Much of Yolanda Kinlock's fiction belongs to one connected world. It begins with Torn Lives (2018), a collection of three short stories, and expands outward into the novels and sequels that follow. This guide lays out the order and the threads that tie the books together.
It starts with three stories
Torn Lives opens with “The Pillow Talk That Betrayed Her,” in which Shaunia Blackman comes to terms with a betrayal she didn't see coming. “A Violent Turn” follows Eric Green and his high school sweetheart Beverley Harris, where love and lust become intertwined with destruction and pain. “The Vengeance They Didn't See Coming” turns to Kayla Johnson and Jayson Whitman, who use their detective skills to seek justice for a man wronged by Carlos Roulson.
These three stories became the foundation for the books that came next.
The novels that grew from them
Love Before Vengeance (2019) is a tale of love, deception, and revenge centered on Marcos Diaz, a successful businessman who had lost his faith in love until he met Gabriella Winters. A Violent Turn Part II (2022) is the sequel to the short story “A Violent Turn,” returning to Eric and Beverley as Ricardo Martinez enters and turns their lives upside down.
The latest chapter
The Invisible Killer (2026) is the newest book in the series — a sequel to “The Pillow Talk That Betrayed Her.” A deadly pandemic sweeps the world, and as whispers spread that the virus may have been man-made, Thomas O'Connor and his closest allies face a crisis that tests every bond they share.
Reading order
You can read each book on its own, but readers who want the full arc often follow the order they were published: Torn Lives (2018) → Love Before Vengeance (2019) → A Violent Turn Part II (2022) → The Invisible Killer (2026).
This guide draws on the books' own descriptions and on an IssueWire feature about the author's work.