Books by Kathleen Kent

Dallas's toughest female detective takes on a string of mysterious assassinations in the second novel of the 'violent, sexy, and completely absorbing' Betty Rhyzyk series (Kirkus Reviews). Not much can make Detective Betty Rhyzyk flinch. But when forced into therapy, a desk assignment, and domestic bliss following a terrifying run-in with an apocalyptic cult, she's having trouble readjusting to life as it once was. At home, she struggles to connect with her loving wife, Jackie. At work, someone has been assassinating confidential informants. To make matters worse, Betty's partner seems to be increasingly dependent on the painkillers he was prescribed for injuries he sustained narrowly rescuing her.Betty's at the point of breaking when she decides to go rogue, on a chase that will lead her to the dark heart of a drug cartel terrorizing Dallas, and straight to the crooked cops who plan to profit from it all.Praise for Kathleen Kent: 'Gripping... Briskly paced, The Burn barely allows the reader to take a breath as believable twists careen throughout' Associated Press 'Readers will clamor for the irresistible Betty's next chapter' Publishers Weekly 'Exciting [and] moving... Grisly but likable' Wall Street Journal 'Kent continues to reinvent and subvert traditional noir expectations... Action-driven mystery anchored by dynamic, deep characters' Kirkus Reviews 'A gripping, powerfully human procedural' Booklist

Detective Betty has only two weeks to take down her deadliest rival: Evangeline Roy, the matriarch of a ruthless cult. With the clock ticking down, it will take everything Betty's got to finally put an end to Evangeline's reign of terror, and to keep her beloved Dallas - and her own family - safe at last.

Brooklyn's toughest female detective takes on Dallas in this 'violent, sexy, and completely absorbing' Edgar Award nominee, the first novel in the acclaimed Betty Rhyzyk series (Kirkus Reviews). Dallas, Texas is not for the faint of heart. Good thing for Betty Rhyzyk she's from a family of take-no-prisoners Brooklyn police detectives. But her Big Apple wisdom will only get her so far when she relocates to The Big D, where Mexican drug cartels and cult leaders, deadbeat skells and society wives all battle for sunbaked turf.Betty is as tough as the best of them, but she's deeply shaken when her first investigation goes sideways. Battling a group of unruly subordinates, a persistent stalker, a formidable criminal organisation, and an unsupportive girlfriend, the unbreakable Detective Betty Rhyzyk may be reaching her limit.Combining the colourful pyrotechnics of Breaking Bad with the best of the gritty crime genre, The Dime is Kathleen Kent's brilliant mystery debut and the launch of a sensational new series.Praise for Kathleen Kent: 'Only a fan blowing in the right direction could flip the pages of this lightning-paced tale any faster' Minneapolis Star Tribune 'One of the most breathless, inventive and - be forewarned - violent suspense plots I've read in a long time' NPR 'Exciting [and] moving... Grisly but likable' Wall Street Journal 'Some of the most intense crime fiction I've ever read' LitReactor 'Kent's offbeat humor pulls up reins just before it takes the story over a cliff' New York Times Book Review

I'll not ask you to be mine ... I will never seek to blunt the fury in you, never, and will honour your will as my own. What say you? Can you be a soldier's wife? New England, 1673. Martha Allen, a young woman reviled by her family because of her refusal to marry, is packed off to be a servant in her cousin's home. She takes charge of the neglected household and annoys everyone around her - including a mysterious Welshman who works for the family, a man whose forceful nature matches her own. As they both gradually let their guard down, a fragile, uneasy friendship grows between the pair. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, a band of assassins, driven by the will of Charles II, charter a ship to the New World. They have a single aim: to capture Thomas Morgan, the killer of Charles I, and bring him back to London where he will face an excruciating death. The Royalists want to see his head on a spike outside the Tower of London. As Martha begins to fall for the tall Welshman, he reveals a little of his past. It soon becomes clear that his life is in grave danger. As the threat of the assassins grows closer, can Martha find it in herself to be a traitor's wife? Praise for The Heretic's Daughter 'Absolutely compelling' Daily Mail 'A very fine novel ... a remarkably accomplished telling of a truly shocking tale' Daily Express

Martha Carrier was hanged on August 19th 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, unyielding in her refusal to admit to being a witch, going to her death rather than joining the ranks of men and women who confessed and were thereby spared execution. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and wilful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. In this startling novel, she narrates the story of her early life in Andover, near Salem. Her father is a farmer, English in origin, quietly stoical but with a secret history. Her mother is a herbalist, tough but loving, and above all a good mother. Often at odds with each other, Sarah and her mother have a close but also cold relationship, yet it is clear that Martha understands her daughter like no other. When Martha is accused of witchcraft, and the whisperings in the community escalate, she makes her daughter promise not to stand up for her if the case is taken to court. As Sarah and her brothers are hauled into the prison themselves, the vicious cruelty of the trials is apparent, as the Carrier family, along with other innocents, are starved and deprived of any decency, battling their way through the hysteria with the sheer willpower their mother has taught them.