Chris Patchell Books In Order

Publication Order of Holt Foundation Story Books

Publication Order of The Jill Shannon Murder Books

Publication Order of Lacey James Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Chris Patchel
Chris Patchel began writing in order to curb the homicidal tendencies that she experienced during her own daily Seattle commute. She writes these gripping suspense thrillers that feature romantic elements set in the Pacific Northwest and believes that good fiction combines a magical mix of compelling plots, complex characters, and well crafted stories.

Through the years, she has written numerous popular and USA Today bestselling series and novels. Her writing has won several awards, including an IndieReader Discovery Award, a 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Award, and a Pacific Northwest Literary Award.

Chris can be found (when she is not busy writing): watching football, struggling to keep up her workout regime, reading books, hanging out with her family, and all while she tries to shush her incessantly yapping Yorkies.

Chris finds it easy to get stuck on something. She’ll either skip over the scene and just write what she does know, or will just barrel onward and write the scene, no matter how crappy and half-baked it might be. Even if she winds up trashing the scene anyway, it still gets her moving in the right direction. One thought will prompt another, and all of a sudden she is making some forward progress again.

Often, she will see a situation, like something out of everyday life and begin thinking ‘what if’. It is these words that form the basis of her story ideas.

She loves sitting down at her computer and allowing her imagination to take control. It is the best sort of therapy.

“Deadly Lies” is the first novel in the “Jill Shannon Murder” series and was released in 2013. Jill Shannon (as a teenager) was a victim of her stepdad’s cruel abuse. Now that she’s an adult, she has made it; she has a successful career and a solid, if not static, marriage to Detective Alex Shannon. And together they live out what appears to be a perfect life in Seattle.

The vow that she made as a teen to never be a victim again lies dormant, until this one day that a reporter lures her to his hotel room under the pretense of an interview, and it all comes rushing back to her all of a sudden.

Jill looks to get revenge on the reporter, setting off a series of events which leads Jill down this wormhole of retribution, which forces her to spin this ever-widening web of lies.

At the same time, Alex is working this case of a series of murders which started as cyber relationships. There appears to be this familiar fingerprint on each of these crimes, however Alex refuses to believe that the killer could be somebody so close to him.

Husband and wife stand on opposite sides of a divide that was created by lies and is rooted by a deadly and dark past.

“In the Dark” is the first novel in the “Holt Foundation” series and was released in 2015. Marissa Rooney clutches a half-used vial of insulin in her trembling, while standing in her daughter’s empty dorm room. Brooke’s been missing for days now. Her roommate has not seen her since that night in the bar. And if Marissa has got Brooke’s insulin, then it means that Brooke doesn’t.

However Marissa is not alone in her terror. This phantom from her past lurks in the shadows, waiting in the night, and is holding her family captive. In the dark.

“Deception Bay” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2018. He is dangerous, while she is armed. Together, can they possibly stop a murderer from ripping a tiny island community apart?

Austin Martell, a wise cracking cozy mystery author, left his hometown on Whidbey Island for the bright lights in New York, he vowed that he’d never return. However some promises are just impossible to keep, and once he learns that his mom has suffered this serious accident, he’s got no choice but to go back. He quickly learns that her accident might not be an accident at all, and secrets which were laid to rest after his brother’s tragic death just off the coast of Deception Bay, have now started to surface.

While closing in on this murderer, some new dangers arise. Austin finds that he’s in the middle of a real life murder mystery, once Police Chief Ellie Sharpe uncovers this curious connection between the writer and a local businessman’s death. Born and raised on Whidbey and having trained as a New York cop, Ellie is tough, smart, and is determined to solve this mystery behind the killing before more people end up dead. Sparks fly while the two team up in order to figure out who is responsible for this murder. The closer that they come to learning the truth, the more desperate somebody is to keep the sins from the past from being brought to light.

Somebody close to Austin is harboring a deadly truth. Can Ellie possibly unmask this killer before Austin becomes another secret that’s buried underneath the waves of Deception Bay?

“Find Her” is the first novel in the “Lacey James Mystery” series and was released in 2021. A dead suspect, a stolen hammer, and a horrifying trail of murder.

Sweet Home, Oregon. Detective Lacey James needs to solve these marriage issues of hers. However with her focus on this culprit escaping after a robbery call, she is alarmed to learn that his getaway car hides this chilling collection of zip ties, rope, gloves, and a gun. However her success in hunting the guy down turns to horror as the man grabs a firearm, and kills a fellow officer before offing himself.

Since her only lead is lying silent on a slab, this dedicated investigator’s suspicions are confirmed after she finds this woman that is connected to this case has gone missing. And fearing that time is running out for the kidnapped victim, Lacey follows the clues back to a gruesome scene that warns her that she may already be too late. Can she unravel the truth before the morgue can claim another corpse?