Lucinda Riley books in order include sweeping historical fiction, multigenerational family sagas, and mysteries built around long-buried secrets. She is best known for the Seven Sisters series, but her adult bibliography also includes standalones, a crime novel, and eight early books published as Lucinda Edmonds.
There are 28 published adult title entries under the names Lucinda Edmonds and Lucinda Riley. Five later books substantially rework earlier Edmonds novels, so those entries represent 23 distinct adult stories. The bibliography also includes the Guardian Angels children’s books and the optional Seven Sisters puzzle companion.
Jump to:
- Lucinda Riley Standalone Books
- The Seven Sisters Books
- Guardian Angels Children’s Books
- Standalone Books as Lucinda Edmonds
- Who is Lucinda Riley?
Lucinda Riley Standalone Books
Lucinda Riley’s standalone novels can be read in any order. I’d start with The Orchid House for the family secrets and dual timelines that define much of her fiction, while mystery readers may prefer The Murders at Fleat House, her first and only crime novel.
Several standalones have different titles in the UK and North America. The Orchid House was published in the UK as Hothouse Flower, and The Lavender Garden as The Light Behind the Window. The Royal Secret is the U.S. and Canadian title of The Love Letter, while The Olive Tree has also appeared as Helena’s Secret.
The Murders at Fleat House was written in 2006 during Riley’s break from publishing and released posthumously in 2022.
- The Orchid House (2012)
- The Girl on the Cliff (2012)
- The Lavender Garden (2013)
- The Midnight Rose (2014)
- The Italian Girl (2016)
- The Royal Secret (2019)
- The Butterfly Room (2020)
- The Angel Tree (2021)
- The Olive Tree (2021)
- The Murders at Fleat House (2022)
- The Hidden Girl (2024)
- The Last Love Song (2025)
The Hidden Girl and The Last Love Song are credited to Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker. Harry reworked them from Riley’s earlier novels Hidden Beauty and Losing You.
The Seven Sisters Books
The Seven Sisters series is inspired by the Pleiades star cluster and its mythology. The first six books each center on one of Pa Salt’s adopted daughters as she follows clues to her origins. The Missing Sister brings the six known sisters together to search for the seventh, and Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt reveals Pa Salt’s history.
I strongly recommend reading this series in publication order. The family mysteries build from book to book, and Atlas belongs last because it resolves the questions carried through the entire series.
- The Seven Sisters (2015)
- The Storm Sister (2016)
- The Shadow Sister (2017)
- The Pearl Sister (2018)
- The Moon Sister (2019)
- The Sun Sister (2020)
- The Missing Sister (2021)
- Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt (2023)
Lucinda Riley wrote important passages and left detailed notes for Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt before her death. At her request, Harry Whittaker used that material to complete the eighth novel, which is credited to both authors.
Seven Sisters Companion Books
The Seven Sisters Puzzle Book contains quizzes, brainteasers, and story material based on the first four novels. It isn’t part of the fiction reading order.
Orlando (2026) is a novel by Harry Whittaker set in the same world after the events of Atlas. It follows bookseller Orlando Forbes, who first appears in The Shadow Sister. I view it as a continuation for readers who want to return to that world, rather than a ninth Lucinda Riley novel, because it contains no unpublished material written by Riley.
Guardian Angels Children’s Books
Lucinda Riley created the Guardian Angels picture-book series with her son Harry Whittaker, and the books are credited to both of them. Jane Ray illustrated the four stories. Each book follows a different child facing a difficult situation, so they can stand alone, but I prefer the publication order below.
- Grace and the Christmas Angel (2021)
- Bill and the Dream Angel (2022)
- Rosie and the Friendship Angel (2022)
- Alfie and the Angel of Lost Things (2023)
Standalone Books as Lucinda Edmonds
Lucinda Riley published her first eight novels under her maiden name, Lucinda Edmonds. The original editions are generally out of print and can be difficult to find, although secondhand copies sometimes appear. Five of the stories later returned in substantially revised or reworked forms.
- Lovers and Players (1992)
- Hidden Beauty (1993)
- Enchanted (1994)
- Not Quite an Angel (1995)
- Aria (1996)
- Losing You (1997)
- Playing with Fire (1998)
- Seeing Double (2000)
Lucinda Edmonds Books Reworked Under Her Married Name
These later books aren’t simple retitles or identical reprints. Riley substantially revised three of them, while Harry Whittaker reworked two from her original novels. My advice is to treat each pair as two versions of the same underlying story.
- Hidden Beauty became The Hidden Girl, reworked by Harry Whittaker.
- Not Quite an Angel became The Angel Tree after a major rewrite by Riley.
- Aria became The Italian Girl after an extensive rewrite by Riley.
- Losing You became The Last Love Song, reworked by Harry Whittaker.
- Seeing Double became the substantially revised The Love Letter, published in the U.S. and Canada as The Royal Secret.
Riley’s first published book was Lovers and Players in 1992. Hothouse Flower, published in the U.S. as The Orchid House, marked her return under the name Lucinda Riley, and The Seven Sisters began her best-known series.
Who is Lucinda Riley?
Lucinda Riley was born in Drumbeg, Northern Ireland, in 1965. She spent her first five years there before her family moved to Leicestershire, England. At 14, she moved to London to study ballet and drama at the Italia Conti Academy.
A knee injury ended her plans to become a professional ballerina, but she built an acting career on stage and screen. While bedridden with an illness later identified as Epstein-Barr virus, she began writing the story that became Lovers and Players. It earned her a three-book deal when she was 25.
After publishing eight novels as Lucinda Edmonds, she took a break from publishing while raising her family. She returned under her married name with Hothouse Flower. Her later books became known for dual timelines, international settings, family secrets, and themes of love, loss, forgiveness, and identity.
Riley was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died on June 11, 2021. Harry Whittaker later completed Atlas from her written material and notes, reworked Hidden Beauty and Losing You for publication, and continued the Seven Sisters world with Orlando.
Looking for similar books in order?
If you want more romance authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Romance Books in Order index.