​Photo credit: Matt Maxwell
Sherry Rankin grew up in New Jersey where she became an early and avid reader of mystery fiction. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in English and currently lives in Abilene, Texas where she has taught writing and literature at a local university for twenty years.

She has written scholarly articles and worked as an editorial consultant, manuscript reader and ghostwriter, but her avocation has always been creative writing.

Her novel, Strange Fire, was shortlisted for the 2017 Daniel Goldsmith First Novel Prize and won the 2017 CWA Debut Dagger Award.

Her debut thriller, The Killing Plains, was published by Thomas & Mercer as a super lead title in February 2025.

​Her next book, The Dark Below, will be published by Thomas & Mercer in February 2026.

Pre-Order The Dark Below

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY

From January 18 through February 15, 2026, Goodreads will give away 100 digital copies of The Dark Below to US entrants! Click the link below to enter the giveaway.
The Dark Below had me sitting there reading like I had fallen down a hole and kept sliding and could not find anything to grab on to, because this story stays twisting every which way.

-Reader Review
The Dark Below is a taut, atmospheric thriller that grips from its opening line: “Not all secrets stay buried. Not all deaths are what they seem.”
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-Reader Review
A dark read that took me on a wild ride and had me guessing till the last chapter.
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-Reader Review
Praise for The Killing Plains, published in 2025
An original suspense thriller of a murder mystery with unexpected plot twists. The Killing Plains is an inherently fascinating and compulsive page turner of a read from start to finish.

-Midwest Book Review
[A] gritty, atmospheric mystery...

-Lesa Holstine,
​The Library Journal Review
Sherry Rankin’s “The Killing Plains” is a gripping and atmospheric novel that plunges readers into the heart of a desolate landscape where secrets and danger lurk beneath the surface. [...] A masterclass in suspense and storytelling.

-Reader Review
WOW. What an amazing read.

-Reader Review
I was blown away by how good this was. The characters were great and well developed. I consider myself well read and am good at picking out the villain, but this book had me changing my mind about “who did it” every chapter.

 -Reader Review