Carol Ericson Books in Order (Updated June 12, 2026)

Carol Ericson is a romantic suspense and romance author best known for Harlequin Intrigue thrillers, military heroes, serial-killer cases, law-enforcement families, and fast-moving category suspense.

Her bibliography is large, and it is not one continuous storyline. The right method is to read inside each series, then treat standalones, multi-author projects, and boxed editions separately.

The Cleanest Place to Begin

• For suspense readers, begin with Navy SEAL Security if you want to follow Ericson’s long-running military suspense thread from the beginning.
• For a tighter, self-contained set, begin with Obsession for Guardians of Coral Cove or The Bridge for Brody Law.
• For newer books, begin with Misty Hollow Massacre for Discovery Bay or The Creekside Murder for Pacific Northwest Forensics.
• For romantic comedy rather than suspense, begin with Saving Ian Pope, the first Five2Go Boyband book.

Reading Rule for Carol Ericson

Do not force every Carol Ericson book into one master timeline.

Use this order of priority:

1. Read each named series in order.
2. Keep multi-author lines separate.
3. Read standalones whenever you want.
4. Ignore boxed sets unless you want bundled editions.

Brothers in Arms Books in Order

This is Ericson’s major military-suspense lane. Some bibliography sites split it into subseries, but the broad sequence works best when read in publication and series order.

1. Navy SEAL Security (2011): A Navy SEAL washes up on Amy Prescott’s beach, bringing gunfire, covert danger, and a protective mission into her quiet life.
2. Mountain Ranger Recon (2011): Ian Dempsey returns from undercover work and faces the wife he left behind, along with the son he never knew existed.
3. Top Gun Guardian (2011): Buzz Richardson’s covert mission becomes personal when he must work with Raven Pierre, his former fiancée.
4. Green Beret Bodyguard (2012): Amnesiac mercenary Jack Coburn searches for his identity and turns to Lola Famosa, the woman who once hired him.

Brothers in Arms: Fully Engaged Books in Order

1. Run, Hide (2013): Jenna Stark has lived in hiding for years, but a new threat to her child forces her back toward the husband who sent her on the run.
2. Conceal, Protect (2013): Noelle Dupree flees to an inherited Colorado ranch, only to find danger and an undercover spy waiting there.
3. Trap, Secure (2013): Miranda Lewis survives a shooting with no memory, leaving a CIA agent as her only chance to uncover who tried to kill her.
4. Catch, Release (2013): Beau Slater’s old one-night connection becomes a dangerous rescue when a missing child case reveals he may have a son.

Brothers in Arms: Retribution Books in Order

1. Under Fire (2015): A lab attack pulls Ava Whitman and agent Max Duvall into a case involving Tempest and dangerous experimental killers.
2. The Pregnancy Plot (2015): Nina Moore believes a handyman is helping her, but he is really an undercover agent protecting her and her unborn child.
3. Navy SEAL Spy (2015): Liam McCabe infiltrates Tempest after leaving the Navy, only to collide with Katie O’Keefe during the mission.
4. Secret Agent Santa (2015): Mike Becker takes one final Christmas-season assignment, which turns a babysitting detail into a terrorist-threat case.

Related but Disputed Placement

Toxic (2014): Commonly tied to Intrigue Noir and sometimes listed near Brothers in Arms: Retribution, this romantic suspense title should be treated as optional unless you are following a source that formally groups it with Retribution.

Guardians of Coral Cove Books in Order

This series is built around Coral Cove, Columbella House, and recurring gothic-suspense danger. Read it in order.

1. Obsession (2012): Michelle Girard’s high school reunion turns deadly when former classmates are murdered and FBI agent Colin Roarke links the deaths to an old pattern.
2. Eyewitness (2012): Former soldier Kieran O’Roarke reunites with Devon Reese and the son who may have seen too much.
3. Intuition (2012): Kylie Grant returns to Coral Cove to investigate a missing girl and confront the pull of Columbella House.
4. Deception (2012): Mia St. Regis inherits Columbella House, forcing police chief Dylan Reese into a case full of secrets, danger, and local history.

Brody Law Books in Order

Brody Law is a four-book San Francisco romantic suspense series. Read it straight through because the Brody family and serial-killer framework give the books a shared shape.

1. The Bridge (2014): Elise Duran survives under the Golden Gate Bridge, bringing a detective’s past and a serial-killer case back to the surface.
2. The District (2014): FBI agent Christina Sandoval works a serial-killer case with a partner who complicates both the investigation and her personal life.
3. The Wharf (2014): True-crime writer Kacie Manning targets the killer she believes murdered her mother, while a police chief tries to keep her alive.
4. The Hill (2014): PI Judd Brody protects socialite London Breck, but the assignment becomes far more dangerous than a routine bodyguard job.

Target: Timberline Books in Order

Target: Timberline centers on a cold case and the threat pattern around Timberline. Read by number.

1. Single Father Sheriff (2016): Sheriff Cooper Sloane faces a revived child-disappearance case while protecting his daughter and a witness.
2. Sudden Second Chance (2016): FBI agent Duke Harper re-enters the Timberline Trio cold case and must work around the reporter who once betrayed him.
3. Army Ranger Redemption (2016): A war hero returns to a cold case that still haunts Timberline and the reservation community around it.
4. In the Arms of the Enemy (2016): DEA agent Cole Pierson searches for a murder suspect while Caroline Johnson’s secrets threaten to disrupt the case.

Red, White and Built Books in Order

Red, White and Built begins with Navy SEAL suspense and then expands through related Delta Force arcs. Read the subseries in order.

1. Locked, Loaded and SEALed (2017): Navy SEAL sniper Austin Foley must protect a doctor’s widow after his original assignment is murdered.
2. Alpha Bravo SEAL (2017): Documentarian Nicole Hastings becomes a target when her film crew starts dying and SEAL sniper Slade Gallagher shadows her.
3. Bullseye: SEAL (2017): SEAL sniper Josh Elliott protects Gina De Santos from kidnapping attempts while hiding the limits of his assignment.
4. Point Blank SEAL (2017): Miguel Estrada escapes captivity and goes rogue to protect the fiancée whose memory kept him alive.
5. Secured by the SEAL (2018): Therapist Britt Jansen goes undercover inside the Russian mob while Navy SEAL Alexei Ivanov pursues his own mission.
6. Bulletproof SEAL (2018): Sniper Quinn McBride is ordered to kill Rikki Taylor, but he refuses to believe the woman he knows has betrayed her country.

Red, White and Built: Pumped Up Books in Order

1. Delta Force Defender (2018): Cam Sutton tries to prove her mentor is not a terrorist, while CIA translator Martha Drake becomes her reluctant shield.
2. Delta Force Daddy (2018): Amnesiac soldier Asher Knight must decide whether the woman claiming to be his fiancée is telling the truth.
3. Delta Force Die Hard (2019): Delta Force captain Joe McVie investigates a frame-up against his commander and finds an unexpected ally.

Red, White and Built: Delta Force Deliverance Books in Order

1. Enemy Infiltration (2019): Lana Moreno seeks the truth about her brother’s death with help from jaded Delta Force soldier Logan Hess.
2. Undercover Accomplice (2019): Delta Force soldier Hunter Mancini and CIA operative Sue Chandler reunite to stop a terrorist attack.
3. Code Conspiracy (2020): Hacker Jerrica West is recruited by her by-the-book ex, Gray Prescott, to find his missing Delta Force leader.

Holding the Line Books in Order

Holding the Line is a border-patrol and law-enforcement romantic suspense series. Read it in order.

1. Evasive Action (2020): April Hart discovers her fiancé is a drug lord and turns to former love Clay Archer for protection.
2. Chain of Custody (2020): Nash Dillon takes in a baby left on his doorstep while undercover investigator Emily Lang poses as a nanny.
3. Unraveling Jane Doe (2020): An amnesiac woman relies on Border Patrol agent Rob Valdez to uncover her identity and survive a drug-linked threat.
4. Buried Secrets (2020): Ranger Jolene Nighthawk and Border Patrol agent Sam Cross clash over evidence, casino construction, and danger on Yaqui land.

A Kyra and Jake Investigation Books in Order

This series is one of Ericson’s most continuity-sensitive arcs. Read all four books in order because the serial-killer investigation carries forward.

1. The Setup (2021): Detective Jake McAllister partners with Kyra Chase while a serial killer case connects to her hidden past.
2. The Decoy (2021): Kyra’s changed identity and her mother’s unsolved murder become more dangerous when a new killer closes in.
3. The Bait (2021): Jake and Kyra face another copycat killer tied to The Player’s old murder spree.
4. The Trap (2021): A fourth copycat case forces Jake and Kyra toward the mastermind behind the Los Angeles murders.

The Lost Girls Books in Order

The Lost Girls should be read in order because missing women, law-enforcement cases, and recurring investigative threads shape the series.

1. Canyon Crime Scene (2022): Cade Larson asks LAPD fingerprint expert Lori Del Valle to help find his missing sister, reopening personal secrets between them.
2. Lakeside Mystery (2022): LAPD detective Denver Holt needs true-crime blogger Ashlynn Hughes when her inside information may break open a homicide case.
3. Dockside Danger (2023): LAPD detective Jane Falco and FBI agent Tim Ruskin must trust each other when a murder case proves larger than it first appears.
4. Malice at the Marina (2023): Detective Billy Crouch searches for his missing sister, while U.S. marshal Mia Romano needs to recover an escaped witness.

Discovery Bay Books in Order

Discovery Bay is a newer Harlequin Intrigue series set around Dead Falls Island and Discovery Bay. Read in numbered order.

1. Misty Hollow Massacre (2023): Child psychologist Hannah Maddox and newly freed Jed Swain work to stop a killer targeting their hometown.
2. Point of Disappearance (2024): Forest ranger Tate Mitchell finds human remains during a fire, while FBI agent Blanca Lopez investigates missing boys.
3. Captured at the Cove (2024): Astrid Mitchell’s son witnesses a murder, forcing her to rely on Sheriff West Chandler despite her distrust of law enforcement.
4. What Lies Below (2024): Heath Bradford’s return to Dead Falls stirs up old attraction, buried secrets, and trouble around loner Willow Sands.

Pacific Northwest Forensics Books in Order

This is Ericson’s newest Harlequin Intrigue suspense series. Start here if you want her most recent Harlequin continuity.

1. The Creekside Murder (2025): Crime scene investigator Jessica Eller needs Finn Karlsson’s help after her sister’s old murder case resurfaces.
2. Crime Lab Cold Case (2025): FBI agent Natalie Brunetti investigates evidence tampering after her best friend’s fourteen-year-old disappearance.

Five2Go Boyband Books in Order

Five2Go Boyband is separate from Ericson’s Harlequin suspense catalog. It is contemporary romantic comedy, not romantic suspense.

1. Saving Ian Pope (2025): A former boybander fresh from rehab meets a woman determined to save him, only to find both of them may need rescuing.
2. Sweet on Charlie Beck (2025): Devon becomes personal assistant to childhood friend and troubled popstar Charlie Beck, turning a secret crush into forced-proximity romance.
3. Hating Sam Slater (2026): Former boybander Sam Slater tries to be taken seriously as an actor while clashing with romcom comeback star Kayla Prescott.
4. Rebooting Conor Flynn (2026): Listed as Book 4 of Five2Go Boyband; because detailed story information is limited, place it after the first three books.

Multi-Author Series Contributions

These books belong to shared publisher projects. Read them in the larger multi-author order only if you are following the entire shared world.

1. Burned (2016): A Tough Justice installment where Special Agent Lara Grant faces fallout from taking down Moretti.
2. Ambushed (2016): Another Tough Justice installment in which Lara Grant’s team closes in on darker evidence and fresh danger.
3. Rookie Instincts (2020): A Tactical Crime Division: Traverse City book where Aria Calletti investigates women found dead with the same identity.

Standalone Carol Ericson Books

These do not need series order unless you are doing a full publication-order read.

1. The Stranger and I (2007): Lila Monroe witnesses a murder and is thrust into danger with undercover agent Justin Vidal.
2. A Doctor-Nurse Encounter (2008): Nurse Lacey Kirk interrupts a murder and is drawn into danger alongside Dr. Nick Marino.
3. Circumstantial Memories (2009): Amnesiac Julia Rousseau’s past returns when covert agent Ryder McClintock comes back into her life.
4. The Sheriff of Silverhill (2010): Sheriff Rafe McClintock protects Silverhill while confronting Dana and the child connection between them.
5. The McClintock Proposal (2010): Rod McClintock finds runaway bride Callie Price and realizes marriage may be the only way to protect her.
6. A Silverhill Christmas (2010): Freelance CIA operative Rio McClintock’s mission against a smuggling empire is complicated by former princess Tori Scott.
7. Dead Air (2011): Radio host Carly Hansen’s ratings-driven world becomes dangerous when power, family, and secrets collide.
8. Smokescreen (2011): LAPD homicide detective Fenn MacGregor resists another rescue case until danger pulls him toward a woman in trouble.
9. The Body Politic (2011): Dane Deverall’s political future collapses when his ex-wife is murdered and scandal threatens to bury the truth.
10. Kick It Up (2011): English soccer star Simon Bosford joins the struggling L.A. Waves, where celebrity ambition and romance collide.
11. Her Alibi (2019): Savannah Martell wakes beside her ex-husband’s body with no memory and turns to Connor for help.
12. Last Ticket to Paradise (2019): A contemporary romance standalone; treat it as separate from Ericson’s Harlequin Intrigue continuities.

Collections and Boxed Sets

Brothers in Arms (2019): A collected edition of Brothers in Arms material; it is not a new story step if you already own the individual books.

Harlequin monthly bundles and two-in-one editions should also be treated as reprint formats. They are useful for collecting, but they do not change the reading order.

Best Complete Reading Order

For a full Carol Ericson read, use this path:

1. Standalones from The Stranger and I through A Silverhill Christmas
2. Brothers in Arms
3. Guardians of Coral Cove
4. Brothers in Arms: Fully Engaged
5. Brody Law
6. Brothers in Arms: Retribution
7. Target: Timberline
8. Red, White and Built
9. Holding the Line
10. A Kyra and Jake Investigation
11. The Lost Girls
12. Discovery Bay
13. Pacific Northwest Forensics
14. Five2Go Boyband if you want her romantic comedy side

This order keeps related story worlds together instead of scattering them by monthly release date.

Chronological Order

There is no confirmed single in-universe chronological order for all Carol Ericson books.

Use series order. That is the safest approach because Ericson’s catalog is built from separate Harlequin miniseries, multi-author lines, standalones, and later indie romantic comedies.

Latest Release Status

As of this update, Ericson’s newest Harlequin Intrigue title is Crime Lab Cold Case, Book 2 of Pacific Northwest Forensics, published in 2025.

Her current indie romantic comedy series is Five2Go Boyband. Hating Sam Slater is available as Book 3, and Rebooting Conor Flynn is listed as Book 4 for 2026.

FAQs

What Carol Ericson book should I read first?

Start with Navy SEAL Security if you want the broad romantic suspense path. Start with The Bridge if you want a compact four-book suspense series.

Are Carol Ericson’s books all connected?

No. Many are connected only within their own miniseries. Do not treat Harlequin Intrigue, Five2Go Boyband, and multi-author lines as one continuity.

Which Carol Ericson series has the strongest continuing mystery?

A Kyra and Jake Investigation is the clearest continuing investigation arc and should be read from The Setup through The Trap.

Can I read the standalones at any time?

Yes. Books such as The Stranger and I, Her Alibi, and Last Ticket to Paradise can be read separately.

Is Five2Go Boyband suspense?

No. Five2Go Boyband is contemporary romantic comedy and separate from Ericson’s Harlequin Intrigue suspense books.

Do boxed sets count as separate books?

No. Boxed sets and Harlequin bundles are reprint formats unless they contain a unique story not otherwise listed.

Conclusion

Carol Ericson’s bibliography is easiest when read by series, not by one master continuity.

Begin with Navy SEAL Security for the military suspense thread, The Bridge for a compact suspense arc, or Misty Hollow Massacre for a newer Harlequin series. Choose Saving Ian Pope only if you want the romantic comedy side of her work first.

That approach keeps the suspense arcs clear, avoids confusion from multi-author publishing lines, and gives every book its proper continuity boundary.