Melinda Woodhall Books in Order
See all Melinda Woodhall books in order, from Mercy Harbor to Bailey Flynn, with quick summaries, series guides, and where to start tips for new readers.
Last updated: July 2, 2026
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Publication Order
38 books
The River Girls
by Melinda Woodhall
2018
Eden Winthrop runs a shelter for abused women in Willow Bay while still grieving her sister's murder. When a trafficked teen disappears and bodies surface by the river, the hunt becomes terrifyingly personal.
Catch the Girl
by Melinda Woodhall
2019
A troubled young woman takes refuge in an isolated Florida commune, then learns the place may hide something lethal. As her friends disappear, Eden and Nessa are drawn into another desperate search.
Girl Eight
by Melinda Woodhall
2019
A long-active serial killer is hunting vulnerable women in Willow Bay again. Eden and Detective Nessa Ainsley race through old secrets and false leads to stop another girl from vanishing.
Girls Who Lie
by Melinda Woodhall
2019
A reporter digging into a killer's identity becomes the subject of her own story. Back in Willow Bay, Eden is forced onto the trail of a predator bent on revenge.
Her Final Fall
by Melinda Woodhall
2020
After a model falls from a Miami high-rise, Veronica receives a chilling video that suggests murder, not misfortune. Her search for answers exposes a killer chasing vengeance across Florida.
Her Last Summer
by Melinda Woodhall
2020
A celebrity author dies under suspicious circumstances in Willow Bay, and reporter Veronica Lee chases the story alongside new police chief Nessa Ainsley. Then another local murder reveals the case is much darker than it first seemed.
Her Silent Spring
by Melinda Woodhall
2020
When a young woman disappears on a lonely Kentucky road, Veronica follows a lead that points to a network of online predators. The investigation also stirs buried family secrets and older crimes.
Her Winter of Darkness
by Melinda Woodhall
2020
A captive woman's plea for help draws Veronica into the world of human trafficking. The deeper she goes, the closer she comes to a remorseless predator and the women he controls.
Break Her Heart
by Melinda Woodhall
2021
After a badly injured young woman arrives at Rosewood General, Nessa joins forces with Atlanta PD to hunt the Eastside Ripper. The search soon connects to another disappearance and a painful choice.
Her Bitter End
by Melinda Woodhall
2021
A violent biker leaves murder behind in Las Vegas and heads toward Willow Bay, where Veronica may be his next target. As the body count rises, she uncovers a betrayal much closer to home.
Her Darkest Night
by Melinda Woodhall
2021
A missing girl from a forensic psychiatric hospital sends Veronica into a case of fugitive violence, buried bodies, and a killer hiding behind madness. Willow Bay's police are closing in, but the truth keeps shifting.
Her Day to Die
by Melinda Woodhall
2021
A killer starts targeting newlyweds in Washington, D.C., and Veronica decides to make the double homicides her next big story. Chasing the pattern puts her on a collision course with a predator who plans ahead.
Her Fatal Hour
by Melinda Woodhall
2021
An aspiring actress dies after a party at the exclusive Bliss Cove Resort, touching off a frantic manhunt. Veronica follows the case into a web of old secrets, image management, and a predator with plenty to lose.
Make Her Pay
by Melinda Woodhall
2021
A missing private investigator leads Nessa into a messy case of secrets, grudges, and revenge. Before long, her partner's ex-wife appears to be in the killer's sights.
Steal Her Breath
by Melinda Woodhall
2021
On her first day as a Major Crimes detective, Nessa Ainsley is handed the murder of a college student found near campus. The case becomes a grim test of her instincts and nerve.
Take Her Life
by Melinda Woodhall
2021
Hikers discover a young woman's body in the woods outside Rosewood, Georgia. Nessa soon sees a pattern pointing to a killer stalking women on the town's margins.
His Soul to Keep
by Melinda Woodhall
2022
Private investigator Frankie Dawson returns to Memphis after personal heartbreak and lands in the middle of a double murder. As bones turn up along the Wolf River, he begins to suspect his sister's death was no accident.
Lessons in Evil
by Melinda Woodhall
2022
Former FBI profiler Bridget Bishop is pulled back into the Bureau when new murders echo the work of an executed serial killer. To stop a copycat, she must face old trauma and a case she thought was buried.
Road to Evil
by Melinda Woodhall
2022
The Backroads Butcher is back, or someone wants Bridget Bishop to think so. Called to Mount Destiny, Virginia, she faces a case tied to her worst memories and a town primed for panic.
Taken by Evil
by Melinda Woodhall
2022
Bridget returns to the BAU after a string of savage killings points to a charismatic self-help guru. As she digs into the suspect's past, the threat edges closer to people she cares about.
Where Evil Hides
by Melinda Woodhall
2022
When a pharma CEO's mistress is murdered, the prime suspect claims Bridget Bishop is his alibi. The strange lie pulls Bridget into a case of wealth, deceit, and a killer who knows how to twist the story.
Betrayed by Evil
by Melinda Woodhall
2023
A woman returns to Tempest Grove, West Virginia, to learn what happened to her missing twin and ends up dead beneath the Witch's Tree. Bridget finds old bones, old lies, and a case tangled with her mother's past.
His Heart of Darkness
by Melinda Woodhall
2023
Frankie takes on the cold case of a reporter who vanished years ago, only to find the trail leading to human remains at a construction site. The investigation forces him to confront what his father left behind.
Save Her from Evil
by Melinda Woodhall
2023
A fugitive accused of a brutal nightclub attack refuses to speak to anyone but Bridget Bishop. His demand leads her into a case of tarot cards, staged violence, and a killer pulling strings from the dark.
Valley of Evil
by Melinda Woodhall
2023
A barn manager vanishes after a late-night ride at Wilde Valley Stables. Bridget follows the trail into a hidden graveyard and a revenge plot buried beneath the horse country calm.
When Evil Calls
by Melinda Woodhall
2023
Bridget helps reopen the cold case that shattered Deputy Marshal Vic Santino's life. When new violence erupts in Sparrow Springs, the team realizes the old killer's rage never truly went quiet.
Chasing Monsters
by Melinda Woodhall
2024
A troubled woman's murder and a teenage girl's body in an old grave pull Bailey into a case built on revenge. To save the next target, she has to sort truth from corruption before the killer strikes again.
Dreading Darkness
by Melinda Woodhall
2024
When a detective's daughter vanishes, Bailey joins the search and finds two dead teens in an abandoned car. The trail leads to a former gravedigger, another missing girl, and a killer who works well in the dark.
Forgotten Remains
by Melinda Woodhall
2024
A brutal stabbing in Belle Harbor leads Bailey to a hidden skeleton and a link to a notorious cartel. Piece by piece, she uncovers the obsession driving a killer who has been waiting decades.
Gathering Bones
by Melinda Woodhall
2024
Fresh remains found in an abandoned burial ground point Bailey toward a serial killer with roots in Belle Harbor's past. When a forensic anthropologist disappears, the excavation turns into a race for survival.
His Fatal Vow
by Melinda Woodhall
2024
When a beloved teacher is murdered near the high school in Barrel Creek, Frankie is hired to find the killer. The case opens into a chain of hidden crimes and an obsession that refuses to stay buried.
Vanishing Angels
by Melinda Woodhall
2024
FBI Special Agent Bailey Flynn has barely started over in Washington, D.C., when a call pulls her back to Belle Harbor, Florida. With her search and rescue dog Ludwig, she hunts the predator who murdered someone from her past.
Deadly Mercy
by Melinda Woodhall
2025
A hit and run exposes the mutilated body of a local woman, and Bailey links the killing to two more grisly deaths. When a beekeeper with key information disappears, she must untangle the killer's damaged past fast.
Forsaken Souls
by Melinda Woodhall
2025
A coffee shop owner's daylight shooting looks personal, but Bailey soon ties it to a vicious internet troll and a much older crime. The deeper she digs, the closer the case comes to her own past.
Heartless Highway
by Melinda Woodhall
2025
A tourist is found dead beside a highway, and the evidence suggests the FBI may have caught the wrong East Coast Highway Killer. Bailey follows the case onto a dangerous road trip with no room for easy answers.
Tracking Evil
by Melinda Woodhall
2025
A bachelorette party turns deadly at Bellamy Island Resort, and Bailey suspects a bride-to-be's unsolved murder from ten years earlier. She calls in profiler Bridget Bishop as bodies, clues, and danger begin to pile up.
Dangerous Midnight
by Melinda Woodhall
2026
A wealthy widow returns to her hometown for a fresh start and is almost immediately murdered. Bailey traces the case from Everston Creek to the Everglades, where the Midnight Caller is still waiting to strike again.
Nightmare in Summerset
by Melinda Woodhall
2026
An aspiring actress vanishes on the way to an audition at Scorched Pine Studios. Bailey steps into a bizarre case of film-set ambition, staged fantasy, and a killer determined to cast her in his final scene.
Where should I start?
If you want the original small-town Florida series: The River Girls → Girl Eight → Catch the Girl
If you like reporter-led crime stories: Her Last Summer → Her Final Fall → Her Winter of Darkness
If you want FBI profiler cases: Lessons in Evil → Taken by Evil → Where Evil Hides
If you want a newer FBI series with a K9 partner: Vanishing Angels → Gathering Bones → Chasing Monsters
If you prefer shorter, quick-hit procedurals: Steal Her Breath → Take Her Life → Make Her Pay
Author bio
Melinda Woodhall grew up in Orlando, Florida, and books were part of the routine early. She has written about loving trips to the Orlando Public Library when she was a Nancy Drew reader, which makes a lot of sense once you see how many of her novels begin with a mystery and a woman who refuses to look away. She is still based in Orlando today, and Florida remains all over her fiction.
The setting never feels borrowed.
Before writing full time, Woodhall worked in corporate software sales. She eventually left that career and made room for fiction, a jump that helps explain the practical, workaday feel of her thrillers. Her investigators may chase serial killers and cold cases, but they still feel like people who have jobs, histories, and very little spare time.
Her crime fiction career started in 2018 with The River Girls, the first book in the Mercy Harbor world. That series introduced Willow Bay, the shelter-running Eden Winthrop, and Detective Nessa Ainsley, and it set the pattern for a lot of what followed, missing women, small-town pressure, and danger hiding in familiar places. Readers who like Woodhall tend to like that mix of emotional stakes and fast investigation.
From there she kept building outward. Her Last Summer launched the Veronica Lee books, which bring a reporter's eye to crime scenes and small-town politics. Later, Lessons in Evil moved her into FBI profiler territory with Bridget Bishop, and Vanishing Angels opened the Bailey Flynn series, giving readers another federal lead, this time with a strong hometown thread and a search and rescue dog named Ludwig.
She likes a shared world, and it shows.
Characters move between series, side figures grow into leads, and towns that first appear in one set of books keep mattering in another. That makes her bibliography feel connected without becoming hard to follow. You can pick up a single thriller and enjoy the case, but readers who go in order get the extra pleasure of watching relationships and old wounds carry forward.
Woodhall also writes women's contemporary fiction as M.M. Arvin. Under that name she has published books such as The Lovely Here and Now and It's Never Too Late for a Second Chance, which shows a different side of her writing, more focused on relationships, change, and second chances. Even there, she seems drawn to people under pressure who have to rebuild a life one hard choice at a time.
Across the thrillers, a few themes keep returning. She writes about missing women, survivors, damaged families, and investigators who do not know how to stop once a case gets personal. Florida settings come up again and again, whether the story stays in Willow Bay, heads down a dark highway, or edges toward the Everglades. The books move quickly, but they are anchored by grief, guilt, loyalty, and the question of who gets believed when something terrible happens.
Away from the page, Woodhall has said she enjoys reading and gardening. She is a native Floridian, a mother of five, and lives with her family in Orlando. That home base, and that longtime relationship with central Florida, gives her fiction a lived-in feel even when the plots go very dark.
Edited by
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