Books in series
#1
Close to the Bone
2018
FBI Special Agent Cate Wilde is back home on a remote Pacific Northwest island when she gets the call: a teenager’s skeletal remains have been found on a nearby island.
Together with Tessa Black, a childhood friend turned local deputy, Cate confronts dreary weather and bleak leads to make sense of the death. The complications pile up as Cate is distracted by the coroner on the case—and by nagging memories that draw her twenty years into the past. The remains suggest eerie similarities between this victim, and Cate and Tessa’s friend Samantha, who disappeared when she was fourteen.
Cate finds herself up against closemouthed locals, buried town secrets, and even her own heart. As the case unravels, will she be able to cut through the fog and find justice for the missing and the dead
#2
A Bone to Pick
2018
Deputy Tessa Black gave up her career as a detective with the Seattle PD and returned to the Pacific Northwest island she calls home to care for her ailing mother. Tessa thinks her mother’s illness is the worst thing she’ll face—until she responds to a routine call in the state park and discovers a local man harpooned to a sign.
As the murder investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the victim harbored secrets. Together with her FBI agent best friend, Cate, and park ranger Logan Wilde, Tessa must connect the pieces before the murderer strikes again. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she finds herself—and the ones she loves—in harm’s way.
Pressure mounts as Tessa attempts to juggle the current case with her search for the truth behind her childhood friend Samantha’s disappearance twenty years ago. Can Tessa find the murderer and uncover answers about Samantha without jeopardizing everything she holds dear?
#3
Whisper of Bones
2019
Dark secrets from the past bob to the surface in the third novella in the Widow’s Island series.
When a body washes up on the state park beach, Deputy Tessa Black’s experience as a former Seattle detective tells her that the death was not an accident. All evidence points to another murder on the remote island.
The victim is a local contractor with a shockingly long list of enemies. The more locals Tessa interviews, the more people she suspects—from the bitter ex-wife and estranged current wife to disgruntled former clients and employees. They all have different reasons to want him dead.
As Tessa’s investigation heats up, arson and a vicious assault convince her the killer is desperate to hide his crime—and that she’d better solve the case before he claims another victim.
#4
Bred in the Bone
2019
In the fourth Widow’s Island novella by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot, the truth of a twenty-year disappearance will finally come to light.
When the town drunk ends up dead in a hit-and-run, FBI special agent Cate Wilde expects that solving the case will be cut and dried. But evidence quickly surfaces that the victim was involved with another crime. A crime that has gone cold for twenty years. A crime of personal importance to Cate.
Cate’s best friend, Samantha, went missing at fourteen, leaving behind nothing except a jacket and an island full of unanswered questions. Samantha’s disappearance has haunted Cate for more than half her life, and she might finally be able to find some closure.
But not everything is as it seems. As Cate unravels what happened on that fateful day, she’ll discover that the community of Widow’s Island is full of secrets. Betrayed by someone she thought she knew, Cate will need to piece together the truth…before someone else gets hurt.
#5
Below the Bones
2020
A former FBI special agent must come out of retirement to solve a murder in the fifth novella in the Widow’s Island series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot.
Former FBI special agent Cate Wilde is a new bakery and bookstore owner—and retirement is now complete with a doctor boyfriend. Although she struggles with PTSD, the sweet life she’s living is a far cry from the gruesome work she left behind six months ago.
But when skeletal remains turn up on Widow’s Island—and the MO of the killer is too familiar to Cate—the dream comes to an abrupt end. What if the case she solved eight years ago isn’t as closed as she thought? Her hometown needs her, and despite her mental health and her boyfriend’s protests, she has no choice but to return to her dangerous past life.
Soon Cate is in a desperate race to stop a cold-blooded murderer from killing again, once and for all…only this time, she’ll have so much more to lose.
#6
A Broken Bone
2020
The mysterious death of a local teen leads to a hunt for a killer in the sixth Widow’s Island novella by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.
On Widow’s Island, the secrets are dark…and everybody has one. So when Deputy Tessa Black responds to a call about an explosion in a quiet neighborhood, she gets more than she bargained for: the body of a teen who went missing weeks ago.
Until recently, Gavin was living in a reputable foster home. But now that he is found dead—Tessa can’t help but wonder if sinister forces are at play. Who would want to hurt him, and why?
With the help of her partner, Park Ranger Logan Wilde, Tessa tries desperately to decipher what happened to Gavin before another life is cut short. Someone on Widow’s Island knows the explosive truth. Will Tessa find the answers she needs before someone else turns up dead?
#7
Buried Bones
2021
A college student’s murder shines light on community secrets left in the dark in the seventh Widow’s Island novella by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.
All communities have their secrets…but on Widow’s Island, there’s a skeleton in every closet, as Deputy Tessa Black knows all too well. When Tessa stumbles upon a half-buried body in the woods, a peaceful morning hike suddenly turns into a race to catch a killer.
Tessa identifies the skeletal corpse as Aurora Franklin, a young college student and aspiring actor. She’d come to Widow’s Island for a summer job, only to be strangled and discarded. Aurora has been dead for over a month—and not a single islander has reported her missing.
The investigation reveals a dangerous predator hiding in the Widow’s Island community. With her fiancé, park ranger Logan Wilde, by her side, Tessa must find Aurora’s murderer before they strike again.
#8
The Lost Bones
2021
From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot comes the story of a former FBI agent who tackles an unsolved kidnapping in the eighth installment of the Widow’s Island Novella series.
When former FBI agent Cate Wilde moves back to Widow’s Island, she envisions a simpler life than the one she had in law enforcement. But Cate’s past has a habit of catching up with her. When she receives a mysterious package containing a child’s mandible, she finds herself thrust back into action.
The mandible leads Cate to an unsolved case she worked seven years ago—the kidnapping of a three-year-old girl. At the time, Cate suspected the girl was kidnapped by her overprotective father. But after they both vanished, the case went cold.
At the urging of the girl’s mother, Cate dives back into the case and learns her prime suspect may still be a threat. Armed with new clues and a fresh perspective, Cate must confront the possibility that the kidnapper is poised to strike again. But can she save his new child from the same fate before it’s too late?
#9
Bone Deep
2022
When two men kidnap former FBI agent Cate Wilde’s fiancé, the boldness of the crime rattles the community. Desperate to find the man she loves, Cate joins forces with the FBI and the local sheriff’s department to launch an investigation and bring Dr. Henry Powers home.
Cate soon learns that a brotherhood of bank robbers abducted Henry in the hopes that he might be able to save their youngest brother, who had been shot during a robbery. But this man is beyond saving, which spells life-threatening danger for Henry.
While Henry plots his escape, Cate uses her investigative skills and experience to track down her fiancé. Can she get to him in time, or will Widow’s Island live up to its name?
#10
The Wrong Bones
2022
A frantic chase to catch a grave robber reveals a startling discovery in this tenth installment of the Widow’s Island novella series by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.
Deputy Tessa Black spots a man disturbing a grave in the local cemetery and gives chase. But when Tessa catches him, she learns that the ghoulish trespasser wasn’t robbing graves; he was burying a box of bones.
With the help of her fiancé, park ranger Logan Wilde, Tessa discovers that the remains belong to a missing teenager from a nearby island. After the girl disappeared nine months ago, police labeled her a runaway. Now, though, it’s clear the teenager was murdered.
When the only witness is an uncooperative teenager, Tessa and Logan must find the killer before the boy becomes the next target.
Authors
Kendra Elliot
Author · 36 books
An Amazon #1 selling author, Kendra Elliot has sold over 12 Million books and been on the WSJ best seller over a dozen times. She grew up in the lush Pacific Northwest and still lives there with her family and two cats. She's fascinated with forensics, refuses to eat anything green, and dreams of living every day in flip flops. UPDATE: She now lives in flip flops and watches the sun rise over the ocean every day. The MERCY KILPATRICK series: A MERCIFUL DEATH, A MERCIFUL TRUTH, A MERCIFUL SECRET, A MERCIFUL SILENCE, A MERCIFUL FATE, and A MERCIFUL PROMISE. IN THE PINES and AT THE RIVER are continuations of Mercy's and Truman's story. THE COLUMBIA RIVER series. THE LAST SISTER. THE SILENCE, IN THE PINES, AT THE RIVER, and THE FIRST DEATH The BONE SECRETS NOVELS: HIDDEN, CHILLED, BURIED, ALONE, KNOWN and VEILED (a novella) The CALLAHAN & McLANE novels: VANISHED, BRIDGED, SPIRALED, and TARGETED. THE SILENCE continues Ava and Mason's story. THE LAST SISTER is Zander's story She also writes the Widow's Island and Rogue River novellas with Melinda Leigh. International Thriller Writers finalist, a three time Daphne Du Maurier winner, and a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice finalist.
Melinda Leigh
Author · 43 books
1 Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker who learned that writing books is way more fun than analyzing financial statements. Melinda’s debut novel, SHE CAN RUN, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. Since then, she has garnered numerous writing accolades, including two RITA® Award nominations and an induction into the NJ Romance Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have sold more than 10 million copies across the world. Melinda loves martial arts, rescue dogs, and sea turtles.
WEBSITE: https://www.melindaleigh.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/melindaleighauthorpage/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MelindaLeigh1
