Books like 'A Merciful Death'
Readers who enjoyed A Merciful Death by Kendra Elliot also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery small town action / adventure psychological serial killer thriller north-america usa oregon
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All the Lies by S.T. Abby
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsTo understand the monsters in the world, you have to get inside their heads. It's a dangerous place to be, especially when you start to empathize and lose your own sense of morality.But that's never happened to me...I've never felt conflicted on any case. Right is right and wrong is wrong. It's simple. Black and white. There's no such thing as a gray area.But fuck this case... -
![Scarlet Angel by S.T. Abby]()
Scarlet Angel by S.T. Abby
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsTo kill a monster, you have to be twice as monstrous. To love a monster, you have to share your soul...Logan Bennett makes me want to have a future not tainted by the constant hunger for revenge. Doesn't mean I can stop. Doesn't mean I want to stop. It just means I want more...one day... -
![The First Death by Kendra Elliot]()
The First Death by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 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... -
![Hide and Seek by Mary Burton]()
Hide and Seek by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsShe’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... -
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![In the Waning Light by Loreth Anne White]()
In the Waning Light by Loreth Anne White
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTwo decades after her sister’s brutal attack and murder, Meg Brogan has finally found happiness…or so it appears. A bestselling true-crime writer, Meg has money, fame, and a wealthy fiancé. But when a television-show host presses her to tackle the one story everyone claims she cannot write—the story of her own family’s destruction—her perfect life shatters... -
![Beneath Blackwater River by Leslie Wolfe, Gwendolyn Druyor]()
Beneath Blackwater River by Leslie Wolfe, Gwendolyn Druyor
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsListening Length 13 hours and 4 minutesShe looked alive, her hair drifting freely in the water, her red lips gently parted, as if to let her final breath escape. A small locket floated by her face, attached to her neck with a silver chain…When Detective Kay Sharp first left Mount Chester—population 3,823—in her rear-view mirror, she promised never to look back...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![The Dollmaker by Mary Burton]()
The Dollmaker by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsDr. Tessa McGowan had never seen anything quite like it. But the mutilated bodies on her exam table tell a stunningly macabre tale: someone with a twisted mind is kidnapping women and altering their faces to resemble real, life-size dolls. As a forensic pathologist, it’s her job to aid the agent leading the case—even if that agent is her estranged husband...Categorized as:
crime dark female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult -
![Hide Away by Jason Pinter]()
Hide Away by Jason Pinter
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of the Henry Parker series comes a page-turning thriller about a vigilante who’s desperate to protect her secrets—and bring a killer to justice.On the surface, Rachel Marin is an ordinary single mother; on the inside, she’s a fierce, brilliant vigilante... -
![You Can Run by Rebecca Zanetti]()
You Can Run by Rebecca Zanetti
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFans of Laura Griffin and Jayne Ann Krentz won’t want to miss this brand new thriller series by New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti, as FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow, a rising star profiler, strives to stay one step ahead of the criminal mind—and discovers that her own demons may be the hardest to outrun… Laurel Snow wouldn’t call hunting a serial killer a vacation, but with a pile... -
![You Can Hide by Rebecca Zanetti]()
You Can Hide by Rebecca Zanetti
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSet against the atmospheric backdrop of rural Pacific Northwest, New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti’s thrilling suspense series follows FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow as she strives to navigate her complicated family life when her newly discovered sociopathic half-sister becomes the target of a dangerous killer... -
![The Obsession by Nora Roberts]()
The Obsession by Nora Roberts
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsThe riveting new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts“She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her.” Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods... -
![Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts]()
Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFrom Nora Roberts comes the #1 New York Times bestseller Shelter in Place (June 2018) — a powerful tale of heart, heroism...and propulsive suspense.It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine. Three teenage friends waited for the movie to start. A boy flirted with the girl selling sunglasses... -
![I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells]()
I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsJohn Cleaver has called a demon—literally called it, on the phone, and challenged it to a fight. He’s faced two of the monsters already, barely escaping with his life, and now he’s done running; he’s taking the fight to them... -
![Follow Me Home by D.K. Hood]()
Follow Me Home by D.K. Hood
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratings‘Don’t you agree Detective? That some people deserve to die? I’ve killed the first. I’ve killed the second. Now will you catch the others, or do I have to kill them too?’ The body of Amos Price lies in a pool of blood on the polished floor of an otherwise empty house. With no signs of a break in, and no clues left at the scene, Detective Jenna Alton is at a loss...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![Killman Creek by Rachel Caine]()
Killman Creek by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsEvery time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…You’re not safe anywhere now... -
![Broken by Karin Slaughter]()
Broken by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsWhen Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own and far too many unanswered questions about a prisoner's death. He doesn't understand why Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him. He doesn't understand her role in the death of Grant County's popular police chief. He doesn't understand why that man's widow, Dr... -
![Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground.Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America's heartland.No one is safe... -
![Scream For Me: A Novel of the Night Hunter by Cynthia Eden]()
Scream For Me: A Novel of the Night Hunter by Cynthia Eden
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNothing is deeper than the desire they can’t fight—or deadlier than the evil they can’t escape. They were only supposed to have a professional relationship, but FBI agent Kyle McKenzie has been fantasizing about his sexy partner, Cadence Hollow, from the moment they first moment. It takes the darkest case of their careers to finally bring their hidden desire bubbling to the surface... -
![In the Barren Ground by Loreth Anne White]()
In the Barren Ground by Loreth Anne White
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn the Barrens, a vast wilderness in northern Canada bordering the Arctic Circle, night consumes every hour of the winter. Humans are scarce; ferocious predators roam freely. Locals say spirits do, too. Rookie cop Tana Larsson doesn’t mind the dark and quiet. Five months pregnant and hoping to escape the mistakes of her past, she takes a post in Twin Rivers, population 320... -
![Corrupting Ivy by Ann-Marie Davis]()
Corrupting Ivy by Ann-Marie Davis
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI wanted to stay hidden… anonymous. But fate had other plans. After stumbling upon a grim scene that threw me into the spotlight, my life is turned upside down, and I’m no longer safe. Then he walked in. The one everyone warned me about.He's rumored to have more demons than Hell.But the devil can be oh so tempting… WARNING: This book is a DARK/ANTI HERO romance... -
![The Third Victim by Lisa Gardner]()
The Third Victim by Lisa Gardner
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe past isn't over....An unspeakable act has ripped apart the idyllic town of Bakersville, Oregon, and its once-peaceful residents are demanding quick justice. But though a boy has confessed to the horrific crime, evidence shows he may not be guilty. Officer Rainie Conner, leading her first homicide investigation, stands at the center of the controversy...Categorized as:
crime drama female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter]()
Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsSara Linton--resident medical examiner/pediatrician in Grant County, Georgia, --has plenty of hardship to deal with, including defending herself in a heartbreaking malpractice suit. So when her husband, Police chief Jeffery Tolliver, learns that his friend and coworker detective Lena Adams has been arrested for murder and needs Sara's help, she is not sure she can handle the pressure of it all...Categorized as:
crime dark drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine]()
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsGina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake... -
![Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine]()
Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller.She can’t ignore a cry for help. But in this remote hunting town, it’s open season.Gwen Proctor escaped her serial-killer husband and saved her family. What she can’t seem to outrun is his notoriety. Or the sick internet vigilantes still seeking to avenge his crimes. For Gwen, hiding isn’t an option... -
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![Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter]()
Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsA small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated in the local diner. But it's only when town pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton does the autopsy that the full extent of the killer's twisted work becomes clear...Categorized as:
crime dark drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![The Third to Die by Allison Brennan]()
The Third to Die by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAn edgy female police detective... An ambitious FBI special agent. Together they are at the heart of the ticking-clock investigation for a psychopathic serial killer. The bond they forge in this crucible sets the stage for high-stakes suspense.Detective Kara Quinn, on leave from the LAPD, is on an early morning jog in her hometown of Liberty Lake when she comes upon the body of a young nurse...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Blood We Crave: Part One by Monty Jay]()
The Blood We Crave: Part One by Monty Jay
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMy secrets are infested with infatuation. His cravings are dripping in blood. Is it love? Or is it something much darker… An obsession. Death found me as a young girl. Latching onto the core of my soul. No one knows what that horrid night did to me. What kind of monster it flourished inside me... -
![Don't Tell A Soul by D.K. Hood]()
Don't Tell A Soul by D.K. Hood
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe floor was stone cold on her bare skin. Her heart pounded in her chest. ‘Not a soul knows where I am,’ she thought as she took in the darkness around her. And then she heard his footsteps…When a body is found stuffed into a barrel at a garbage dump, covered in long red lacerations, Detective Jenna Alton and her new deputy, David Kane, rush to the scene...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement north-america police-procedural suspense usa thriller -
![Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper]()
Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat if you could enter a madman's cruel mind as he planned his vicious crimes? What if you could see the terrified faces of his victims ... Psychic Cassie Neill helps the LA police catch killers — until she makes a terrible mistake and an innocent child dies...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Her Last Word by Mary Burton]()
Her Last Word by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAn unsolved crime pits a desperate woman against a relentless killer in New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton’s heart-stopping novel of psychological suspense… Fourteen years ago, Kaitlin Roe was the lone witness to the abduction of her cousin Gina. She still remembers that lonely Virginia road. She can still see the masked stranger and hear Gina’s screams... -
![A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter]()
A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe third pulse-pounding novel in the Grant County series from New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter.Sara Linton, medical examiner in the small town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is called out to an apparent suicide on the local college campus... -
![Mr. Monster by Dan Wells]()
Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies.But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary and a new mystery to solve... -
![You Can Kill by Rebecca Zanetti]()
You Can Kill by Rebecca Zanetti
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA string of brutal murders is leaving a grisly trail across the Pacific Northwest—and drawing rising star FBI profiler Laurel Snow back into a treacherous case and a twisted personal drama she can’t escape . . .The first body is torn apart, blood and flesh discovered across both state and federal lands... -
![Ho Ho Homicidal Maniac by K.A. Merikan]()
Ho Ho Homicidal Maniac by K.A. Merikan
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“I love Christmas. So every year, I kill someone. As a treat."NicoHave you ever fallen in love with a man as he was pointing his gun at you? Well, I have. Tiny problem? I’m in the middle of my murderous Christmas tradition, and he’s a witness.But it’s not his fault I got too excited and didn’t check if I was alone. I can’t just kill him because of my own blunder... -
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![After the Dark by Cynthia Eden]()
After the Dark by Cynthia Eden
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden's gripping new series, a disgraced FBI profiler must save her reputation by stopping a sadistic killer she knows all too well. Former FBI agent Samantha Dark was one of the most respected profilers in the bureau, an expert on the twisted minds and dark hearts of the most depraved criminals... -
![Dangerous Habits by Susan Hunter, Amy Dannenmueller]()
Dangerous Habits by Susan Hunter, Amy Dannenmueller
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLeah Nash would kill for a good story.After receiving a cryptic message from a drowned nun, journalist Leah Nash reopens the investigation into her own teenage sister’s death - and is quickly led down a dangerous path. When she links the two deaths to a shocking scandal, the story she uncovers could be her last byline...Categorized as:
crime female-mc kidnapping law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo]()
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsSome secrets are too terrible to reveal . . .Some crimes are too unspeakable to solve . . . In the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and "English" residents have lived side by side for two centuries. But sixteen years ago, a series of brutal murders shattered the peaceful farming community... -
![Dysfunctional by Isabel Lucero]()
Dysfunctional by Isabel Lucero
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA dark, MM romanceEzra Hamilton hasn’t felt the warm spurt of blood flow through his fingers or the indescribable feeling of pushing a knife deep into someone’s flesh in a long time. Too long.He’s been watching a man stalk women, curious as to what he’s doing with them... -
![At the Stroke of Madness by Alex Kava]()
At the Stroke of Madness by Alex Kava
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith only an old man afflicted with Alzheimer's as a witness, FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell is on the trail of a serial killer who targets people with physical disabilities, removing each victim's imperfections to keep as a twisted trophy...Categorized as:
crime drama female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens]()
Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing... -
![Unspeakable by Sandra Brown]()
Unspeakable by Sandra Brown
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA harrowing novel of suspense and an international bestseller, by the New York Times bestselling author of THE CRUSH and HELLO, DARKNESS... -
![The Devil's Daughter by Katee Robert]()
The Devil's Daughter by Katee Robert
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsGrowing up in a small town isn’t easy, especially when you’re the daughter of a local cult leader. Ten years ago, Eden Collins left Clear Springs, Montana, and never once looked back. But when the bodies of murdered young women surface, their corpses violated and marked with tattoos worn by her mother’s followers, Eden, now an FBI agent, can’t turn a blind eye... -
![A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh, Saskia Maarleveld]()
A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh, Saskia Maarleveld
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAnahera Rawiri left New Zealand at twenty-one, fleeing small-town poverty and the ghosts of her childhood with no plans to look back. But eight years later, she returns, seeking familiarity as respite from the shattered remains of her new life... -
![The Cove by Catherine Coulter]()
The Cove by Catherine Coulter
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe Cove is a quaint little postcard town made up only of old folk who sell the World's Greatest Ice Cream - a secret recipe that brings lots of tourists into town.Into The Cove comes Sally Brainerd, daughter of murdered Amory St. John of Washington, D.C., seeking sanctuary, and FBI Special Agent James Quinlan who's undercover and after her... -
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![Virtue Falls by Christina Dodd]()
Virtue Falls by Christina Dodd
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwenty-three years ago, Misty Banner was brutally slashed to death in her home in Virtue Falls, Washington. Her husband was convicted of the murder. Their four year old daughter Elizabeth witnessed the crime, but has no memory of the killing. Now, two decades later, Elizabeth is back in Virtue Falls. She soon discovers her father is innocent. The real killer is still out there... -
![Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd]()
Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsI have three confessions to make:1. I've got the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.2. I don't remember an entire year of my life.3. My name is Kellen Adams...and that's half a lie.Girl running...from a year she can't remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear... -
![Such a Perfect Wife by Kate White]()
Such a Perfect Wife by Kate White
Rated: 3.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMust be blonde, beautiful, and a good Catholic girl…On a sunny morning in late September, Shannon Blaine, a blonde, green-eyed 34-year old wife and mother of two, sets off on a jog along the rural roads near her home in Lake George, New York. It’s her usual a.m. routine, her “me time” after dropping the kids off at school…except on this day she never returns... -
![My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones]()
My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her forJade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her... -
![The First Wife by Erica Spindler]()
The First Wife by Erica Spindler
Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn idealistic young woman marries a man she barely knows only to discover his first wife disappeared under mysterious circumstances. As a child, Bailey Browne dreamed of a knight in shining armor swooping in to rescue her and her mother...
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