Kylie Brant Books in Order (Updated July 19, 2026)

Kylie Brant is an American author of crime thrillers, romantic suspense, police procedurals, and earlier category romance. Her recent books emphasize serial investigations, forensic specialists, missing-person cases, federal law enforcement, and psychologically complex offenders.

The bibliography has two distinct periods.

Her earlier novels are generally relationship-centered romantic suspense, often grouped around police officers, security specialists, brothers, or covert teams. Her later work places more weight on criminal investigations and recurring lead investigators.

Readers do not need to combine every title into one chronology. The main continuity decisions are:

• Read the Cady Maddix mysteries in sequence because Cady remains the lead character.
• Read Mindhunters in publication order for the development of Adam Raiker’s forensic organization and recurring personnel.
• Read Circle of Evil straight through because its serial-crime storyline escalates across three books.
• Keep each earlier category-romance series together, but do not merge Alpha Squad, Tremaine Tradition, Sullivan Brothers, and the other groups.
• Treat publisher-created continuities as separate from Kylie Brant’s author-created series.

A Decision Guide Before the Full Lists

Choose Cold Dark Places when you want one continuing investigator and a darker mystery series.

Choose Waking Nightmare when you want forensic romantic suspense with a different central couple in each installment.

Choose Chasing Evil for a compact three-book crime sequence.

Choose Pretty Girls Dancing when you prefer a standalone psychological thriller.

Choose Terms of Surrender for military romantic suspense.

Choose McLain’s Law for an earlier police romance with a psychic-investigation element.

The most complete introduction to modern Kylie Brant is the Cady Maddix series. The Mindhunters books are the better choice for readers who want a larger rotating cast.

Cady Maddix Mysteries in Order

Deputy U.S. Marshal Cady Maddix is the continuing protagonist of this series. Her investigations change, but her personal history, relationships, professional standing, and exposure to earlier cases carry forward.

These books should not be rearranged. Later installments assume that readers understand Cady’s methods and the damage left by previous investigations.

1. Cold Dark Places (2018): Deputy U.S. Marshal Cady Maddix searches for a fugitive while becoming involved in a case shaped by disappearance, violence, and secrets hidden in an isolated community.
2. Down the Darkest Road (2019): Cady’s next pursuit draws her into a wider and more personal investigation, where following the fugitive’s trail exposes dangers that law enforcement initially failed to recognize.
3. A Darker Truth (2020): A new case forces Cady to question the official version of events, revealing that the truth beneath the crime is more disturbing than the apparent explanation.
4. Into the Darkness (2024): Cady goes undercover inside a domestic-extremist organization, impersonating a fugitive while trying to uncover plans that could threaten far more than one isolated target.

Why Cady Maddix Must Be Read in Order

Each investigation has a central resolution, but Cady does not reset emotionally or professionally between books. Her earlier choices influence the risks she is prepared to take later.

The safest route is therefore:

1. Cold Dark Places
2. Down the Darkest Road
3. A Darker Truth
4. Into the Darkness

No fifth Cady Maddix title had been firmly scheduled as of July 19, 2026.

Mindhunters Books in Order

The Mindhunters series follows Adam Raiker’s private forensic-consulting organization. Its specialists assist police departments and federal agencies with crimes requiring profiling, linguistic analysis, anthropology, psychology, undercover work, and other specialized skills.

Most books feature a different investigative couple. Adam Raiker and the organization provide the continuing framework, and later novels refer to earlier personnel and developments.

1. Waking Nightmare (2009): Detective Ryne Robel works with profiler Abbie Phillips to stop a serial sexual predator who designs each attack around a victim’s deepest fears.
2. Waking Evil (2009): Forensic investigator Ramsey Clark examines a murder in a Tennessee town associated with a deadly red mist, while a parapsychologist questions whether folklore is concealing a human killer.
3. Waking the Dead (2009): Forensic anthropologist Caitlin Fleming investigates seven headless skeletons found in an Oregon cave and relies on wilderness guide Zach Sharper as the killer begins watching her.
4. Deadly Intent (2010): Forensic linguist Macy Reid investigates the second kidnapping of a wealthy child with rule-breaking operative Kellan Burke, while the case revives Macy’s own childhood trauma.
5. Deadly Dreams (2011): Risa Chandler’s visions of murder draw her back into investigative work when a Philadelphia serial killer begins staging deaths around fire and ritual.
6. Deadly Sins (2011): FBI agent Jaid Marlowe and Adam Raiker investigate a politically explosive assassin while evidence begins pointing toward Adam himself.
7. Secrets of the Dead (2015): Hyper-polyglot Eve Larrison poses as Declan Gallagher’s wife during an undercover operation connected to an attempted child abduction and hidden questions about the boy’s birth.
8. What the Dead Know (2015): Former Chicago detective Keira Saxon becomes sheriff after her father’s supposed bear-attack death, then discovers evidence that he was murdered.
9. Deep as the Dead (2017): Forensic consultant Alexa Hayden returns to Nova Scotia to help RCMP Sergeant Ethan Manning hunt a killer who leaves victims beside water with their mouths sewn shut.
10. Guilty as Sin (2025): Investigative reporter Reese Decody, the only known survivor of the Trifecta Killer, faces renewed danger when the murderer’s influence and her ability to sense guilt pull her into another deadly confrontation.

Is Guilty as Sin Really Book 10?

Yes. Current official listings identify Guilty as Sin as Mindhunters Book 10.

Some older bibliography pages stop with Deep as the Dead because the series paused for several years. Those lists are now incomplete.

How Strict Is the Mindhunters Order?

The first several books can be understood individually because they follow different investigators and crimes. Publication order is still the better route because Adam Raiker’s organization, relationships, and recurring personnel gain importance over time.

Guilty as Sin should not be used as an entry point. It draws more heavily on the established Mindhunters world and the consequences of prior violence.

Circle of Evil Books in Order

Circle of Evil is a three-book crime sequence involving serial murder, forensic psychology, state investigators, and crimes that become more interconnected as the trilogy progresses.

The central cases are distinct enough to give each book its own investigation, but the trilogy is more tightly plotted than Kylie Brant’s earlier category series.

1. Chasing Evil (2013): Six murdered women are discovered in graves belonging to other people, beginning the hunt for a killer who has hidden his victims inside a cemetery.
2. Touching Evil (2013): Teenagers discover evidence in an Iowa woodland, drawing forensic psychologist Sophia Channing and state investigator Cam Prescott toward a crime that extends beyond one murderer.
3. Facing Evil (2014): The final investigation forces the surviving characters to confront the larger pattern behind the violence and brings the trilogy’s accumulated danger to its conclusion.

Circle of Evil Reading Warning

Begin with Chasing Evil. Starting with Touching Evil reveals too much about the investigative structure introduced in the first book.

Facing Evil belongs last and should be treated as the culmination rather than another interchangeable case.

Alpha Squad Books in Order

Alpha Squad follows military or covert operatives whose assignments turn personal. The three books change central couples but share the same elite-team environment.

1. Terms of Surrender (2008): A dangerous operation forces an Alpha Squad operative and the woman involved in his mission to negotiate trust, protection, and the possibility of surrendering emotionally.
2. Terms of Engagement (2008): The next operative enters an assignment in which a professional engagement becomes complicated by attraction and divided loyalties.
3. Terms of Attraction (2009): A final Alpha Squad mission places another couple under pressure, turning mutual attraction into a vulnerability that the enemy can exploit.

Can Alpha Squad Be Read Separately?

Each central romance reaches a conclusion. Publication order remains worthwhile because the unit and its members are introduced gradually.

Begin with Terms of Surrender rather than choosing by title.

Tremaine Tradition Books in Order

The Tremaine Tradition follows members of the Tremaine family and people drawn into its world of danger, deception, hidden identity, and romantic investigation.

1. Alias Smith and Jones (2003): Two names, concealed identities, and a dangerous assignment bring the first Tremaine-connected couple together while neither can be certain who the other truly is.
2. Entrapment (2003): A carefully constructed trap places another couple inside an investigation where attraction may be part of the setup.
3. Truth or Lies (2003): Conflicting stories force the protagonists to decide whether the person beside them is protecting the truth or deliberately manipulating it.
4. Dangerous Deception (2004): The series closes with a deception capable of destroying both the investigation and the relationship built around it.

Tremaine Tradition Order

Read all four books in publication order. The family connection and recurring atmosphere matter more than an overarching single mystery, but later books assume familiarity with the Tremaine circle.

Charmed and Dangerous Books in Order

Charmed and Dangerous is a three-book romantic-suspense series built around strong-willed protagonists who become involved in cases where attraction complicates judgment.

1. Hard to Handle (2001): A difficult assignment pairs two people who resist both cooperation and attraction until the danger makes separation impossible.
2. Hard to Resist (2001): The second romance centers on a temptation that becomes increasingly difficult to deny while an outside threat demands close trust.
3. Hard to Tame (2002): A fiercely independent protagonist meets the person least willing to be pushed away, bringing the trilogy to a final confrontation between control and commitment.

Continuity Level

These are connected romantic-suspense novels rather than one uninterrupted case. They can be understood separately, but the intended order is clear from publication.

Sullivan Brothers Books in Order

The Sullivan Brothers series gives three related men their own romantic-suspense stories.

Some bibliography pages place Heartbreak Ranch before Falling Hard and Fast, while others sort the books by their original release dates differently. Kylie Brant’s official current catalogue lists the sequence below.

1. Undercover Lover (1998): A Sullivan brother works under a concealed identity, making his attraction to the woman involved in the case inseparable from the lies required by his assignment.
2. Heartbreak Ranch (2000): A ranch setting brings another Sullivan romance into conflict with family history, danger, and the emotional damage suggested by the property’s name.
3. Falling Hard and Fast (1999): Attraction develops quickly for the final central couple, while the surrounding suspense tests whether a relationship formed under pressure can endure.

A Date and Numbering Caution

The original publication dates can make Falling Hard and Fast appear before Heartbreak Ranch. Current author grouping places Heartbreak Ranch second and Falling Hard and Fast third.

Readers following strict original publication order may reverse those two. Readers prioritizing the author’s present series arrangement should use the order listed above.

Philly Cops Books in Order

Philly Cops follows Philadelphia law-enforcement officers through two connected romantic-suspense cases.

1. McLain’s Law (1993): Detective Connor McLain investigates missing children and reluctantly accepts information from Michele Easton, whose visions may be connected to the crimes.
2. An Irresistible Man (1995): Detective Cruz Martinez investigates weapons reaching city gangs while Internal Affairs sends Madeline Casey to determine whether Cruz himself is involved.

Should McLain’s Law Be Read First?

Yes. It establishes the police setting and comes first in both publication order and the author’s current numbering.

An Irresistible Man has its own case and couple, but it works better as the second Philadelphia police story.

Security Ops Books in Order

Security Ops is a two-book romantic-suspense pairing involving protection work and endangered families.

1. Guarding Raine (1996): A security specialist is assigned to protect Raine, but the threat around her turns a professional responsibility into a personal commitment.
2. Bringing Benjy Home (1996): The disappearance or danger surrounding Benjy drives a rescue in which the adults involved must confront family bonds, fear, and unresolved feelings.

The two books belong together, but each has its own central conflict. Publication order is the clearest choice.

Standalone Thrillers

These books do not require knowledge of another Kylie Brant series.

1. Pretty Girls Dancing (2018): Investigator Mark Foster links the disappearance of one teenage girl to an earlier missing-girl case, forcing two families to expose secrets that may identify a serial predator.
2. 11 (2014): A numerical clue and a sequence of killings place investigators inside a carefully constructed crime pattern in which the next victim may already have been selected.

Is 11 Connected to Mindhunters?

No. It is officially classified as a standalone.

Its criminal-investigation focus resembles the Mindhunters novels, but it does not require Adam Raiker’s organization or any earlier series characters.

Standalone Romantic-Suspense Novels

These books are independent of Kylie Brant’s main author-created series, even when they originally appeared inside broader publisher continuities.

1. Rancher’s Choice (1994): A rancher’s practical decision becomes emotionally complicated when danger and an unexpected relationship force him to reconsider the life he intended to build.
2. Friday’s Child (1998): A vulnerable child brings two adults together while family secrets and a threatening situation make protection the center of the romance.
3. Undercover Bride (2000): An undercover operation becomes more difficult when a staged or concealed bridal identity begins producing genuine emotional consequences.
4. Born in Secret (2001): A hidden birth and long-kept family information create a suspense story in which identity becomes both the mystery and the danger.
5. In Sight of the Enemy (2004): A woman and her protector remain visible to an enemy who understands their movements, making escape dependent on discovering who has been watching them.
6. Close to the Edge (2004): A dangerous investigation pushes the central characters toward both physical risk and an emotional edge neither planned to cross.
7. The Business of Strangers (2005): Two people with no reason to trust each other become involved in a case where strangers, business interests, and concealed motives overlap.
8. The Last Warrior (2006): A hardened protector faces what may be his final mission while the woman involved gives the conflict a personal cost he can no longer ignore.

Why These Are Listed Separately

Several of these books were released as part of publisher-created lines involving many authors. Their original series numbers may therefore look high or disconnected.

For Kylie Brant readers, each can be treated as an independent novel unless it is grouped elsewhere in this guide.

Shared Publisher Continuities

Kylie Brant contributed individual books to several multi-author romance programs. The numbering belongs to the full publisher continuity, not to an author-specific Kylie Brant series.

American Heroes: Against All Odds

1. McLain’s Law (1993): Connor McLain investigates missing children with help from a woman whose visions provide information the police cannot explain.

This is also Philly Cops Book 1. It should be counted once.

Marry Me, Cowboy

1. Rancher’s Choice (1994): A rancher’s romantic decision becomes part of a broader cowboy-themed continuity created by multiple authors.

No other Marry Me, Cowboy books are required for the central story.

Families Are Forever

1. Friday’s Child (1998): A child in danger or need creates the emotional and suspenseful connection between the adult protagonists.

The wider Families Are Forever line contains books by other writers.

Year of Loving Dangerously

1. Undercover Bride (2000): A covert identity and a bridal role collide in a romantic-suspense assignment designed for the multi-author continuity.

Readers can stop after this volume unless they want the publisher’s entire shared project.

Firstborn Sons

1. Born in Secret (2001): Hidden parentage and family identity become the basis of a suspenseful romance within the Firstborn Sons program.

The story’s core resolution does not depend on reading the other authors.

Family Secrets: The Next Generation

1. In Sight of the Enemy (2004): A family-secret investigation places the protagonists in direct view of someone determined to prevent the truth from emerging.

This remains a standalone Kylie Brant reading experience despite its place in the larger continuity.

Novellas and Shorter Fiction

1. 11 (2014): A suspense story structured around a recurring number and an escalating pattern of crime; it is sometimes classified as a novella and sometimes as a short standalone novel.

Kylie Brant’s official catalogue currently places 11 among her standalone titles rather than inside a numbered series.

Anthologies and Collections

1. SEAL of My Dreams (2011): A multi-author anthology of military romance stories, with Kylie Brant contributing one part of the collection rather than a full new series novel.

The anthology is optional for bibliography completion. It should not be inserted into Alpha Squad unless a specific edition identifies Brant’s contribution as involving those characters.

Omnibus and Paired Editions

Kylie Brant’s earlier books have frequently appeared in two-title or multi-title editions. These volumes repackage existing novels and should not be counted as new stories.

Common examples include:

1. Captured Hearts / The Greek Tycoon’s Baby / Sophie’s Sheikh / Spring Fling (2003): A multi-author collection containing previously published category romances.
2. Burning Love / Dangerous Deception (2004): A paired edition combining Dangerous Deception with a separate novel by Debra Cowan.
3. The Business of Strangers / One Eye Closed (2005): A two-author volume containing Brant’s standalone suspense novel and an unrelated Karen Whiddon story.
4. Voice in the Dark / Terms of Surrender (2010): A paired edition reprinting the first Alpha Squad book with a novel by Jenna Ryan.
5. Dark Guardian / Terms of Engagement (2010): A two-book package containing Alpha Squad Book 2 and an unrelated romantic suspense title.
6. Set Up with the Agent / Terms of Attraction (2010): A combined edition containing the third Alpha Squad novel and a separate Lori L. Harris book.
7. Lady in Red / Dangerous Deception (2010): Another reissue of Dangerous Deception, paired with a Linda Turner novel.

Duplicate-Purchase Rule

A title separated by a slash is almost always a paired reissue.

Buying Terms of Surrender and then buying Voice in the Dark / Terms of Surrender gives you the same Kylie Brant novel twice.

The Best Full Mindhunters Route

Read:

1. Waking Nightmare
2. Waking Evil
3. Waking the Dead
4. Deadly Intent
5. Deadly Dreams
6. Deadly Sins
7. Secrets of the Dead
8. What the Dead Know
9. Deep as the Dead
10. Guilty as Sin

This preserves the formation and development of the forensic-consulting team while allowing recurring names and relationships to appear naturally.

The Best Short Crime-Series Route

Readers who do not want a ten-book commitment should choose Circle of Evil:

1. Chasing Evil
2. Touching Evil
3. Facing Evil

The trilogy provides a complete progression from discovery to confrontation without requiring knowledge of another Kylie Brant world.

The Best Early Romantic-Suspense Route

A useful route through the author’s earlier work is:

1. McLain’s Law
2. An Irresistible Man
3. Guarding Raine
4. Bringing Benjy Home
5. Undercover Lover
6. Heartbreak Ranch
7. Falling Hard and Fast
8. Hard to Handle
9. Hard to Resist
10. Hard to Tame
11. Alias Smith and Jones
12. Entrapment
13. Truth or Lies
14. Dangerous Deception
15. Terms of Surrender
16. Terms of Engagement
17. Terms of Attraction

These series are separate continuities. The route follows their broad publication progression rather than asserting that the characters share one universe.

Publication Order Versus Chronological Order

Kylie Brant’s books do not require a special chronological arrangement.

Publication order is the correct approach for Cady Maddix, Mindhunters, Circle of Evil, Alpha Squad, Tremaine Tradition, Charmed and Dangerous, Philly Cops, and Security Ops.

The only meaningful complication is the Sullivan Brothers sequence. Current author listings place Heartbreak Ranch before Falling Hard and Fast, even though the latter carries an earlier original publication year in several catalogues.

For the least confusing experience, use the author’s present sequence:

1. Undercover Lover
2. Heartbreak Ranch
3. Falling Hard and Fast

Latest Kylie Brant Book

Guilty as Sin, published in June 2025, is Kylie Brant’s latest released novel as of July 19, 2026.

It is Mindhunters Book 10 and follows Deep as the Dead, which had been the last published installment since 2017.

The new book confirms that Mindhunters is no longer accurately described as ending at nine novels.

Upcoming Kylie Brant Book

Along Came a Liar appears on Kylie Brant’s official upcoming-release page.

The title does not yet have a confirmed publication date. Its series placement and final release details have also not been stated clearly enough to include it in a numbered order.

It should therefore be classified as announced but unscheduled, not as a published book.

Current Series Status

Cady Maddix Mysteries: Four books are published. No fifth release date is confirmed.

Mindhunters: Ten books are published, ending currently with Guilty as Sin.

Circle of Evil: Complete at three books.

Alpha Squad: Complete at three books.

Tremaine Tradition: Complete at four books.

Charmed and Dangerous: Complete at three books.

Sullivan Brothers: Complete at three books.

Philly Cops: Complete at two books.

Security Ops: Complete at two books.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Kylie Brant’s first book?

Kylie Brant sold her first manuscripts in the early 1990s. McLain’s Law, published in 1993, is among her earliest released novels and is generally the earliest title in her current active catalogue.

Her first completed manuscript was Rancher’s Choice, although it was published after another manuscript sold.

What is the best Kylie Brant book to start with?

Begin with Cold Dark Places for a continuing mystery protagonist.

Begin with Waking Nightmare for forensic romantic suspense.

Begin with Pretty Girls Dancing for a standalone thriller.

Do the Cady Maddix books need to be read in order?

Yes. Cady remains the protagonist throughout, and her earlier investigations affect her later choices and relationships.

Are Cady Maddix and Mindhunters connected?

They are listed as separate series.

Both use law enforcement, violent crime, and specialized investigation, but readers should not assume shared continuity without an explicit crossover.

How many Mindhunters books are there?

Ten Mindhunters novels are published as of July 19, 2026.

Older lists showing nine books have not been updated to include Guilty as Sin.

Can the Mindhunters books be read as standalones?

Most have a different central couple and a self-contained investigation.

Publication order remains preferable because Adam Raiker, his organization, and earlier specialists recur.

Is Guilty as Sin part of Mindhunters?

Yes. It is officially identified as Book 10.

Is Circle of Evil connected to Mindhunters?

No confirmed series connection is required.

Circle of Evil is its own three-book sequence and should begin with Chasing Evil.

Is 11 a Mindhunters book?

No. It is a standalone suspense title.

Is Pretty Girls Dancing a series book?

No. It is a standalone psychological thriller involving linked missing-girl cases and a possible serial predator.

Are the Alpha Squad books military romance?

They are military and covert-operations romantic suspense, with each installment following a different central relationship.

Which books make up Philly Cops?

The two Philly Cops novels are McLain’s Law and An Irresistible Man.

Is McLain’s Law also part of another series?

It appeared within the multi-author American Heroes: Against All Odds continuity.

For Kylie Brant’s bibliography, it also functions as Philly Cops Book 1 and should be counted only once.

Why is Rancher’s Choice listed as Book 29 elsewhere?

That number belongs to the multi-author Marry Me, Cowboy continuity.

It is not the twenty-ninth book in a Kylie Brant series.

Do the shared Harlequin continuity books require other authors?

Usually not. The central romance and immediate suspense story resolve within Kylie Brant’s contribution.

Reading the entire publisher continuity is optional.

What order should the Sullivan Brothers books be read in?

Use Undercover Lover, Heartbreak Ranch, and Falling Hard and Fast.

The second and third books may appear reversed when a database sorts only by original publication year.

What is Kylie Brant’s latest book?

Guilty as Sin, published in June 2025, is her latest released novel.

What is Along Came a Liar?

It is an announced upcoming Kylie Brant title.

No firm date or reliable final series placement had been published as of July 19, 2026.

The Clearest Place to Begin

Start with Cold Dark Places when you want to follow one investigator through several increasingly difficult cases. It offers the cleanest modern series entry and should be followed by the remaining Cady Maddix books without interruption.

Start with Waking Nightmare when you prefer a changing cast of forensic experts and law-enforcement partners. Continue through all ten Mindhunters books in publication order, particularly before reaching Guilty as Sin.

Readers wanting only one book should choose Pretty Girls Dancing. It requires no series background and provides a complete missing-person and serial-investigation story.