Karen Robards Books in Order

Karen Robards is a New York Times bestselling author of romantic suspense novels. She was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She went to the University of Kentucky and took creative writing classes, but had no intention of becoming a writer since it was not considered a viable occupation in her family of doctors and attorneys. She had never read a romance before writing the opening few pages of her first book. She claimed that she found them to be too simple for her tastes.

She wrote Island Flame in 1981, whose success drove her to drop out of law school and begin writing full-time. Robards has maintained a familiar approach to writing throughout her career. She’s one of those rare authors who has transitioned from historical to contemporary romance. She continues to be a popular author in a variety of romantic genres.  She only writes books that she would like to read, and her readers agree with that. Her works offer a perfect formula of mystery, love, and wit that keeps readers coming back for more.

The character of Dr. Charlotte (Charlie) Stone was introduced to us by Robards in 2012, as part of a tense paranormal romance series titled Dr. Charlotte Stone. The main character is a criminal pathologist on a mission to study (and stop) serial killers.

A mother of three boys, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Karen Robards Books in order 

Dr. Charlotte Stone

1. The Last Victim (2012)
2. The Last Kiss Goodbye (2013)
3. Her Last Whisper (2014)
4. The Last Time I Saw Her (2015)

The Guardian

1. The Ultimatum (2017)
2. The Moscow Deception (2018)
3. The Fifth Doctrine (2019)

Banning Sisters

1. Scandalous (2001)
2. Irresistible (2002)
3. Shameless (2010)

Jessica Ford

1. Pursuit (2005)
2. Justice (2011)

Pirates

1. Island Flame (1981)
2. Sea Fire (1982)

Standalone Novel

1. Forbidden Love (1983)
2. Amanda Rose (1984)
3. Dark Torment (1985)
4. To Love a Man (1985)
5. Wild Orchids (1986)
6. Loving Julia (1986)
7. Night Magic (1987)
8. Desire in the Sun (1988)
9. Dark of the Moon (1988)
10. Tiger’s Eye (1989)
11. Morning Song (1990)
12. This Side of Heaven (1991)
13. Green Eyes (1991)
14. Nobody’s Angel (1992)
15. One Summer (1993)
16. Maggy’s Child (1994)
17. Walking After Midnight (1995)
18. Hunter’s Moon (1995)
19. Heartbreaker (1996)
20. The Senator’s Wife (1998)
21. The Midnight Hour (1999)
22. Ghost Moon (2000)
23. Paradise County (2000)
24. To Trust a Stranger (2001)
25. Whispers at Midnight (2002)
26. Beachcomber (2003)
27. Bait (2004)
28. Superstition (2005)
29. Vanished (2006)
30. Obsession (2007)
31. Guilty (2008)
32. Shattered (2010)
33. Sleepwalker (2011)
34. Manna From Heaven (2012)
35. Shiver (2012)
36. Hunted (2013)
37. Hush (2014)
38. Darkness (2016)
39. The Black Swan of Paris (2020)
40. The Girl from Guernica (2022)

Similar authors

• GO-Team by Linda Howard follows Jina Modell, who works for a paramilitary organization. She’s reassigned to work in the field with one of the GO teams, an elite paramilitary unit. See Linda Howard’s Books in Order.
• Karen Rose’s Romantic Suspense features a mother leaving her violent husband. She is determined to start a new life, but as a new romance blooms, he doesn’t want to let her go.

See also: Lisa Wingate Books in Order.

 Most recommended books of the series

1. The Fifth Doctrine (The Guardian, #3) (4.25 Goodreads score)
2. The Last Time I Saw Her (Dr. Charlotte Stone, #4) (4.18 Goodreads score)
3. The Black Swan of Paris (4.17 Goodreads score)
4. Her Last Whisper (Dr. Charlotte Stone, #3) (4.07 Goodreads score)
5. Shattered (3.97 Goodreads score)

Awards

Over the years, Robards has received multiple RT Reviewers Choice Awards.

Upcoming releases

The newest book by Karen Robards is The Girl from Guernica: A WWII Novel which was published in 2022.

Book summaries

The Last Victim (2012)

A sought-after expert in criminal pathology, Dr. Charlotte Stone regularly sits face-to-face with madmen. At the age of sixteen, she herself survived a serial killer’s bloodbath. Because of the information she gave police, the Boardwalk Killer went underground, but Charlie kept her postmortem visions of the victims to herself. Years later, to protect her credibility as a psychological expert, she tells no one about these apparitions. Now a teenage girl is missing, her family slaughtered. The Boardwalk Killer—or a sick copycat with his M.O.—is back. This is the one case Charlie knows she shouldn’t go near. But she also knows that she may be the one person in the world who can stop this vicious killer, especially when she receives help from an unexpected source: The fiery spirit of a seductive bad boy who refuses to be ignored.

The Last Kiss Goodbye (2013)

Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone has dedicated her career as a psychiatrist to exploring the darkest territory of all: the hearts and minds of serial killers. It’s a job she’s uniquely suited for, thanks to the secret talent that gives her an uncanny edge—Charlie can see dead people, whose tormented spirits cry out to her for the justice only she can provide. This blessing—or curse—gives Charlie the power to hunt down and catch madmen and murderers. It’s also turned her love life upside down by drawing her into a hopelessly passionate relationship with the lingering ghost of charismatic bad boy Michael Garland. But there’s little time for romance with her supernatural suitor when murder comes pounding at Charlie’s door in the form of a terrified young woman fleeing a homicidal maniac. Saving her life places Charlie squarely in the cross-hairs of a sadistic predator nicknamed “the Gingerbread Man,” notorious for manipulating his victims like pawns in a deadly chess game. And now the queen this psychopath’s bent on capturing is Charlie. Refusal to play will only put more innocent lives in danger. Matching wits with this cunningly twisted opponent will require all of Charlie’s training and expert skills. But even with her devilish “guardian angel”—not to mention her favorite flesh-and-blood Fed, Tony Bartoli—watching her beautiful back, the Gingerbread Man’s horrifying grin might be the last thing Charlie ever sees.

Her Last Whisper (2014)

Madness and murder invaded Dr. Charlotte Stone’s life when she was just a girl—and made her a woman determined to save others from the horror she survived. An expert in the psychology of serial killers, she’s faced down more than her share of human monsters. But Charlie can also communicate with the spirits of those who die violently, an extrasensory skill that has helped the FBI bring lethal predators to justice. Now, after narrowly escaping death a second time, Charlie’s ready to step away from the edge . . . before her luck runs out. Too bad Charlie is too dedicated for her own good—and too devoted to federal agent Tony Bartoli to say no when he asks her to ride shotgun on yet another risky mission. Of course, she already has her hands full with Michael Garland: the handsome, roguish ghost with whom she’s hopelessly in love—a spirit who depends on Charlie to keep him from slipping forever into the dark side of the afterlife. But in the mortal world, beautiful single women are vanishing from Las Vegas hotels at night. All signs indicate that a psychopath is on the prowl in Sin City, and Bartoli’s FBI colleague Lena Kaminsky has reason to fear that her missing sister may be just the killer’s type. In a town full of fast players and few rules, flushing out a smooth-talking stalker like the Cinderella Killer might be a loser’s game. But for Charlie, the only way to cage her quarry is to plunge back into the homicidal hell she vowed to leave behind—and may not leave alive.

The Last Time I Saw Her (2015)

In this world, Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone skillfully probes the twisted minds of incarcerated serial killers to better understand what makes them tick, and to help nab those who remain at large. But in the next world, Charlotte’s ghostly lover—convicted killer Michael Garland—is facing death yet again. It seem the only way Charlie can snatch Michael from the jaws of oblivion is by proving his innocence. And this dead man’s dead ringer may just be the key. A mysterious stranger has turned up in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and Charlie is shocked to realize he could be Michael Garland’s identical twin. But she suspects the resemblance is only skin deep—and that behind the handsome face may lurk the perverse mind of a killer. While using all her keen profiling gifts, Charlie risks her life to discover the shocking secret that will clear Michael’s name. Then a breakout at Wallens Ridge State Prison forces Charlie to contend with a sudden swarm of psychopaths bent on spilling blood. No one has a better chance of tracking down the deadly fugitives than Charlie—unless the rampaging killers manage to find her first and make this case her last. But Michael will move heaven and hell—and even make a devil’s bargain—for the chance to save Charlie’s life, and feel her touch once more . . . if only for the final time.

The Ultimatum (2017)

Growing up, Bianca St. Ives knew she was different from all her friends. Instead of playing hopscotch or combing her dolls’ hair, she studied martial arts with sensei masters and dismantled explosives with special-ops retirees. Her father prepped her well to carry on the family business. Now a striking beauty with fierce skills, the prodigy has surpassed the master. She’s known as the Guardian. Running a multinational firm with her father, she makes a living swindling con men out of money they stole—and she’s damn good at it. She does things on her own terms. But her latest gig had a little hiccup—if you count two hundred million dollars and top secret government documents going missing as little. Her father also died on the mission. The thing is, the US government doesn’t believe he’s really dead. They’ll stop at nothing to capture Richard St. Ives, a high-value target and someone who has been on most-wanted lists all over the world for over two decades, and they mean to use Bianca as bait. With only a fellow criminal for backup and her life on the line, it’s up to Bianca to uncover the terrifying truth behind what really happened…and set it right, before it’s too late.

The Moscow Deception (2018)

Bianca St. Ives was recently put through the wringer, but she came out the same way she always does, the way her father trained her to—hungry for a fight. Still navigating the fallout from a shocking revelation that’s left a network of assassins’ crosshairs trained on her, Bianca’s ready to take fate into her own hands. It’s kill or be killed, and she’s got her finger flush against the trigger.But as Bianca races to outmaneuver her tireless pursuers, her father loops her in on a job that might just do the trick: recover King Priam’s Treasure, a collection of heavily guarded, priceless artifacts stolen by the Russians during World War II, and return it to Germany. Impossible? Maybe for some, but a high-risk heist is all in a day’s work for Bianca St. Ives, especially when there’s intel on the line—intel that could finally bring down the shadowy forces seeking to bury Bianca for good. Faced with threats that circle closer with every move she makes, she knows the stakes have never been higher, but when you’re already living on borrowed time, you have to hustle if you want to live to see tomorrow.

The Fifth Doctrine (2019)

It took one hell of an effort for the authorities to finally get the jump on master manipulator Bianca St. Ives, but now that they have, it’s far from the capture she expected. Instead of taking her in, there’s an offer on the table, a one-shot deal that would allow Bianca to walk away scot-free as if they’d never found her. And all she has to do is run one last mission—the kind she might never return from. But if Bianca wants to go back to her normal life in Savannah, it’s not like she has a choice.An intelligence operation is already under way in North Korea, one that’s poised to end the country’s existing tyrannical regime for good. But first, the US need one of their own to go undercover as the female hacker who recently stole top secret intel from NORAD. Enter Bianca. After everything she’s seen, Bianca knows feeding fake information directly into the belly of the beast is about as dangerous as it gets. It could mean torture or endless imprisonment—assuming she survives. But it might also ignite the kind of chaos that forces a revolution. It might just change the world. Besides, if Bianca has to go down, she’s gonna go down swinging…

Scandalous (2001)

England, 1810: When Lady Gabriella Banning receives word that her half-brother, the Earl of Wickham, has died on his tea plantation in Ceylon, she faces the reality that she and her younger sisters, Claire and Elizabeth, are suddenly penniless. The family’s riches will pass to the next male heir—a distant cousin—and the Banning sisters are doomed unless Gabby thinks fast.Which she does. Pretending that Marcus is still alive, Gabby arranges beautiful Claire’s London season. She’ll keep up the pretense just long enough for Claire to marry a fabulously wealthy nobleman. But when a handsome gentleman arrives at the door and claims to be Marcus, Gabby’s plan backfires. For if she exposes this mysterious stranger’s deceit, she exposes her own. Bound by secrets and lies, Gabby and the roguish adventurer strike sparks off each other—and soon London society is abuzz over the scandalous pair of “siblings” who appear to be falling in love…

Irresistible (2002)

Claire Banning fulfilled every debutante’s dream when she married a rich nobleman. Soon, however, the celebrated beauty realizes she wed a dissolute wastrel. Bitterly hurt and desperately lonely, Claire vows nonetheless to take her expected place in society. Then on a journey home to her husband’s estate on the coast of Sussex, she is abducted, and her life — and her heart — are changed forever.Hugh Battancourt — a dark and dangerous nobleman who long ago turned his back on the ton and now leads a life secretly dedicated to his country’s service — is determined not to be swayed by his prisoner’s beauty as they share a cabin on a ship bound for France. Lives depend on his retrieving from her a letter full of secrets she intends to turn over to the enemy. But even as Claire and Hugh engage in a battle of wits and wills, captor and captive find themselves drawn irresistibly to each other. Is it possible, Claire wonders, that she could discover the true meaning of love that has eluded her with this handsome stranger? One who will lay his life on the line in order to protect her from someone who is intent on placing Claire in the path of danger?

Shameless (2010)

In regency England, a beautiful young woman finds her life thrown into turmoil by the arrival of a handsome scoundrel.Lady Elizabeth, the youngest and most headstrong of the three Banning sisters, has been engaged three times and broken them all. Her fear of becoming any man’s property has earned her a reputation as a heartbreaking flirt.Neil Severin is a wicked rogue devoid of compassion, a government-sanctioned assassin. When the ruthless organization he works for turns its agents loose on him, only Beth stands between him and a death he thought he didn’t fear. In a fight for their lives, they travel the British countryside, fleeing the ruthless killers out for Neil’s blood… and their growing attraction to each other.

Pursuit (2005)

When the First Lady dies in a fiery car crash, rookie attorney Jessica Ford is the only survivor of the tragedy. As the nation mourns, Ford has reason to believe it wasn’t an accident. One by one, others in the First Lady’s inner circle are being killed. Jessica must find out why- before she’s next.

Justice (2011)

Feisty criminal attorney Jessica Ford has done her best to comply with the orders of the Secret Service’s unofficial witness protection program ever since she became the lone witness to the First Lady’s murder. She changed her name, dyed her dark hair blonde, and traded her sturdy black-rimmed glasses for contact lenses. Unfortunately, winning her first high-profile case for prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm Ellis Hayes, and subsequently landing her face all over the news, is not exactly “keeping a low profile.” Or so says hunky Secret Service agent Mark Ryan, whose newest assignment—despite Jess’s stubborn protests—is keeping her safe at all costs. It just so happens he’s also her ex-boyfriend.The trial earns Jess a permanent spot on the firm’s elite legal defense team, replacing an associate who eloped suddenly and never came back. It’s the chance of a lifetime. But Jess’s mind has raced with questions from the moment the prosecution’s star witness shocked the courtroom with an electrifying revelation involving the handsome son of a powerful U.S. senator. Was the pretty, young mother intimidated into changing her story on the stand? Why will she not return Jess’s calls? Did Jess’s ambitious predecessor on the case really just abandon her successful career? Or did both women mysteriously disappear?After Mark rescues Jess from an attacker outside her apartment, she begins to consider the possibility that she is a target. Maybe it’s not so bad to have her irresistibly charming and hard-bodied former lover around for protection. Maybe. The question is, which of the many inadvertent enemies Jess has made recently is he protecting her from? The investigation leads her to some startling coincidences—and to a teenage runaway who may just hold the missing link . . . if Jess can find her.As Jess hurtles closer to the truth—and the sexual tension between her and Mark grows hotter than ever—she finds herself in a race against the clock to find the answers before what she doesn’t know gets them both killed.

Island Flame (1981)

Lady Catherine Aldley was en route to London when pirates attacked her ship. Just in time, Captain Jonathan Hale rescued her from his own men, sweeping her into his arms, staking his claim on the pampered daughter of England’s ambassador to Portugal. All Catherine had were her wits and the will to beat her captor at his own game. His searing kisses kindled unfamiliar passions, but she vowed to make him her prisoner of desire…He was a legendary pirate, daring, triumphant, free. Jonathan Hale never took captives and always escaped–until he saw the headstrong beauty he couldn’t leave behind. She was fire and ice, a lady outraged, a tigress in his arms. Cathy refused to be treated like chattel, yet yielded to his sensual invasion as she conquered his body and soul. She made loving truly dangerous, exposing his deepest fears–and his mutinous heart…

Sea Fire (1982)

What can a beautiful captive say to a handsome, ruthless pirate? Anything but “no.”He was her husband, her lover, the pirate who seized her body, then stole her heart. Lady Catherine Aldley fled England to make a home with the infamous Jonathan Hale in Carolina. But their perfect life was shattered when Cathy was summoned to England to her ailing father, and discovered that her marriage to Jonathan was a sham. He was a wanted man, one step from the gallows. The only way she could save him was to wed her despised cousin, to let Jonathan think she had betrayed their love.With a price on his head and vengeance in his soul, Jon Hale led a mutiny aboard the prison ship Cristobel and recaptured his faithless wife. Cathy could rile his blood as no other. The fire in her eyes infuriated and beguiled him. Cathy said she hated him yet melted at his touch even as Jon tried to despise what he most desired. Then fate threatened to part them forever and Jon risked his life to rescue the woman he could not live without.

Forbidden Love (1983)

With one sweet, seductive kiss, Megan Kinkead is no longer the impudent child Justin Brant remembers. She was a girl when she left Maam’s Cross Court for school, but she has returned a woman, body and soul. Once Megan’s guardian, Justin, the sixth Earl of Weston, is soon her heart’s obsession. Desire smolders between them, and then he tells her he is married…

Amanda Rose (1984)

From “the mistress of sizzling sensuality” (Romantic Times) comes a riveting romance about a swashbuckling hero and the high-spirited lady who wins his heart. In 1840 England, Lady Amanda Rose Culver saves handsome, falsely convicted murderer Matt Grayson’s life when he is wounded as he barely escapes the gallows. Finding the American semi-conscious on the shore near the convent where she has been imprisoned by her older brother, the Duke of Brookshire, Amanda gets Matt to safety and hides him from the searchers combing the countryside for him. The beautiful, headstrong eighteen-year-old is desperate to escape an arranged marriage; the badly wounded convict is just desperate to escape. As Amanda nurses him back to health, and the clock ticks down as they wait for a ship to take Matt back to America before the authorities can find him, they discover an intense physical attraction stranger than anything innocent Amanda has ever imagined existed. Even jaded Matt finds himself falling head over heels in lust—and love.

Dark Torment (1985)

In this “spell-binding romance” (Publisher’s Weekly), falsely accused, Irish-born convict Dominic Gallagher is shipped to the Australian Outback, where he is rescued from being beaten to death by Sarah Markham, the plain, no-nonsense, spinster daughter of a sheep baron. Indentured to Sarah’s father, gorgeous, blue-eyed Dominic must do “Miss Sarah’s” bidding even while the two begin to secretly burn with passion for each other. In an epic clash of wills, neither is prepared to give an inch. Then Dominic escapes, taking Sarah with him on a run for his life through the dangers of the Australian outback, and that clash of wills escalates into an explosion of heat as “Miss Sarah” and the dangerous, desperate convict find themselves falling in lust—and love.

To Love a Man (1985)

Journalist Lisa Collins is in Africa to cover an armed uprising, but finds herself caught up in a war in this thrilling contemporary romance by “one of the most popular voices in women’s fiction” (Newsweek). Rescued by rugged mercenary Sam Eastman, whose own mission in the country has gone horribly wrong, the two run for their lives together through the isolated bush country. Once a pampered rich girl, beautiful Lisa must find a way to survive alongside the sexy, lethal soldier of fortune whose only goal is to get both of them out of the country alive. Fighting the explosive chemistry between them as they try to stay one step ahead of the revolutionaries chasing them, Sam and Lisa reluctantly fall in love. Then real life catches up with them….

Wild Orchids (1986)

Prim mid-western schoolteacher Lora Harding is in for the summer vacation of her life when darkly handsome American Max Maxwell slides into her rented car in steamy Cancun, Mexico and orders her to “drive” at gunpoint. Max and his men break Americans out of Mexican jails for a living, but his latest job has gone horribly wrong and Max is on the run for his life. Kidnapping Lora, Max takes her on a heart-stopping adventure as he races to rejoin his men and get out of the country before the authorities can catch up to him. Feisty Lora fights him every step of the way, and in the midst of saving each other’s lives the two fall madly in love in this blistering novel of romantic suspense by the “mistress of sizzling sensuality” (Romantic Times).

Loving Julia (1986)

Seventeen-year-old Jewel Combs is not a lady. She is a guttersnipe living hand-to-mouth on London’s mean streets when she meets a dying man who marries her to spite his aristocratic family. Cold, aloof, breathtakingly handsome, Sebastian, Earl of Moorland, is the head of that family, and when widowed Jewel belligerently presents herself to him as his newest relative his inclination is to throw her back out on the streets. But instead he accepts her into the family to spite his icy, unloving mother, on the condition that Jewel let him turn her into Julia Stratham, lady of the town. Sparks fly between them as Jewel becomes Julia, a stunning beauty, and Sebastian finds himself falling head over heels in love with his own creation. But Sebastian has learned in a hard school that love is not to be trusted….

Night Magic (1987)

Romance writer Clara Winston dedicates her newest book to her cat, Puff, without knowing what havoc she is about to unloose on her placid (boring?) life. Because there’s a rogue CIA agent out there whose code name is Puff, and some very bad guys want to kill him. When the bad guys show up at mild-mannered Clara’s house, thinking that she can lead them to the man they’re hunting, she is rescued by that man, disgraced CIA agent Jack McClain. Jack is green-eyed, black-haired, infuriatingly macho—and every bit as sexy as the romantic heroes she’s always writing about. Clara hates him on sight, but if she wants to survive he is the only game in town. With Puff very reluctantly in tow, they go on the run for their lives, battling each other until the sizzling chemistry between them explodes into red-hot passion.

Desire in the Sun (1988)

In this steamy romance by “the mistress of sizzling sensuality” (Romantic Times), the beautiful daughter of a plantation owner, Lilah Remy, is swept into a wild romance with the dazzlingly handsome man her family has just enslaved. Raised an English gentleman, Joss San Pietro finds himself caught up in the turbulent currents of the Deep South as he tries to right an ancient wrong. Destiny brings Joss and Lilah together as equals, then throws them together as mistress and servant onto tempestuous seas. Shipwrecked, marooned on a deserted island with only each other to depend on, they must work together to survive as the passion that has always sizzled between them blazes into a conflagration too hot to resist. They find themselves enmeshed in a love affair as fiery as it is forbidden….

Dark of the Moon (1988)

“I’m not a child, Connor!” Caitlyn snapped, exasperated. “I want you to kiss me. Now. Please.”For a moment longer, he resisted her gentle assault. Then he kissed her fiercely, as if starving for the taste of her mouth. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she clung to him as the only solid thing in a whirling universe.”Don’t stop,” she whispered when he pulled his mouth away.”Even if I wanted to, I could not,” he confessed. Then he was kissing her again, with increasing hunger, as his arms slid around her and he fumbled for the buttons at the back of her dress….Disguised as a lad, Irish street waif Caitlyn O’Malley makes what could have been a deadly mistake when she tries to rob a tall, black-haired, dazzlingly handsome aristocrat on a cobbled Dublin street. Connor d’Arcy, Earl of Iveagh, is far from the English fop he appears, as Caitlyn soon discovers. Taken under Connor’s protection, conveyed to his family home in the shadows of Donoughmore Castle, Caitlyn grows up into a beautiful lady—and in the process finds herself falling madly in love with her enigmatic guardian.

Tiger’s Eye (1989)

When beautiful aristocrat Lady Isabella St. Just first sets eyes on handsome Alec Tyron, he is holding her at gunpoint. Despite her fear of him, the tawny-haired, golden-eyed king of the London underworld saves her from the criminals who abducted her, only to fall victim to a gunshot wound himself. Thrown together in the seedy underbelly of glittering London, they are wary of each other from the start. Shy, sheltered Isabella has never met a man like Alec, but the street-tough crime boss ignites her passion in a way that she had never even imagined was possible. Their love is something that society cannot allow – but no matter the cost its blazing heat just won’t be denied.

Morning Song (1990)

In this steamy romance by “the mistress of sizzling sensuality” (Romantic Times), eighteen-year-old, defiantly tomboyish Jessie Lindsay is left at the mercy of her wicked stepmother Celia upon the death of her beloved father. Beautiful, vampish Celia can have any man she wants, and when devilishly handsome stranger Stuart Edwards turns up amongst their aristocratic Mississippi plantation society, she wants him. What Celia doesn’t know is that Stuart is a con man and a fortune hunter, and when he marries her it is to gain control of the plantation, Mimosa, that Celia inherited from Jessie’s father. Jessie hates Stuart on sight, but he takes pity on the hoydenish young woman and is kind to her. An unexpected friendship develops between Stuart and the spirited, late-blooming Jessie as he steps in to protect her from evil Celia, then helps Jessie transform from an ugly ducking to a swan — and in the process awakens feelings in Jessie that are like nothing she has ever experienced. Stuart never imagined that he could fall for Jessie, but the desire that blazes between them is impossible for either of them to resist. Will the dark secret Stuart has been keeping tear them apart as they fall recklessly into a scandalous, forbidden love? Can Jessie trust the man she has come to love with all her heart?

This Side of Heaven (1991)

Defiantly beautiful, Caroline Wetherby stepped ashore in a land so wild and fierce, she trembled. She had come seeking refuge with the last of her family, but her sister was dead. Waiting to greet her were pious Pilgrims, warring Indians, howling wolves, a boisterous household of men and boys…and him, her rugged, unwelcoming brother-in-law, Matt Mathieson. Caroline wanted to hate Matt as she hated all men.After her father’s death, she’d been eager to escape England. But as daughter of a gambler and a gypsy, her flamboyant ways and healing skills tempted disaster in the sanctimonious Connecticut Colony. And putting herself in the hands of a big, handsome stranger tempted something far more dangerous–emotions she couldn’t resist, kisses she couldn’t forget, and a future that could bring ruin…or a journey to heaven on earth in his arms.

Green Eyes (1991)

Young, beautiful, and destitute, widowed Anna Traverne finds herself at the mercy of her brother-in-law Lord Ridley, who offers her and her little daughter a home for a price: Anna must become his mistress. Frightened, revolted, gently bred Anna can see no way out – until a handsome jewel thief breaks into Gordon Hall in search of a fabled set of emeralds. Surprised by Anna in the act of purloining the jewels, Julian Chase is captured and carted off to Newgate to hang for the theft. The emeralds remain missing; despite being tortured, Julian insists he has no idea where they are. By the time he manages to cheat the hangman, though, Julian has figured out what must have happened: the green-eyed angel whose screams led to his downfall had to have taken them. And he is right: finding herself in possession of the emeralds after Julian’s capture, Anna seizes on the chance to escape from Lord Ridley and flees to the tea plantation in Ceylon that is her home. But once Julian knows the truth, he comes after her, traveling halfway across the world to reclaim what he feels is rightfully his – and to take a sensuous revenge on the larcenous young beauty whose fate he now holds in his hands.

Nobody’s Angel (1992)

In Carolina Colony, the community admired Susannah Redmon, plain eldest daughter of the preacher. Her herbal healing skills made her an angel of mercy, her determination held together the family’s farm, and her strong will always got her what she wanted–even the buying of a man. But no suitor had ever courted her…Ian Connelly, Marquis of Derne, had been betrayed, branded a criminal, and beaten. Still defiant, he had been indentured and transported to the Colonies, where a bossy, primly proper woman had bought him! But he alone saw the strength of her character, the gold in her tawny hair, and, in her eyes, the fire of her long-hidden desire…Now Susannah “owned” this magnificently handsome rogue, but it was his passion that could free her imprisoned, lonely heart. From the frontier South to society London or even to hell itself, with her body she would worship him and with her soul she would love him, for she was…Nobody’s Angel.

One Summer (1993)

He was pure, unadulterated trouble. Johnny Harris is home again, his too-tight jeans and damn-your-eyes belligerence honed to perfection by a ten-year stretch in federal prison for murder. Now he’s out on parole and ready for the job Rachel Grant has promised to help him begin a new life. Unlike the rest of the town, Rachel has always believed in her former student’s innocence. But one thing has changed…The sullenly handsome boy she remembers is still sullen, still handsome…but no longer a boy. And now the small Kentucky town is alive with gossip and whispers of a scandal, as friendship turns to passion and Rachel abandons a lifetime of propriety in the ex-con’s arms. Then the killer strikes again. All evidence points to Johnny Harris, but Rachel knows he is innocent. And she knows she is next…as a shattering truth is uncovered and dark passions explode in the relentless summer heat.

Maggy’s Child (1994)

She was Mrs. Lyle Forrest now, the coolly elegant wife of Louisville’s most prominent publisher, the slum girl whose dreams — and nightmares — came true the night she married the multimillionaire old enough to be her father. For twelve years Maggy played the role of beautiful, devoted wife, the burnished jewel in Lyle’s crown, mother of the child he adored. She did it for David, the son who could never know the price she paid to protect him, would never see her scars…Suddenly Maggy’s hard-won control shattered when Nick King came back to claim her. It was twelve years since they’d parted, twelve years of fear and loathing at the hands of Lyle Forrest. She couldn’t afford to remember the soul-searing passion she’d known so long ago in the arms of the only man she’d ever loved. She must think of David, her son, Lyle’s most potent weapon, and not of the man she could never forget, Nick, who’s returned to set her free…

Walking After Midnight (1995)

The nude male body lay on the embalming table, battered beyond recognition. Gingerly, Summer McAfee, chairman, CEO, and sole employee of Daisy Fresh cleaning service, reached out to touch an arm to reassure herself that she hadn’t just seen the corpse move. Suddenly, shockingly, her hand was in the viselike grip of a man very much alive and desperate enough to take her captive on a no-holds-barred run from cops, killers, and his own decidedly complicated past…Summer’s former life as a New York lingerie model had gone south with her marriage, leaving her, at thirty-six, single and back home in Tennessee, on her hands and knees scrubbing other people’s bathrooms. But the drab present vanishes in a flash as she’s forced to flee into the Tennessee wilds with the stranger she calls Frankenstein, first as his captive, then his companion, as they run from the enemies determined to destroy them both–straight into a raging passion that could only be the last laugh of fate…

Hunter’s Moon (1995)

Molly Ballard was desperate. It wasn’t easy caring for two brothers and two sisters, and keeping a roof over their heads. She needed money more than ever. Yet in a fit of anger she quit her job as a groom at the posh Wyland Farm in Kentucky’s rich turf–and then stole out of the tack room with $5,000 in FBI cash. So when Agent Will Lyman catches her in a lie, she agrees to cooperate in a sting. She’ll do anything to protect her family, to shield the secrets of her past, and guard her heart from further hurt. Molly will even spy for Will and let him pose as her lover. But soon the passion they pretend becomes searingly real as they court danger in bluegrass country and cross the path of a killer who will stop at nothing under a Hunter’s Moon.

Heartbreaker (1996)

While vacationing in Utah’s mountain wilderness, Lynn Nelson suddenly finds herself having to deal with her teenage daughter Rory’s raging hormones. The object of Rory’s passion is their guide, drop-dead gorgeous Jess Feldman, a man the divorced Lynn instinctively distrusts, even as she shields herself from his blazing baby blues. But after Lynn and Rory fall off a cliff of sheared rock, Jess becomes their only hope. Risking his life, he navigates them through the impenetrable forest thousands of feet below, unwittingly plunging them into a danger more menacing than they could have imagined. Exhausted and injured, all they have is one another—a terrified child, and a man and a woman who rediscover passion in each other’s arms—as they race against time for their lives.

The Senator’s Wife (1998)

A public scandal. A private torment. A love that changed everything–Ronnie Honneker is the senator’s wife. When she fell for the dashing politician, the stars in her eyes kept her from seeing his flaws. And when she discovered his constant need for other women, it was already too late. Now all the glamour of politics can’t make up for Ronnie’s loneliness–or her husband’s affairs. Especially the one that explodes into a media sex scandal.Pursued by reporters, Ronnie reluctantly lets handsome political strategist Tom Quinlan clean up the mess. She agrees to publicly stand by her man until after the next election. Privately, she is in turmoil, and falling passionately in love–with Tom. As Ronnie and Tom seek shelter in each other, suddenly the unexpected happens. The senator’s violent death thrusts Ronnie into the spotlight–as the leading suspect in his murder. Now only one thing can prove Ronnie’s innocence: the whole shocking truth….

The Midnight Hour (1999)

A time to fear….Grace Hart seemed to have it all: a bright, beautiful daughter, a successful career as a judge, and a lovely home in an Ohio suburb. But beneath the placid veneer, darker truths lie waiting. Her fifteen-year-old, Jessica, is teetering on the cusp of drugs and delinquency. And someone is stalking the troubled teenager. Someone who has already violated their home and stolen their peace of mind.A time to love….Now the police are involved. Grace is relieved–and worried. Is Jessica in danger from a drug dealer who wants to silence her? Detective Tony Marino is on the case. He’s too close for comfort, asking disturbing questions, probing into her long-buried past, igniting feelings Grace has tried to suppress. In Tony’s strong arms, Grace finds comfort, protection–passion–as he tries to shield them from the evil lurking just beyond their door….

Ghost Moon (2000)

Nine years after leaving in disgrace, Olivia Morrison is coming home again with her eight-year-old, Sara, to put things right with the Archer clan. But there is no welcome for the prodigal daughter at the lavish Louisiana estate.Her stepcousin, Seth, once her only comfort, is icy, dangerously attractive — and engaged. Her formidable stepgrandfather collapses with a heart attack at the sight of her, gasping her dead mother’s name: “Selena!”The bayou echoes with memories of her mother’s mysterious death. Suicide by drowning, they said. But Olivia’s terrifying nightmares suggest another story. She is determined to learn the truth, and to face a newly ignited passion for Seth, who is too close for comfort, despite his vows.When a new danger threatens her and her daughter, Olivia must find the courage to confront her old demons … and uncover a shocking secret buried in the long-forgotten past….

Paradise County (2000)

Left bankrupt after her billionaire father’s sudden death, Alexandra Haywood returns to Shelby County, Kentucky—that bit of Southern splendor known as Paradise County—to sell the family’s magnificent horse farm. Part of her mission is to fire Joe Welch, the sexy, stubborn farm manager who worked hard for the Haywoods while raising his children. But Joe refuses to be fired, and he and Alex clash. They also fall for each other—hard. Just as their attraction flares, a shocking murder with ties to the past rocks the county—and cuts close to home when Joe’s teenage son, Eli, and Alex’s wild-spirited younger sister, Neely, vanish. Now, the evil that lurks beneath Paradise County raises its gruesome head—and Alex is targeted as the next victim.

To Trust a Stranger (2001)

Suspicion burned within Julie Carlson—the heartbreaking, infuriating suspicion that her husband, a wealthy and powerful contractor, was having an affair. Not sure whom to trust, Julie turns to a handsome stranger….Private detective Mac McQuarry ignores his better judgment about not mixing women and work when he’s hired by Julie Carlson. Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous, but Sid Carlson was a player in Mac’s inglorious downfall from the Charleston P.D.—and revenge would be sweet indeed.But when Mac witnesses an explosive hit that targeted Julie, the tables are turned—and Mac and Julie become the hunted. With their fiery flirtation sparking into full-blown passion, they must crash their way through a maze of buried secrets and deadly deceptions.

Whispers at Midnight (2002)

Carly Linton returns to her hometown of Benton, Georgia, to open a bed-and-breakfast in the house she inherited from her grandmother. She’s also dead-set on burying her former good-girl image—by seducing the one man who can give her a guided tour of the wild side…Matt Converse, the local sheriff, was once the town’s bad boy who shared one magical night with Carly at her senior prom. But igniting the sparks of the past can lead to a blaze of danger: First her house is burglarized, then someone comes after her. A mysterious enemy wants Carly out of Benton for good, and now she needs Matt more than ever—to keep her alive.

Beachcomber (2003)

Christy Petrino hadn’t planned on a vacation on Ocracoke Island, but when she learns her fiancé and boss, suave Michael DePalma, is a “made man” and the Philadelphia law firm where she works is a front for the mob, she breaks her engagement and quits her job. But no one walks away from the DePalma family business so easily….Only if she delivers a locked briefcase to a motel on Ocracoke Island will she — and her mother and sisters — be free.But after clandestinely making her drop-off late at night, Christy suspects she is being followed on the moonlit beach — and unwittingly runs into a new kind of terror. Now a witness at the center of a homicide investigation, Christy learns the police are hunting a serial killer they refer to as the “Beachcomber” because beautiful young women — women who in fact resemble her — have disappeared recently while vacationing at nearby beach communities. Christy doesn’t know whom to fear more — a serial killer who believes she might be able to identify him, or the DePalma family, whose tentacles she can’t seem to escape.Only when she’s with Luke Rand, her big surfer-dude next-door neighbor, does she feel safe. But with Luke’s asking so many questions about her ex-fiancé and his showing up almost too conveniently whenever danger strikes, she can’t help but wonder if his interest in her is due to more than sexual attraction. Can she trust this handsome stranger to help her survive a hot and deadly summer?

Bait (2004)

It’s anything but business as usual when advertising agency owner Maddie Fitzgerald finds herself entangled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game between FBI agent Sam McCabe and the elusive serial killer he’s been tracking. A case of mistaken identity makes Maddie the murderer’s target, and although she flees the scene with her life, the killer stays on her trail.In a desperate attempt to put an end to the killer’s pursuit, Maddie reluctantly partners with McCabe to lure her attacker out of hiding. McCabe tries to keep her safe, but the sudden sparks between them prove distracting—and even one wrong move may put Maddie directly in the hands of a murderer.

Superstition (2005)

Pawleys Island hides a dark history of a shocking cold case: the murder of a local girl and the strange disappearance of her two friends. This unsolved crime could be journalist Nicole Sullivan’s big break, so she works intimately with Police Chief Joe Franconi to get the story straight.But their investigation takes a shocking turn when another young woman is murdered. As the body count rises, so does Nicole’s fear that the killer has returned to bury a terrifying secret—and to resurrect the ghost of a crime long thought dead.

Vanished (2006)

When she receives a call from a child who sounds exactly like her missing daughter Lexie, Sarah Mason turns to her closest friend in the world, P.I. Jake Hogan. Jake is convinced that someone is deliberately tormenting the grief-stricken mother. But as their friendship explodes into passion-and the torment escalates into murder-Jake is the only person who can keep Sarah safe in their horrifying search for the truth…

Obsession (2007)

After surviving a horrific attack by masked gunmen, Katharine Lawrence awakens in the hospital—with an unfamiliar face staring back at her in the mirror. Katharine may not recognize her appearance, but she does know that she’s twenty-nine, the special assistant to the head of the CIA, and that she can trust no one—not even the smiling, handsome doctor at her bedside, Dr. Dan Howard. But when Katharine’s instinct tells her to run for her life, Dan becomes her newfound protector. For Katharine has no one else to turn to when they’re drawn into a shadowy world of conspiracy, where nothing is as it seems…and no one is who they appear to be.

Guilty (2008)

Now Kate has only one option: Play Mario’s game. But when murder becomes part of it, homicide detective Tom Braga is called in to investigate. And as another threat, even more menacing, emerges from the shadows of Kate’s past, she realizes the only person she can turn to for help is Tom—the one man she can never trust with the truth.

Shattered (2010)

When aspiring attorney Lisa Grant begins investigating cold cases for District Attorney Scott Buchanan to make ends meet, she discovers a photo of a missing family where she herself bears an uncanny resemblance to the missing toddler. Together Lisa and Scott unravel a terrifying web of criminal connections that could destroy the very fabric of Lisa’s life—because whoever had reasons for shattering Lisa’s past isn’t through with it. Or with her.

Sleepwalker (2011)

Cops and robbers don’t mixIt’s not that Micayla Lange is afraid of the clinking she hears coming from the first floor of the empty McMansion she’s housesitting for her uncle Nicco. She’s a cop, after all. It’s just that finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her was enough drama for one night. Now she’s alone on New Year’s Eve, wearing flannel pajamas and wielding a Glock 22 as she zeroes in on the unmistakable source of the sound: Uncle Nicco’s private office.Jason Davis steals things for a living, so unexpected developments are a natural part of the job. Getting caught red-handed by a hot, pigtail-sporting police officer in what is supposed to be a gangster’s deserted house is just one more twist in the game. Kind of like finding incriminating photos in Nicco Marino’s safe, only to discover the cop—and the security cameras— have gotten a real good look at his face.Unfortunately for Mick, she also got a good look at the damned pictures. Her “uncle” might love her like family, but if he knows she’s seen evidence that implicates him in the murder of a city councilman, she doesn’t like her chances. Which is why she’s having a hard time reconciling her professional instincts with what she is rapidly concluding is an inescapable fact: She’s about to help a criminal get away with a suitcase full of stolen money. And she’s going with him.Mick and Jason’s race for their lives hurtles them through the dangerous Michigan wilderness on speedboat and snowmobile. As their adventure heats up and their enemies close in, Mick is torn between her duty to the force and the combustible passion engulfing her and her unlikely partner in crime. She’ll have to turn Jason in sooner or later . . . if they survive. But will they ever get a second chance at love?

Manna From Heaven (2012)

Danger and desire ignite when Charlotte Bates drives straight into a DEA agent’s hot pursuit of a drug smuggler. But when the lawman takes Charlie hostage, an electrifying adventure begins….

Shiver (2012)

Samantha Jones is the best damn repo woman on the books. The streetwalkers, the drug pushers, the bands of looking-for-trouble punks haunting the mean streets at midnight don’t intimidate her. These are her people. The guy she finds bound and bloodied in the trunk of a flashy new BMW is a different breed entirely.Daniel Panterro knows he hasn’t seen the last of the vicious drug runners who kidnapped him from protective custody and left him for dead. His only recourse is to take his pretty savior and her four-year-old son hostage and force her to help him. With ruthless killers stalking their trail, Sam must trust this handsome, menacing stranger. But as she relinquishes control, she feels an unmistakable desire. What is the price of falling in love with a man who operates on the edge of danger—her heart, her life…or both?

Hunted (2013)

’Twas the night before Christmas…and dozens of rich, influential hostages are trapped inside a sprawling lakefront mansion in New Orleans. The perp? Detective Reed Ware, model cop turned outlaw. Reed’s out for truth and will stop at nothing to get it—including waging a coup among the city’s most elite, including the mayor, the council chairman, the sheriff, and the superintendent of police…who just happens to be hostage negotiator Caroline Wallace’s father.Cool, calm, controlled. That’s Caroline’s reputation. But when Reed, looking even hotter than he did years ago when seventeen-year-old Caroline tried to seduce him, becomes her next case, she’s swept up by their still-sizzling tension.Nothing about tonight is what it seems, and it’s up to Caroline to put the pieces together—if she can think fast enough over the pounding of her heart. But the harder Caroline tries to do her job, the more she begins to wonder whose side she’s really on.

Hush (2014)

When Riley Cowan finds her estranged husband Jeff dead in his palatial home, she’s sure it’s no coincidence. The police rule it a suicide, but Riley thinks someone’s out for blood—specifically someone Jeff’s father ripped off in one of the biggest financial fraud cases of all time. She suspects that someone is trying to send a message to Jeff’s father: Tell me where the money is, or everyone you care about will die.Enter Finn Bradley, an FBI agent with a dangerous secret. He’s after the money too, and Riley quickly becomes his chief suspect. But when someone tries to kill her, he has no choice but to protect her until he can uncover the truth. The question becomes, can they discover the killer’s identity in time, before he resurfaces—and strikes again?

Darkness (2016)

Ornithologist Dr. Gina Solomon, PhD, can’t believe her good fortune when she’s picked as one of a small group of Stanford University scientists lucky enough to be allowed to conduct research on Attu Island, Alaska. But a dream come true soon turns into a nightmare when she witnesses the horrifying break-up of a small plane. As the pieces rain down around her into the frigid waters of the Bering Sea, Gina heads toward the crash site looking for survivors and discovers James “Cal” Callahan. But when the two realize the plane crash wasn’t an accident—and that the individuals responsible are still on the island—will they escape before they’re swallowed up in darkness forever?

The Black Swan of Paris (2020)

Paris, 1944Celebrated singer Genevieve Dumont is both a star and a smokescreen. An unwilling darling of the Nazis, the chanteuse’s position of privilege allows her to go undetected as an ally to the resistance.When her estranged mother, Lillian de Rocheford, is captured by Nazis, Genevieve knows it won’t be long before the Gestapo succeeds in torturing information out of Lillian that will derail the upcoming allied invasion. The resistance movement is tasked with silencing her by any means necessary—including assassination. But Genevieve refuses to let her mother become yet one more victim of the war. Reuniting with her long-lost sister, she must find a way to navigate the perilous cross-currents of Occupied France undetected—and in time to save Lillian’s life.

The Girl from Guernica (2022)

On an April day in 1937, the sky opens and fire rains down upon the small Spanish town of Guernica. Seventeen-year-old Sibi and her family are caught up in the horror. Griff, an American military attaché, pulls Sibi from the wreckage, and it’s only the first time he saves her life in a span of hours. When Germany claims no involvement in the attack, insisting the Spanish Republic was responsible, Griff guides Sibi to lie to Nazi officials. If she or her sisters reveal that they saw planes bearing swastikas, the gestapo will silence them—by any means necessary. As war begins to rage across Europe, Sibi joins the underground resistance, secretly exchanging information with Griff. But as the scope of Germany’s ambitions becomes clear, maintaining the facade of a Nazi-sympathizer becomes ever more difficult. And as Sibi is drawn deeper into a web of secrets, she must find a way to outwit an enemy that threatens to decimate her family once and for all.