Karen Rose Books in Order – Complete List

Last Updated on March 29, 2024

New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose’s books fall under the umbrella of the Romantic Suspense Series. However, they can be further classified based on their location (Chicago, North Carolina, Cincinnati, etc). In addition, she also has a new series separated from her main set of novels set in San Diego.

Here are all the Karen Rose books in order of publication, chronology and location in separate series.

Latest Karen Rose Books

All of Karen Rose’s books take place in the same universe and are connected. However, they are separated into series by their location. The location-based series are listed further down.

Chicago Books in Publication Order

St. Petersburg Books in Order of Publication

This is a novella that was initially included in an anthology called Hot Pursuit in 2004. The novella, set in St. Petersburg, was reissued separately in 2014.

Daniel Vartanian Books in Order of Publication

This is the only subseries that is named after a person rather than a location. It features Daniel Vartanian, a Special Agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Minneapolis Books in Order of Publication

Baltimore Books in Order of Publication

Cincinnati Books in Order of Publication

Sacramento Books in Order of Publication

New Orleans Books in Order of Publication

San Diego Case Files Books in Order of Publication

Short Stories in Order of Publication

Anthologies in Order of Publication

Romantic Suspense Series in Reading Order

All the romantic suspense universe novels in order of publication.

1. Don’t Tell (#1) 2003
2. Have You Seen Her? (#2), 2004
3. I’m Watching You (#3), 2004
4. Nothing to Fear (#4), 2005
5. Dirty Secrets (#4.5), 2004
6. You Can’t Hide (#5), 2006
7. Count to Ten (#6), 2007
8. Die For Me (#7), 2007
9. Scream For Me (#8), 2008
10. Kill For Me (#9), 2009
11. I Can See You (#10), 2009
12. Silent Scream (#11), 2010
13. You Belong To Me (#12), 2011
14. No One Left To Tell (#13), 2012
15. Did You Miss Me? (#14), 2012
16. Broken Silence (#14.5), 2013
17. Watch Your Back (#15), 2013
18. Closer Than You Think (#16), 2014
19. Alone in the Dark (#17), 2015
20. Every Dark Corner (#18), 2016
21. Monster in the Closet (#19), 2017
22. Edge of Darkness (#20), 2017
23. Death is Not Enough (#21), 2018
24. Say You’re Sorry (#22), 2019
25. Into the Dark (#23), 2019
26. Say No More (#24), 2020
27. Say Goodbye (#25), 2021
28. Quarter to Midnight (#26), 2022
29. Beneath Dark Waters (#27), 2023
30. Cold Blooded Liar (#28), 2023
31. Cheater (#29), 2024

Karen Rose Biography – About the Author

Karen Rose was born Karen Rose Hafer in 1964 in Baltimore, Maryland. She grew up in a small town outside of Washington D.C.

When she was 17, she met her future husband with whom she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio right after graduating from the University of Maryland. She graduated with a major in chemical engineering.

Later, she worked for several years in the pharmaceutical industry, while also working as a high school chemistry and physics teacher. At some point, she changed career and started writing books.

First, she wrote romance novels, but soon she changed directions and began writing books in the romantic suspense genre. This could give her more freedom in tackling complex characters and plotlines.

She published her debut novel, Don’t Tell, in 2003. It was immediately well received by readers and critics, and it soon established Karen Rose as a rising star in the romantic thriller genre. After Don’t Tell, Karen Rose wrote and published several other novels, including Have You Seen Her? and I’m Watching You, both which became international bestsellers.

Her stories are full of intense action, gripping suspense, a serial killer or two, and even steamy romance. All her books are set in the same universe, and they are only split in multiple series based on their location.

Her books are considered romantic thrillers and suspense, a genre that I enjoy reading when I want to pick up something lighter than the hardcore thrillers and crime mysteries I usually spend my time with.

Edge of Darkness is my favorite book in the Cincinnati series. The two main characters are Adam Kimble, a homicide detective, and Meredith Fallon, a child psychologist. The two had a short relationship in the past. Now, when they met again, they discovered that their feelings for each other were just as strong as before.

Meredith works with sexually abused children. While out celebrating her success with a patient, there is an attempt on her life, but she is unharmed. While trying to figure out who shot her, Adam is there for her, wanting nothing more than protect her with his life.

Both Meredith and Adam are “damaged goods” (some of the previous Cincinnati books go more in-depth into it) and, somehow, they manage to have deep feelings for each other. These feelings might just be what saves them both.

In addition, in 2023, Karen Rose started a new San Diego series, which features homicide detective Kit McKittrick and the kind-hearted psychologist who treats court-ordered clients, Sam Reeves. The series has currently two books.

Despite her success, Karen Rose is challenging herself to better her craft from book to book. She has a strong attention to detail, and she does indepth research for each of her stories. Often she spends months doing research on topics and places for any of her books.

Besides, writing, she is a strong advocate for literacy and education. Over the years, she has been involved in several activities to promote literacy and reading among children and adults. She also regularly participates in speaking evens that promote such causes. Karen Rose is one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. I’ve been reading her books ever since I came across her first novel, Don’t Tell, back in 2003 when I got hooked on her stories.

Currently, Karen lives in Florida with her husband, their two children, and the family cat, Bella.

Should we Read the Karen Rose Books in Order?

Having read pretty much all of the Karen Rose books (except for the last one and a novella), I can safely say yes, it’s best to read the Karen Rose books in the proper order. The reason is that several characters appear in various novels, and they don’t always correspond to the location/book setting.

If you read them out of order, you might find yourself lacking a few background details that make reading the books much more entertaining.

Sure, you can read them as you get them as well, but your enjoyment will not be as full, simply because some books nicely wrap up events that have taken place in previous books in the various location series (e.g. the Baltimore series, etc).

Classifying the Karen Rose books in reading order is not as easy as it seems, because various characters appear in several novels, and there are also place relationships between books.

For example, some of the Karen Rose books are set in Minneapolis, others in Baltimore, and yet others in Atlanta, Cincinnati, St. Petersburg, and Chicago.

As for characters, you have Ethan Buchanan who is featured in several books, Dr. Tess Ciccotelli is featured in  others, and Dana Dupinsky is featured in a few other novels (and not all these novels are the same with the ones featuring Ethan Buchanan).

For all intents and purposes, I think the best way to classify the books are based on the location/setting. In addition, the books are listed in chronological order, with the publication date listed in brackets at the end.

Have you read any of Karen Rose’s books and if yes, what did you think of them?

Karen Rose Awards

• Die for Me – RT Reviewers Choice Award for best romantic suspense, in 2007
• I’m Watching You – RITA Award for best romantic suspense, in 2005
• Kill for Me – RT Reviewers Choice Award for Contemporary Mystery, 2009
• Silent Scream – RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense, 2011

Her books have been so far translated into over 20 languages and have been featured on various bestseller lists, including the New York Times, USA Today, London’s Sunday Times, and Germany’s Der Spiegel.