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I KILLED YOU ONCE: A heart-pounding, heart-tugging thriller (Maddison, Indiana Thrillers Book 1) Kindle Edition

4.6 out of 5 stars 1,394 ratings

The dead need to stay dead
Maribeth thought she'd found a safe haven, but evil has other plans. Living alone in a cabin in the woods, Maribeth hopes to heal from the loss of her family to a serial killer the hunted as a detective. Haunted by her memories, she lives broken and scarred, trying to find a peace in the darkness.
When she finds a murdered woman left for her in the woods, she knows her simple life has changed forever. The woman looks like her dead daughter right down to the mark carved in her chest. The killer has returned.
Maribeth must either fight for her life or give up and join her family in the grave. Except her family’s murderer has been dead for two years. Who, or what, hunts her now?

A haunting mix of adventure and psychological thrills. Explore the limits of what one woman can endure and still triumph. A reading experience you won't forget.

Thriller readers, like you, are saying,
“Takes you by the throat on the first page and grips you until the wow of an ending.”
Clear your schedule and delve into a world of secrets and bravery in this addictive suspense thriller.

The masterful first book in the Maddison, Indiana Thrillers series.

Book 1 – I Killed You Once
Book 2 – Inheriting Elyse
Book 3 – Cage of Invisible Bars
Book 4 – 13 Doors
Book 5 - Jars of Things

-------

Enjoy this short excerpt:

My dog, Indy, turns on the wooded path, unsettled and blocking my way like he is spooked by a dead animal.
I push past Indy and jog over the small hill and around the turn in the trees.
I should have trusted the dog. The body propped against a tree is most certainly dead, but she’s not an animal.
Skittering to a stop, I slide down the snowy path and land on my rear.
The young woman sits against the tree, her dark hair, so much like Lilly’s hanging over both shoulders. The hair frames the mark carved on her chest.
The Roman numeral two.
For a moment, I think I'm seeing Lilly. Maybe she’s just playing a cruel trick on me.
But this young woman is really here, and Lilly never is.
My chest hurts, and I gasp for air. Indy paces next to me, whining, urging me to leave.
I crawl to the young woman instead, taking in details with my long-unused detective's eye.
The bloody mark on her chest has already frozen into tiny clinging crystals.
The mark of Jesse Franklin, but Jesse Franklin has been dead for two years.
She wears no shoes, but her socks are soaked and dirty. She'd been forced to walk here through the snow, terrified and freezing. My heart aches for the woman in a rush of emotion that nearly breaks me.
I don’t touch her or get too close, preserve the snowy crime scene. Two sets of footprints lead to the tree from the direction of the access road nearby. Only one set of prints lead out. It was too easy for someone to leave the girl on my path.
My path.
The realization sinks like a stone.
Whoever did this knew where he left her. He brought her here for me to find. A killer has been in my woods. A killer who knows just how to torture me.
I'm on my feet and sprinting back towards the cabin before Indy realizes I'd intended to move.
I run like the devil is on my heels.
Because he is.

--------

Find out what happens next, enjoy I Killed You Once today.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Wow this book was a wild ride to write!  The emotions often got to me and several scenes where written through tear-blurred eyes.  The book started with a fairly simple question: "What would I do if my whole family was murdered?" From there, the story took off on it's own twisted path through the woods.  I hope you enjoy reading I Killed You Once as much as I enjoyed writing it!

About the Author

Dawn Merriman writes creepy small town murder mysteries from her small farm in northeast Indiana where she lives with her husband and teenage children. You can often find her with muck boots on her feet and a story in her head. She enjoys animals, auctions, snorkeling and archaeology.
    Dawn Merriman grew up a small town farm girl, on a small time pig farm in Indiana. She spent her young adulthood sitting on her bedroom floor scribbling stories in notebooks. She won the "Northeast Indiana Young Writers" award as a sophomore in high school.
    After battling severe depression, she wrote her debut novel "How Murder Saved My Life" as therapy. Mixing her love of murder mysteries and farming with climbing out of the darkness of illness. She has since published over 20 mystery and thriller novels.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B084FJTLVN
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 1, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 1,394 ratings

About the author

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Dawn Merriman
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Dawn Merriman writes creepy small town murder mysteries from her small farm in northeast Indiana where she lives with her husband and college-age children. You can often find her with muck boots on her feet and a story in her head. She enjoys animals, auctions, snorkeling and archaeology.

Dawn Merriman grew up a small-town farm girl, on a small-time pig farm in Indiana. She spent her young adulthood sitting on her bedroom floor scribbling stories in notebooks. She won the "Northeast Indiana Young Writers" award as a sophomore in high school.

She has published over 20 mystery and thriller novels, most set in small towns in Indiana.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
1,394 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a fantastic mystery thriller with a smooth storyline that keeps readers engaged. The writing is well-executed and realistic, with vivid descriptions. Customers praise the character development, with one review noting how Maribeth's personal fortitude is shown throughout the story. Customers describe the book as emotional, with one review highlighting how readers can feel Maribeth's anguish and fury.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

52 customers mention "Suspenseful"52 positive0 negative

Customers find the book suspenseful, describing it as a fantastic mystery thriller with a smooth storyline that kept them intrigued.

"...was maybe expecting too much too soon and THEN.....wow it got interesting in a hurry!..." Read more

"...in the book, but they are pretty easy to breeze over and not pull you out of the story. I’ll continue to read this series." Read more

"...This was an interesting novel. Different characters narrated. It held my interest and had a satisfying ending...." Read more

"...main character and several other ancillary characters that were interesting. It caused me to Google a few things to learn more about something...." Read more

39 customers mention "Readability"39 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, noting that it pulls them in and keeps their attention with great expectation, with one customer describing it as a page-turner.

"...If you like thrilling with a side of tears you are in for a good read." Read more

"...This was an interesting novel. Different characters narrated. It held my interest and had a satisfying ending...." Read more

"It's a book I didn't want to put down. This book was fantastic...." Read more

"This thriller has a little supernatural mixed in and it was a good read...." Read more

19 customers mention "Character development"19 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one customer noting how Maribeth's personal fortitude is shown, while another describes her as a "real bad a$$ heroine."

"...This was an interesting novel. Different characters narrated. It held my interest and had a satisfying ending...." Read more

"...This book was fantastic. It had a wonderful main character and several other ancillary characters that were interesting...." Read more

"...The supporting characters were really solid as well. Good action scenes too...." Read more

"...I highly recommend this book, the story line was great, the characters believable, and of course scared me to death!" Read more

19 customers mention "Emotional content"14 positive5 negative

Customers find the book emotionally engaging, with one review noting how they could feel Meribeth's anguish and fury, while another mentions the intense portrayal of a woman's struggles.

"...Will she survive the killer that is stalking her? The story is intensely gripping...." Read more

"This was an awesomely powerful story. It blew me away in that hugeness and that terror it was just unbelievable...." Read more

"...It was beautifully written; poignant and emotional...." Read more

"Also this book is so sad and depressing. This is a good writer however, but just not for me...." Read more

18 customers mention "Writing quality"14 positive4 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, finding it well-crafted and realistic, with one customer noting its vivid descriptions.

"...The internal struggles are riveting, the descriptions are vivid, and the conversations are natural. Ms. Merriman is a good writer...." Read more

"Also this book is so sad and depressing. This is a good writer however, but just not for me...." Read more

"This was a different book from others by this author. It was beautifully written; poignant and emotional...." Read more

"...There was even a bit of romance but it was sweet and realistic...." Read more

Hiding or surviving?
5 out of 5 stars
Hiding or surviving?
I Killed You Once (FKA Marked by Darkness) by Dawn Merriman is a suspense novel that grabs the reader from the first page and doesn't let go until the very end. It swings from beautifully heartfelt to bone-chillingly terrifying. Maribeth has created a safe little world for herself. A log cabin in the middle of the woods is perfect for her, her dog, chickens, and pigs. Throw in some back-breaking chores and bow-hunting, and she has enough to fill her days. She doesn't have to fill her nights. That's when the ghosts of her family visit. Two years before, the case she'd worked with her partner, Samuels, didn't stay neatly within her work hours or responsibilities. It ended up following her home, destroying her and her family in the process. But now, something has invaded her safe space. Or has her mind finally snapped after two years of near solitude? I Killed You Once is an absolutely brilliant novel that deserves to be its own TV series or movie.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2024
    When I first started reading this book I was a little disappointed and was maybe expecting too much too soon and THEN.....wow it got interesting in a hurry! If you like thrilling with a side of tears you are in for a good read.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2025
    Easy, cozy mystery read. Starts a bit darker than a lot do, but paced well and has a good story. There are several typos in the book, but they are pretty easy to breeze over and not pull you out of the story. I’ll continue to read this series.
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2021
    A cop becomes a recluse after a serial killer murders her family. Guilt ridden she lives on an isolated rural property avoiding engagement. Her companions are her protective Husky, a small menagerie of pigs, chickens and a feral cat and ghosts of her deceased family. But her life is upended when she becomes the target of a killer with an intimate knowledge of the previous killings. But with a tenuous grip on reality and a questionable will to live it will be a challenge to best a cunning and determined killer.

    This was an interesting novel. Different characters narrated. It held my interest and had a satisfying ending. I did not like the hunting scenes or the deaths of other animal characters. I understand the why. The hunting and butchering scenes are mildly graphic: the others are thankfully not detailed at all. Other than that this is an excellent read.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2024
    It's a book I didn't want to put down. This book was fantastic. It had a wonderful main character and several other ancillary characters that were interesting. It caused me to Google a few things to learn more about something. I definitely recommend this to readers who like crime novels.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2020
    I could not put down the gripping paranormal suspense Marked by Darkness by Dawn Merriman. Though I had figured out early on the mystery surrounding the killer, the story is so laden with suspense that I just had to keep on reading.

    Maribeth, the protagonist, survives the serial killer’s murdering of her family, but was marked and almost died in the incident. With feelings of guilt for surviving and not protecting her family, Jesse Franklin states: “Living can be worse than death. Death requires no struggle. Death only requires giving in.”

    Living as a recluse with only the ghost of her family to comfort her, Maribeth struggles to step above her grief and return to the living. And then she finds a body that resembles her dead daughter hanging from a tree on her 300-acre property and that bears the markings and slashing of the killer she thought was dead.

    Will Maribeth succeed in her struggle to live a normal life? Will she succumb to Death’s promise of relief? Will she survive the killer that is stalking her? The story is intensely gripping.

    Though there are a few grammar issues the writing is good. The internal struggles are riveting, the descriptions are vivid, and the conversations are natural. Ms. Merriman is a good writer.

    If you like psychological suspense, you must read this Marked by Darkness.
    13 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2025
    I don't read many psychological thrillers, but I loved this one. It gets right into the story and moves at a great pace. I found myself setting aside more time to read so I could get back to the book. I loved the touch of supernatural.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2022
    This thriller has a little supernatural mixed in and it was a good read. I have to say supernatural is not usually a genre I enjoy, but I thoroughly enjoyed Marked by Darkness!
    Detective Maribeth's family was murdered and she hunted the killer, he has now been dead for two years. She lives alone in a house in the woods and mourns her family. She is not sure if she is going crazy, or if the ghosts of her family are real.
    When a woman who resembles her dead daughter is murdered and Maribeth finds her in her woods, her peaceful life is over.  The woman has the same marks that the killer carved into his victims.  Who is the killer, and how did he know what the dead killer's marks were?  Will Maribeth find peace again, or will she always have visits from the ghosts and will there be more killings?
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2023
    Also this book is so sad and depressing. This is a good writer however, but just not for me. I had to quit after the the deer shot with a bow went wrong.
    One person found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in Canada on December 28, 2023
    This was a great read, think I will follow this author on her series of books.
  • TyndaFlat
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic.
    Reviewed in Australia on October 4, 2023
    How hard it is to let go of the pain and greif of losing the ones we love. Add in a a well characterized lead character and a demented killer and its a hard to put down story
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars I killed you once
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2023
    A brilliant read first time I have read a book from this author and found story line excellent five stars
  • Doris Jenkins
    5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book
    Reviewed in Canada on September 8, 2023
    very good story
  • Maggs
    4.0 out of 5 stars A wild ride
    Reviewed in Australia on January 30, 2021
    I found it very hard to read about the family how they died.
    So much violence and I’m not a fan of when children are involved in that.
    However , the story was gripping.
    You need a strong stomach for this one.

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