The Portland Murders, in order
Psychological thrillers set in Portland, Oregon, and Durango, Colorado. Every Portland Murders story stands alone, but the characters cross between books, so reading in order adds layers.
Tangled Darkness
Where Leslie’s trouble began. When her clinic assistant turns up dead and she faces allegations of stealing opioids, Leslie must find the real killer before the killer silences her for good.
If i go quiet
Leslie Schoen’s brother-in-law disappears after volunteering to investigate a suspicious wellness retreat, and she goes undercover to find him. What she discovers is far more sinister than a meditation scam.
lethal loyalty
In Durango, Colorado, Olivia showed everyone around her exactly what loyalty is worth, and what it costs. Then Kate Nichols issued her ultimatum. Free when you join Reader Mail.
play me once
Grace MacKenzie thought she’d found love. She found a trap instead. A murdered reporter, a buried conspiracy, and her own name at the top of the suspect list.
Coming January 26, 2027. Preorder opens December 15.
The Brother’s Word
Portland, December 2015. Eleven days of rain, a body on a chop-shop floor, and Detective Aaron Davis recognizes the scarred lighter beneath it. It belongs to Cecil, the addict brother he’s spent a lifetime protecting, now the only suspect in a murder. Aaron can serve the badge or save his brother. He cannot do both.
pancake Man [working title]
Portland Detective Aaron Davis investigates a murder that pulls him into corruption at the top of city government and a sophisticated car theft ring. To follow the evidence, he forms an uneasy alliance with journalist Mia Daugherty, and the closer they get, the more dangerous the truth becomes.
TANGLED DARKNESS
In a twisted web of lies, she’s either the spider or the fly.
When a psychiatric clinical assistant turns up dead,
Dr. Leslie Schoen finds herself a suspect in the case—and facing allegations which could destroy her career.
As Detective Davis works the investigation, Leslie launches her own inquiries. She soon uncovers deception and illegal schemes involving stolen prescription opioids. It seems everyone around her is hiding something, and as she gets closer to the truth, the threats against her escalate. She struggles with keeping dangerous information from her pregnant wife, Izzy, and knows she needs to confront traumatic demons from her own past. But as she delves deeper into a web of lies, one thing becomes clear: someone will do anything to keep their criminal plans in the shadows.
With her family and even her life on the line, Leslie must outwit those who want her silenced before it’s too late. No one’s motives are what they seem, and the killer may be closer than anyone thinks.
If I go Quiet
Leslie Schoen has spent years rebuilding what her addiction nearly destroyed.
A career. Her sobriety. Her marriage to Izzy, the woman who stayed with her through her worst lies.
With a baby on the way and a fragile second chance she doesn’t fully trust, Leslie believes the hardest part of her life is finally behind her. Then her brother-in-law, William, vanishes while working undercover at Ascension Grove, an elite psilocybin retreat promising healing, transformation, and curated wellness for those who can afford it.
When the investigation stalls, a detective makes Leslie an offer she can’t refuse: go inside Ascension Grove posing as a health consultant and find out what really happened to William.
Behind the cedar paths and sage smoke, Leslie finds a far darker reality: a so-called Quiet Room for guests who ask the wrong questions, and a place where silence is enforced and difficult people have a way of disappearing.
As the danger escalates, Leslie is forced to confront a truth she has avoided her entire life: she’s used judgment as armor to avoid examining herself. And the person she’s protected most fiercely from hard truths is Izzy, her pregnant wife waiting at home, demanding an honesty Leslie isn’t sure she knows how to give.
William’s final message haunts every step of her investigation:
“If I go quiet, I didn’t choose it.”
Now Leslie must decide what she is willing to risk to bring him home: her sobriety, her safety, her marriage, and the carefully rebuilt life she may not survive losing.
A dark, atmospheric psychological thriller with queer protagonists, moral tension, and relentless suspense, this novella is perfect for readers who love cult-adjacent mysteries, investigative crime fiction, and character-driven psychological suspense.
Start reading now and uncover what Ascension Grove is really hiding.
Lethal Loyalty
Obsession knows no bounds…
Olivia Hahn has lost her job in city finance, her best friend, and very nearly the man she has loved since childhood. Then Kate Nichols offers her a way to win James back.
All Olivia has to do is deliver a pair of leather gloves.
In drought-parched Durango, Colorado, millions of dollars for a new water pipeline are about to land in the city’s accounts. Olivia has already stolen the keys to them. Now a former friend has photographed the proof, and Kate wants her out of the way. Just for a week or two. Nothing permanent.
Loyalty has a price. In Durango, somebody always pays it.
Lethal Loyalty is a Portland Murders novella, a short read you can finish in an evening. Kate Nichols returns in Play Me Once, coming January 26, 2027.
Want the next one before anyone else?
Join Mary’s Advance Reader Team — free early copies of every new Portland thriller, weeks before release day, in exchange for an honest review.