Picked by Doucet fans

Here are 18 books that Doucet fans have personally recommended once you finish the Doucet series. Book DNA is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Book cover of Angels Fall

C.F. Francis Author Of Sanctuary Island

From my list on romantic suspense twists to make your head spin.

Why am I passionate about this?

I walked to the library every Saturday to find a new mystery. I think I read everyone and read some more than once. As I matured, I discovered the mixture of romance and suspense I was hooked. I literally read every book in the genre’ at my local library. 

C.F.'s book list on romantic suspense twists to make your head spin

C.F. Francis Why C.F. loves this book

What can I say? Romantic suspense by the great.

The damaged heroine and the cocky MC. The dialogue and writing are fun and the ‘who-dun-it’ kept me guessing. The beauty of the Grand Tetons is so well described you feel like you there and in awe of the backdrop.

A great read.

By Nora Roberts ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Angels Fall as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The sole survivor of a brutal crime, Reece Gilmore is on the run, desperately fighting the panic attacks and the nightmares that haunt her. She doesn't intend to stay in the sleepy town of Angel's Fist one second longer than she needs to, despite its friendly - if curious - inhabitants, and the irresistible attraction of local writer Brody.

However, on a hike into the mountains she witnesses a couple having a vicious argument that culminates in murder. Faced with a lack of evidence, the authorities in Angel's Fist find it hard to believe Reece's story. But when a series…


Book cover of Quarter to Midnight

C.F. Francis Author Of Sanctuary Island

From my list on romantic suspense twists to make your head spin.

Why am I passionate about this?

I walked to the library every Saturday to find a new mystery. I think I read everyone and read some more than once. As I matured, I discovered the mixture of romance and suspense I was hooked. I literally read every book in the genre’ at my local library. 

C.F.'s book list on romantic suspense twists to make your head spin

C.F. Francis Why C.F. loves this book

Intricately woven romantic suspense set in New Orleans.

I love a book where the ending is a surprise, and the characters are entertaining and intelligent. You will fall in love with the secondary characters. Gabe is a chef who father is dead, but the authorities call it a suicide. He doesn’t believe it and hires a private investigator, Molly.

There are good cops and some really bad cops. Fantastic ride. Finished it in one sitting. 

By Karen Rose ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Quarter to Midnight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The truth of what happened that night lies with a secret witness.

Quarter to Midnight is the first thrilling novel in a brand new series by Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Rose, set in New Orleans.

Rocky Hebert walks into his death at quarter to midnight one New Orleans night.

His son Gabe cannot accept the official verdict of suicide and enlists the help of the Burke Broussard Private Investigation Agency to discover the real cause of death.

PI Molly Sutton knows what it's like to lose a father in tragic circumstances and will go to any lengths to crack…


Book cover of Birthright

Joss Wood Author Of Confessions of a Christmasholic

From my list on romance when life gets a bit real and want to hide.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an author of over seventy romance books and have been a romance reader all my life. I think the first book I wrote (at the age of eight) featured a kiss. Yes, I was precocious, but in my defense, I was spying on my much older sister and her boyfriend at the time. Reading and writing romance is my passion, and I love spending my days creating independent, intelligent, and feisty heroines and hot, smart, modern men. I’m lucky enough to spend my days doing what I love. I hope you love the books on my list, and that they bring you as much pleasure (and an escape from reality) as they did me.

Joss' book list on romance when life gets a bit real and want to hide

Joss Wood Why Joss loves this book

Another romantic suspense, this is a fabulously nuanced ex’s-reunite book.

Callie Dunbrook is an archaeologist on a dig on land that is said to be cursed. She has to unravel the history, and the mystery, while dealing with her irritating ex-husband Jake. The book has several sub-plots, with interesting characters. It deals with some tough subjects cleverly, and I think it’s Ms. Roberts's best book. 

By Nora Roberts ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Birthright as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When five-thousand-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger and romance.

To begin with she must try to make sense of the cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the dig - fuelling rumours that the site is cursed. She must also cope with the presence of her irritating - but still irresistible - ex-husband, Hake. But when a stranger appears, claiming to know a secret about her childhood, Callie is forced to also question…


Book cover of A Cold Dark Place

C.F. Francis Author Of Sanctuary Island

From my list on romantic suspense twists to make your head spin.

Why am I passionate about this?

I walked to the library every Saturday to find a new mystery. I think I read everyone and read some more than once. As I matured, I discovered the mixture of romance and suspense I was hooked. I literally read every book in the genre’ at my local library. 

C.F.'s book list on romantic suspense twists to make your head spin

C.F. Francis Why C.F. loves this book

A romantic suspense with an unlikely hero with a dark, murderous past and a female FBI agent with a history that haunts her.

It is packed with action and an ending that will shock you. It’s a story of redemption, self-forgiveness, and righting wrongs. A real page-turner.

Alex Parker has become one of my all-time favorite characters. A former CIA agent and now a computer wizard is forced to kill those that escape justice to settle a debt. 

By Toni Anderson ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Cold Dark Place as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

She's an FBI agent hunting her twin sister's killer. He's an assassin who'll die to keep her safe. His secret will destroy them both.

Read this award-winning novel from a New York Times bestselling author with over five-thousand 5-star reviews on Goodreads!

FBI agent Mallory Rooney spent the last eighteen years searching for her identical twin sister’s abductor. With a serial killer carving her sister’s initials into the bodies of his victims, Mallory thinks she may finally have found him.

Former soldier Alex Parker is a highly decorated but damaged war hero with a secret—he’s a covert government assassin who…


Book cover of Shiver

Kel O'Connor Author Of Broken Bits

From my list on romantic suspense with forced proximity as a trope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a fan of romantic suspense since I was a teen (many decades ago) and started writing my DAG Team Series in 2016. I adore everything about this genre – the puzzles, the intrigue and how they affect the budding relationship between the main characters. Dating is difficult when you are trying to catch a killer or on the run! Despite the central mystery, the focus is on the romance between the couple. The issues serve to add a layer of non-sexual tension. 

Kel's book list on romantic suspense with forced proximity as a trope

Kel O'Connor Why Kel loves this book

Kidnap victim takes a repo agent and her child hostage in order to discover who blew his cover and is trying to kill him.She finds him locked in the trunk of a car she is repossessing. Daniel needs to find his kidnappers and find out how they found him in protective custody.  I liked how Samantha worked hard to provide for her family and her courage in this odd situation. Again, features forced proximity!

By Karen Robards ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shiver as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When she swore off love, he was the last man she imagined would steal her heart.

If driving a tow truck through the seediest part of town with a gun beside her means putting a roof over her son's head, then single mother Samantha is going to be the best repossession woman on the books. But when she hooks her truck up to a flashy BMW, the last thing she expects is to find a beaten, bloody man in the trunk - or to be catapulted into a terrifying fight to survive.

Daniel knows the drug runners who kidnapped him…


Book cover of Thick as Thieves

Kel O'Connor Author Of Broken Bits

From my list on romantic suspense with forced proximity as a trope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a fan of romantic suspense since I was a teen (many decades ago) and started writing my DAG Team Series in 2016. I adore everything about this genre – the puzzles, the intrigue and how they affect the budding relationship between the main characters. Dating is difficult when you are trying to catch a killer or on the run! Despite the central mystery, the focus is on the romance between the couple. The issues serve to add a layer of non-sexual tension. 

Kel's book list on romantic suspense with forced proximity as a trope

Kel O'Connor Why Kel loves this book

Another author who always hits the mark! This is one of her newest books and I was blown away by all the twists that came out of nowhere. The couple must team up to find out who the killer was from a decades-old robbery that affected them both.

By Sandra Brown ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Thick as Thieves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this tantalizing thriller from a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a woman uncovers lifelong secrets as she searches for the truth behind her father's involvement in a heist gone wrong.

Twenty years ago in the dead of night, four seemingly random individuals pulled the ultimate heist and almost walked away with half a million dollars. But by daybreak, their plan had been shot to hell. One of them was in the hospital. One was in jail. One was dead. And one got away with it.

Arden Maxwell, the daughter of the man who disappeared all those years ago—presumably…


Book cover of Shadows At Sunset

Kel O'Connor Author Of Broken Bits

From my list on romantic suspense with forced proximity as a trope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a fan of romantic suspense since I was a teen (many decades ago) and started writing my DAG Team Series in 2016. I adore everything about this genre – the puzzles, the intrigue and how they affect the budding relationship between the main characters. Dating is difficult when you are trying to catch a killer or on the run! Despite the central mystery, the focus is on the romance between the couple. The issues serve to add a layer of non-sexual tension. 

Kel's book list on romantic suspense with forced proximity as a trope

Kel O'Connor Why Kel loves this book

Every one of her romantic suspense books is a masterpiece! Coltrane cares for nothing and no one until he meets Jilly and Jilly cares too much for her messy family and the crumbling Hollywood mansion they live in. There is a fun secondary mystery and love story involving the two ghosts who died in the house.

By Anne Stuart ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shadows At Sunset as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

House of Shadows
The house on Sunset Boulevard has witnessed everything: from the infamous murder-suicide of a ’50s starlet and her lover, to the drug-fueled commune in the ’60s, to the anguish of its present owner, Jilly Meyer, who is struggling to preserve the house and what’s left of her wounded family.

Man of Shadows
Coltrane is a liar, a con man and a threat to everything Jilly holds dear. He is also her hated father’s right-hand man, a gorgeous, loathsome snake who doesn’t care whom he uses to get what he wants. And he’s made it clear he wants…


Book cover of Gone Too Far

Kel O'Connor Author Of Broken Bits

From my list on romantic suspense with forced proximity as a trope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a fan of romantic suspense since I was a teen (many decades ago) and started writing my DAG Team Series in 2016. I adore everything about this genre – the puzzles, the intrigue and how they affect the budding relationship between the main characters. Dating is difficult when you are trying to catch a killer or on the run! Despite the central mystery, the focus is on the romance between the couple. The issues serve to add a layer of non-sexual tension. 

Kel's book list on romantic suspense with forced proximity as a trope

Kel O'Connor Why Kel loves this book

To get the full story of Sam and Alyssa’s love story, start with the 1st book in the Troubleshooters series, The Unsung Hero. However, this is the best book of that series! Former lovers, they now need to work together to solve a complex case that puts them on the run. Forced Proximity is my favorite romance trope.

By Suzanne Brockmann ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Gone Too Far as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Troubleshooters: They Never Let You Down. The sixth addictive romantic suspense novel in New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooters series, filled with thrilling adventure, excitement and passion. In GONE TOO FAR, ex-lovers Lieutenant Sam Starrett and FBI agent Alyssa Locke find that sometimes the only way to the truth is to break the law...

Whilst Lieutenant Sam Starrett's career as a Navy SEAL has gone from strength to strength, his private life has turned into a mess. Waiting for his divorce papers was always going to be tough but Sam's life turns into a nightmare when he arrives…


Book cover of The Rescue

J.S. Wik Author Of Habitude

From my list on all of the romance and some of the suspense.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was always in love with love. I had my life all planned out, I was going to marry my high school sweetheart and have a family and live happily ever after. Newsflash, that didn’t happen and I’m glad it didn’t! As I’ve gotten older I still find myself in love with love, but now there are other things included with it such as quiet rebellion and a determination to simply be me. I find that I enjoy the suspense aspect because I know life isn’t perfect. We don’t all have stalkers or physically abusive exes, but books are a safe place to experience the emotions of these situations.

J.S.'s book list on all of the romance and some of the suspense

J.S. Wik Why J.S. loves this book

This is another one of Nicholas Sparks books that I read at the recommendation of a good friend and I’m so glad I did! Denise is one of my most favorite fictional female main characters, and there was absolutely no surprise that Taylor fell for her despite his best efforts!

I was completely immersed in this book to the point that I stayed up way later than I should have when I needed to work the next morning and then woke up with a book hangover! This one was one that I needed a palette-cleansing book to read after because I was so emotionally invested!

By Nicholas Sparks ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Rescue as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How do you learn to trust again?

Denise Hilton, a young single mother, is driving through Edenton, North Carolina, when her car skids off the road during a storm.

With her is her four-year-old son, Kyle, a boy with severe learning disabilities for whom she has sacrificed everything. When volunteer fireman Taylor McAden finds her she is unconscious and bleeding, but when she wakes an even more chilling truth becomes clear: Kyle is gone.

When confronted by raging fires or deadly accidents, Taylor feels compelled to take terrifying risks to save lives, and the search for Kyle is no exception.…


Book cover of Safe Haven

R.K. Scott Author Of Choosing Season

From my list on characters displaying inner strength.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a large family and was often forgotten since I wasn’t the loud and rebellious child, but I was often pushed over because I wouldn’t stand up for myself in fear of anger. My only escape was walking the seven blocks to my local library and reading about heroic deeds, beautiful ladies falling in love with the dashing prince, and wishing I could be brave like the characters in my books. In my late teens, I realized there’s more to a person than physical strength. 

R.K.'s book list on characters displaying inner strength

R.K. Scott Why R.K. loves this book

Nicholas Sparks is one of those romance writers whose work I mostly like, but I’m not a die-hard fan. However, I love this book. Not every sweet, sappy romance makes me cry, but this one did. I really cared for the main character, Katie. She’s quiet and keeps to herself, but beneath the reserved smile, she’s hiding from an abusive marriage.

It takes courage to run from a bad situation and strength to face your demons finally. I also liked that the romance was believable and took its time. Romances that make me fall in love with the characters are among my favorite kinds of love stories.

By Nicholas Sparks ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Safe Haven as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In a small North Carolina town, a mysterious and beautiful woman running from her past slowly falls for a kind-hearted store owner . . . until dark secrets begin to threaten her new life.

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken…