Stories seeped in mystery, intrigue, and the dangerous beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Kristen Chaney Beard writes twisty psychological thrillers and mysteries where nothing is as it seems. She loves to explore the question, “What’s really going on here?”
She decided to be an author in middle school and subscribed to Writer’s Digest–and she’s never looked back! Writing is life. There’s nothing better than weaving a story that keeps readers glued to the page.
She lives in Oregon with her family, dogs, chickens, bees, and a cat who regularly steals her writing chair. Surrounded by stormy winters, old-growth forests, waterfalls, and the rugged Pacific coast, she draws inspiration from the landscapes she hikes, forages, and explores, often weaving Pacific Northwest atmosphere into her mysteries and thrillers. Kristen is also an artist and enjoys capturing the beauty of Oregon in acrylic and oil paints.
A lifelong storyteller, Kristen loves transforming small-town quirks, quiet secrets, and beautiful places with dark undercurrents into page-turning suspense.
Subscribe here to the blog, and you can find Kristen on Substack and Facebook.
TWO CAN LIE — Coming in September!
Do you like to review advance copies? Request an ARC on Storyorigin!
A gritty crime/ psychological thriller by K.C. Beard (Reader discretion advised; contains murder/strong language.)
Two identical crime scenes. One terrified connection who can’t trust her own mind. And the detective who will cross the line to save her.
Detective Allen Hounder knows the dark side of Portland, Oregon. But when two double homicides are discovered on opposite sides of the city—staged with eerie, identical precision—even he is shaken.
There is only one link between the bodies: a terrified woman named Lucy Marshall.
For Hounder, her name is a painful echo of his murdered girlfriend, but the living Lucy is a puzzle he can’t solve. Desperate to protect her, he pushes the boundaries of his badge, unaware that Lucy’s world is rapidly fracturing around her.
Lucy must protect her secrets at all cost, even as she is unraveling. Plagued by blackouts and mounting confusion, she finds mysterious notes scattered through her home—some offering lifesaving alibis, others issuing sinister warnings.
Someone is watching her every move, but as her memory slips, she can no longer tell if she is being framed, losing her mind, or being hunted.
With time running out and the killer closing in, Hounder is trapped in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game. To catch a murderer, he must answer the one question threatening to destroy them both: Is the woman he’s desperate to save an innocent victim running out of time… or a calculating killer playing him from the start?
An atmospheric, rain-soaked Pacific Northwest thriller perfect for fans of gritty police procedurals and mind-bending psychological suspense.
**This is a detective novel (like Ridge City) but much grittier.
The Perfect Husband – A Twisty Thriller of Memory, Marriage, and Deception
She wakes from a coma to a husband she’s told she loves.
So why does her entire life feel like a lie?
Six weeks after a horrific accident, Megan opens her eyes in a deserted hospital wing with no memory of her past — only the man who claims to be her husband.
Eli is patient. Charming. Perfect. Too perfect.
He shows photos, documents, messages proving their life together. He says they’re building a dream house by the river. That they wanted a fresh start. But she has no friends or family to corroborate his story. Is he her husband at all, or a husband with secrets?
Every nurse avoids her eyes. Every question is redirected.
Is Eli protecting her… or imprisoning her?
Back in the remote half-finished house, Megan plays the dutiful wife by day while she investigates by night. Each truth she uncovers leads to a darker lie. Who was she before? Should her old life stay buried? The biggest question, can she trust Eli even if she can’t believe him?
If she’s wrong, she’ll lose the only person she has left.
If she’s right, she was never meant to wake up.
One truth. One husband. One chance to survive.
Download this amnesia marriage thriller today!
