Hi there –
Welcome, and thank you for giving my novels a try.
I write romantic suspense, which I think of as thrillers with heat and heart. At the center of every book is Black Raven Private Security Contractors, the company called on when civilization falters and no one else can protect. Black Raven was born from something that happened to me in downtown New Orleans, in a deserted Lafayette Square in the weeks after Katrina, which you can read about here. The series includes seven novels, and I’m at work on an eighth.
Where to start the series. I’m asked this often. My usual answer is either Deceived or Desperate Whispers.
Deceived, my first novel, is set in my hometown of New Orleans and it’s where Sebastian Connelly, the co-founder of Black Raven first appears. If you’d rather begin with my most recent work, the Hideaway Duology, start with Desperate Whispers and read its sequel, Silent Screams. The story is set on a fictional island in the Florida Keys, and both Brandon Morrissey and Sebastian Connelly become key players. If they catch your interest, you can circle back for their books. Shadows is Sebastian’s story, and Deceived is Brandon’s.
Reading order. Aside from Desperate Whispers and Silent Screams, which form the Hideaway Duology and belong together, the novels are standalone and can be read in any order. However, if you’d like to follow the order in which they were written:
Deceived | Shadows | Jigsaw | Concierge | Imagine | Desperate Whispers | Silent Screams
Click any title for the back cover and an excerpt.
At a glance. Here’s a snapshot of each novel: where it’s set, what it’s about, and which characters carry over from book to book.
| Book & Setting | Premise | Themes | Tropes | Character Connections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deceived Setting: New Orleans | A jaded single father and a driven prosecutor uncover a murder that ties their families’ pasts together. At the center of the mystery is a fictional WWII landing craft inspired by real boats that were built in New Orleans. | WWII history · Treason · Family secrets · Redemption | Enemies to lovers · Single father · Two strong-willed attorneys facing opposite truths | Sebastian Connelly (Deceived, Shadows, Desperate Whispers, Silent Screams); Brandon Morrissey (Concierge, Desperate Whispers, Silent Screams); Andi Hutchenson (Concierge). |
| Shadows Setting: Begins in an idyllic neighborhood coffeehouse on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain (outside of New Orleans), then becomes a fugitive chase across multiple points in the United States | A prison break occurs as Black Raven is providing a security systems upgrade at a federal prison. All but one of the escaped prisoners are easily found. Black Raven founder Sebastian Connelly is on the hunt for the missing fugitive. He turns to the prisoner’s daughters, not knowing that they have received a coded message that forces them to run for their lives. The search for the fugitive becomes a desperate search-and-rescue mission and, unexpectedly, a love story that is set against impossible odds. | Government surveillance · U.S. Constitution Fourth Amendment stakes · Prison break | Protector hero · Women on the run, with a pet dog and dangerous secrets · Forced proximity · Slow-burn romance ·Found family | Sebastian Connelly (Deceived, Desperate Whispers, Silent Screams); Zeus Hernandez (Jigsaw, Imagine); introduces Ragno as headquarters-based intelligence. |
| Jigsaw Setting: Paris; London; the Chihuahuan Desert | In Paris, a Black Raven partner becomes bodyguard to a woman with whom he once had a relationship but left her to marry someone else. She is lead counsel before an international tribunal that is trying terrorists and is not happy to see him. Terrorists focus on their vulnerabilities, forcing the hero and heroine to move forward instead of fighting over their past. | International terrorism · Gritty violence · Kidnapping · Emotional redemption | Bodyguard · Strong heroine· Second-chance romance · Intense attraction | Zeus Hernandez (Shadows, Imagine); Gabe Hernandez (Concierge, Imagine); Sylvia Leon (Concierge, Imagine); expands upon Black Raven’s global operations; Ragno returns as headquarters-based intelligence. |
| Concierge Setting: The New Orleans French Quarter and surrounding neighborhoods, including the Marigny and Tremé; Uptown New Orleans; other areas of Louisiana | It’s Mardi Gras season, and the streets are teeming with revelers. As the celebrations occur, an artist with a tortured past realizes that people she’s painted – people who live on the streets – are disappearing. Law enforcement, preoccupied with crowd control, dismisses her concerns. Compelled by her own trauma to hire security, she turns to Black Raven for help. From there, a love story unfolds between a woman whose life has been marked by violence and a man who finds hope and optimism even in the darkest of times. Meanwhile, the predator who is prowling the streets focuses on her. | Human trafficking · Attempted suicide · Gritty realism · Psychological suspense | Protector hero · Survivor heroine · Healing through love and empowerment · Self-reliance | Gabe Hernandez (Jigsaw, Imagine); Andi Hutchenson (Deceived); Brandon and Taylor Morrissey (Deceived); cameos by Ace Evans (Imagine) and Sylvia Leon (Jigsaw, Imagine); Ragno returns as headquarters-based intelligence. |
| Imagine Setting: Halloween night in New Orleans; Black Raven headquarters in Denver; at Christmas, aboard the Imagine, a luxury cruise ship on its maiden voyage in the South China Sea | A cruise carrying some of the world’s wealthiest gamblers turns deadly when hijackers strike, forcing two Black Raven agents to fight to save the passengers and their own hearts. | A Christmas story (in the way Die Hard is a Christmas story); hijacking; peril on an isolated ship in the deep sea | Friends to lovers · Forced proximity · Found family | Ace Evans (Concierge) and Sylvia Leon (Jigsaw, Concierge); Zeus Hernandez (Shadows, Jigsaw); cameo by Gabe Hernandez (Jigsaw, Concierge); expands upon Black Raven’s global operations; Ragno returns as headquarters-based intelligence. |
| Desperate Whispers and Silent Screams (the Hideaway Duology) Setting: Hideaway Key, a fictional island in the Florida Keys; a fictional Caribbean island based on Haiti; New Jersey | On a tropical island, a guilt-ridden man and a woman with dangerous secrets are drawn together as a boy’s innocent mistake sets off a deadly chain of events. When danger arrives on the island, he must overcome his self-doubt and risk everything to save the woman he loves and the boy who has become a pawn in a battle of revenge and retribution. | Redemption · Grief · Trust and vulnerability · Life, death, and what matters | Friends to lovers · Tortured yet protective hero · Child in peril · Hidden identities · Slow burn · Found family | Quinn Roberts, Avery Hall / Jordan Jamison, and Patrick Bandallo; Sebastian Connelly (Deceived, Shadows); Brandon Morrissey (Deceived, Concierge); Ragno returns as headquarters-based intelligence. |
All my novels are available at Amazon in print and eBook, and they’re included for “free” with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. I’ve prepared a book club discussion kit, which you can read about here. I love hearing from readers. Reach out through this site or at [email protected], or find me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Take care, and happy reading!
