Lisa Regan writes addictive small-town crime thrillers featuring Detective Josie Quinn—a Pennsylvania detective haunted by childhood trauma who can't stop until every victim gets justice. The series (Vanishing Girls, The Girl With No Name, and 20+ more) combines fast pacing, emotional depth, and twisted mysteries perfect for binge-reading. If you're looking for your next series obsession with strong female detectives and "just one more chapter" plotting, these authors deliver.
Marsons's DI Kim Stone series offers Black Country (West Midlands) investigations with similar pacing and emotional intensity to Regan's work. Silent Scream introduces Kim—a brilliant, damaged detective whose traumatic past fuels her obsession with justice. Like Josie Quinn, Kim carries childhood wounds that make her both exceptional at her job and terrible at personal relationships. The series spans 20+ books of consistently dark, twist-filled cases. Marsons matches Regan's ability to balance police procedure with personal drama while maintaining breakneck pacing.
Gibney's Detective Lottie Parker series follows an Irish detective managing grief, addiction, and impossible caseloads in small-town Ragmullin. The Missing Ones launches the series with murder connected to church abuse—the kind of dark, community-shattering crime Regan writes. Lottie, like Josie, is a flawed protagonist whose personal chaos never stops her from solving cases. Gibney writes Ireland with the same attention Regan brings to Pennsylvania—authentic small-town dynamics where everyone knows everyone and secrets fester for decades.
Wyer writes multiple UK detective series, with DI Robyn Carter offering the closest match to Josie Quinn's intensity. Little Girl Lost begins Carter's story—investigating child murders while dealing with personal loss and departmental politics. Wyer's pacing matches Regan's page-turner quality, and she similarly explores how female detectives navigate male-dominated police forces while carrying emotional trauma that would sideline most people.
Durrant's DI Calladine and DS Greco series features northern England investigations with working-class authenticity. Dead Wrong introduces the partnership—Calladine's instincts and Greco's ambition solving brutal crimes in fictional Leeside. While male-led, the series shares Regan's focus on small-town secrets, tight-knit teams, and cases that get personal. Durrant writes short, fast-paced novels perfect for binge-reading, with similar plot velocity to Regan's work.
Ross's DCI Ryan series combines Northumbrian atmosphere with tight plotting. Holy Island strands Ryan on a tidal island with a killer during a murder investigation—propulsive setup and relentless pacing that Regan fans recognize. While less dark than Regan, Ross offers similar binge-read satisfaction across 20+ books. The series emphasizes romantic elements more than Regan does, but maintains police procedural bones with page-turner pacing.
Hunter's DI Adam Fawley series sets Oxford investigations with innovative narrative techniques—media transcripts, interviews, social media posts—creating addictive reading. Close to Home investigates a missing child, using multiple perspectives to build suspense. Hunter shares Regan's gift for twist endings and keeping readers guessing, though with more experimental structure than Regan's straightforward chronology.
Arlidge's DI Helen Grace series pushes darker than Regan but shares the traumatized-detective-seeking-justice template. Eeny Meeny introduces Helen investigating a killer forcing victims to choose who dies—morally complex cases matching Regan's darkness. Helen's extreme personal damage (she visits an S&M dungeon to process trauma) makes Josie Quinn look well-adjusted, but both authors understand that damaged detectives often make the best investigators.
Leigh's Morgan Dane series follows a former prosecutor turned defense attorney in small-town New York, investigating alongside a PI. Say You're Sorry combines legal thriller with detective work—Morgan's cases getting personal as she protects clients and family. Leigh writes the same rural American settings as Regan, with similar emphasis on family, community connections, and how past trauma shapes present choices. The romantic suspense elements are stronger than in Regan's work, but pacing and plotting match.
Elliot's Mercy Kilpatrick series features an FBI agent returning to her rural Oregon prepper community. A Merciful Death forces Mercy to navigate family estrangement while investigating murders—similar to how Josie handles her traumatic Denton family history. Elliot writes Pacific Northwest small towns with Regan's Pennsylvania attention to regional detail, creating communities where old grudges turn deadly and everyone's connected.
Ragan's Lizzy Gardner series follows a PI investigating while dealing with her own abduction trauma—even more directly parallel to Josie's backstory. Abducted shows Lizzy hunting her childhood kidnapper years later, balancing investigation with PTSD. Ragan writes Sacramento-area crime with similar intensity to Regan's Pennsylvania settings, emphasizing how trauma can fuel rather than destroy investigative drive.
Olsen writes Pacific Northwest psychological thrillers blending true-crime sensibility with fiction. The Last Thing She Ever Did follows two families destroyed by tragedy and secrets—the kind of small-town unraveling Regan writes. While not strictly detective fiction, Olsen shares Regan's focus on how crimes ripple through communities and how ordinary people harbor extraordinary darkness.
Bryndza's DCI Erika Foster series follows a London detective whose personal tragedy mirrors Josie Quinn's trauma. The Girl in the Ice introduces Erika investigating while grieving her husband's death—another detective channeling pain into justice-seeking. Bryndza writes urban London rather than small-town settings, but shares Regan's emotional depth, pacing, and ability to create sympathetic damaged protagonists. The series maintains consistency across 10+ books with similar binge-read quality.
Slaughter writes significantly darker than Regan but shares intense pacing and complex female characters. Pretty Girls (standalone) and her Will Trent/Sara Linton series offer Georgia-set crime fiction where trauma, violence, and investigation intersect. Slaughter doesn't pull punches with graphic content—she's more brutal than Regan—but both authors understand that showing violence's impact creates emotional stakes procedural details alone can't achieve.
Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles series combines Boston detective work with medical examiner expertise. The Surgeon introduces Jane Rizzoli hunting a killer targeting women—launching a series emphasizing female partnership and professional competence. Gerritsen adds more forensic detail than Regan, drawing on her medical background, but shares focus on capable women navigating dangerous investigations while managing personal complications.
Caine's Stillhouse Lake series follows Gwen Proctor, who discovers her husband was a serial killer and must protect her children while hunted by vigilantes and copycats. Not detective fiction but psychological suspense featuring a protagonist as determined as Josie Quinn to protect the vulnerable. Caine writes propulsive plotting and constant jeopardy—different genre, similar addictive pacing and strong female protagonist facing impossible odds.
For UK small-town detective series: Angela Marsons (DI Kim Stone) and Patricia Gibney (DI Lottie Parker) offer the closest match to Regan's formula—traumatized female detectives, dark cases, binge-worthy series.
For US settings similar to Pennsylvania: Melinda Leigh (upstate New York) and Kendra Elliot (Oregon) write rural American crime with Regan's attention to community dynamics.
For fastest pacing: Robert Bryndza (DCI Erika Foster) and Carol Wyer (DI Robyn Carter) match Regan's page-turner velocity.
For darkest content: M.J. Arlidge (DI Helen Grace) and Karin Slaughter push beyond Regan's darkness while maintaining emotional depth.
For longest binge-read series: Angela Marsons (20+ books), L.J. Ross (20+ books), and Tess Gerritsen (Rizzoli & Isles series) offer years of reading.
For trauma-driven protagonists: T.R. Ragan (Lizzy Gardner) and Rachel Caine (Gwen Proctor) feature leads whose past victimization fuels their present strength—even more directly than Josie Quinn.
Lisa Regan perfected the formula: take a damaged but determined female detective, place her in a small community where crimes cut deep, maintain breakneck pacing, and build a series readers can't stop devouring. These authors prove that formula works across settings and variations—whether UK or US, police or PI, urban or rural—because readers crave capable women solving impossible cases while carrying impossible pain, all told at speeds that make sleep optional and "just one more chapter" inevitable.
