Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hour of Need | 2014 | Melinda Leigh | Buy |
| 2 | Minutes to Kill | 2015 | Melinda Leigh | Buy |
| 3 | Seconds to Live | 2016 | Melinda Leigh | Buy |
The Scarlet Falls trilogy by Melinda Leigh follows the Barrett siblings as each one returns to the small town of Scarlet Falls, New York, and gets pulled into a deadly situation. Hour of Need opens with Major Grant Barrett coming home from Afghanistan after his brother and sister-in-law are murdered. Minutes to Kill shifts focus to Hannah Barrett, who witnesses a girl’s abduction and finds herself targeted. Seconds to Live rounds out the series with Mac Barrett, a wildlife biologist who has avoided his hometown for years.
Each book stands on its own as a complete mystery with its own romance, but the Barrett family ties give the trilogy a satisfying sense of continuity. Leigh uses the small-town setting to create an atmosphere where dark secrets feel especially threatening, and the pacing across all three books is brisk. The time-themed titles reflect the urgency that runs through each story, and readers who enjoyed the Scarlet Falls setting will find familiar locations referenced in Leigh’s later Morgan Dane series.