He attended UCLA, where he was a reporter and feature writer for the Daily Bruin student newspaper, in addition to his aforementioned journalism work. There he befriended Lewis Perdue, the paper's journalism advisor from 1979 to 1982, who got Goldberg his first writing assignment for Pinnacle Books. The novel, .357 Vigilante, was published under the pseudonym "Ian Ludlow" in 1985. The novel spawned three more sequels and the series' movie rights were optioned by New World Pictures. Although the movie was never made, his script for the movie, co-written with fellow UCLA classmate William Rabkin, led to a long career in television and film. Their first television credit was on the "If You Knew Sammy" episode of Spenser: For Hire about an author of vigilante novels.
In 2007, Goldberg wrote and produced the pilot for a German television program, Fast Track: No Limits. which aired on television in some countries and was released as a theatrical film in others.
In 2010, he wrote and directed the short film Remaindered, based on his short story for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, on location in Kentucky. He wrote and directed the sequel, Bumsicle, in 2012.
In April 2021, Constantin Films announced that they will be producing a feature film version his novel The Walk based on his screenplay adaptation.
In April 2024, ID8 Media and producers Shelby Stone and Derek Dudley announced that they will be producing a TV series based upon his novel Malibu Burning
In May 2025, he became a writer & co-executive producer of the Acorn series You're Killing Me, a light-hearted mystery series created by Robin Bernheim and starring Brooke Shields, Amalia Williamson and Tom Cavanagh, which permiered in May 2026 and became the highest rated series and the biggest new subscriber draw in the streamer's history. The series was picked up for a second season after the airing of the second episode.
In July 2025, it was announced that Madison Lintz, who starred in Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, will star in and executive produce "Eve Ronin," a TV series based on Goldberg's bestselling series of novels.
Writing
In conjunction with his work on Monk and Diagnosis Murder, Goldberg wrote several original tie-in novels based on those series. He has also penned several original crime novels, two featuring ex-cop-turned-Hollywood troubleshooter Charlie Willis and the aforementioned .357 Vigilante series, which he wrote under the pseudonym Ian Ludlow, while still a UCLA undergraduate student.
His novel, The Man with the Iron-On Badge (titled Watch Me Die for its re-release), was nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America and was produced in 2008 as the stage play, Mapes For Hire, in Owensboro, Kentucky at the International Mystery Writers Festival.
Goldberg has also written non-fiction books about the entertainment industry, including Unsold Television Pilots and Successful Television Writing. His book, Unsold Television Pilots, was turned into two TV specials – The Greatest Shows You Never Saw on CBS and The Best TV Shows That Never Were on ABC, both written and produced by William Rabkin and Goldberg. They also co-created The Dead Man an original, monthly series of horror novels that rolled-out in October 2011 as the premiere titles of Amazon's new 47North sci-fi/horror/fantasy imprint. Amazon initially ordered 12 books and, in February 2012, extended the series by 12 more. The 24th title, the Kindle Serial Reborn, was published in January 2014 and is the final book in the series to date.
In June 2013, his novel The Heist, the first in a five-book series written with Janet Evanovich, was released by Random House. A prequel short story, "Pros and Cons," was published in May 2013 and became the #1 bestselling Kindle Single for seven straight weeks...and hit both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. The Heist debuted at #2 on the USA Today bestseller list and #5 on the New York Times bestseller list. The sequel, The Chase, debuted at #1 on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list and #2 on The New York Times bestseller list in March 2014. The fifth book in the series, The Pursuit, was published in June 2016 and hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
His novel True Fiction, was published by Amazon/Thomas & Mercer in April 2018. It was followed by Killer Thriller in February 2019 and Fake Truth in April 2020. All three books are "Ian Ludlow" thrillers, the novelist hero sharing the same name as the pseudonym that Goldberg used to write his .357 Vigilante paperbacks when he was in college in the 1980s.
His series about Detective Eve Ronin, the youngest homicide detective on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department history, kicked off with Lost Hills in January 2020 and was followed by Bone Canyon (January 2021) Gated Prey (Oct 2021), Movieland (June 2022). Dream Town (January 2024), Fallen Star (a cross-over with his Sharpe & Walker series, released in October 2025) and the upcoming Split Screen (Coming in October 2026). A TV series version, starring Madison Lintz from Bosch, is in the works.
Malibu Burning, the first novel in a series about LASD arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his partner Andrew Walker, an ex-U.S. Marshal, was released in September 2023, and was followed by a sequel Ashes Never Lie, a cross-over with his Eve Ronin series, in September 2024. A third cross-over novel, Hidden in Smoke, was released in April 2025.
His standalone thriller Calico was released in November 2023. and was a finalist for the Western Writers of America's 2024 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Western.
Murder by Design, the first book in his new Edison Bixby series, was released in June 2026. The sequel, The Invisible Architect, will be released in March 2027.
Publishing
In September 2014, Goldberg launched the publishing company Brash Books with novelist Joel Goldman. The company publishes new crime fiction as well as award-winning, highly acclaimed crime, thriller and suspense novels that have fallen out of print.
In 2018, Goldberg acquired the copyright to the published and unpublished books by the late author Ralph Dennis, who is best known for his Hardman series of crime novels, which were a major influence on the work of novelist Joe R. Lansdale and screenwriter Shane Black. The Hardman series, with introductions by Joe R. Lansdale, Ben Jones and Robert J. Randisi, among others, as well as Dennis' thriller The War Heist (Goldberg's edited down and revised version of Dennis' 1976 novel MacTaggart's War) were released by Brash Books in 2019. In February 2020, Brash Books released "All Kinds of Ugly," a long-lost, final Hardman novel, which Goldberg discovered and revised.
In December 2020, he launched another publishing imprint, Cutting Edge Books, to release vintage crime novels, thrillers, westerns, and literary fiction from the 40s, 50s, and early 60s that had fallen out-of-print, including the work of authors Robert Dietrich (E. Howard Hunt), James Howard, March Hastings (Sally Singer), Stuart James, Bud Clifton (David Derek Stacton), and Richard Himmel.
Awards
Goldberg has been nominated twice for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America and twice for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. He was the 2012 recipient of the Poirot Award from Malice Domestic and was a finalist for the 2026 Sue Grafton Memorial Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his novel Fallen Star.
He has served as a board member for the Mystery Writers of America and also founded, alongside novelist Max Allan Collins, the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.
Crown Vic A collection of two novellas, Ray Boyd isn't Stupid and Occasional Risk, about a roaming criminal named Ray Boyd, whom Goldberg calls 'the anti-Reacher.' (Dec. 2023)
Crown Vic 2: If I Were a Rich Man Contains one novella, originally published in the anthology Eight Very Bad Nights (July 2025)
Sharpe & Walker
Malibu Burning (September 2023)
Ashes Never Lie (September 2024) [A cross-over with the Eve Ronin series]
Hidden in Smoke (April 2025) [A cross-over with the Eve Ronin series]
Fallen Star (Oct 2025) [A cross-over with the Eve Ronin series]
Split Screen (Oct 2026) [A cross-over with the Eve Ronin series]
Eve Ronin
Lost Hills (January 2020)
Bone Canyon (January 2021)
Gated Prey (October 2021)
Movieland (June 2022)
Dream Town (January 2024)
Ashes Never Lie (September 2024) [A cross-over with the Sharpe & Walker series]
Hidden in Smoke (April 2025) [A cross-over with the Sharpe & Walker series]
Fallen Star (October 2025) [A cross-over with the Sharpe & Walker series]
Split Screen (October 2026) [A cross-over with the Sharpe & Walker series]
The Ian Ludlow Thrillers
True Fiction (April 2018)
Killer Thriller (February 2019)
Fake Truth (April 2020)
Fox & O'Hare
"Pros and Cons" Short Story prequel (written with Janet Evanovich) (2013)
The Heist (written with Janet Evanovich) (June 2013)
The Chase (written with Janet Evanovich) (Feb 25, 2014)
"The Shell Game" Short Story prequel (written with Janet Evanovich) (2014)
The Job (written with Janet Evanovich) (Nov. 2014)
The Caper Short Story prequel (written with Janet Evanovich)
The Scam (written with Janet Evanovich) (Sept 15, 2015)
The Pursuit (written with Janet Evanovich) (June 21, 2016)
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