscape is like the book itself: never exceedingly cynical and kept under tight control, so as to not slow the story. Like a good carnival ride, No Safe Harbor is the all-American cheeseburger of this reader’s recent crime novel experiences. It was hard to stop consuming, deeply familiar in its themes, and over in a blink and a smile. I’ve never been to Sam’s Chowder Nook, but like the book itself, it is familiar and safe and will put a smile on your face — like a reader’s experience in this capable author’s hands.
‘Tasty Read'
Nick Henderson
Buckle up! Harbinger of Truth will not let you down easy. A fast paced story of redemption and love taken just when you think happiness is possible. You will become immersed in the lives of Private Investigator Shane McPhearson, his special girl Sam, and the young abandoned boy Jacob, who are just beginning to become a family, one of trust, love, and safety. But of course there is still that villain, Sparlo, who haunts Shane's past and has vowed to remove his future.
Author Hickson spares no assault on your emotion. You will laugh, cry, and suffer as the the main character, P.I. Shane McPhearson embraces the man he had hoped he would never have to become again. But even in all of that, you will not want to look away. You will want him to do what he has do as he discovers the connection his family had to Portland, Oregon's dark and lethal organized crime.
‘Buckle up!'
Pamela Vosseller
Author of "OnlY"
This is what humor with heart is all about. In these stories, the author knows how to inject just enough comedy, just the right amount of skewed perspective, to fully realize the truth of the situation without getting so ridiculous that he loses the reader. And if you have your own family life that you can relate it to, so much the better.
I don’t think you can go wrong with Humor at the Speed of Life. It does what it sets out to do: Chronicle one man’s fight against being a normal guy whose journalism only presents the mundane facts of our everyday world. There may not even be any facts in this book, that’s how good of a journalist he is. I’m not sure, though.
I was too busy laughing.
‘Hilarious!'
Carrie Draber
‘This Book Will Brighten Your Day'
Review—MojoFiction