Karen Rose Books in Order

Karen Rose is a New York Times bestselling author and two-time RITA Award winner, best known for her Romantic Suspense series, a single interconnected universe of 30+ novels and novellas set in multiple U.S. cities. The series is grouped into location-based subseries (Chicago, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Sacramento, New Orleans, San Diego, and more), with recurring characters crossing between them.

This page lists all Karen Rose books in order, arranged by the recommended reading order across all miniseries.

Latest Karen Rose Books

Family Lies
Family Lies (San Diego Case Files #4), March 2026

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Romantic Suspense Series (Books in Order)

The Romantic Suspense series takes place in a shared universe, with recurring characters and storylines connecting more than 30 novels and short stories across multiple cities. Although each city-based subseries has its own story arc, the best reading order follows the overall chronology rather than grouping the books by setting.

Reading Order

  1. Don’t Tell, 2003
  2. Have You Seen Her?, 2004
  3. I’m Watching You, 2004
  4. Nothing to Fear, 2005
  5. Dirty Secrets, 2014
  6. You Can’t Hide, 2006
  7. Count to Ten, 2007
  8. Die For Me, 2007
  9. Scream For Me, 2008
  10. Kill For Me, 2009
  11. I Can See You, 2009
  12. Silent Scream, 2010
  13. You Belong To Me, 2011
  14. No One Left To Tell, 2012
  15. Did You Miss Me?, 2012
  16. Broken Silence, 2013
  17. Watch Your Back, 2013
  18. Closer Than You Think, 2014
  19. Alone in the Dark, 2015
  20. Every Dark Corner, 2016
  21. Monster in the Closet, 2017
  22. Edge of Darkness, 2017
  23. Death is Not Enough, 2018
  24. Say You’re Sorry, 2019
  25. Into the Dark, 2019
  26. Say No More, 2020
  27. Say Goodbye, 2021
  28. Quarter to Midnight, 2022
  29. Cold Blooded Liar, 2023
  30. Beneath Dark Waters, 2023
  31. Cheater, 2024
  32. Buried Too Deep, 2024
  33. The White Picket Fence, 2024
  34. Dead Man’s List, 2025
  35. Knife in the Back, 2025
  36. Family Lies, 2026

Reading notes:

  • Dirty Secrets (#4.5) is a standalone novella set in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is not part of any location-based subseries but fits chronologically here in the overall reading sequence.

Chicago Series (Books in Order)

The Chicago series is the beginning of Karen Rose’s Romantic Suspense universe. The book follows detectives, lawyers, and survivors in Chicago’s underworld. The characters have to leave their risky pasts behind if they want to survive. It’s best to start with “Don’t Tell” since it introduces key characters who appear throughout the series.

Reading Order

  1. Don’t Tell, 2003
  2. I’m Watching You, 2004
  3. Nothing to Fear, 2005
  4. You Can’t Hide, 2006
  5. Count to Ten, 2007

Philadelphia / Atlanta Series (Books in Order)

The Philadelphia/Atlanta series follows Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Daniel Vartanian and Philadelphia detective Vito Ciccotelli as they investigate elaborate, ritualized murders. The first book is set in Philadelphia, while the following two move to Atlanta. The three-book arc is best read in order, as Daniel Vartanian’s storyline continues across all three novels. A later short story, The White Picket Fence, revisits the Ciccotelli family through Vito’s brother Tino.

  1. Die For Me, 2007
  2. Scream For Me, 2008
  3. Kill For Me, 2009
  4. The White Picket Fence, 2024

Minneapolis Series (Books in Order)

The Minneapolis series follows investigators silving crimes with modern technology. The books include cases where virtual worlds become tools for criminals to stalk, manipulate, and murder their prey.

Reading Order

  1. I Can See You, 2009
  2. Silent Scream, 2010

Baltimore Series (Books in Order)

The Baltimore series follows cops, defense attorneys, and investigators as they pursue ruthless criminals while at the same time dealing with their own personal struggles. It has some of the strongest character connection in Karen Rose’s Romantic Suspense universe, with relationships and emotional struggles that develop across multiple books.

Reading Order

  1. You Belong To Me, 2011
  2. No One Left To Tell, 2012
  3. Did You Miss Me?, 2012
  4. Broken Silence, 2013
  5. Watch Your Back, 2013
  6. Monster in the Closet, 2017
  7. Death is Not Enough, 2018

Cincinnati Series (Books in Order)

The Cincinnati series follows FBI agents, homicide detectives, and a child psychologist who work together to solve cases related to human trafficking, abuse, and deep corruption in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Reading Order

  1. Closer Than You Think, 2014
  2. Alone in the Dark, 2015
  3. Every Dark Corner, 2016
  4. Monster in the Closet, 2017
  5. Edge of Darkness, 2017
  6. Death is Not Enough, 2018

Sacramento Series (Books in Order)

The Sacramento trilogy follows FBI Special Agent Gideon Reynolds, who was raised in Eden, a violent Northern California cult, as works together with a team of police officers to take down the cult.

Reading Order

  1. Say You’re Sorry, 2019
  2. Say No More, 2020
  3. Say Goodbye, 2021

New Orleans Series (Books in Order)

The New Orleans series follows Broussard Investigations, a private firm founded by former NOPD officer Burke Broussard and made up of ex-Marines and investigators. Working in the humid New Orlieans, a city full of crime, the team works cases involving murder, buried secrets, and the kind of corruption that runs back several generations.

Reading Order

  1. Quarter to Midnight, 2022
  2. Beneath Dark Waters, 2023
  3. Buried Too Deep, 2024
  4. Knife in the Back, 2025

San Diego Case Files Series (Books in Order)

The San Diego Case Files series follows homicide detective Kit McKittrick and court-appointed psychologist Sam Reeves, who are drawn together when one of Sam’s clients claims to know a serial killer. Set against the bright but deceptive backdrop of San Diego, the series has a stronger procedural focus than some of Karen Rose’s earlier work.

Reading Order

  1. Cold Blooded Liar, 2023
  2. Cheater, 2024
  3. Dead Man’s List, 2025
  4. Family Lies, 2026

Anthologies

  • Hot Pursuit, 2004 (with Annie Solomon, and Carla Cassidy)

Standalone Novels

  • The One Who Walked Away, 2026

Karen Rose Biography

Karen Rose is an American author best known for her long-running romantic suspense novels.
Official website: karenrosebooks.com

Karen Rose author

Karen Rose was born Karen Rose Hafer in 1964 in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in a small town near Washington D.C. At 17, she met her future husband Martin on a blind date. The both graduated from the University of Maryland, where Karen Rose earned a degree in chemical engineering.

After they graduated, they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she worked as an engineer in the pharmaceutical industry, earning two patents. During this time, she also taught high school chemistry and physics.

Karen Rose began writing in her late twenties, initially for her own enjoyment, before focusing on publishing romantic suspense and thriller novels, which is a genre she continues writing today. Her debut suspense novel, Don’t Tell, was published in 2003, and it was the launch of her long-running Romantic Suspense series, a connected universe with subseries featuring returning characters across multiple U.S. cities.

Karen Rose currently lives in Florida with her family and continues to write books.

Karen Rose Awards and Honors

Awards

  • I’m Watching You – RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense (2005)
  • Die for Me – RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Romantic Suspense (2007)
  • Kill for Me – RT Reviewers Choice Award for Contemporary Mystery (2009)
  • Silent Scream – RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense (2011)

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.

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59 Comments

  1. Just started reading Karen Rose on my second book and can’t put it down .If the rest of the books are as good there will be no sleep for a long time

  2. These sound like an interesing read. I haven’t had the chance to check them out yet.

  3. I am listening to Watch Your Back as I write. I have read others out of order so this list is just what I was looking for. The names Ethan and Faith ring bells – my memory has waved bye-bye so I can re-read books or listen to CD’s

  4. I have read all her books except the latest one “Alone in the Dark.” I hope Ms Rose can see these comments because i’m begging her to bring back Deacon and Faith again. I can’t get enough of those two, they light up the pages and Faith is such a comical character. Please please bring back Deacon and Faith (Closer than you Think). Thank you for all the sleepless nights that i couldn’t put your books down, that is a compliment not a complaint.

  5. I am addicted to Karen Rose Books and am currently reading “Alone in the Dark”. I am so worried that I have only one more to read then I will be waiting for Karen to get cracking on another one. Please hurry Karen !!!

  6. Just finished reading “Every dark corner” Karen Rose books are a don’t put down pleasure, They draw you in, the

    characters are human and flawed, which makes them so addictive.

  7. I love Karen Rose and have read loads of her books – but randomly. Recently Die for me, Scream for me, Kill for me. Its more than a trilogy…its like one massive book. So addictive and indulgent. Big question is should I now read others in a sequel? Are there any other fixed trilogy type series?

  8. I have read all her books. Just loved everyone, especially the Baltimore series! Keep on writing please!!!

    And yes, read them in order.

  9. When is the next new book out as I’m suffering from withdrawal symptoms xx

  10. I love Karen Rose books & am waiting for the newest one to e released! She is a terrific writer & all her books are well worth waiting for!

Comments are closed.