Small-town Romantic Suspense
Welcome to Payback Mountain
Love protective partners, resilient women, and small-town danger that feels all too real? Then you’ll fall hard for the Payback Mountain series. In the heart of the Sierras, the residents of Sisters, California navigate shifting loyalties, hidden threats, and unexpected passion. Among orchards, mountain trails, and tight-knit friendships, they confront danger… and find that trusting someone with your heart may be the bravest act of all.
New in the Payback Mountain world
Forbidden Secrets
If you love small towns, strong heroines, and protective heroes, USA Today Bestselling author Diane Benefiel's Forbidden Secrets is the book for you.
Some Secrets Refuse To Stay Buried
Melanie Brennan’s world revolves around her daughter, and she’s worked hard to build a life rooted in safety and love. But when a disturbing incident shakes their quiet town, Melanie turns to former FBI agent Gage Landry, the one man she shouldn’t trust but can’t ignore.
Reading Order
Start with Dangerous Secrets
Each book in the Payback Mountain series features a new couple and a complete story, but the emotional payoff is richest when you read in order. Begin with Dangerous Secrets and follow the families, firefighters, and law enforcement officers of Sisters, California, as they face danger, uncover the past, and fight for love.
Payback Mountain Series
Set in the rugged Sierras, the small town of Sisters, California looks peaceful from the outside—orchards, groves, and mountain views. But beneath the beauty, danger runs deep. The men and women of Sisters are fighting people with deadly intent… and risking everything for the one thing worth saving: love.
Book 1: Dangerous Secrets
Enemies to lovers, Second-chance romance, Small-town danger
Eight years after leaving town, Walker McGrath returns, hardened by injustice and determined to reclaim his place—and Delaney Bryant’s trust. But when danger stalks Sisters, California, their unresolved past collides with a new threat. As secrets stir and passions reignite, Walker and Delaney must fight for a second chance… and their lives.
Book 2: Honest Secrets
Secret family, Cowboy protector, Found sisters
Emery Marino didn’t come to Sisters to stay—but a surprise family, a mysterious inheritance, and a tempting cowboy named Shane Keller change everything. When danger shadows her new beginning, Shane’s rugged loyalty may be the only thing standing between Emery and heartbreak… or worse.
Book 3: Secret Lies
Woman on the run, Suspicious cop, Found family
Cameron King has been in hiding. But in Sisters, California, she finds unexpected refuge—and the sharp-eyed cop who sees right through her act. When a ghost from her past threatens everything she’s built, Officer Sawyer McGrath must decide if protecting Cam means letting her go… or standing by her side to fight.
Book 4: Guarded Secrets
Grumpy/sunshine • Slow burn • Reluctant protector
Keeley lights up the town of Sisters—just not Owen’s world. Or so she thinks. When threats escalate, the gruff loner becomes her fiercest protector. But keeping her safe means staying close, and for a man used to solitude, that may be the riskiest mission of all: falling for the town’s brightest light.
Book 5: Forbidden Secrets (Latest Release)
Single mom • Protective hero • Found family suspense
If you love small towns, strong heroines, and protective heroes, USA Today bestselling author Diane Benefiel's Forbidden Secrets is the book for you.
Melanie Brennan built her life on love and caution. Gage Landry, a former FBI agent with shadows of his own, threatens both. When danger strikes close to home, the walls between them crumble. Together, they’ll have to face old ghosts, new threats, and a love powerful enough to rewrite their futures.
What you’ll find in the Payback Mountain series
These books blend edge‑of‑your‑seat suspense with deeply emotional romance. Each story stands alone, but together they create a world of firefighters, law enforcement, and ordinary people who refuse to back down when it matters most.
- • Strong, capable heroines who save themselves—and each other
- • Protective, wounded heroes with hearts worth fighting for
- • Found family, loyalty, and second chances
- • Small‑town secrets, danger in the shadows, and moral gray areas
- • Rising tension, danger in the shadows, and emotional payoffs, emotional payoff, and true happily‑ever‑afters