Blackthorn · Book 1
Blackthorn: Enemy Within
The series begins as Michael O’Rourke is drawn into a world where the face of danger is not always the face of the enemy.
Exciting New Series by R L KARLOWSKY
The Blackthorn Series
A new historical thriller series centered on Michael O’Rourke—an Irish immigrant, soldier, investigator, and survivor trying to make his way through war, family duty, crime, and the unforgiving streets of Pittsburgh.
New series spotlight
Blackthorn brings together war, loyalty, family struggle, early twentieth-century Pittsburgh, and the rise of one man through dangerous times.
The story behind the series
A saga of courage, loyalty, and survival
Historical thriller · Family saga · Crime and conspiracy
Set against the smoke, steel, and hard edges of early twentieth-century Pittsburgh, the Blackthorn series follows Michael O’Rourke as he struggles to rise above poverty, war, betrayal, and the violence of a changing age. From the battlefield to the back streets of an industrial city, Michael faces hidden enemies, family burdens, political corruption, and the growing power of organized crime. Part historical thriller, part family saga, and part story of grit and survival, Blackthorn traces one man’s fight to build an honorable life in a world that rarely rewards honor.
Across the series, Michael O’Rourke is tested in war, pressed by duty, drawn into investigations, and forced to confront the kind of enemies who hide behind respectability, money, and power. Each novel widens the world around him while keeping his choices intensely personal: protect family, serve with honor, and survive long enough to build a life worth keeping.
Books in the series
Blackthorn
The Michael O’Rourke thrillers so far.
Blackthorn · Book 2
Blackthorn: Blood and Honor
Michael endures the brutal cost of service while war, family, and the future close in around him.
Blackthorn · Book 3 · Coming soon
Blackthorn: The Dark Years
Back in Pittsburgh, Michael faces the city’s violent undercurrents as organized crime, corruption, and the gathering Depression begin to reshape everything.
Blackthorn · Book 1
Blackthorn: Enemy Within
Available now
A young Michael O’Rourke steps into a world where loyalty and danger walk side by side. Hidden enemies, shifting allegiances, and a city alive with pressure begin shaping the man he will become.
Blackthorn · Book 2
Blackthorn: Blood and Honor
Available now
War hardens Michael, but it cannot erase the bonds of family or the questions waiting for him at home. Duty, sacrifice, and survival define the next stage of his life.
Blackthorn · Book 3
Blackthorn: The Dark Years
Coming soon
Pittsburgh is changing, and so is Michael O’Rourke. As the city’s underworld grows bolder, he is pulled into a dangerous era of organized crime, grief, corruption, and hard choices that will shape the Blackthorn future.