Staged: A Thriller

Katrina & Goode #2

by Caitlin Rother

In this thrilling sequel to Hooked, the secret leaders of a deadly cabal prove to be a veritable match for the determined reporter and the insightful surfing detective who double down to expose them.

Investigative reporter Katrina Chopin is back home in San Diego on a mission (or two). The first is reheating the cold case of her parents’ murder and investigating her brother’s reported suicide. The second involves a new spate of deaths with alleged causes that just don’t smell right. She and Detective Ken Goode need each other’s help for both. But she has to keep the sexy surfer at arm’s length, because dating him is off limits. For now.

Teaming up, they make coordinated progress down each path. Digging deeper into La Jolla’s corrupt network of elites, they uncover a pattern of lies, depravity, and greed. And with every new discovery, Katrina is pulled closer to danger…and to Goode.

Sharing sexy phone calls and sunset drinks isn’t exactly following the rules, but fully crossing that line could jeopardize the case. As they start to connect the dots, they realize they must risk everything to bring down the shadowy cabal that kills to keep its secrets.

Genres: Thriller

407 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 16, 2026

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 14 books, ranging from narrative non-fiction crime to mystery and memoir. Her newest book is DEATH ON OCEAN BOULEVARD: Inside the Coronado Mansion Case (April 27, 2021). Her backlist includes HUNTING CHARLES MANSON; SECRETS, LIES, AND SHOELACES; LOVE GONE WRONG; DEAD RECKONING; THEN NO ONE CAN HAVE HER; I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU; NAKED ADDICTION; POISONED LOVE; BODY PARTS; TWISTED TRIANGLE; LOST GIRLS; WHERE HOPE BEGINS and MY LIFE, DELETED. A Pulitzer Prize nominee, Rother worked as an investigative reporter at daily newspapers for 19 years before quitting the news biz in 2006 to write books full-time. Her journalism has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Daily Beast. She has done more than 200 appearances as a crime commentator on TV, radio and podcasts, ranging from "20/20," "People Magazine Investigates," "Nancy Grace," and "Crime Watch Daily," to shows on HLN, Oxygen Network, Investigation Discovery, C-SPAN, XM Radio and PBS affiliates. She also works as a writing-research-promotions coach and consultant.

Reviews

[Page Escapes by J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Staged is a sharp, adrenaline-laced thriller that hooked me from the very first chapter. Katrina Chopin’s return to San Diego is packed with emotional weight, and watching her dig into the cold cases surrounding her parents and brother adds a personal depth that raises every stake. The investigation is gritty, layered, and full of twists—exactly the kind of slow-burn unraveling I love in thrillers.

The dynamic between Katrina and surfing detective Ken Goode is a standout. Their chemistry simmers through every shared lead, every late-night call, every line they shouldn’t cross. It never overwhelms the mystery, but it absolutely enriches it.

As they peel back the secrets of La Jolla’s elite, the story turns darker, sharper, and harder to put down. The cabal at the center of it all is chilling, and the last act delivers tension, danger, and payoff.

Fast-paced, atmospheric, and emotionally charged, Staged is a gripping sequel that blends investigative suspense with just the right touch of slow-burn heat. I tore through it.

[Kathleen Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Twist-Filled, Unputdownable Read

This was an unputdownable read for me! From start to finish, the story is packed with twists and turns that kept me completely hooked. Catrina and Goode make a fantastic team, and their dynamics really brings the story to life. Although this is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone book, which I appreciated. I have read a lot of books written by Kaitlin Rother and I have loved them all, and this one is no exception. A gripping, fast-paced read which I highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lauren Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Staged was an exciting thriller with a fantastic group of supporting characters. Katrina and Goode were a great team and easy to love and root for as the core characters of the story. The book is full of twists and turns and shock and awe. There are a lot of moving parts and back stories so it is a book you have to concentrate and pay attention to or you will get left behind. I think I would also like to experience it in audiobook as it would be just wonderful.

[Beth Von Voigt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book of the Katrina and Goode series follows Katrina Chopin, an investigative reporter, who makes a deal with Detective Goode to share information on their investigations into the corrupt leaders of a cabal. They both believe the cabal is somehow related to Katrina’s brother’s alleged suicide, but they aren’t prepared for exactly how far down the rabbit hole they will travel and how dangerous it will get for them both.

I loved the way Katrina and Goode danced around each other in this book. Just when I thought their relationship might progress farther, they pulled back almost like a game of cat and mouse. This author is brilliant at throwing curveballs that you don’t see coming and leave your jaw dropping. This one kept me up late at night dying to find out what happened next and how things ended. I loved how Katrina stay dedicated to finding out what happened to her family and especially liked how some of the details were brought out in her mother’s journals. The ending didn’t feel rushed and no parts of the story were left unfinished. While the author did a great job of throwing background details from the first book, I still would recommend reading the first book in the series prior to this one. *Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

[Lee Husemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome dynamic duo of investigative reporter, Katrina Chopin and Detective Ken Goode, as they combine their talents to investigate corruption in an elite area of San Diego. While they are doing this, Katrina wants to look further into her parents unsolved assassination and her twin brother's suicide. Katrina returned to the San Diego area and secured a job with a newspaper in order to try to figure out who killed her parents. Katrina starts going through her parents work and personal notes, journals and computers with lots of secrets being uncovered. Katrina and Ken are very much attracted to each other and fight to contain themselves and work professionally.

This is a very well written and well researched book by Author Caitlin Rother who is one of my favorite authors. Every time I tried to put this book down, another twist would come up and prevent me from doing so. There are a lot of twists, turns and surprises in this book which made it a very thrilling read.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC of this twisty, gripping crime thriller.

[Maureen Timerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in this series, Hooked was the first book, and the beginning of introducing the main characters, along with those whom we believed at the time were involved in the first murder! This is where we first meet Katrina and Ken Goode.
This can be read alone, the author does a great job of filling in the all the information, but for the full enjoyment you might want to read the first.
Why are people dying? There is an answer, greed, and those that get in the way, well, they can be disposed of! Sad, but when seemingly unrelated cases start to resemble and connect, questions are asked. Are there answers?
This is a page tuner of a read, you need answers, and they do come, along with some big surprises.
Can there be justice, things are being thwarted at the highest level.
A read that will keep you up late, and with a surprise ending!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas & Mercer, and was not required to give a positive review.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had both the privilege of getting the first volume in this series as an Amazon First Read, and then the chance to preview Staged via NetGalley. There's an enjoyable tension in the interplay between reporter Katrina Chopin and detective Ken Goode as they work to both keep their feelings for each other under wraps while working to unravel a complex web involving the deaths of a father/daughter team in the first volume. As we discover in this volume, there's a much grander plot that could involve her own family member's deaths a few years back.

There were a lot of plots twists and turns, and if you didn't read the first book, a lot of characters to get up to speed on that could lose you along the way. That said, there was a well-told story along the way that kept my interest throughout.

While the series seemed to have a nice, tidy bow tied on it at the end, I wonder if Rother will bring these characters back for an encore perfomance. If so, I'd be interested to check it out.

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Hooked. I really enjoyed both the first and second book. The book did start out a little slow because a good portion is spent summarizing everything that happened in the first book. However, then the story started moving and it was such a good, twisty book with great characters. I would recommend to anyone looking for a good mystery thriller with memorable characters.

I will definitely keep my eye out for other books by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the continuation of Hooked, which introduced us to San Diego reporter Katrina Chopin and detective Ken Goode. The story has a lot of twists and turns as Katrina and Goode put together the pieces and Katrina finds out some surprising things about her late father and mother who were murdered years ago. There is great chemistry between Katrina and Goode, and I hope the author revisits their story. At times, the amount of information and connections are a lot to keep track of, but it all comes together in the end.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in the Katrina & Goode mystery series. I didn’t read the first book but I don’t think you have to to enjoy this one. Katrina Chopin returns to San Diego to reheat the cold case into her parent’s murder and her brother’s suicide as well as look into a spate of deaths that on the surface look acceptable but don’t seem right. She teams up the Detective Jen Goode who needs her help too. As they investigate they uncover a seamy world of elites that will doing anything to keep their position and secrets. Great read.

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

Found it very hard to follow but that may be as I've not read the first book in the series so not familiar with the characters

Gifted early copy by NetGalley but not obligated to post a review