The Recommended Donna Collins Reading Path
For readers new to Donna Collins’ work, the best way to dive in is by following the publication order of her two distinct series. Because her stories are highly serialized within their respective arcs, jumping around is not recommended. You should start with her debut trilogy, which established her signature blend of fast-paced action and psychological suspense, before moving on to her later forensic crime work.
Option 1: The Hunted Trilogy (Start Here for High-Stakes Action)
If you enjoy romantic suspense, relentless chase sequences, and stories where civilian protagonists are thrown into massive conspiracies, start with The Sacrifice. This trilogy follows a single continuous storyline tracking the lives of Eliza Hamilton and Roman Holbrook. The narrative builds directly from one book to the next, meaning you must read them in order to understand the overarching mystery of Roman's past and the forces pursuing him.
Option 2: The Jason Wade Series (Start Here for Gritty Crime and Forensics)
If your tastes lean more toward police procedurals, forensic investigations, and damaged protagonists looking for justice, start with Dead in the Water. This series introduces a different style of thriller, focusing on a crime scene investigator navigating institutional corruption in London. While it shares Collins' fast pacing, it is more grounded in forensic detail and classic crime fiction tropes.
The Hunted Series: Roman & Eliza's Story
Published in quick succession in 2018, the Hunted series is a tight, action-packed trilogy. The story blends intense survival elements with a developing relationship between two characters from completely different worlds.
- The Sacrifice (Book 1): The story begins when Cornish nurse Eliza Hamilton is mugged late one night and saved by Roman Holbrook, a mysterious stranger who quickly disappears. When Roman later turns up at Eliza's home, she is pulled into a dangerous web where she must decide if Roman is her protector or a threat.
- Resurrection (Book 2): Following the dramatic events of the first book, Roman's unsanctioned actions to save Eliza's life end up exposing his whereabouts to enemies from his past. He is forced to decide whether to run alone to keep her safe or drag her along on a perilous flight.
- The Undoing (Book 3): The final installment brings the conspiracy to a head. As Roman's past catches up to him, he must confront his demons. Eliza is forced to look into her own history to find the keys to saving them both in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
The Jason Wade Series: Boxing and Forensics
With the launch of the Jason Wade series in 2020, Collins shifted her focus to a more traditional British police procedural setting, though with a unique protagonist.
- Dead in the Water (Book 1): The series introduces Jason Wade, a former professional boxer from the East End of London who has transitioned into a role as a Police Crime Scene Investigator (forensic technician). Still struggling with the suspicious death of his sister Leah, Jason finds himself drawn to a case involving a woman pulled from the River Thames with amnesia. Suspecting a connection to his sister's death, Jason defies his superiors to chase a web of police corruption, drug trafficking, and a professional killer.
What to Know Before You Start
Donna Collins' writing is deeply influenced by her real-world background. Before becoming a full-time novelist, she worked in various roles with OK! Magazine, the Essex Police force, and Ormiston Prison Services. This first-hand experience with law enforcement and offender rehabilitation gives her novels a strong sense of authenticity, particularly in the psychological profiling of her antagonists and the procedural details in the Jason Wade series.
Readers should expect a cinematic, fast-moving style. Collins grew up watching action-heavy 1970s and '80s TV series like Charlie's Angels and Hunter, and she infuses her books with that same high-energy, episodic structure. Her literary influences include classic thriller writers such as Patricia Cornwell and Jonathan Kellerman, which is reflected in her focus on forensic science, psychological depth, and complex criminal minds.