Kate Marino Books in Order

Mike Omer's Kate Marino series follows a K-9 officer whose work with her dogs draws her into dangerous investigations. Kate is capable and persistent, but her professional skills don't put her at a distance from the people she is trying to find. The opening case brings her back to a hometown she has strong reasons to avoid, making the search for a missing teenager inseparable from the family history she has tried to leave behind.

In the Killer's Sight begins when Kate learns that her seventeen-year-old niece, Alice, has disappeared. Two days have already passed, and Kate cannot stay away simply because returning will be painful. She heads to Cooperton, New Hampshire, with Nero and Bella. Nero is her working police dog, while Bella is retired. Their presence gives Kate a practical way to help in a landscape where a missing person's trail can be difficult to follow.

The New Hampshire wilderness is both the search area and a source of danger. Alice isn't the only woman who has vanished, and the discovery of bodies points toward a serial killer. Kate's job therefore involves more than finding out where one girl has gone. She needs to understand a pattern of attacks quickly enough to reach Alice before the same violence overtakes her. The terrain that may hold the clues also gives a predator room to hide.

Kate's knowledge of home doesn't make being there easy.

Working alongside Deputy Sheriff Roy Hoover, she has to pursue leads while confronting reminders of her childhood. Her father remains a difficult presence, and returning puts her in contact with memories she would rather keep at a distance. That personal pressure gives the investigation another layer: Kate must stay focused on the missing girl without letting the place and people around her overwhelm her. The series brings together police work, family relationships and the commitment between a handler and the dogs she trusts.

The tone is a crime thriller with missing-person suspense and a strong K-9 element. Nero and Bella are part of Kate's life as well as her ability to search, so the canine partnership belongs at the center of the premise. Begin with In the Killer's Sight to meet Kate, understand her connection to Cooperton and follow the case that brings her home. Scent of Destruction is the second title in the series. Reading in publication order introduces the people and relationships behind Kate's investigations before moving on to the next case, while the opening book establishes how closely her work can intersect with the people she most wants to protect.