Kendra Michaels Books in Order: How to read Iris Johansen’s Series?

Suspense thriller series written by American author Iris Johansen (author of the Eve Duncan series), the investigations of Kendra Michaels are taking place in the same universe as the Eve Duncan series. But the two women are definitely not the same. Kendra Michaels was blind for the first twenty years of her life and honed her other senses to almost superhuman perfection. Then, thanks to a revolutionary medical procedure, she was given the gift of sight. Her highly developed senses combined with her newfound vision have made Kendra a formidable investigator, sought after by law enforcement agencies all over the country.

How to read the Kendra Michaels Series in Order?

Every entry in the Kendra Michaels book series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.

1. Close Your Eyes – Blind for the first twenty years of her life, Kendra Michaels’ uncanny ability to pick up the most subtle audio, olfactory, and tactile cues in the world around her made her a law-enforcement legend. Today, Kendra is approached by a dubious source about a serial murder investigation, her instincts tell her to steer clear. This time, however, the case is personal: The next name to turn up on the killer’s hit list is Kendra’s own ex-lover, an FBI agent who disappeared without a trace. Now it’s up to Kendra to pick up the trail―or close her eyes again…forever.
2. With Open Eyes (short story) – After having regained her sight through a revolutionary surgical procedure, Kendra Michaels now assists in investigations nationwide. But her newest case is deeply personal: the disappearance of her mentor’s fiancé. As she uncovers one unsettling secret after another, Kendra realizes that people in very high places may not want this mystery solved…
3. Sleep No More (a crossover with the Eve Duncan series) – Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan knows what it’s like to be haunted by the past. For years after her daughter Bonnie was stolen from her, she fought for closure. But now as she’s striving to begin anew, she can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen-or maybe already has. When her mother, Sandra, asks for help in finding a missing friend named Beth Avery, Eve is sure that she’s hiding something. Desperate, Eve enlists a secret weapon to pick up Beth’s trail: rogue profiler, Kendra Michaels.
4. Sight Unseen – Kendra Michaels is the first to realize that the apparent traffic accident on San Diego’s historic Cabrillo Bridge is in fact a murder scene, and she rushes to alert the police before crucial evidence is destroyed. As the body count rises and one murder unveils another, a gruesome pattern emerges. Someone is killing people in ways that mirror Kendra’s most notorious cases. She has a fan. He views himself not as a monster but as an artist. And he is not working alone.

5. The Naked Eye – Kendra Michaels was instrumental in bringing serial killer Eric Colby to justice. And despite his apparent execution at San Quentin, Kendra is convinced that Colby is still alive. The problem is that she can’t prove it. Even her razor-sharp powers of observation have gotten her nowhere. But then a reporter who very publicly humiliated Kendra is murdered. Visiting the crime scene in search of anything that might link the brutal homicide to Colby, Kendra instead finds evidence that points to her.
6. Night Watch – Kendra Michaels is surprised when she is visited by Dr. Charles Waldridge, the researcher who gave her sight. All is not well with the brilliant surgeon; he’s troubled by something he can’t discuss with Kendra. When Waldridge disappears the very night he visits her, Kendra is on the case, recruiting government agent-for-hire Adam Lynch to join her on a trail that leads to the snow-packed California mountains. There they make a gruesome discovery: the corpse of one of Dr. Waldridge’s associates.
7. Look Behind You – A serial killer is on the loose in San Diego. When the FBI discovers that the left-behind objects are souvenirs of previous unsolved serial murder cases, Kendra Michaels is called in to help. The latest crimes feature “holdback” characteristics never disclosed to the public―meaning that one single killer was behind the nation’s most notorious unsolved cases. . . and is back to challenge and taunt Kendra.

8. Double Blind – Kendra Michaels is reluctant to help the FBI with the most recent case they’ve brought to her. But then she hears the details: the body was found just blocks away from Kendra’s condo. The young woman was carrying an envelope with Kendra’s name on it, and inside was an SD card with what appears to be an innocuous video of a wedding reception. The woman died trying to get the video to Kendra, but for what purpose? Before Kendra and the FBI can answer that question, the bride is abducted from her suburban home.
9. Hindsight – Two staff members have been murdered at a school for the blind where Kendra Michaels spent her formative years. But the murders are puzzlingly dissimilar: one victim was brutally stabbed, while the other was killed by a bullet to the head. Are the crimes related? Or is Kendra on the hunt for more than one dangerous killer? With the killer (or killers) still on the loose, Kendra must put her life on the line to unravel a terrifying conspiracy.
10. Blink of an Eye – Delilah Winter is one of the hottest pop stars on the planet, so how in the world was she kidnapped right in the middle of a show at the famous Hollywood Bowl? If anyone can figure it out, it’s Dr. Kendra Michaels, who works with local and federal authorities on only the most impossible cases. Blind for the first twenty years of her life until a revolutionary surgical procedure allowed her to regain her sight, Kendra uses her powers of observation-honed during her years in the dark-to detect what other investigators don’t. She agrees to lead the race to rescue the young singer before time runs out.

11. More Than Meets the Eye – After scoring a plea deal in a high-profile murder trial, serial killer James Michael Barrett leads a grim parade of law enforcement officers to the body of his last victim. At the alleged burial site, the officers swing their shovels down and are met with a strange metallic sound they weren’t expecting. In a blink, a terrific explosion rocks the woods, killing Barrett and most of the officers instantly. The detonation is only the beginning of a shocking case for FBI consultant Kendra Michaels-a string of heinous murders in the style of the very-dead Barrett mysteriously continue, and it becomes clear that he may not have been working alone.
12. Flashback – Chloe and Sloane Morgan were only children when their mother was the second victim of the Bayside Strangler. Now, after spending fifteen years trying to discover his identity, the sisters have suddenly vanished. Were they getting too close to the truth? The police consider their interest in the crime to be just a coincidence and have little motivation to pursue the cold case. Armed with the box of photos, videos, police reports, and notes gathered by the sisters over the years, Kendra follows the sisters’ trail of clues. Little does she realize that her search is about to unleash a long-dormant killer on San Diego.

If you like Kendra Michaels Reading Order, don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.