Showing results by author "Rita Herron" in All Categories

In the small town of Crooked Creek, where the Appalachian Mountains climb into the clouds, 19-year-old Mandy’s Spring Break takes a sinister turn. Detective Ellie Reeves races straight to the scene, driving through the winding roads to the abandoned orphanage. Ellie saves the teenage girl but discovers human remains that have been there for 30 years, ever since the home for children closed down. Her heart shatters at the thought that they might belong to the helpless orphans. Working day and night on the case, Ellie searches for the orphanage’s files, but they have been stolen.

For years, Brenda Banks was haunted by nightmares hinting at the true identity of her birth mother. That hunger for the truth inspired her to become a reporter, and Brenda refuses to back down when a serial killer targeting Slaughter Creek chooses her to publicize the gruesome crimes. It's a twisted game, one she's certain to lose without the help of FBI Special Agent Nick Blackwood, the man she's loved since high school - and whose tormented past holds the key to catching a killer.

As a snowstorm wreaks havoc in the mountain town of Crooked Creek, a woman is found buried in ice. Detective Ellie Reeves is first on the scene. Examining the body, she finds frozen blonde hair, pink nail polish, and a silver heart necklace engraved with Mine Forever. Ellie has firsthand experience of the monsters that lurk in the mountains - her childhood is testament to that. She vows to catch this one, but she’s up against the brutal weather, with snow covering footprints and making forensics impossible.

Sadie Nettleton fled Slaughter Creek ten years ago, leaving behind the only home she’d ever known - and the only man she ever loved. Unable to cope with her sister's madness, or the terrible secret she and her sister share, Sadie swore never to return. But when her grandfather is murdered, and her sister charged with the crime, Sadie has no choice but to come back and face the ghosts of the past... For Sheriff Jake Blackwood, time has not dimmed the love he felt for Sadie Nettleton - or the pain of her leaving.

Lara is baking cupcakes when her daughter, Ava, runs to catch the school bus just one block away. Chasing after her, Lara sees the bus tumbling past and waves. But Ava never turns up at school. Detective Ellie Reeves is in a race against time to find her - in missing-child cases, every second counts. Searching the small town of Crooked Creek, she finds the child’s bunny in the local park, the toy Ava carried around everywhere. Did Ava ever get on the bus? While Ellie works around the clock, a local reporter gets a message: There are others missing girls out there.

A young woman lies dead at the bottom of a waterfall, dressed in a wedding gown with a rose stem jammed down her throat. And in the small town of Graveyard Falls, the horrifying vision stirs a long-ago nightmare back to life.... FBI Special Agent Cal Coulter gets called in to investigate the murder, which bears a terrifying resemblance to a series of killings committed thirty years ago: three teenage girls were found dead at the waterfall's base, all bearing rose stems in their throats.

Josie DuKane is on shaky ground. Having narrowly escaped the notorious Bride Killer, she penned a tell-all memoir that dug up a town's dark past. Now the book is being made into a movie, and Josie must visit the very place that will trigger an avalanche of unwanted memories - Graveyard Falls. On the heels of her arrival, she receives a gruesome photograph of a dead woman with talon marks carved into her face. And worse, Josie just might be the next victim.

The sadistic experiments conducted in Slaughter Creek have left the town mired in mystery. As Special Agent Rafe Hood works to tie up the loose ends, the discovery of a grisly murder reveals there’s a new killer at work. Someone they’re calling "The Dissector". Someone who keeps his victims' body parts as gruesome trophies…

Detective Ellie Reeves heads into the wilds of the Appalachian Mountains when she wants to get lost - to forget the whispers chasing her and the past that keeps her up at night. She’s sick of having to prove herself to her small town. But hiking in the endless miles of woods isn’t the escape she was hoping for. One night, as dusk falls, a gust of wind blows some petals on to Ellie’s path. Following the trail, she finds a golden-haired young woman dead on a bed of daffodils, with a note: Monday’s child is fair of face. 

When Penny Matthews, a seven-year-old girl with blonde curls and a gap-toothed smile, goes missing in the Appalachian mountains, Detective Ellie Reeves is called straight to the scene. According to Penny’s parents, their daughter vanished after a picnic by the creek. All that’s left behind is a pink friendship bracelet etched with “Penny”. 

Tinsley Jensen survived the torturous clutches of an elusive masked killer dubbed the Skull, only to be held hostage by her nightmares. She’s terrified of leaving her cottage on Seahawk Island, knowing that the madman is still out there. FBI special agent Wyatt Camden knows it too. He may have rescued Tinsley, but her captor got away. Now he’s driven by guilt, the need for vengeance, and the desire to protect - at any cost - the woman he’s come to love. 

When a violent storm hits Graveyard Falls, it unearths the unimaginable: skeletons of teenage girls, each dressed in white and holding a candle. It's clear to FBI agent Beth Fields that this is the work of a long-standing killer - but could it be the one she escaped years ago? She has no memory of the man who held her captive and murdered her friend. But even though someone was jailed for the crime, she's always feared that the real killer is still out there...waiting and watching.

Amelia Nettleton has struggled to overcome her childhood trauma and finally has a chance to lead a normal life - a life with a husband and a family. But a recurring nightmare haunts her: She dreams of a baby crying for its mother… a baby that may be hers, and was stolen from her. Six years ago, special agent John Strong woke up in a hospital with no memories - but with a strong feeling that he committed terrible acts.

Still haunted by his wife's murder - and stained by the blood of avenging it - FBI special agent Hatcher McGee can't believe he's being teamed up with rookie agent Korine Davenport. She is his most guilty secret - the one-night stand who almost cost him everything. Korine has her own demons. As a child, she witnessed her father's murder, and she's spent her life waiting for the killer's return. She and Hatcher are both looking for closure, but the disturbing case that draws them together could be their last.

The remote town of Crooked Creek has barely recovered from its most recent tragedy when wildfires tear through the mountains. Detective Ellie Reeves is grappling with her own heartbreak - she has just discovered she was adopted and that her childhood was a lie. Under the scorching summer sun, Ellie is called to a river where a body has been found. She spots a lone woman’s shoe caught in a nearby tangle of vines, and a pearl necklace scattered by the water’s edge. Was the victim - whoever she was - caught in the fire, or is something more sinister at play? 

For five years, Cora Reeves has searched for her baby, who went missing in a fire - a baby she swears is still out there. When the private investigator sniffing out clues ends up dead, Sheriff Jacob Maverick’s on the cold case. As old evidence takes on new meaning, Jacob is desperate to ensure Cora’s safety. Especially once he realizes how far someone is willing to go to keep her from learning the truth behind what really happened that fateful day....  

Sergeant Justin Thorpe has dedicated his life to justice and won't stop until he finds the vicious serial killer who has already claimed ten innocent lives. He works solo - until he joins forces with Sheriff Amanda Blair. The Texas Ranger can't let his desire for his coworker keep him from his mission, especially when Amanda's life is threatened.

There was no man more dedicated to his job than Detective Mason Blackpaw. Yet when he discovers a dead body at the Bucking Bronc Lodge, he's forced to confront his moment of greatest weakness - and a reunion with the very pregnant Dr. Cara Winchester.... Cara fell for the sexy Comanche officer the moment she laid eyes on him, captivated by his loyalty and fiercely protective instincts. Their romance was brief but intense, and when it ended, he left part of him with her. Now a killer was kidnapping her patients' babies, and Mason was on the case to stop him. But how would he react once the killer targeted her....

People in town believe Tawny-Lynn Boulder is the only reason the Camden Cross case went unsolved. She survived the bus accident that left several dead and two missing, but the severe trauma left her with amnesia. So when she returns to her family's ranch after seven years, Sherrif Chaz Camden presses her to help locate the girls who were never found - including his own sister. But someone in town is threatening to kill Tawny-Lynn to keep the case closed.

Rancher Brody Bloodworth has spent years blaming himself for his brother's disappearance. If he hadn't snuck off to be with Julie Whitehead, everything would have been different - and he wouldn't have pushed her away. Now Julie is back, as an FBI agent with a solid lead on his brother. Although the past makes Brody reluctant to fall for Julie again, he admires her for being unable to keep her hands off the case. Before long he finds himself unable to keep his hands off her.