Wicked Books in Order

Set in the sultry and dangerous underbelly of Los Angeles, the Wicked series offers a gritty, atmospheric exploration of crime, consequences, and the enduring power of family ties. The narrative centers on Ken Swift, a hardened enforcer and hitman who operates within the gray areas of morality. Swift is not a mindless thug but a professional with a complicated code of honor, navigating a world where violence is often the only currency that matters. As an aging operative in a young man’s game, Swift finds himself constantly looking over his shoulder, weighed down by the ghosts of his past and the lethal demands of his present.

The series is anchored by the high-stakes tension of Swift’s daily existence, particularly in the timeline where he is an established, albeit weary, figure in the L.A. underworld. Readers are introduced to a man caught between his professional obligations to shadowy crime bosses—such as the enigmatic figure known only as San Bernardino—and his desperate personal desire to protect his estranged family. The conflict reaches a boiling point when his past mistakes bleed into his current reality, forcing him to confront the daughter he left behind. Her sudden reappearance, driven by her own desperate need for money and fueled by resentment, triggers a chain reaction that threatens to destroy everything Swift has built. The narrative unfolds with the intensity of a ticking clock, often compressing life-altering events into a single, breathless day where every decision could be fatal.

To fully understand the man Ken Swift has become, the series peels back the layers of time, transporting readers back to the sweltering streets of Los Angeles in the 1990s. These prequel elements serve as a vital character study, revealing the origin story of a promising young man whose trajectory was forever altered by passion and circumstance. Here, the focus shifts to a younger Ken and his partner, Jake Ellis, as they cut their teeth in the enforcement business. However, it is Swift’s volatile and consuming romance with a woman named Jimi Lee that serves as the catalyst for his transformation. This relationship, charged with eroticism and emotional turbulence, illustrates how the pursuit of love can sometimes lead to the darkest of places, turning a good man into something "wicked."

Eric Jerome Dickey imbues this series with his signature blend of hard-boiled crime fiction and sensual, character-driven drama. The prose is slick and rhythmic, mirroring the pulse of the city itself—from the sun-drenched avenues to the shadowy backrooms of illicit dealings. It is a story about the price of survival and the heavy burden of secrets. Ultimately, the Wicked series is a fast-paced, violent, and emotionally resonant saga that asks whether redemption is possible for a man who has spent a lifetime in the shadows, or if some stains are too deep to ever wash away.