Dani Pettrey Books in Order (Updated June 12, 2026)

Dani Pettrey writes Christian romantic suspense, usually built around investigative teams, law-enforcement families, dangerous settings, and a central romance.

Her books are not one continuous universe. The best approach is to read each series in order, because Pettrey often develops team relationships and background mysteries across several books.

Start Here

For the full Dani Pettrey reading experience, start with:

Submerged

That begins Alaskan Courage, her first major series.

For a newer entry point, start with:

One Wrong Move

That begins Jeopardy Falls, her current series.

Dani Pettrey Series at a Glance

Alaskan Courage: The McKenna family in Alaska, with adventure, family ties, and romantic suspense.

Chesapeake Valor: Childhood friends near the Chesapeake Bay are pulled back together by linked investigations.

Coastal Guardians: Coast Guard Investigative Service cases with a team structure and recurring emotional threads.

Jeopardy Falls: A newer New Mexico-set romantic suspense series with private investigation, forensic work, and danger around the MacLeod circle.

Alaskan Courage Books in Order

Read the main novels first, then add the prequel novella Shadowed. That keeps the original series reveals and McKenna family development in publication order.

1. Submerged (2012): A sabotaged plane crash and two dead divers bring Bailey Craig back to Yancey, Alaska, where old wounds and a murder case pull her toward Cole McKenna.
2. Shattered (2013): Piper McKenna tries to clear her brother Reef after he is found covered in blood, turning a snowboarder’s death into a race against a framed-murder case.
3. Stranded (2013): Reporter Darcy St. James goes undercover on a cruise ship after a friend disappears, forcing the McKenna circle into a case where every delay raises the danger.
4. Silenced (2014): Kayden McKenna discovers a dead climber during a rock-climbing trip, opening a mystery that tests both survival skills and buried trust.
5. Sabotaged (2015): Reef McKenna and Kirra Jacobs are thrown into an Iditarod-linked threat, pushing the series into one of its broadest Alaska danger plots.
6. Shadowed (2016): This Alaskan Courage prequel novella follows the McKenna parents as a fisherman finds the body of a Russian open-water swimmer and uncovers a dangerous Cold War-era mystery.

Chesapeake Valor Books in Order

This series should be read straight through. The individual romances have their own focus, but the missing-friend thread and team relationships build across all four books.

1. Cold Shot (2016): Park ranger Griffin McCray discovers modern remains near Gettysburg, pulling forensic anthropologist Finley Scott and old friends into a sniper-linked investigation.
2. Still Life (2017): Avery Tate searches for her missing friend after a disturbing photograph appears at a gallery, bringing her back into Parker Mitchell’s investigative world.
3. Blind Spot (2017): FBI agent Declan Grey and crisis counselor Tanner Shaw uncover signs of a terror cell, with the wider Chesapeake Valor threat closing in.
4. Dead Drift (2018): Luke Gallagher returns after years undercover, and he and Kate Maxwell must stop a terrorist plot while the series’ long-running questions come to a head.

Coastal Guardians Books in Order

Coastal Guardians follows a Coast Guard Investigative Service team. Read the three novels first, then the novella The Shifting Current as a closing bonus.

1. The Killing Tide (2019): CGIS agent Finn Walker investigates a dead Coast Guard officer and a missing one, with the evidence pointing toward a threat larger than the first crime scene.
2. The Crushing Depths (2020): Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers investigate a fatal oil-rig incident off the North Carolina coast, where sabotage, activists, and a storm tighten the trap.
3. The Deadly Shallows (2022): A Coast Guard base attack and a stolen weapon put Noah Rowley and flight medic Brooke Kesler in the center of a case that keeps escalating.
4. The Shifting Current (2023): Logan Perry returns to investigate his grandfather’s murder, and Emmy Thorton joins him in a dangerous case that also resolves their long-running romantic tension.

Jeopardy Falls Books in Order

Jeopardy Falls is the best current-series starting point. Begin with One Wrong Move and continue by number.

1. One Wrong Move (2024): Security expert Christian O’Brady and insurance investigator Andi Forester are drawn into a string of Southwestern art heists tied to revenge and riddles.
2. Two Seconds Too Late (2025): Skip tracer Riley MacLeod and private investigator Greyson Chadwick go undercover at a New Mexico luxury retreat after a woman vanishes.
3. Whiteout / “Buried in Shadows” (2026): Dani Pettrey’s Jeopardy Falls novella follows Cassandra Parker, Sheriff Joel Brunswick, a destination wedding, a stalker, and an avalanche that cuts off escape.
4. Three Steps Behind (2026): FBI forensic botanist Harper Grace returns to Jeopardy Falls after trauma overseas, only to investigate a friend’s suspicious death with Deckard MacLeod.

Dani Pettrey Novellas and Collections

These are useful, but not all are required for first-time readers.

1. Shadowed (2016): Best read after the five Alaskan Courage novels unless you specifically want a chronological prequel first.
2. Deadly Isle (2019): A standalone novella about Tennyson Kent, an isolated island, a storm surge, and a killer targeting the community.
3. The Cost of Betrayal (2019): A multi-author novella collection that includes Pettrey’s Deadly Isle, along with stories by Dee Henderson and Lynette Eason.
4. The Shifting Current (2023): Best read after The Deadly Shallows, because it functions as a Coastal Guardians follow-up.
5. Whiteout / “Buried in Shadows” (2026): A multi-author novella collection with Lynette Eason; Pettrey’s story is tied to Jeopardy Falls and fits after Two Seconds Too Late.

Recommended Dani Pettrey Reading Order

For a clean first read, use this order:

1. Submerged
2. Shattered
3. Stranded
4. Silenced
5. Sabotaged
6. Shadowed
7. Cold Shot
8. Still Life
9. Blind Spot
10. Dead Drift
11. Deadly Isle
12. The Killing Tide
13. The Crushing Depths
14. The Deadly Shallows
15. The Shifting Current
16. One Wrong Move
17. Two Seconds Too Late
18. Whiteout / “Buried in Shadows”
19. Three Steps Behind

This order follows publication flow while keeping each major series intact. It also places the novellas where they make the most practical sense for continuity.

Chronological Order

Only one meaningful chronological adjustment exists: Shadowed is an Alaskan Courage prequel.

Chronological Alaskan Courage order would be:

1. Shadowed
2. Submerged
3. Shattered
4. Stranded
5. Silenced
6. Sabotaged

For new readers, publication order is still better. Shadowed works best after the main Alaskan Courage novels because it adds family background after readers already know the McKennas.

Can the Series Be Read Separately?

Yes. You can start with any series opener:

Submerged for Alaskan Courage.
Cold Shot for Chesapeake Valor.
The Killing Tide for Coastal Guardians.
One Wrong Move for Jeopardy Falls.

Do not begin a series in the middle. Pettrey’s books often include team dynamics, unresolved emotional history, or background cases that reward ordered reading.

Latest Release Status

As of this update, Dani Pettrey’s latest released book listed on her official site is Whiteout, a 2026 novella collection containing her Jeopardy Falls story “Buried in Shadows.”

The next confirmed Jeopardy Falls novel is Three Steps Behind, Book 3 of the series. Current listings place it in 2026, and it should be read after One Wrong Move and Two Seconds Too Late.

FAQs

What Dani Pettrey book should I read first?

Start with Submerged if you want to read from the beginning. Start with One Wrong Move if you want her newest series first.

Do Dani Pettrey’s books need to be read in order?

Yes, within each series. The romances resolve book by book, but the teams, friendships, and background mysteries develop across the series.

Is Shadowed Book 1 of Alaskan Courage?

No. Shadowed is a prequel novella. It is chronological background, not the best first book for most readers.

Where does The Shifting Current fit?

Read The Shifting Current after the three Coastal Guardians novels. It is a Coastal Guardians novella and works best as a follow-up.

Is Whiteout a full Dani Pettrey novel?

No. Whiteout is a novella collection by Lynette Eason and Dani Pettrey. Pettrey’s story in the collection is “Buried in Shadows.”

What is Dani Pettrey’s newest series?

Jeopardy Falls is her current series. It begins with One Wrong Move.

Conclusion

The best Dani Pettrey starting point is Submerged. Read through Alaskan Courage, then continue with Chesapeake Valor, Coastal Guardians, and Jeopardy Falls.

For readers who want the newest material first, begin with One Wrong Move and continue through Jeopardy Falls in order. Add the novellas after the related novels, not before, unless you are doing a deliberate chronological reread.