What price is too great to stop a killing spree?

Elizabeth Benoit ran for sheriff to wipe out the corruption in the good old boys network of Eckardt County, but she has yet to break in her shoes when a stranger's body is found in a ravine. With her ex back in town, a new deputy detective on the edge of losing control, and a crooked ex-sheriff out for revenge, Elizabeth's resources are stretched thin. And then the second body drops.

Fearing a serial killer on the loose, Elizabeth launches an investigation that lays bare more than one family secret: The Kauffmann matriarch is full of advice, but her progeny have a mean streak that leaves a path of destruction in their wake. The Meyer patriarch has his own agenda, and the Kauffmanns have been a thorn in his ambition for too long.

Elizabeth and her deputies are about to face off against odds that are not in their favor. Only one source can tip the scales, but will she sell her soul for his help?

The dead can no longer keep their secrets ...

On a cold February morning, ME Olivia Remington-Thorpe's severely beaten and bleeding husband stumbles onto Sheriff Elizabeth Benoit's retreat. Before slipping into unconsciousness, he begs her to find Olivia. Hours later, Deputy Detective Lila Dayne discovers a mysterious boneyard with dark secrets.

The timing is catastrophic. Still reeling from the horrific events of the past autumn, the deputies of Eckardt County are spread thin, and tempers are short. Elizabeth's relationship with her lead investigator is sour. Still worse, her ex-husband moved back to Iowa with a devilish deal.

As Elizabeth and Lila race the odds to uncover the truth of the skeletal remains and find their missing friend alive, Olivia seeks a way to escape from an abductor who is proving that she didn't know her husband as well as she thought.

More bodies turn up, mysterious visitors arrive in Juniper, and one mistake from the Eckardt...]]> Fri, 08 Nov 2024 21:25:48 +0200 https://library.land/winter-austin/733169-ride_a_dark_trail.html https://library.land/winter-austin/733169-ride_a_dark_trail.html

Will her life philosophy, "Do right, fear no man," get her killed?

A string of bad luck has left former Army helicopter pilot Dot Ybarra with a serious case of wrecked nerves and a need for peace and solace at her family's Idaho ranch. Instead, she encounters a desperate mother who stumbles onto their land, begging Dot to rescue her kidnapped daughter.

There's a bounty on the kidnapper's head, and fugitive recovery agent T.J. Roman is not about to let that paycheck slip through his fingers. Together, he and Dot rescue the child.

But their actions set off an explosion of secrets in Euskadi. The sheriff is slinking around with a new shady sidekick, Dot's friends are stabbed, and armed mercenaries attack her ranch, forcing her to use her hunting and archery skills to defend her family. Cornered by the unknown enemy's three-pronged attack, Dot and her charges retreat deep into the Payette National Forest. Isolated in the mountainous forest, separated from T.J. and...]]> Sun, 06 Apr 2025 08:36:48 +0300 https://library.land/winter-austin/626430-hush_my_darling.html https://library.land/winter-austin/626430-hush_my_darling.html

Sometimes, the past starts to bleed into the future...

Dark memories haunt Eckardt County Deputy Lila Dayne. Two years ago, she survived a serial killer's attempt to add her to his growing list of victims in Chicagoland, but the fight cost her more than just time lost to surgeries and rehab. Now she's finally beginning to connect with the people in this small section of southeast Iowa, even if she can still sense him watching her.

Sheriff Elizabeth Benoit has her sights on bringing down Eckardt County's corruption when two bodies surface, both bearing striking similarities to the serial killer victims discovered along I-80—and one delivers a personal message for her department. Lila spirals out of control under the pressure, pushing everyone out of her life.

As Elizabeth and her deputies try to bring Lila back into the fold, the killer closes in, marking his next victim. Lila must shake free of her fears and trust those who have...]]> Wed, 30 Nov 2022 17:25:28 +0200 https://library.land/winter-austin/654949-straight_for_the_kill.html https://library.land/winter-austin/654949-straight_for_the_kill.html

Déjà vu brings a chill in the case that will make or break more than just her career.

Sheriff Elizabeth Benoit's worst nightmare returns when her deputies discover a young woman killed in the same circumstances as a death from 25 years earlier. That previous victim was Elizabeth's best friend and Deputy Kyle Lundquist's older sister. Elizabeth has spent a quarter of a century trying to nail the crooked ex-sheriff she knows is involved up to his elbows in this unresolved crime. She has a thick file of clues, but it's going to take irrefutable proof to put both cases to bed.

Deputy Detective Lila Dayne draws on all her investigative skills, but still she can't pin down their main suspect. Then prominent members of the community begin to disappear—clearly, there's a bigger vendetta at play. Despite the legal consequences of being too close to the case, Elizabeth can't keep away now.

When Elizabeth's sister goes missing, it's a...]]> Fri, 12 Aug 2022 17:51:53 +0300 https://library.land/winter-austin/731004-bait_the_devil.html https://library.land/winter-austin/731004-bait_the_devil.html

In bounty hunting, clean jobs are a myth. Dot knows—she's seen the blood.

Dot Ybarra doesn't bluff. Fresh into her bounty hunting career, she's already earning a reputation for results. But when a "routine" rogue bounty—taken as a favor to her lawyer cousin—turns lethal, she's staring down a case with international reach, bodies in its wake, and the stench of power.

Her business partner, T.J. Roman, is hiding a secret. If Dot finds out ... well, she can't find out. It would end the effective partnership they've built. But the trail won't wait. What should have been a clean pickup of a fellow military veteran spirals into a hunt through the shadows, where one wrong move could see them both buried in an unmarked grave.

To stop the predators at the center of a violent trafficking ring, they'll have to go straight into its core—and make themselves the bait. Every step makes them vulnerable to each other as well.

The...]]> Tue, 04 Mar 2025 09:21:52 +0200 https://library.land/winter-austin/177247-atonement.html https://library.land/winter-austin/177247-atonement.html
Atone for your sins . . . A rash of unexplained suicides in the sleepy town of Eider, Iowa, draws McIntire County deputy Nicolette Rivers into a devious killer's twisted plot. A former marine sniper suffering from PTSD, Nic hides her own deadly secrets, and The Priest will do anything to expose it and her.For redemption is at hand . . . Eider police detective Con O'Hanlon is assigned to help Nic uncover the truth behind the suicides. She rebuffs his help at every turn, but the stubborn Irishman holds on. When tragedy strikes, Con helps cover up the fallout, but is he too late to prevent Nic's dark, downward spiral? Or is Con the one man stronger than her demons?Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors]]> Sat, 14 Nov 2015 18:15:07 +0200 https://library.land/winter-austin/182357-liar_liar.html https://library.land/winter-austin/182357-liar_liar.html
A cowboy sheriff and a by-the-book FBI agent team up to to solve a string of murders and arson in this satisfying, slow-burning McIntire County series finale.
Returning to Eider, Iowa, wasn't in FBI agent Liza Bartholomew's game plan, but when word reaches her that an elusive scam artist she's been tracking for years was spotted there, she heads south. Vengeance for his victims and her career are on the line, and she won't rest until justice is served.

However, Eider's sheriff makes for one big roadblock. Between the fallout over his recent close re-election, two gruesome homicides, a rash of arsons, and personal grief weighing on his soul, the last thing Shane Hamilton has time for is a determined FBI agent in his county.

But when it becomes evident that the crime wave and her case are intertwined, Shane makes a bold move that flies in the face of his longstanding vow: He gets close to Liza to share professional and personal secrets.

As the body count...]]> Sun, 15 Nov 1992 06:07:28 +0200 https://library.land/winter-austin/177246-born_to_die.html https://library.land/winter-austin/177246-born_to_die.html
Trouble's on the run in rural Eider, Iowa, and Deputy Cassy Rivers's heart is in the line of fire. Two years ago, she barely escaped a harrowing experience at the hands of a maniac - and not without scars. Now a series of random robberies leads to the brutal death of a fellow officer, and she must put her trust in the one man who broke her heart.FBI agent Boyce Hunt knows commitment isn't for men with pasts like his. He left Cassy once to protect her from the blackmail and manipulation he faces from his mother's criminal enterprise. But when they reluctantly partner up to capture the modern Bonnie and Clyde terrorizing McIntire County, their attraction flames to life once more, pulling Boyce between two loyalties.Will they risk their hearts again, even if it means losing everything?Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2016 18:15:07 +0200 https://library.land/winter-austin/178637-degrees_of_darkness.html https://library.land/winter-austin/178637-degrees_of_darkness.html
A world of dangerous secrets stand between Dallas homicide detective Remy LeBeau and professional barrel racer Cody Lewis as they explore a love that could last through the ages - or destroy everyone around them. Here is their story in one spine-tingling collection:

Reckoning: The honeymoon is over for Cody and Remy as Cody's darkest secret haunts her, threatening to destroy their marriage. Death will have...]]> Thu, 14 Nov 2013 22:42:00 +0200 https://library.land/winter-austin/182356-sins_of_the_father.html https://library.land/winter-austin/182356-sins_of_the_father.html
Newly pinned deputy Jolie Murdoch's first big job as a McIntire County deputy is to locate a missing girl. What Jolie doesn't expect is to stumble upon a corpse—the girl's father—with a prime suspect still hanging around. But why would local bartender Xavier Hartmann go off the deep end and bludgeon a man to death?
A former marine, Xavier is barely coping with a traumatic brain injury, and he has no memory of what happened at the crime scene. He came to Eider to confront his past, not get embroiled in a murder as the number one suspect. To make matters worse, as the mystery deepens, Xavier finds himself drawn to the reluctant deputy.
As Jolie fights against mounting pressure to get to the truth, she realizes there's more to Xavier than meets the eye. But someone is lingering on the fringes, determined to put a stop to her investigation and Xavier's freedom. Will Jolie do her sworn duty or buck the status quo to give her and Xavier's newfound passion a...]]> Tue, 15 Nov 2016 06:07:28 +0200