Janice Cantore Books in Order
See Janice Cantore books in order, with short summaries, series background, and where to start for her police suspense and faith-driven stories.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
16 books
Critical Pursuit / The Kevlar Heart
by Janice Cantore
2007
Brinna Caruso is the officer people call when a child goes missing, and this case cuts especially deep because she was abducted as a girl. With her dog Hero and reluctant partner Jack O'Reilly, she races a predator before time runs out.
Visible Threat / A Heart of Justice
by Janice Cantore
2010
Officer Brinna Caruso is drawn into a grim case when a dead girl found near the river points to long-term abuse and trafficking. Working with Jack O'Reilly, she follows the trail into a criminal ring hiding in plain sight.
Abducted
by Janice Cantore
2012
Back on patrol after exposing corruption, Carly Edwards thinks life may finally be settling down. Then her partner's baby is kidnapped, his wife is gravely ill, and Carly's desperate search pushes her faith and judgment to the limit.
Accused
by Janice Cantore
2012
When teen suspect Londy Akins is arrested for the mayor's murder, detective Carly Edwards expects a quick confession. Instead she starts to believe he is innocent, defies orders, and risks everything by teaming up with her ex-husband Nick.
Avenged
by Janice Cantore
2013
When three gang members are executed, Carly Edwards and Sergeant Nick Anderson fear Las Playas is sliding toward gang war. Stolen military weapons, public attacks on Carly's reputation, and a looming trial make every move more dangerous.
Drawing Fire
by Janice Cantore
2015
Detective Abby Hart is hunting a killer targeting elderly women when PI Luke Murphy becomes her best lead and biggest irritation. Their search soon circles back to the fire that killed Abby's parents, turning a current case into something deeply personal.
Burning Proof
by Janice Cantore
2016
A terrible arrest leaves homicide detective Abby Hart shaken and unsure she still wants the badge. Then PI Luke Murphy uncovers a clue tied to her parents' long-ago deaths, and a cold abduction case pulls them back into danger.
Catching Heat
by Janice Cantore
2016
Twenty-seven years after her parents died, Abby Hart is still chasing the truth. A task force case involving a murdered college student sends her and Luke Murphy toward buried secrets, old power, and evidence that could finally change everything.
Crisis Shot
by Janice Cantore
2017
After fatally shooting an unarmed teenager, Tess O'Rourke is cleared by a grand jury but driven out by public outrage. Her fresh start as police chief in Rogue's Hollow turns dangerous when a woman disappears and murder follows.
Lethal Target
by Janice Cantore
2018
When a teenager dies of a suspected overdose, Chief Tess O'Rourke fears a new drug pipeline is moving through Rogue's Hollow. A bitter local fight, trouble from her past, and pressure from every side make the case especially dangerous.
Cold Aim
by Janice Cantore
2019
Rogue's Hollow is still reeling from fire when Chief Tess O'Rourke agrees to shelter a witness in a trafficking case. Cleanup crews, an old murder suspect, and a fresh threat put Tess and everyone around her in the crosshairs.
Breach of Honor
by Janice Cantore
2021
Leah Radcliff is a Table Rock officer who can face danger on the street, but not the abuse waiting at home. When one desperate night leaves her accused of murder, she and officer Clint Tanner race to expose what powerful people want buried.
Code of Courage
by Janice Cantore
2022
After a police shooting sparks riots in her hometown, detective Danni Grace takes leave and wonders if she is done with the job. Then a community activist is murdered, a fellow officer is blamed, and Danni must work the case with her ex-husband.
One Final Target
by Janice Cantore
2024
Jodie King survives the IED blast that kills the rest of her team, but grief will not let her walk away. When shots are fired at her at the mountain bomb site, detective Sam Gresham helps hunt the killer who is still closing in.
Every Deadly Suspicion
by Janice Cantore
2025
Chief Hanna Keyes has spent years believing her father belongs in prison for murder. When his release gives her one last chance to reopen a thirty-year-old case, new crimes erupt and the truth begins shifting under her feet.
Edge of Truth
by Janice Cantore
2026
When her sister disappears in Hawaii, Long Beach detective Lainie Jensen heads out looking for answers and finds her brother-in-law's story full of holes. Teaming reluctantly with FBI agent Ben Isaacs, she uncovers ties to money laundering and an old case.
Where should I start?
If you want her first major series: Accused → Abducted → Avenged
If you like small-town Oregon cases: Crisis Shot → Lethal Target → Cold Aim
If you want colder, more layered investigations: Drawing Fire → Burning Proof → Catching Heat
If you prefer newer standalones: Breach of Honor → Code of Courage → One Final Target → Every Deadly Suspicion
Author bio
Janice Cantore grew up in Southern California and spent much of her working life in Long Beach. Long before she was a novelist, she was drawn to the people who get hurt when life turns violent or unfair. That instinct, part protector and part investigator, ended up shaping both her police career and her fiction.
In college she studied biological science and physical education, but neither path felt quite right. So she made a turn that surprised her a little and applied to become a police officer. She later spent twenty-two years with the Long Beach Police Department, working patrol, administration, juvenile investigations, and training.
That job changed everything.
Cantore has said she always wanted to write, but for a long time she did not think she had enough to say. Police work gave her more than enough material. She saw people on some of the worst days of their lives, learned how much small decisions matter, and came away with a lasting concern for victims, especially people hurt by cruelty, neglect, or plain indifference.
Before turning to novels, she published two short pieces about faith at work for Cop and Christ and Today's Christian Woman. After retiring from law enforcement, she realized she had years of cases, questions, and hard-earned details to draw from. That is when the fiction really started to take shape.
She did not leave police work at the office when she started writing. The rhythm of a call, the way partners talk, the paperwork after the adrenaline, and the fact that victims do not get neat endings all show up in her fiction. Even when the books move fast, there is usually a sense that procedure matters and that the people wearing the uniform are carrying more than readers can see.
Her early books, including Critical Pursuit and Visible Threat, already show what readers tend to like about her work. The police detail feels specific, the danger arrives quickly, and the women at the center are competent without being superhuman. They carry old wounds, make mistakes, keep going, and usually have to figure out who they can trust before they can solve the case.
A lot of readers start with Accused, the opening book in her Pacific Coast Justice trilogy. That series introduces Carly Edwards and sets the pattern Cantore does well, a strong investigation, emotional fallout, and faith that matters because life is hard, not because it is tidy. Books like Drawing Fire, Breach of Honor, and Code of Courage push those same strengths in different directions, from cold cases and buried corruption to domestic danger and public anger after a police shooting.
She also writes women who are good at their jobs, tired by what the job costs, and stubborn enough to keep showing up.
In later novels such as One Final Target and Every Deadly Suspicion, she keeps returning to officers under strain, survivors dealing with grief, and communities shaped by secrets that have lasted for years. Readers who come for the suspense often stay for the combination of realism, moral pressure, and characters who have to keep doing the job while their own lives are coming apart.
Current publisher bios place her in Florida, where she enjoys ocean swimming, golfing, long walks, and time with her Labrador retrievers, Abbie and Tilly. Even away from the badge, her books still carry the feel of someone who notices people, trouble, and the hard work of trying to set things right.
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