Psychic Detective Kate Pierce Crime Thriller Books in Order

The Psychic Detective Kate Pierce Crime Thriller series blends traditional police work with an unsettling, paranormal edge. Kate Pierce is a detective whose psychic abilities are less a flashy gift than a burden she has to learn to use well. Her dreams, physical sensations, and flashes of insight give her glimpses of victims and killers, but never in a neat or easily explained way.

The first book, Retribution, finds Kate pulled from her work in Wisconsin into the chaos of Chicago. Two well known attorneys have been murdered in brutal, drug related attacks, and the Chicago Police Department, along with the FBI, is out of leads. As pressure mounts, they reach out to the Washburn County Sheriff's Office to request Kate's help. She initially says no, until she learns that Jesse McCord, a Chicago detective she recently befriended, has also gone missing. Partnered with Detective Henry Johnson, Kate relies on disturbing dreams and scraps of psychic information to track both the killer and her friend.

In Imperious, the strange link between her body and her cases becomes stronger. Two female college students in North Bend die suddenly during finals week, with no clear cause. Whenever Kate approaches their bodies, she suffers physical symptoms that mimic the victims' last moments. Convinced she is experiencing a kind of psychic transference, she pushes the local sheriff's office to consider her theory. As toxicology results trickle in and another student disappears, Kate's odd reactions turn out to be a crucial tool for identifying how the victims were killed.

Deranged takes her back to Atlanta, the city where she endured serious violence in the past. She returns reluctantly for her mother's surprise birthday celebration, only to be confronted with news of the "Fulton County Butcher," a killer who dismembers women and leaves their remains scattered. When a childhood neighbor, now an undercover police officer, vanishes, Kate volunteers to help the Atlanta PD despite their doubts about her methods. The case forces her to confront old trauma even as new nightmares point her toward an unassuming suspect.

Later books, including Beguiled and Diabolical, continue to test how far Kate can push her abilities without breaking. Some cases involve missing women, others center on murders that seem impossible to solve with ordinary evidence alone. In each, Kate's visions and physical reactions give her a lead, but they also put her in danger and strain the patience of more traditional investigators.

Throughout the series, Sutter treats the paranormal elements as one more investigative tool, not a shortcut. Kate still has to run down leads, work with forensics, interview witnesses, and build cases that will hold up in court. Her gift complicates her relationships with colleagues and loved ones, who worry about both her safety and her sanity. The books lean into that tension, making this series a good fit for readers who like their crime fiction grounded in procedure but seasoned with something otherworldly.