I’ve always loved romantic suspense. Done well, it offers the joys of a thriller wrapped around a love story that complements rather than distracts from the danger. Linda Howard, for instance, made her name with books like Dream Man and Mr. Perfect that still stand for many as benchmarks for a sexy blend of romance and menace. Anne Stuart has her own devotees (and I am one)—her Ice series in particular carved out a space for the unapologetically ruthless hero, who is also sexy as hell. Pamela Clare’s I-Team novels has investigative journalists whose professional risks tangle with their romantic lives. Carolyn Crane’s Disillusionists trilogy–phenomenal!–offers sexy leads mired in terrifying situtions. I find her books unforgettable.

The genre has many greats. Karen Rose has built a vast empire of interlinked novels, each more elaborate than the last. Nora Roberts, especially in her standalone thrillers, has written much of the best selling romantic suspense of the last two decades. Jayne Ann Krentz, under her many pen names, sub-genre hops in really interesting ways. And Suzanne Brockmann deserves mention, not only for her Navy SEAL heroes but for the way her Troubleshooters series helped define the modern military romantic suspense subgenre and, in many ways ahead of the curve, portrayed gays as normal and heroic.

And yet, if you look at the field today, it doesn’t feel as dominant as it once was. Romantasy and dark contemporary romance seem to have captured the market’s attention, while romantic suspense, at least in its traditional form, is harder to find. The books are still there but they don’t dominate bestseller lists the way they once did. Which makes me wonder: Are romance readers still seeking romantic suspense? And if so, who are they reading?

Who is your favorite romantic suspense author? Is it Howard, Stuart, Clare, Crane, or one of the others mentioned here? Or is it someone else? What books do you return to when you want both your pulse and your heart to race?