Where to Start Your Debra Webb Journey
With a career spanning decades and over 175 novels to her name, USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb is a powerhouse of romantic suspense and crime fiction. Because her bibliography is so massive, readers frequently ask where they should begin. Fortunately, Webb's work is organized into distinct series and subseries, making it easy to find a starting point that matches your reading taste.
If you love classic romantic suspense with high stakes, elite operatives, and central romance plots, the best place to start is the beginning of the Colby Agency series with Safe by His Side (2000). For readers who prefer gritty, dark, serial-killer thrillers with long-running character arcs and a focus on police procedures, the Faces of Evil series starting with Obsession (2011) is the perfect entry point. If you want modern, fast-paced psychological suspense with legal or investigative themes, you should jump straight into the Finley O'Sullivan series starting with The Last Lie Told (2022).
The Massive Colby Agency Universe
The Colby Agency is Debra Webb’s flagship series. It centers on an elite private investigation firm in Chicago, run by the formidable Victoria Colby. The series is massive, numbering over 50 books in the main line alone, plus several specialized subseries. While each book features a self-contained investigation and a standalone romance, the personal lives of the recurring agency staff develop chronologically.
To get the most out of the overarching narrative, you should read the main series in order of publication. Once you have a handle on the agency, you can branch out into the spin-offs and thematic subseries:
- Colby Agency (Main Series): Starts with Safe by His Side (2000) and runs through Would-Be Christmas Wedding (2013). This sequence tracks the agency's growth, challenges, and Victoria Colby's team of investigators.
- Colby Agency: Family Secrets: A three-book arc from 2016 featuring Gunning for the Groom, Heavy Artillery Husband, and Investigating Christmas.
- Colby Agency: Sexi-ER: A sexier, high-octane trio published in 2018: Finding the Edge, Sin and Bone, and Body of Evidence.
- Colby Agency: The Next Generation: The latest continuation of the agency's legacy, focusing on a new era of operatives and the children of the original characters. It kicks off with A Colby Christmas Rescue (2024) and continues with releases like Alibi For Murder and Memory of Murder.
The Chilling Faces of Evil Series
For readers who want something darker than the Colby Agency, the Faces of Evil series is highly recommended. It follows Deputy Chief Jess Harris, a skilled profiler who returns to her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, only to find herself targeted by a brilliant serial killer. Unlike the Colby Agency books, which can often be read as standalones, the Faces of Evil series features a tight, continuous narrative that must be read in order.
The main series order is:
- Obsession (2011)
- Impulse (2011)
- Power (2012)
- Rage (2012)
- Revenge (2013)
- Ruthless (2013)
- Silence (2013 - Novella #6.5)
- Vicious (2013)
- Vile (2014)
- Heinous (2014)
- Depraved (2014)
- The Wedding (2014)
- The Dying Room (2015)
After finishing the main series, you can transition directly into the spin-off, Faces of Evil: Private Eyes. This series features the same dark atmosphere and follows the characters as they set up a private investigations firm. Read them in this order: Envy (Book 0.5), followed by Dark Whispers and Still Waters.
Modern Suspense and Police Procedurals
In recent years, Debra Webb has focused on writing tightly plotted, multi-book suspense series that offer a modern twist on procedural mysteries. These are shorter than the Colby Agency books, making them highly accessible for new readers.
Devlin & Falco Books
Set in Birmingham, Alabama, this series follows detectives Kerri Devlin and Luke Falco. It combines gritty crime fiction with a slow-burn emotional core. The books should be read in publication order: Trust No One (2020), Gone Too Far (2021), and Can't Go Back (2021).
The Undertaker's Daughter Books
This unique thriller series follows Rowan Dupont, who returns to her hometown to run her family's funeral home and becomes entangled in local secrets and murder. You should start with the prequel novella, The Undertaker's Daughter (2018), and then read the novels in sequence: The Secrets We Bury (2019), The Lies We Tell (2019), and The Darkness We Hide (2020).
Finley O'Sullivan Books
Finley O'Sullivan is a legal investigator searching for the truth behind her husband's murder while handling complex cases. Read these in order: The Last Lie Told (2022), The Nature of Secrets (2023), and All the Little Truths (2023).
Lookout Mountain Mysteries
A newer romantic suspense series set against the atmospheric backdrop of Lookout Mountain, Alabama. Read these in order: Disappearance in Dread Hollow (2023), Murder at Sunset Rock (2023), A Place to Hide (2024), Whispering Winds Widows (2024), and Peril in Piney Woods (2024).
Winchester, Tennessee Series
This solo series combines small-town secrets and federal investigations. The recommended order is: In Self Defense (2019), The Dark Woods (2019), The Stranger Next Door (2019), The Safest Lies (2019), Witness Protection Widow (2020), Before He Vanished (2020), and The Bone Room (2021).
Collaborative & Multi-Author Series
Debra Webb has frequently participated in multi-author book series projects, which can sometimes confuse readers trying to map out a chronological reading order. For these series, you can choose to read only Webb's books as standalones, or read the entire multi-author series in its official order to get the full story.
Key collaborations include:
- Athena Force: A series about elite female agents. Webb contributed key books like Proof (2004) and Alias (2004).
- Breakdown: A collaborative series where Webb wrote The Dead Girl (2018).
- Behind Closed Doors: Family Secrets: A fast-paced series featuring Webb's entries alongside other authors, starting with The Lie (2020).
- Code Red: An action-suspense continuity project where Webb contributed titles like The Unknown Twin (2004) and Riding the Storm (2004).
- NASCAR Series: A massive romance collection themed around the racing circuit, featuring holiday anthologies and standalones by Webb such as Danger Zone (2007).