Minka Kent Books in Order (Updated February 22, 2026)

Minka Kent is a psychological-suspense author whose catalog is mostly standalone thrillers, plus one clearly connected series: Dangerous Strangers Thrillers. If you care about character continuity, you only need to be strict with that series. Everything else is built to be read in any order.

This guide keeps the boundaries clean: series books together, then standalones, then optional short fiction, and finally other pen names (separate shelf).

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Pick your lane

If you want a continuing storyline: start with Imaginary Strangers (Dangerous Strangers #1).
If you want a single, self-contained thriller: pick any standalone below and read it cold.
If you want a “best snapshot” of her style: a good starting trio is The Thinnest Air, The Stillwater Girls, or Unmissing.

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Continuity map

• Dangerous Strangers Thrillers: Connected series (read in order)
• Minka Kent standalones: Standalone continuity (any order)
• Short fiction / anthology story: Optional
• Winter Renshaw / Sunday Tomassetti: Separate continuity (different branding/genre)

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Dangerous Strangers Thrillers (read in order)

1. Imaginary Strangers (2024): A seemingly perfect family life cracks when a child’s “imaginary friend” starts knowing too much.
2. Circle of Strangers (2025): A gated-community fresh start turns poisonous as neighborly curiosity becomes leverage and threat.
3. Hidden Strangers (2026): On the run, a mother takes refuge with family who may be more dangerous than what she fled. (Announced as Book 3.)

Why order matters: these books share a central character arc and escalating consequences, so reading out of order blunts reveals and reshapes motives.

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Minka Kent standalones (publication order)

These are not a series. Read in any order.

1. The Memory Watcher (2016): A marriage built on observation and suspicion tightens until it stops feeling safe.
2. The Perfect Roommate (2018): A living arrangement becomes a trap when boundaries blur and intentions turn opaque.
3. The Thinnest Air (2018): A disappearance in a resort town exposes how little anyone truly knows about the missing woman.
4. The Stillwater Girls (2019): Sisters raised in isolation are forced into the outside world, and into the reason they were hidden.
5. You Have to Believe Me (2019): A credibility-and-control thriller where persuasion becomes its own form of violence.
6. When I Was You (2020): Identity theft turns intimate as a woman discovers someone is living her life on purpose.
7. The Trophy Wife (2020): A relationship-driven suspense story about status, appearance, and who gets to define the narrative.
8. The Watcher Girl (2021): A watchful presence and a long memory collide, turning “being noticed” into a threat.
9. Unmissing (2022): A woman returns after years away, raising the question of what happened then, and what’s happening now.
10. The Silent Woman (2022): A new wife discovers the previous wife is still there, silent, and trying to warn her.
11. Gone Again (2023): A sudden vanishing triggers a backward unspooling of secrets that were never as buried as they seemed.
12. After Dark (2023): An accused woman with a notorious past tries to escape small-town judgment, until the danger turns active.

Small edition note: some retailer listings show later print dates for certain titles, but the year above reflects the original release timeline used by the author’s site and major bibliographies.

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Optional short fiction

• “People Like Them” (2023): A short story appearance in a multi-author collection; it’s a quick extra, not required for any novel.

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Other names you may see (separate continuity)

Minka Kent also publishes as Winter Renshaw (primarily romance) and is associated with Sunday Tomassetti (credit used in some listings). These works do not connect to the Minka Kent thrillers, and they do not affect reading order here.

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What’s newest and what’s next (as of February 2026)

• Latest published in the connected series: Circle of Strangers (2025)
• Next scheduled series release: Hidden Strangers (2026)
• Latest standalone release year currently listed: 2023 (Gone Again, After Dark)

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FAQ

Do I have to start with the earliest book (The Memory Watcher)?
No. The standalones are designed for drop-in reading. Publication order is just a tidy checklist.

If I read the Dangerous Strangers books out of order, will I be lost?
You’ll follow the surface plot, but you’ll lose the intended escalation and you may spoil key relationship reveals. Start with Imaginary Strangers if you plan to read the full set.

Is Unmissing connected to the Dangerous Strangers series?
No. It’s a standalone.

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The decisive recommendation

If you want the cleanest, most “in-order” experience, read Dangerous Strangers #1 → #3, and treat the rest as standalones you can pick by premise. If you only want one book to test the author, start with The Thinnest Air or The Stillwater Girls for a strong standalone sample.