Picture a book that makes your heart race, sweat bead on your forehead, and keeps you from falling asleep. Did you picture a thriller or a romance? The two genres complement each other particularly well, despite being seen as opposites. Romantic suspense novels have a compelling mixture of love, lust, danger and obsession. This list doesn’t contain just five books, but five entire series to satisfy your craving for thrilling love stories.
Savannah Series by Lisa Jackson
This series is part police procedural and part psychological thriller, tied together with alluring romance. Caitlyn wakes up covered in blood with a pounding headache and no memory of the night before. Then, she learns of her husband’s murder. Her sister warns her to keep quiet because her family’s history of blackouts, dark secrets and lies only make her look worse. When Adam, the handsome town psychologist, becomes her confidant, Caitlyn makes a shocking discovery.
The next books in this series follow Nikki, a journalist who investigates a serial killer, a woman imprisoned for filicide, and the missing body of a murdered sister.
High Bluffs Trilogy by Sally Royer Derr
Prepare to be on the edge of your seat with this dangerously seductive murder mystery trilogy. When Joanna’s husband dies in a horrific accident, she is heartbroken and vulnerable. Rick, a handsome younger man, comes into her life and reignites her passion. Still, something in High Bluffs doesn’t feel quite right, and danger might be lurking below the surface. Joanna must figure out who is watching her, and why.
Satisfied that she has resolved the danger in book one, the rest of the trilogy follows Joanna’s hope for a new life with her daughter, Jilly. But Joanna’s past comes back to haunt her. Can she escape this obsessive perpetrator, or will the shadow continue to linger in her daughter’s life?
Deadly Series by Ann Christopher
The Deadly series is sexy and action-packed, and you’ll be wishing for more than three books. Jackson is a special agent who has successfully put away a criminal endangering the streets with drugs. But now he has a target on his back, and people who want him dead. The woman he longs for is caught in the crossfire, and he needs to keep her out of harm’s way.
The series continues in the same universe, where everything is connected. Kira leaves her dangerous husband and unwillingly falls for the man who brought him to justice. Kerry wants to leave his life of crime, but his dreams are halted when he catches feelings for the woman prosecuting him.
Romantic Suspense Series by Karen Rose
With 11 books featuring different characters, this series captures the thrilling range of possibilities for the genre. In book one, Mary Grace is on the run from her abusive husband and plans to start a new life under a new name. When she falls for Max, she is ready to finally craft a better life for her and her son. But her ex-husband is hot on her trail and is closing in on her.
The rest of the series features kidnappings, murders, detectives, natural and world disasters, and, of course, romance. Each story creates an entire suspenseful and steamy world for readers to fall in love with.
Blood Brothers Series by Rebecca Zanetti
When a private investigator engages in a dangerous romance, he must do everything he can to protect the woman he loves. The detective agency Ryker opened with his blood brothers is struggling, his troubled past is catching up to him, and the woman he loves is in danger. Zara, a paralegal, is having a risky affair with Ryker, who is more than he appears to be. When his dark secrets put Zara’s life at risk, Ryker must do everything he can to save her.
In book two, the serial killer who murdered Anya’s sister is on the loose. Heath, the PI on the case becomes the next target, and the killer may just use Anya to get to him. Book three follows Noni, whose niece has been kidnapped. Noni’s former lover is determined to catch the criminal at fault and find his way back into Noni’s life.
