The Recommended Reading Order
For the best experience, readers should read the Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli series in publication order. The series relies heavily on character progression, long-term personal relationships, and ongoing plot threads that carry over from one book to the next. In fact, the first two books, Left to Die and Chosen to Die, form a continuous two-part story where the second book resolves a major cliffhanger from the first. Reading them out of order will spoil the mystery and weaken the tension.
The Alvarez & Pescoli Series in Order
Here is the list of books in their correct reading and publication order:
- Left to Die (2008): The series opener introduces Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli of the Pinewood County Sheriff's Department in Grizzly Falls, Montana. They hunt a serial killer who stages car accidents on snowy mountain roads to kidnap helpless women. The book ends on a dramatic cliffhanger.
- Chosen to Die (2009): Picking up right where the first book left off, the killer shifts his target to Detective Regan Pescoli herself. Selena Alvarez must race against a brutal winter storm to locate her partner before time runs out.
- Born to Die (2011): Alvarez and Pescoli investigate a string of murders where the victims are left to freeze in the snow, each bearing a striking resemblance to a prominent local doctor.
- Afraid to Die (2012): Personal and professional worlds collide when a serial killer targets women and leaves them adorned with jewelry belonging to Detective Selena Alvarez, forcing her to confront a nightmare from her own past.
- Ready to Die (2013): The detectives find themselves on the trail of a calculated sniper targeting people associated with a local rehab clinic. The investigation threatens the fragile stability of the detectives' lives.
- Deserves to Die (2014): A double homicide at a remote logging site pulls Alvarez and Pescoli into a complex web of family secrets, greed, and a killer seeking long-delayed vengeance.
- Expecting to Die (2016): When a pregnant teenager's body is discovered in the woods, the detectives uncover a dark secret ring operating within their community, matching the chilling winter atmosphere.
- Willing to Die (2019): The eighth installment serves as a dramatic crossover with Lisa Jackson's Cahill series. The murder of Regan Pescoli's sister in San Francisco sends Pescoli's niece, Ivy, fleeing to Grizzly Falls, bringing danger and a complex multi-city investigation to Montana.
What to Know Before You Start
A Contrast in Partners
One of the primary draws of the series is the stark contrast between the two main characters. Regan Pescoli has a chaotic personal life. She is a twice-divorced single mother of two teenagers (Jeremy, from her late husband Joe Strand, and Bianca, from her ex Luke "Lucky" Pescoli). Regan also has a tumultuous, on-again, off-again romance with Nate Santana. In contrast, Selena Alvarez is a focused, career-minded detective who values her independence, though she eventually forms deep bonds and crosses paths with P.I. Dylan O'Keefe and Sheriff Grayson.
The Fictional Montana Setting
The series is set in the fictional town of Grizzly Falls, located in the equally fictional Pinewood County, Montana. The harsh, snow-bound Rocky Mountain landscape plays a critical role in the stories, acting as a physical barrier that isolates victims and heightens the psychological suspense.
The Cahill Crossover Connection
In Willing to Die, the series intersects with Lisa Jackson's Cahill (San Francisco) series. Regan's sister, Brindel Latham, and her husband are murdered in California, bringing their daughter Ivy into the fold in Grizzly Falls. If you want a complete picture of the family background involved in this case, you may want to explore the Cahill books: If She Only Knew (2000), Almost Dead (2007), You Will Pay (2017), and You Betrayed Me (2020).