Tempting Fate
She’s his best friend’s sister, his town’s sunshine, and the one rule he’s about to break.
Start at the beginning of Heartbreak Falls, Diane Benefiel’s small-town romantic suspense series filled with protective heroes, strong heroines, danger, chemistry, and heart.
Heartbreak Falls · Book 1
New to Diane Benefiel?
Every Diane Benefiel series blends danger, romance, strong heroines, and protective heroes. The only question is: what kind of story are you in the mood for?
Heartbreak Falls
Small-town secrets. Protective heroes. Danger that hits close to home.
Start here if you want fast-moving romantic suspense, strong women, close-knit community, and chemistry with danger never far behind.
Payback Mountain
Rugged mountains. Dangerous secrets. Love worth fighting for.
Head to the Sierra Nevada for deeper emotional stakes, old wounds, dangerous secrets, and hard-earned romance.
What Should I Read First?
Pick the kind of romantic suspense you’re in the mood for and we’ll point you in the right direction.
Protective heroes, strong women, close-knit community, and danger that follows them home.
Try Heartbreak Falls I want A family worth fighting forLong-lost sisters, a mountain town built on second chances, and rugged heroes who turn found family into forever.
Try Payback Mountain I want A town that protects its ownThe Gallaghers of Hangman's Loss, rugged Eastern Sierra wilderness, and lawmen who'll burn down the world to keep their women safe.
Try The High Sierras I want U.S. Marshals & high stakesLaw enforcement, family loyalty, dangerous assignments, and romance under pressure.
Try The JamesonsHeartbreak Falls
Welcome to Heartbreak Falls, where small-town life comes with dangerous secrets, fiercely protective heroes, strong women, and romance worth risking everything for.
Tempting Fate
She’s his best friend’s sister, his town’s sunshine, and the one rule he’s about to break.
Begin where Heartbreak Falls begins. Tempting Fate introduces the small-town community, danger, romance, and protective heroes at the heart of the series.
Finding Forever
She stopped believing in forever. He stopped believing in home. Then he showed up bleeding at her door.
Read Finding Forever
Chasing Truth
She’d stopped waiting for someone to stay. He’d stopped believing he deserved to. Then a stranger’s lie threatened them both.
Read Chasing Truth
Breaking Rules
An intruder broke into her house with a warning for him. Now Police Chief Beckett Donovan will risk everything to keep Fallon safe.
Pre-Order Breaking RulesPayback Mountain
Escape to the rugged Sierra Nevada, where old wounds, buried secrets, fierce loyalties, and high-stakes danger collide with hard-earned romance.
Dangerous Secrets
A second chance. Old enemies. Secrets that refuse to stay buried.
New to Payback Mountain? Begin with this second-chance, enemies-to-lovers romantic suspense set against the rugged beauty of the Sierra Nevada.
Honest Secrets
A Western romantic suspense about family secrets and unexpected loyalties.
Read Honest Secrets
Secret Lies
A woman-on-the-run romantic suspense with danger waiting around every turn.
Read Secret Lies
Guarded Secrets
A grumpy/sunshine romantic suspense with a fiercely protective hero.
Read Guarded Secrets
Forbidden Secrets
A gripping romantic suspense about buried secrets and fierce devotion.
Read Forbidden SecretsMore Series from Diane
Already explored Heartbreak Falls and Payback Mountain? Discover more romantic suspense worlds from Diane Benefiel.
The High Sierras
Head back to California’s mountain country for danger, strong heroines, protective heroes, and suspense set against a rugged Sierra backdrop.
The Jamesons
Meet the Jamesons, a family of U.S. Marshals whose dangerous work puts loyalty, love, and everything they protect on the line.
Readers Are Saying
See what readers are saying about Diane’s Heartbreak Falls series.
“Good fast read!”
“Diane Benefiel is an auto-buy for me, and this book validates that ongoing decision.”
“Snowed in as Gunshots Fly”
“Another great read by Diane Benefiel.”
“Fun, Lighthearted Read”
“Diane does a great job of combining romance with enough suspense to keep the pages turning.”
Meet Diane
Diane Benefiel writes romantic suspense about strong women, compelling men, dangerous secrets, and love worth fighting for.
A lifelong reader and former schoolteacher, Diane has always gravitated toward capable heroines who face danger head-on and think their way through impossible situations. Her love of California’s mountains, travel, and the outdoors has found its way into the worlds she creates for her readers.