My first encounter with a romantic thriller was Elizabeth Lowell’s Tell Me No Lies— and it left me, well, thrilled. I started hunting for other books like it. Before that story, the closest I had come to such genre synergy was the gothic romance. Don’t get me wrong– I love a good gothic. But a romantic thriller! That was a horse of a different color. I give this book full credit for making me want to write romance.
In short order, I discovered Linda Howard’s Dream Man. A romantic thriller with paranormal elements! I was hooked. That brought me to Guilty Pleasures: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel by Laurell K Hamilton. This hybrid was genre anarchy– sometimes more romance and sometimes more thriller. Often with monsters! And I loved it. I still love it though I eventually wandered away from the series.
It was impossible to narrow this list down to single books so I’ll give it to you by author and series. I also will mark each series R-th or TH-r (or R-TH if it is both equally) to show if it is more Romance or Thriller. First up:
Kelly Armstrong– Casey Duncan Novels (7 book series) and Cainsville (5 book series).
In The Casey Duncan Rockton novels– Casey Duncan is a homicide detective with a secret: when she was in college, she killed a man. She was never caught, but he was the grandson of a mobster and she knows that someday this crime will catch up to her. She has heard of a town made for people like her, a town that takes in people on the run who want to shed their old lives. You must apply to live in Rockton and if you’re accepted, it means walking away entirely from your old life, and living off the grid in the wilds of Canada and Casey has something they really want. She’s a homicide detective.
R-TH
In Cainsville– Olivia Taylor-Jones is shattered to learn that she’s adopted. Her biological parents? Notorious serial killers. On a quest to learn more about her past, Olivia lands in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois. As she draws on long-hidden abilities, Olivia begins to realize that there are dark secrets in Cainsville—and powers lurking in the shadows.
R-TH
Allison Brennon– Lucy Kincaid Novels (17 book series).
Six years ago, Lucy Kincaid was attacked and nearly killed by an online predator. She survived. Her attacker did not. Now Lucy’s goal is to join the FBI and fight cyber-crime, but in the meantime, she’s volunteering with a victim’s rights group, surfing the Web undercover to lure sex offenders into the hands of the law. But when the predators she hunts start turning up as murder victims, the FBI takes a whole new interest in Lucy.
TH-r
Rachel Grant– Evidence Under Fire (three book series).
As a storm rolls in, a team of elite Navy SEALs arrives at a remote lodge for a wilderness training exercise that becomes terrifyingly real…
R-TH
Rebecca Zanetti– Deep Ops (6 book series).
Gripping and unpredictable. FBI rejects fighting the system. Zanetti always sizzles.
R-th
Barbara Freethy– Off the Grid: FBI Series (14 book series).
Each book follows another character. The first book is Perilous Trust. Who can you trust when your fellow agents have gone rogue?
R-th
Mary Burton– Criminal Profiler (6 book series).
Catching monsters helps FBI agent Kate Hayden keep her nightmares at bay. Now an urgent call brings her back to San Antonio, the scene of her violent past. A brutal new murder shows hallmarks of a serial killer nicknamed the Samaritan. Tricky part is, Kate already caught him.
TH-r
Jayne Ann Krentz– The Lost Night Files (3 book series).
Seven months ago, Pallas Llewellyn, Talia March, and Amelia Rivers were strangers, until their fateful stay at the Lucent Springs Hotel. An earthquake and a fire partially destroyed the hotel, but the women have no memory of their time there. Now close friends, the three women co-host a podcast called the Lost Night Files, where they investigate cold cases and hope to connect with others who may have had a similar experience to theirs—an experience that has somehow enhanced the psychic abilities already present in each woman.
R-th
Kristen Ashley– Misted Pines Series (3 book series).
Enter Misted Pines, a small, sleepy town in the Pacific Northwest. Quiet. Idyllic. But what’s on the surface isn’t what you find when you dig underneath.
If you have never read Kristen Ashley, she tells powerful emotional stories along with great plots.
R-th
Christina Dodd– Cape Charade (3 book series).
I have three confessions to make:
1. I’ve got the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don’t remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams . . . and that’s half a lie.
TH-r
Melissa F Miller– Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller (16 book series).
Attorney Sasha McCandless has one ambition: Make partner at the best firm in town. Then a plum assignment plunges her into a world of deceit and danger. These stories have twists and turns and are well-plotted.
TH-r
Darynda Jones– Sunshine Vicram (3 book series).
Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee—and, now, a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff—thanks to her adorably meddlesome parents who nominated her. Fans of Janet Evanovich and Sparkle Hayter will love this series.
TH-r
Jana DeLeon– Shaye Archer Series (7 book series).
The sound of the loose step sends her body into overdrive, and she rushes for the secret room behind the wall. The screech of old hinges echoes through the house as he enters her bedroom. He starts whistling. Three blind mice. He’s coming for her, but that can’t be. She killed him last month.
TH-r
Heather Graham– Krewe of Hunters (38 book series).
If only the FBI actually had a unit for fighting paranormal crime and could use ghosts as witnesses.
R-th
It will surprise no one that I also have some romantic thrillers.
Book of Dreams (4 book series).
Troubled by night terrors? Need someone to bodyguard your dreams? Have a loved one who has slipped into a coma and the doctors can’t explain why they sleep, or offer any hope of bringing them back? Then call Hypnos Inc. and ask for Nicodemus Smith.
TH-r
Be sure to check out Thrillers That Actually Thrill blog post.
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