Newly appointed as the first female sheriff of Misty Hollow, Shea Callahan is determined to protect her small town from shadows she never expected. When chilling threats begin, secrets unravel, and danger lurks at every turn, this romantic suspense thriller will pull you in with twists, mystery, and a slow-burn romance you won’t forget. Perfect for fans of small-town suspense, murder mysteries, and strong heroines who fight for justice—and love. Dive into The Sheriff of Misty Hollow by Cynthia Hickey, where every whispered threat could be the start of something deadly.
A romantic suspense thriller
Book One
A carefree girls’ getaway on Misty Mountain turns into a fight for survival. Strangers decide the women will never leave alive.
Girls’ Weekend Survival is a pulse-pounding psychological thriller set deep in the isolated woods of Misty Mountain. Newly appointed Sheriff Shea Callahan wants nothing more than a weekend with her college friends. They plan to laugh, drink wine, and make new memories. Then a group of strangers spots their matching “Girls’ Weekend” shirts at a rural gas station. In an instant, the trip takes a terrifying turn.
As night falls, the peaceful cabin becomes a trap. Predators begin a deadly game of cat and mouse. They seem to know every move the women make. Trapped on the mountain, Shea must rely on her instincts and her friends to survive. Their hunters are ruthless and won’t stop until every woman is dead.
Packed with suspense, friendship, and nonstop danger, Girls’ Weekend Survival will keep you turning pages.
If you love strong heroines, deadly secrets, and isolated settings, this is your next can’t-put-down thriller.
Book Two
A small-town sheriff becomes the target of a deadly stalker who wants revenge.
As the first female sheriff of Misty Hollow, Shea Callahan vows to protect her town. Then the threats begin. Someone from her past has returned.
The brother of the man Shea killed in self-defense wants revenge. He plans to destroy her badge, her reputation, and her life.
Deputy Trevor Bolton stands by her side. As danger closes in, so do their feelings for each other. Together, they must stop a killer before he strikes.
Packed with suspense, danger, and slow-burn romance, The Threat will keep you turning pages late into the night.
Book Three
When his murderous brother escapes from a psychiatric prison, Deputy Trevor Bolton must face the monster who nearly killed him.
Twenty years ago, Trevor survived a brutal attack by his brother, Troy. He thought the nightmare ended when Troy was locked away.
He was wrong.
Now Troy has returned to Misty Hollow. He leaves threats, knives on pillows, and a trail of bodies behind him.
Sheriff Shea Callahan joins Trevor in the hunt. As danger grows, so do their feelings for each other. But Trevor fears loving Shea will make her Troy’s next target.
Packed with suspense, family secrets, and slow-burn romance, Evil Returns will keep you turning pages late into the night.
Book Four
A ritualistic killer haunts Misty Lake, and Sheriff Shea Callahan must unearth the town’s darkest secrets before another girl is lost forever.
In Misty Hollow, secrets run as deep as the water.
When the body of a missing girl washes ashore on the fog-draped banks of Misty Lake, Sheriff Shea Callahan is plunged into the heart of a terrifying mystery. For years, girls have disappeared without explanation—each victim reappearing lifeless, marked by the same ritualistic pattern that whispers of obsession, grief, and twisted faith.
With fear tightening its grip on the town, Deputy Trevor Bolton joins Shea in the desperate search for answers. But as suspicion spreads, neighbors turn against one another, old traumas resurface, and every clue uncovers another layer of the town’s buried sins. The killer is always watching, always waiting—one step ahead, haunting the lake’s edge with a plan as cruel as it is calculated.
When another girl vanishes, Shea and Trevor must race against time to stop a murderer who believes the water itself can cleanse away sin. But the truth hidden beneath Misty Hollow’s surface may cost them more than their town’s safety—it may cost them their lives.
Taut with psychological suspense, small-town secrets, detective grit, and chilling atmosphere, Misty Lake is a page-turning romantic suspense thriller perfect for fans of Lisa Gardner, Lisa Jackson, and Melinda Leigh.
Book Five
Every red flag marks another victim—and Sheriff Shea Callahan must stop a killer who won’t stop until the lake runs red.
A killer waits in the trees. A red flag marks the next victim.
When a young couple is brutally murdered at their lakeside campsite, Sheriff Shea Callahan hopes it’s an isolated tragedy. But when another mutilated body turns up near the shore—again with a crimson camping flag staked outside—the horrifying pattern becomes undeniable.
The quiet town of Misty Hollow descends into fear as old legends resurface: three deaths always follow the lake’s call. But Shea knows this isn’t superstition—it’s cold, calculated murder.
Together with Deputy Trevor Bolton, Shea races to uncover the truth before the killer strikes again. But as each red flag signals another victim, the town’s whispers of curses give way to the revelation of something far darker: a predator shaped by childhood trauma, haunted by closets, screams, and a blanket that burned.
With the body count rising and the killer always one step ahead, Shea and Trevor must face both the past and their growing connection—because in Misty Hollow, the line between duty and desire blurs in the face of death.
Taut with psychological suspense, serial-killer chills, small-town secrets, and a simmering slow-burn romance, Banner of Death is perfect for fans of Lisa Jackson, Melinda Leigh, Allison Brennan, and Karin Slaughter.
Book Six
When Christmas trees ignite across Misty Hollow, Sheriff Shea Callahan must stop an arsonist determined to turn joy into ashes.
The holidays in Misty Hollow are supposed to shine with joy—until Christmas trees start going up in flames.
Sheriff Shea Callahan and Deputy Trevor Bolton are thrust into chaos when an arsonist begins terrorizing their small town, torching homes, stealing presents, and leaving the community drowning in fear instead of holiday cheer. What begins as scattered vandalism quickly escalates into a series of dangerous, calculated fires that feel less like random destruction—and more like a vendetta written in smoke.
As whispers spread and suspects pile up, Shea investigates a reckless teen caught with lighter fluid, a bitter shopkeeper desperate to save his failing business, and a struggling father hiding stolen toys. But none of the pieces fit. Then the trail leads to a man consumed by grief, haunted by a tragedy the town tried to bury—and bound by a vow to ruin every Christmas that followed.
With each blaze burning hotter and the mayor demanding results, Shea and Trevor must work against the clock to stop a grieving father turned avenger before his final inferno consumes the very heart of Misty Hollow.
Packed with holiday suspense, small-town secrets, slow-burn romance, and edge-of-your-seat thrills, Christmas Burns is a perfect read for fans of Lisa Jackson, Melinda Leigh, and Allison Brennan who love a chilling mystery with a festive twist.
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Book Seven
When an old friend’s desperate plea leads Sheriff Shea Callahan into the deadly world of underground gambling, the stakes have never been higher.
Sheriff Shea Callahan thought the worst was behind her after stopping a Christmas arsonist from destroying Misty Hollow. But when her college friend Becky Miller arrives begging for help, Shea is thrust into a case that will test everything she believes about justice, loyalty, and sacrifice.
A father and son have vanished. Bill Miller—Becky’s gambling-addicted ex-husband—and their ten-year-old son Ryan disappeared without a trace. No ransom demand. No bodies. Just whispers of massive debts to dangerous people.
The trail leads to a deadly syndicate. With Deputy Trevor Bolton at her side, Shea goes undercover on a luxury casino riverboat, infiltrating a criminal empire that spans twelve states. What starts as a missing persons case explodes into something far more sinister—a multi-million dollar operation built on exploitation, murder, and the broken lives of desperate gamblers.
A child’s life hangs in the balance. Ryan is being held as collateral, insurance to force his father into committing the crime of a lifetime. As Shea digs deeper, she discovers three other children held captive, their parents coerced into serving a ruthless crime lord known only as “The Banker.”
Sometimes you have to break the rules to do what’s right. Operating outside her jurisdiction and risking her badge, Shea must forge an uneasy alliance with an undercover DEA agent haunted by revenge. Together, they’ll gamble everything to bring down a criminal syndicate and save innocent lives.
But in a game where the house always wins, the cost of justice might be higher than Shea ever imagined. And when the smoke clears, someone she trusts will betray her.
From the author who brought you the heart-pounding Christmas arson thriller comes a high-stakes mystery where one woman must risk it all to save the innocent—and the clock is ticking.
Perfect for fans of: romantic suspense thriller, small-town mysteries • strong female protagonists • romantic suspense • police procedurals • undercover operations • crime thrillers EBOOK PRINT
Book Eight
The game is simple. The rules are deadly.
Sheriff Shea Callahan thought February would bring peace to Misty Hollow, Arkansas. She was wrong.
When real estate agent Ashley Price is found murdered with the letter “A” carved nearby, Shea suspects a one-time crime of passion. But four days later, librarian Belinda Collins becomes victim “B.” Then coffee shop owner Cathy Morrison makes three.
The pattern is unmistakable. The message is clear: someone is killing their way through the alphabet.
A chilling note arrives at Shea’s desk: “One down, twenty-five to go. I wonder if you’re smart enough to stop me before I reach Z.”
As the body count rises and the killer’s taunts grow bolder, Shea and Deputy Trevor Bolton race against time to identify the murderer before he completes his twisted challenge. But this killer isn’t just hunting victims—he’s hunting Shea, turning her own town into a deadly game board where she’s always one step behind.
With the FBI descending on Misty Hollow, tension mounting between her and Trevor, and families already destroyed, Shea must outwit a predator who believes he’s intellectually superior to everyone hunting him.
But what if catching the killer isn’t the end of the game? What if it’s only the beginning?
From the author of the Sheriff of Misty Hollow series comes a pulse-pounding thriller that will keep you reading late into the night. EBOOK PRINT
Book Nine
The bodies begin with a nursery rhyme.
A jury foreman is found in a barn, black wool draped across his corpse. A married couple lies broken at the base of a cliff. A court reporter sits frozen at her kitchen table, a spider floating in her bowl
.
Each murder scene is staged with chilling precision. Each victim served on the trial that let Jennifer Morrison’s husband walk free.
Sheriff Shea Callahan thought the nightmare ended when the unstable psychiatrist was arrested. She was wrong.
Because the psychiatrist wasn’t the mastermind. Now the real architect has stepped out of the shadows—rewriting his trial in blood and verse. Jurors fall. Court officials die. Anyone who played a role in his acquittal is marked for punishment.
And the rhymes are getting closer to home.
When Shea finds her own house staged with a twisted childhood rhyme, the message is unmistakable:
This was never about random revenge.
It was always about her.
As the killer circles back to the rhyme where it all began—One, Two, Buckle My Shoe—Shea realizes she’s the final number in his deadly countdown.
One, two…
He’s coming for you. EBOOK PRINT
Book Ten
Sheriff Shea Callahan never expected a knock at her cabin door to change her life.
When a lawyer arrives with a frightened five-year-old girl and devastating news, Shea learns that her estranged cousin, Ava Bennett, has been murdered. Worse, Ava named Shea as the guardian of the daughter she never knew existed.
Lily hasn’t spoken more than a few words since her mother’s death. She clings to a worn stuffed rabbit, startles at every sound, and wakes from nightmares she can’t explain. But one thing is clear—she witnessed something terrible the night her mother died.
As Shea struggles to care for the traumatized child, a stranger appears in the woods surrounding her cabin. Watching. Waiting.
Then the threats begin.
Someone wants Lily.
And someone is willing to kill to get her.
As Shea digs into her cousin’s secretive past, she uncovers a trail of fear, hidden identities, and a deadly truth Ava spent years trying to escape. The closer Shea gets to the answers, the more dangerous the investigation becomes. Because the man hunting Lily isn’t just after a child—he’s after the only witness who can expose him.
With time running out and danger closing in, Shea and Deputy Trevor Bolton must protect a little girl who holds the key to a murder. But a ruthless killer is determined to silence Lily forever.
In Misty Hollow, secrets rarely stay buried.
And this one could cost them everything. EBOOK