whereabouts unknown
Theodora Madsen has everything she’s ever hoped for: a distinguished career as a homicide detective with the Dayton Police Department, a woman she loves, and a baby on the way.
While Theo and Bree nest and plan for their family’s future, two sixteen-year-old girls vanish—one from Dayton and the other from Brecksville—each leaving behind a bloody handprint. Then a routine interview goes disastrously wrong, and Theo’s injured and facing a lengthy recovery.
With her professional future uncertain and the cases growing cold, Theo scrambles to piece together the links between the girls. But the clock is ticking and time is running out.
DEADEYE
Luce Hansen, Book III
Special Agent Luce Hansen’s Thanksgiving vacation with her new lover, forensic pathologist Harper Bennett, is cut short when she’s tasked with recapturing Deadeye, a vicious serial predator who has escaped custody. The timing couldn’t be worse, especially when Bennett seems to be struggling with the realities of Hansen’s work and questioning whether she’s willing to risk building a life with a woman who puts work first, even when the job puts her in the line of fire. Hansen can’t put aside the chase even with her relationship on shaky ground when, on the anniversary of Deadeye’s first kill, two brothers are shot while jogging along a quiet country road. Before Deadeye can claim another victim, Hansen and her team must track a killer who has proven to be an expert at hiding in plain sight. The stakes, both professional and personal, get even higher when Hansen is cut off from her team in rural Ohio and must fight for her very survival. As Bennett frantically searches for clues into Hansen’s disappearance, Deadeye’s hunt draws ever closer to home.
Purchase Deadeye from Bold Strokes Books.
“Doench has created a compelling series that balances character and plot. Her writing is top notch – you become completely immersed in the settings, the action and the character.” - C-Spot Reviews
“I must tip my coffee cup to Meredith Doench because she started off this captivating story with a big bang and I was reluctant to put my kindle down to be a responsible adult and go to work on time. There’s nothing that I love more than getting sucked into a thriller with a psychological twist!” - The Lesbian Review
FORSAKEN TRUST
Luce Hansen, Book II
Wallace Lake, Ohio, takes care of their own. Unwelcoming of outsiders, the community closes ranks when four women are found murdered along the water’s edge. Agent Luce Hansen of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation must find a way in before another woman loses her life to the ruthless serial killer.With the help of her new team—a hot rookie and a smart, beautiful medical examiner—Luce uncovers a ring of devotion surrounding the prime suspect. As Luce works to unearth the dark secrets of this close-knit town, she learns to what extraordinary lengths people will go to protect the ones they love. And when Luce feels forsaken, both professionally and personally, she must regain trust in her most valuable investigative tool: herself.
Purchase Forsaken Trust from Bold Strokes Books or Amazon.
“What’s not to love? This is a proper police procedural with lesbian characters that are not propped up by a romance. I’m ecstatic that this kind of book is being created; it shows how much the lesbian fiction market has grown in the last few years. This book gives lesbians (and others) a really good story that you would probably see on Law and Order, CSI, or Rizzoli and Isles without the heteronormative characters or the need to ‘ship’ characters.” - The Lesbian Review
“If you love crime fiction or television shows you will love this book, but do not go in expecting romance. Readers of James Patterson, Sue Grafton, and the like will enjoy this book.” - The Lesbian Talk Show Podcast
CROSSED
Luce Hansen, Book I
Agent Luce Hansen returns home to Willow’s Ridge to catch a serial killer who has been murdering young women. It’s the case she’s been waiting for, the case that compels her to return to the small town she turned her back on nineteen years ago, the case she plans to ride from the Ohio BCI all the way to the FBI. It’s the case worth risking her shaky relationship with her lover, Rowan. But the horrors of the case recall the unsolved murder of Luce’s first girlfriend, and Luce is forced to confront the local ex-gay ministry that haunted her youth. When the past crosses the present, will Luce lose everything she’s worked so hard to build?
Purchase Crossed from Bold Strokes Books or Amazon.
“Crossed is an eyeblinkingly good first novel with unique and original takes on old subjects.” - The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel
“A very well written serial murder investigation that is made different by the emotional state of Luce Hansen and her personal story. The layered approach works really well and ensures the reader is often off-balance, just what you need in a murder mystery.” - The Lesbian Review
“I highly recommend Crossed, which turned out to be a great freshman thriller from Doench. While there was not a lot of romance, prepare yourself for an emotional ride filled with disturbing scenes that show a lack human decency; a ride that also makes multiple explorations into the human psyche.” - Jay Chase, Queercentric