Books like 'A Merciful Secret'
Readers who enjoyed A Merciful Secret by Kendra Elliot also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary heroine sleuth suspense mystery
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Swamp Spook by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWhen black cats roam, and spooks are seen, Come celebrate, it’s Halloween. Sinful, Louisiana, really knows how to throw a party, and it goes all out for Halloween. The weeklong celebration kicks off with a maze of horror in the park built of hay bales. And Fortune has the perfect assignment—the executioner... -
Echo Road by Kendra Elliot, Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWhen two cross-country cases collide, Bree Taggert and Mercy Kilpatrick join forces to catch a serial killer in an addictive novel of suspense by bestselling authors Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot.During a vicious heat wave, a county maintenance worker stumbles upon two suspicious suitcases abandoned by the side of the road... -
Fortune Funhouse by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsThe traveling carnival has made its stop in Sinful and everyone is ready for thrilling rides, challenging games, and most importantly, funnel cake. But when a man is murdered in the funhouse and Emmaline LeBlanc is knocked unconscious so the killer can escape, the good times are over... -
Swamp Sweets by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIt’s November in Sinful and everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving. But when Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie bag a body on their turkey hunting trip, the quiet enjoyment of fall is over. No one really knew Miles Broussard well, and as he’d recently sold the building his business was in to retire in another state, no one could explain how he’d ended up murdered and dumped in the bayou... -
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On Her Watch by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsSheriff Bree Taggert becomes a target when she follows the twisting trail of a serial killer in a bone-chilling novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.A pair of hikers find a tarp-wrapped body in a clearing in the woods. When a search in the surrounding area yields two more, Sheriff Bree Taggert knows they’ve stumbled onto a serial killer’s dumping ground... -
Bullets and Beads by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsLet the good times roll? It’s Mardi Gras time and Fortune is looking forward to seeing the spectacle firsthand, but when a visitor to Sinful is murdered during the celebration there, Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t help but wonder what happened... -
A Merciful Promise by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Wall Street Journal bestselling series continues as Mercy Kilpatrick becomes embedded in the nightmare of a terrorist conspiracy. The job: infiltrate a militia amassing illegal firearms in an isolated forest community. FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick is the ideal candidate. She knows Oregon. She’s near the compound... -
At the River by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA Wall Street Journal bestselling series.The mystery of three missing teens and a traumatizing murder unearths decades of buried secrets in a shocking novel of suspense by a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author.Twenty years ago, five teenage campers disappeared. Two eventually turned up, bound and left for dead on the Columbia River’s rocky shore... -
A Merciful Fate by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsRaised by preppers, survivalist and FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick has a deep-rooted need for a safe place. Her getaway in the Cascade Foothills is her secret. But when skeletal remains are unearthed—those of a murdered man linked to a notorious heist—Mercy realizes she isn’t the only one with something to hide. Thirty years ago, an armored-car robbery turned deadly. The mastermind was captured... -
Long Gone by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWelcome to Lone County, Arkansas, where every corner holds a secret, and the past is never really buried.Disgraced ex-detective Harper Adams has traded her badge for a desk job at her father's law firm, a move as dull as the small town she's returned to. But things take a turn when a local woman wants to declare her missing husband dead, five years after his mysterious disappearance... -
Fortune Furlough by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIt’s not a vacation until there’s a murder. Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie are finally off to Florida on the vacation they’ve always talked about. Days filled with white sand, turquoise water, and fruity drinks are the only thing on the agenda... -
Gone Too Far by Debra Webb
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThis second entry in USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb’s Devlin & Falco series proves that sometimes the past is best left forgotten.As veteran detectives of the Birmingham Police Department, Kerri Devlin and Luke Falco have seen it all. So when the city’s new hotshot deputy district attorney turns up dead as part of a double homicide, the partners immediately get to work... -
Frightfully Fortune by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsRest when you’re dead?It’s time for the annual Halloween festival in Sinful, and Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t wait to suit up and enjoy the food and activities. But when a dead man gallops through the park on a black stallion and slides to a decapitated stop right in front of Swamp Team 3, they know another festival is about to be turned on its head…so to speak... -
The First Death by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsA Wall Street Journal bestselling series.For a search and rescue expert, the buried remains of her past are a dangerous obsession in a twisting novel of suspense by a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author.Rowan Wolff was five years old when she, her brother, and their babysitter were kidnapped by a serial killer in the Pacific Northwest. The babysitter was murdered... -
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The Next Grave by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA Wall Street Journal bestselling series.Following a murder and a woman’s sudden disappearance, investigations into old crimes and new collide in an alarming novel of suspense by a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author.Detective Evan Bolton is gutted by his latest investigation... -
A Merciful Silence by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsIn the fourth book of the Wall Street Journal bestselling series, FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick must unlock the mystery of a mass murder, and the secrets of its silent witness… For Mercy Kilpatrick, returning to rural Oregon has meant coming to terms with her roots. Raised as a prepper, Mercy is now relying on her survivalist instincts to defend her town from the people the law can’t reach... -
The Next Grave by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA Wall Street Journal bestselling series.Following a murder and a woman’s sudden disappearance, investigations into old crimes and new collide in an alarming novel of suspense by a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author.Detective Evan Bolton is gutted by his latest investigation... -
Keeper of Secrets by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe final book in the Carly Moore series.Carly had every intention of heading to Dallas to bring down her father, but not as Wyatt Drummand’s hostage. After Wyatt kidnaps her at gunpoint and threatens to turn her over to her father--the man she’s spent the past nine months hiding from--she explains that his plan will get them both killed... -
Secrets Never Die by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsMorgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger fight for the innocence of a young murder suspect—if only they could find him. When a retired sheriff’s deputy is shot to death in his home, his troubled teenage stepson, Evan, becomes the prime suspect. Even more incriminating, the boy disappeared from the scene of the crime. Desperate to find her son, Evan’s mother begs PI Lance Kruger for help... -
Plum Boxed Set 2 by Janet Evanovich
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe adventures continue for Stephanie Plum, Trenton's best-known bounty hunter, in these three Complete Plum Novels from #1 Bestselling Author Janet Evanovich!Four to Score: Stephanie Plum is forced to enlist the help of Grandma Mazur, ex-hooker and wannabe bounty hunter Lula, and transvestite rock musician Sally Sweet in an attempt to capture revenge-seeking waitress Maxine Nowicki... -
Missing Angel by Roger Stelljes
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIsabella pedals her bright red bike on the familiar route home, admiring her charm bracelet catching the light. But half an hour later, she is nowhere to be seen. All her frantic parents find is an angel-shaped charm discarded on the sidewalk…When twelve-year-old Isabella Farner disappears, Agent Tori Hunter races to the scene... -
Bones Don't Lie by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsShocking evidence hits close to home for attorney Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger as Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s acclaimed series continues. Private investigator Lance Kruger was just a boy when his father vanished twenty-three years ago... -
The Wrong Bones by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA frantic chase to catch a grave robber reveals a startling discovery in this tenth installment of the Widow’s Island novella series by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.Deputy Tessa Black spots a man disturbing a grave in the local cemetery and gives chase. But when Tessa catches him, she learns that the ghoulish trespasser wasn’t robbing graves; he was burying a box of bones... -
Save Your Breath by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsMorgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger investigate the mysterious disappearance of a true-crime writer. When true-crime writer Olivia Cruz disappears with no signs of foul play, her new boyfriend, Lincoln Sharp, suspects the worst. He knows she didn’t leave willingly and turns to attorney Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger to find her before it’s too late... -
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Dead Wake by Dawn Lee McKenna
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsDIY has a sinister component in historic Apalachicola, FloridaWhen the local florists find a dead guy in their wall, it opens up a decades-old missing persons case. It also opens up a Pandora’s box of secrets - secrets that might have ramifications for Sheriff’s Office investigator Maggie Redmond... -
The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsWhen Olivia Shaw’s mother dies, the sophisticated food editor is astonished to learn she’s inherited a centuries-old English estate—and a title to go with it. Raw with grief and reeling from the knowledge that her reserved mother hid something so momentous, Olivia leaves San Francisco and crosses the pond to unravel the mystery of a lifetime... -
Hide and Seek by Mary Burton
She’s hunting. He’s watching. Special Agent Macy Crow is a survivor. After a vicious hit-and-run nearly kills her, she gets right back to work, and now she’s gunning for a spot on the FBI’s elite profiling team. As an audition, she offers to investigate the recently discovered bones of Tobi Turner, a high school girl who disappeared fifteen years ago... -
Beneath Devil's Bridge by Loreth Anne White
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 39 ratings11 hours, 42 minutes A true crime podcast yields new revelations about a shocking murder in a riveting novel of suspense by Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author Loreth Anne White. True crime podcaster Trinity Scott is chasing breakout success, and her brand-new serial may get her there. Her subject is Clayton Jay Pelley... -
Three Plums In One by Janet Evanovich
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsThree Plums In One: One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum... -
If I'm Found by Terri Blackstock
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsIt started with the USA TODAY bestseller If I Run. Now Casey's journey continues in If I'm Found. Casey doesn't know why Dylan let her escape just as the police were closing in, but she knows she's got to hide again. New name, new look, new city, new job. But hiding isn't enough. Somehow, she's got to bring Brent's killer to justice... -
Whiskey for Breakfast by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe Private Investigator's Handbook Rule #1: Don't break the law Rule #2: See Rule #1 ...And then there's Addison Holmes, who makes up her handbook as she goes along. Addison is licensed to carry and she means business. The only thing getting in her way is a sexy detective, a neighborhood watch from hell, a dead billionaire, a black market sperm bank, and a long lost heir... -
The Hangman by Mary Burton
Julia Vargas is a cop with a mission. When she’s not chasing down bad guys, Julia dedicates her time to investigating the Hangman serial killer…the same unsolved case that her father, Jim Vargas, was working on when he supposedly shot and killed himself three decades before. While rumors continue to swirl around her father’s death, Julia attempts to hunt down the truth... -
No Escape by Julie Moffett
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsGeek girl Lexi Carmichael thought meeting the in-laws would be easy as long as they met on neutral ground and she was fully prepared with a spreadsheet full of etiquette dos and don’ts. But unfortunately for Lexi, things don’t always turn out as she planned.Meeting the in-laws is a daunting task even for those who are outgoing and socially capable... -
Near You by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn a scorching novel of obsession and revenge, New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton ignites fear in the heart of a woman targeted by a killer who knows her secrets.Forensic psychologist and single mother Ann Bailey has joined forces with Montana Highway Patrol officer Bryce McCabe... -
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Below the Bones by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA former FBI special agent must come out of retirement to solve a murder in the fifth novella in the Widow’s Island series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot.Former FBI special agent Cate Wilde is a new bakery and bookstore owner—and retirement is now complete with a doctor boyfriend... -
Whiskey Lullaby by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAddison Holmes has her hands full. Marriage changes a woman, and pregnancy hormones are no joke. But despite her promise to retire from dangerous P.I. work, she has no choice but to take this case.Twenty years ago, her father and his partner cracked the case of their careers. But it was all a set up. They sent the wrong men to prison, and now it's time for the real culprits to tie up loose ends... -
A Broken Bone by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe mysterious death of a local teen leads to a hunt for a killer in the sixth Widow’s Island novella by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.On Widow’s Island, the secrets are dark…and everybody has one. So when Deputy Tessa Black responds to a call about an explosion in a quiet neighborhood, she gets more than she bargained for: the body of a teen who went missing weeks ago... -
Known by Kendra Elliot
After a brutal snowstorm in the Cascade Mountains, Chris Jacobs discovers two things he never expected to see: the charred shell of a cabin, and Gianna Trask and her sixteen-year-old daughter huddled in an SUV, having barely escaped from their burning vacation rental. Still scarred from a childhood ordeal, Chris knows there’s something sinister about the scene—it’s the stench of burned flesh... -
Who Glares Wins by Camilla Chafer
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsOnly a few weeks into her new job as a private investigator, Lexi Graves thinks she may have bitten off more than she can chew with her first solo cases. In between going undercover as a plush pony at a “Bronie” conference and following her cheating brother-in-law, she’s got a saboteur-turned-killer to catch and a missing woman to find... -
Burn You Twice by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFire can destroy the past. It can also uncover secrets in this novel of searing suspense by New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.Ten years ago as an undergrad, Joan Mason escaped an arsonist’s fire. Shaken, she fled the small collegiate Montana town, leaving behind friends and not looking back. Now a Philadelphia homicide detective, Joan’s trying to put her traumas to rest. It’s not easy... -
Perfect Target by Barbara Freethy
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsWhen a yacht blows up in the Newport Beach Harbor killing a California congressman, FBI Agent Beck Murray is reminded of another night ten years earlier when a mega-yacht caught fire. Then a rookie cop, he pulled popular teenage TV star Piper Nolan out of the water. He's never forgotten her terror or her rambling story, but the investigation was shut down before it even got started... -
No Good Deed by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsLucy Kincaid understands the dangers of corruption. As an FBI agent, she has witnessed some very bad deeds committed by seemingly good people. That's why she's glad to see corrupt DEA Agent Nicole Rollins behind bars for murder, conspiracy, and gunrunning... -
Center Stage by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFirst book in the four book USA Today bestselling Magnolia Steele Mystery series by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author, Denise Grover Swank.Ten years ago, Magnolia Steele fled Franklin, Tennessee after an incident that left her with hazy memories and a horror of the place where she had been born and bred... -
The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsOne of Travel + Leisure ’s most anticipated books of summer 2020. From the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids comes a story of four generations of women grappling with family betrayals and long-buried secrets. It’s been years since Zoe Fairchild has been to the small Devon village of her birth, but the wounds she suffered there still ache... -
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Cold as Ice by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn New York Times bestseller Allison Brennan’s Cold as Ice, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid must get into the head of a psychopath to save her family, and herselfTwo years ago, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid put psychopath Elise Hansen Hunt in juvenile detention for her role in an organized crime syndicate... -
Dubiosity by Christy Barritt
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsSavannah Harris vowed to leave behind her old life as an intrepid investigative reporter. But when a friend raises suspicions about two migrant workers who’ve gone missing from the sleepy coastal town Savannah calls home, her curiosity spikes... -
Hello Again by Brenda Novak
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom NYT bestseller Brenda Novak comes the next installment of Dr. Evelyn Talbot and her murderous home for psychopaths in Hello Again. SHE CAN MAKE SENSE OF A COMPLEX CRIMINAL MIND. Evelyn Talbot, a psychiatrist at a maximum-security prison in Alaska, studies some of the world's worst serial killers. But she’s about to meet her most elusive patient at Hanover House yet: Dr... -
Falling to Pieces by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWhen Joe walks out of Rose’s life, she can’t imagine life without him. But with support from her friends—and an unexpected person—Rose finds her way to climb out of her despair. After his father’s blackmail forces him to leave the love of his life to protect her, Joe is thrown into the race for Arkansas State Senate... -
Whiskey Sour by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAddison Holmes is at it again. When priceless Russian gems are stolen on their way to Savannah and the courier is murdered, all the clues lead to back to an escort service that seems above reproach. But looks can be deceiving. Throw in a sexy detective and a dangerous FBI agent, and Addison finds out very quickly that she's in way over her head... -
No Questions Asked by Julie Moffett
Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsOne last fling (with danger) before the ring?Nothing’s that simple when you’re a geek girl. Julie Moffett’s beloved Lexi Carmichael mystery series returns with No Questions Asked.Lexi Carmichael: saving scientists one snake at a time.Weddings aren’t my thing—never have been...
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