Random Acts of Malice (Book 3)
When Holly Anna Paladin’s boyfriend, police detective Chase Dexter, says he’s leaving for two weeks and can’t give any details, she wants to trust him. But when she discovers Chase may be involved in some unwise and dangerous pursuits, she’s compelled to intervene. Holly gets a run for her money as she’s swept into the world of horseracing. The stakes turn deadly when a dead body surfaces and suspicion is cast on Chase. At every turn, more trouble emerges, making Holly question what she holds true about her relationship and her future. Just when she thinks she’s on the homestretch, a dark horse arises. Holly might lose everything in a nail-biting fight to the finish.
Random Acts of Scrooge (Book 3.5)
Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but a real-life Scrooge is threatening to ruin the season’s good will. Holly Anna Paladin can’t wait to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. She loves everything about the season—celebrating the birth of Jesus, singing carols, and baking Christmas treats, just to name a few. But when a local family needs help, how can she say no? Holly’s community has come together to help raise funds to save the home of Greg and Babette Sullivan, but a Bah-Humburgler has snatched the canisters of cash. Holly and her boyfriend, police detective Chase Dexter, team up to catch the Christmas crook. Will they succeed in collecting enough cash to cover the Sullivans’ overdue bills? Or will someone succeed in ruining Christmas for all those involved?
Random Acts of Greed (Book 4)
Help me. Don’t trust anyone. Do-gooder Holly Anna Paladin can’t believe her eyes when a healthy baby boy is left on her doorstep. What seems like good fortune quickly turns into concern when blood spatter is found on the bottom of the baby carrier. Something tragic—maybe deadly—happened in connection with the infant. The note left only adds to the confusion. What does it mean by “Don’t trust anyone”? Holly is determined to figure out the identity of the baby. Is his mom someone from the inner-city youth center where she volunteers? Or maybe the connection is through Holly’s former job as a social worker? Even worse—what if the blood belongs to the baby’s mom? Every answer Holly uncovers only leads to more questions. A sticky web of intrigue captures her imagination until she’s sure of only one thing: she must protect the baby at all cost.
Random Acts of Fraud (Book 5)
Vintage-loving Holly Anna Paladin finds online dating uncouth and unbecoming. But, in an attempt to overcome her romantic slump, her BFF convinces Holly to give it a shot. When Holly is stood up on her first date, she’s halfway relieved . . . until she discovers the reason isn’t because her cyber matchup has cold feet. Instead she stumbles upon him in a classic Mustang, deader than good old-fashioned manners. Holly's had enough with investigating crime and leaves her ex-boyfriend, Detective Chase Dexter, to solve this mystery. But Holly is somehow connected to this murder, and someone is determined to keep her in the thick of things. She hopes it’s not Drew Williams, the handsome funeral director who’s trying to sweep her off her feet. Before more people are hurt, Holly is determined to unmask the pretender in her life. But can she keep her feelings for Chase locked away? Or will Holly end up losing her heart to him all over again? She must solve the case before someone pulls the plug on her profile . . . and deletes her permanently.
The Sierra Files:
Pounced (Book 1)
Animal-rights activist Sierra Nakamura never expected to stumble upon the dead body of a coworker while filming a project nor get involved in the investigation. But when someone threatens to kill her cats unless she hands over the “information,” she becomes more bristly than an angry feline. Making matters worse is the fact that her cats—and the investigation—are driving a wedge between her and her boyfriend, Chad. With every answer she uncovers, old hurts rise to the surface and test her beliefs. Saving her cats might mean ruining everything else in her life. In the fight for survival, one thing is certain: either pounce or be pounced.
Hunted (Book 2)
Who knew a stray dog could cause so much trouble? Newlywed animal-rights activist Sierra Nakamura Davis must face her worst nightmare: breaking the news she eloped with Chad to her ultra-opinionated tiger mom. Her perfectionist parents have planned a vow-renewal ceremony at Sierra’s lush childhood home, but a neighborhood dog ruins the rehearsal dinner when it shows up toting what appears to be a fresh human bone. While dealing with the dog, a nosy neighbor, and an old flame turning up at the wrong times, Sierra hunts for answers. Her journey of discovery leads to more than just who committed the crime.
Pranced (Book 2.5, a Christmas novella)
Sierra Nakamura Davis thinks spending Christmas with her husband’s relatives will be a real Yuletide treat. But when the animal-rights activist learns his family has a reindeer farm, she begins to feel more like the Grinch. Even worse, when Sierra arrives, she discovers the reindeer are missing. Sierra fears the animals might be suffering a worse fate than being used for entertainment purposes. Can Sierra set aside her dogmatic opinions to help get the reindeer home in time for the holidays? Or will secrets tear the family apart and ruin Sierra’s dream of the perfect Christmas?
Rattled (Book 3)
“What do you mean a thirteen-foot lavender albino ball python is missing?” Tough-as-nails Sierra Nakamura Davis isn’t one to get flustered. But trying to balance being a wife and a new mom with her crusade to help animals is proving harder than she imagined. Add a missing python, a high maintenance intern, and a dead body to the mix, and Sierra becomes the definition of rattled. Can she balance it all—and solve a possible murder—without losing her mind?
Carolina Moon Series:
Home Before Dark (Book 1)
Nothing good ever happens after dark. Country singer Daleigh McDermott’s father often repeated those words. Now, her father is dead. As she’s about to flee back to Nashville, she finds his hidden journal with hints that his death was no accident. Mechanic Ryan Shields is the only one who seems to believe Daleigh. Her father trusted the man, but her attraction to Ryan scares her. She knows her life and career are back in Nashville and her time in the sleepy North Carolina town is only temporary. As Daleigh and Ryan work to unravel the mystery, it becomes obvious that someone wants them dead. They must rely on each other—and on God—if they hope to make it home before the darkness swallows them.
Gone By Dark (Book 2)
Ten years ago, Charity White’s best friend, Andrea, was abducted as they walked home from school. A decade later, when Charity receives a mysterious letter that promises answers, she returns to North Carolina in search of closure. With the help of her new neighbor, Police Officer Joshua Haven, Charity begins to track down mysterious clues concerning her friend’s abduction. They soon discover that they must work together or both of them will be swallowed by the looming darkness.
Wait Until Dark (Book 3)
Antiquarian Felicity French has no clue the trouble she’s inviting in when she rescues a man outside her grandma’s old plantation house during a treacherous snowstorm. Now she’s stuck inside with a stranger sporting an old bullet wound and forgotten hours. Coast Guardsman Brody Joyner can't remember why he was out in such perilous weather, how he injured his head, or how a strange key got into his pocket. He also has no idea why his pint-sized savior has such a huge chip on her shoulder. He has no choice but to make the best of things until the storm passes. Brody and Felicity’s rocky start goes from tense to worse when danger closes in. Who else wants the mysterious key that somehow ended up in Brody’s pocket? Why? The unlikely duo quickly becomes entrenched in an adventure of a lifetime, one that could have ties to local folklore and Felicity’s ancestors. But sometimes the past leads to darkness . . . darkness that doesn’t wait for anyone.
Light the Dark (a Christmas novella)
Nine months pregnant, Hope Solomon is on the run and fearing for her life. Desperate for warmth, food, and shelter, she finds what looks like an abandoned house. Inside, she discovers a Christmas that’s been
left behind—complete with faded decorations on a brittle Christmas tree and dusty stockings filled with loss. Someone spies smoke coming from the chimney of the empty house and alerts Dr. Luke Griffin, the owner. He rarely visits the home that harbors so many bittersweet memories for him. Then Luke meets Hope, and he knows this mother-to-be desperately needs help. With no room at any local inn, Luke invites Hope to stay, unaware of the danger following her. While running from the darkness, the embers of Christmas present are stirred with an unexpected birth and a holiday romance. But will Hope and Luke live to see a Christmas future?
Taken by Dark
Widowed single mom Willa Summers can’t deny that something strange is going on in her North Carolina hometown. She fears her pregnant sister-in-law, singer Daleigh McDermott, is the target of mysterious threats. Little does Willa know that she’s the one in danger. When Declan Donovan shows up in the house next door, things seem to turn from bad to worse. Declan broke Willa’s heart more than a decade ago when he deserted her and chose a career with the FBI over small-town life with her. But now he may be the only one who can help keep everyone safe. Declan must get to the bottom of things before the mysterious threats become reality. As the dark closes in, everything Willa holds dear may be snatched from her—including a second chance at love. Will she be overtaken by the dark or will she escape its clutches in time?
Cape Thomas Series:
Dubiosity (Book 1)
Savannah Harris vowed to leave behind her old life as an investigative reporter. But when two migrant workers go missing, her curiosity spikes. As more eerie incidents begin afflicting the area, each works to draw Savannah out of her seclusion and raise the stakes—for her and the surrounding community. Even as Savannah’s new boarder, Clive Miller, makes her feel things she thought long forgotten, she suspects he’s hiding something too, and he’s not the only one. As secrets emerge and danger closes in, Savannah must choose between faith and uncertainty. One wrong decision might spell the end . . . not just for her but for everyone around her. Will she unravel the mystery in time, or will doubt get the best of her?
Disillusioned (Book 2)
Nikki Wright is desperate to help her brother, Bobby, who hasn’t been the same since escaping from a detainment camp run by terrorists in Colombia. Rumor has it that he betrayed his navy brothers and conspired with those who held him hostage, and both the press and the military are hounding him for answers. All Nikki wants is to shield her brother so he has time to recover and heal. But soon they realize the paparazzi are the least of their worries. When a group of men try to abduct Nikki and her brother, Bobby insists that Kade Wheaton, another former SEAL, can keep them out of harm’s way. But can Nikki trust Kade? After all, the man who broke her heart eight years ago is anything but safe…Hiding out in a farmhouse on the Chesapeake Bay, Nikki finds her loyalties—and the remnants of her long-held faith—tested as she and Kade put aside their differences to keep Bobby’s increasingly erratic behavior under wraps. But when Bobby disappears, Nikki will have to trust Kade completely if she wants to uncover the truth about a rumored conspiracy. Nikki’s life—and the fate of the nation—depends on it.
Distorted (Book 3)
Mallory Baldwin is a survivor. A former victim of human trafficking, she’s been given a second chance, yet not a night goes by that she doesn’t remember being a slave to weapons dealer Dante Torres. Despite being afraid of the dark and wary of strangers, Mallory is trying to rebuild her life by turning her tragedy into redemption. To former Navy SEAL Tennyson Walker, Mallory seems nothing like the shattered woman he rescued two years ago, and he can’t help but be inspired by her strength and resilience. So when a stalker suddenly makes Mallory vulnerable once again, Tennyson steps up as her bodyguard to keep her safe. Mallory and Tennyson’s mutual attraction can’t be ignored, but neither can Mallory’s suspicion that Tennyson is keeping a terrible secret about her past. As the nightmare closes in, it’s not only Mallory and Tennyson’s love that comes under fire but their very lives as well. Will their faith sustain them? Or will the darkness win once and for all?
Standalones:
The Good Girl
Tara Lancaster can sing “Amazing Grace” in three harmonies, two languages, and interpret it for the hearing impaired. She can list the Bible canon backward, forward, and alphabetized. The only time she ever missed church was when she had pneumonia and her mom made her stay home. Then her life shatters and her reputation is left in ruins. She flees halfway across the country to dog-sit, but the quiet anonymity she needs isn’t waiting at her sister’s house. Instead, she finds a knife with a threatening message, a fame-hungry friend, a too-hunky neighbor, and evidence of . . . a ghost? Following all the rules has gotten her nowhere. And nothing she learned in Sunday School can tell her where to go from there.
Death of the Couch Potato's Wife (Suburban Sleuth Mysteries)
You haven’t seen desperate until you’ve met Laura Berry, a career-oriented city slicker turned suburbanite housewife. Well-trained in the big-city commandment, “mind your own business,” Laura is persuaded by her spunky seventy-year-old neighbor, Babe, to check on another neighbor who hasn’t been seen in days. She finds Candace Flynn, wife of the infamous “Couch King,” dead, and at last has a reason to get up in the morning. Someone is determined to stop her from digging deeper into the death of her neighbor, but Laura is just as determined to figure out who is behind the death-by-poisoned-pork-rinds.
Imperfect
Since the death of her fiancé two years ago, novelist Morgan Blake’s life has been in a holding pattern. She has a major case of writer’s block, and a book signing in the mountain town of Perfect sounds as perfect as its name. Her trip takes a wrong turn when she’s involved in a hit-and-run: She hit a man, and he ran from the scene. Before fleeing, he mouthed the word “Help.” First she must find him. In Perfect, she finds a small town that offers all she ever wanted. But is something sinister going on behind its cheery exterior? Was she invited as a guest of honor simply to do a book signing? Or was she lured to town for another purpose—a deadly purpose?
The Gabby St. Claire Diaries:
a tween mystery series
The Curtain Call Caper (Book 1)
Is a ghost haunting the Oceanside Middle School auditorium? What else could explain the disasters surrounding the play—everything from missing scripts to a falling spotlight and damaged props? Seventh-grader Gabby St. Claire has dreamed about being part of her school’s musical, but a series of unfortunate events threatens to shut down the production. While trying to uncover the culprit and save her fifteen minutes of fame, she also has to manage impossible teachers, cliques, her dysfunctional family, and a secret she can’t tell even her best friend. Will Gabby figure out who or what is sabotaging the show . . . or will it be curtains for her and the rest of the cast?
The Disappearing Dog Dilemma (Book 2)
Why are dogs disappearing around town? When two friends ask seventh-grader Gabby St. Claire for her help in finding their missing canines, Gabby decides to unleash her sleuthing skills to sniff out whoever is behind the act. But time management and relationships get tricky as worrisome weather, a part-time job, and a new crush interfere with Gabby’s investigation. Will her determination crack the case? Or will shadowy villains, a penchant for overcommitting, and even her own heart put her in the doghouse?
The Bungled Bike Burglaries (Book 3)
Stolen bikes and a long-forgotten time capsule leave one amateur sleuth baffled and busy. Seventh-grader Gabby St. Claire is determined to bring a bike burglar to justice—and not just because mean girl Donabell Bullock is strong-arming her. But each new clue brings its own set of trouble. As if that’s not enough, Gabby finds evidence of a decades-old murder within the contents of the time capsule, but no one seems to take her seriously. As her investigation heats up, will Gabby’s knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people crack the case? Or will it prove hazardous to her health?
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bout the Author
USA Today has called Christy Barritt's books “scary, funny, passionate, and quirky.”
Christy writes both mystery and romantic suspense novels that are clean with underlying messages of faith. Her books have won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery, have been twice nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and have finaled for both a Carol Award and Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year.
She is married to her Prince Charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious—but only when she's not trying to be. Christy is a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song, and a road trip aficionado.
When she's not working or spending time with her family, she enjoys singing, playing the guitar, and exploring small, unsuspecting towns where people have no idea how accident-prone she is.
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