KEY News Books in Order
Part ofMary Jane Clark Books in OrderSee the KEY News books by Mary Jane Clark in order, with quick summaries, series background, and tips on where to start with her newsroom thrillers.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
12 books
Do You Want to Know a Secret?
by Mary Jane Clark
1998
TV anchor Eliza Blake is trying to hold together her career and private life when a murder and a web of hidden scandals place her squarely in a killer's sights. It is a brisk first KEY News mystery with plenty of newsroom pressure.
Do You Promise Not to Tell?
by Mary Jane Clark
1999
KEY producer Farrell Slater spots a fake Fabergé egg at a headline-making auction and stumbles into a deadly scam. To save her job and expose the truth, she has to stay ahead of a killer silencing everyone who knows too much.
Let Me Whisper in Your Ear
by Mary Jane Clark
2000
Reporter Laura Walsh keeps having celebrity obituaries ready before anyone expects them. When she pursues a decades-old missing child case and a famous host dies, Laura becomes a suspect in a mystery that cuts through KEY News.
Close to You
by Mary Jane Clark
2001
Eliza Blake thinks a new house in the suburbs will give her and her daughter some peace. Instead, hateful letters and threatening calls reveal a stalker who knows far too much, and may be closer than anyone suspects.
Nobody Knows
by Mary Jane Clark
2002
After a career mistake sends reporter Cassie Sheridan from Washington to Florida, she covers an approaching hurricane and a grisly beach discovery. The deeper she digs into the story, the more she realizes someone will kill to keep it buried.
Nowhere to Run
by Mary Jane Clark
2003
Medical producer Annabelle Murphy knows the signs of anthrax, which is why a colleague's sudden death terrifies her. When more people fall ill and the broadcast center locks down, she has to find the killer before nobody can escape.
Hide Yourself Away
by Mary Jane Clark
2004
In summer-rich Newport, KEY interns arrive hoping one of them will land a full-time job. Then an old skeleton, a fresh death, and a missing intern pull single mother Grace Callahan into a dangerous hunt for long-buried secrets.
Dancing in the Dark
by Mary Jane Clark
2005
KEY correspondent Diane Mayfield heads to Ocean Grove for a television piece on abduction victims, only to walk into an active murder case. As the beach town buckles under fear and heat, Diane and her family move closer to the danger.
Lights Out Tonight
by Mary Jane Clark
2006
Film critic Caroline Enright travels to a summer theater festival to cover the arts and reconnect with her stepdaughter. Opening night turns deadly, and Caroline has to untangle backstage grudges and old secrets before they become the next targets.
When Day Breaks
by Mary Jane Clark
2007
When morning-show star Constance Young is found dead in her pool, Eliza Blake starts asking questions. A missing medieval treasure and a long list of enemies pull Eliza and her KEY News friends into their first case as a team.
It Only Takes a Moment
by Mary Jane Clark
2008
Eliza Blake can handle breaking news, but not the kidnapping of her seven-year-old daughter. As the search grows frantic and false leads pile up, Eliza and the Sunrise Suspense Society race a ruthless kidnapper with deeply personal motives.
Dying for Mercy
by Mary Jane Clark
2009
At a lavish party in Tuxedo Park, Eliza Blake witnesses a shocking death that opens the door to a much older mystery. Hidden clues inside a sprawling estate lead her and her team toward a killer who wants the past sealed forever.
Series background & context
The KEY News books live in a fictional television news world that looks a lot like the one Mary Jane Clark knew from real life. Cameras roll, producers chase feeds, anchors smile through chaos, and everyone is working on too little sleep. That constant pressure gives the series its engine. A suspicious death, a missing person, a stalker, or a public scandal can become tomorrow's lead story, and then a murder case.
These are not police procedurals. The people at the center are news professionals, anchors, producers, reporters, interns, critics, and camera crews, who keep finding themselves too close to danger. Early books move around the newsroom and let different women take the lead, including Eliza Blake, Farrell Slater, Laura Walsh, Cassie Sheridan, Annabelle Murphy, Grace Callahan, Diane Mayfield, and Caroline Enright. Their jobs matter because they give them access, instincts, and a reason to keep asking questions when other people would back away.
The newsroom never really sleeps.
Setting matters a lot here. Some books stay close to the Broadcast Center in New York, while others head to places like Newport, Ocean Grove, the Berkshires, Florida, and wealthy communities outside the city. Even away from the studio, the stories still feel tied to television, because the characters are often on assignment, chasing interviews, or dealing with the fallout of life in public view. Fame, ratings, ambition, and image are part of the danger.
The tone is brisk and high-stakes, but still puzzle-driven. Clark likes short chapters, long suspect lists, and crimes that connect to ordinary stresses like custody fights, career setbacks, family strain, or romantic trouble. You get suspense, but you also get the nuts and bolts of people trying to do a demanding job while their personal lives keep spilling into the workday.
As the series goes on, it becomes more connected around Eliza Blake and the group readers know as the Sunrise Suspense Society: Eliza, producer Annabelle Murphy, cameraman B.J. D'Elia, and psychiatrist Dr. Margo Gonzalez. In books like When Day Breaks, It Only Takes a Moment, and Dying for Mercy, the appeal is not just the mystery. It is also the team dynamic, the way these friends pool their skills and push one another into asking the next dangerous question.
You can start at the beginning with Do You Want to Know a Secret? and watch the KEY world grow book by book. Or you can jump in later if a particular setup grabs you. Either way, expect polished surfaces, bad secrets, and a cast of media people who learn very quickly that being first on the story can come at a price.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
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