Andrea Penrose Books in Order
Explore Andrea Penrose books in order, including her mysteries and earlier romances, with quick summaries, series notes, and easy where-to-start picks.
Last updated: June 9, 2026
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Publication Order
50 books
The Defiant Governess
by Andrea Penrose
1997
Fleeing an arranged marriage, a duke's daughter disguises herself as a governess and takes a post in the Marquess of Saybrook's household. The plan works until she falls for the one man she can never honestly court.
Code of Honor
by Andrea Penrose
1998
Artist Alexandra Chilton wants freedom, not marriage, until a notorious earl makes her the target of a reckless wager. What begins as flirtation turns dangerous when scandal and a hidden enemy threaten them both.
The Hired Hero
by Andrea Penrose
1999
Lady Caroline is carrying secret papers vital to England when violence leaves her stranded on the road. A hard-pressed new earl agrees to help, and their uneasy alliance soon becomes a race through danger, espionage, and attraction.
A Lady of Letters
by Andrea Penrose
2000
Lady Augusta writes bold political essays under a secret name because society would never hear her otherwise. The earl who drives her to fury in person becomes the anonymous correspondent who finally understands her mind.
Second Chances
by Andrea Penrose
2000
Allegra Procter takes a tutoring post in an earl's household while quietly pursuing justice of her own. As she bonds with his son and edges closer to the truth, the cold, widowed father becomes impossible to ignore.
The Major's Mistake
by Andrea Penrose
2000
Years after abandoning his young wife over what he thought was betrayal, a war-scarred marquis finds her again, living in poverty with their son. To win forgiveness, he must first face the terrible cost of his own mistake.
A Diamond in the Rough
by Andrea Penrose
2001
A secretive aristocrat hopes to win back his family's estate through a high-stakes golf match. The fiery Scottish woman enlisted to help him would rather distrust him, but games of pride soon put both their hearts at risk.
The Banished Bride
by Andrea Penrose
2002
Married off as a child to settle a gambling debt, Aurora has built an independent life without her absent husband. Years later they meet again in the middle of espionage and danger, not realizing who the other really is.
The Storybook Hero
by Andrea Penrose
2002
Penniless Octavia accepts a governess post in Russia, only to be abandoned as Napoleon's army advances on Moscow. To survive the brutal escape north, she must join forces with an infuriating Englishman who has troubles of his own.
A Stroke of Luck
by Andrea Penrose
2003
Zara Greeley rescues a half-drowned stranger who claims to be a duke, and that is only the beginning of her trouble. Shipwreck, inheritance battles, and a stubborn attraction turn chance into something far more serious.
The Tiger's Mistress
by Andrea Penrose
2003
When Portia Hadley's father vanishes, she refuses to sit quietly and hope for answers. Her search draws her into a dangerous game with the Earl of Branford, a former spy whose own secrets make him as risky as he is compelling.
A Kiss of Spice
by Andrea Penrose
2004
A search for a missing boy leads a wounded viscount and an unconventional beauty into a darker mystery involving vanished girls. As the investigation tightens, danger and desire become impossible to separate.
The Spy Wore Silk
by Andrea Penrose
2007
Trained by Mrs. Merlin's secret academy, Siena goes undercover as a courtesan to expose a traitor among London's elite book collectors. Her most dangerous suspect may also be the man she cannot stop wanting.
Seduced by a Spy
by Andrea Penrose
2008
Hot-tempered Shannon is one of Mrs. Merlin's most formidable operatives, but even she cannot control every mission. Disguise, danger, and a battle of wills with a formidable hero make this spy assignment especially personal.
The Scarlet Spy
by Andrea Penrose
2008
The most polished of Mrs. Merlin's agents goes undercover as a glamorous contessa, armed with charm and a hidden agenda. But when the mission grows more dangerous, Sofia risks more than exposure, she risks her heart.
To Sin with a Scoundrel
by Andrea Penrose
2010
A serious widow with scientific interests agrees to a sham engagement with London's most notorious charmer. What starts as a practical arrangement soon turns perilous when family schemes and real feeling get in the way.
To Surrender to a Rogue
by Andrea Penrose
2010
An expert in antiquities expects scholarship, not romance, when a dangerous assignment lands her beside a charming rogue. Their search for the truth leads through secrets, temptation, and the kind of trouble neither can ignore.
Sweet Revenge
by Andrea Penrose
2011
Lady Arianna Hadley returns from exile disguised as a French chef, hunting the men behind her father's death. When the Prince Regent is poisoned by one of her chocolate dishes, she must join forces with the Earl of Saybrook.
The Cocoa Conspiracy
by Andrea Penrose
2011
A rare book on chocolate should have been a perfect birthday gift, not a trap. When hidden papers point to treason, Arianna and Saybrook follow the trail from England to Vienna in search of a dangerous conspirator.
To Tempt a Rake
by Andrea Penrose
2011
A fiercely independent heroine with a complicated past finds herself drawn back into danger alongside a man she should not trust. Adventure, old wounds, and undeniable chemistry make this a particularly restless Regency romance.
Too Wicked to Wed
by Andrea Penrose
2011
A clever, plainspoken heroine crosses paths with one of London's most dangerous aristocrats, a man more comfortable with darkness than domestic peace. Their clash of wills turns into romance as intrigue and old wounds close in.
Recipe for Treason
by Andrea Penrose
2012
Sent to Scotland to capture a traitor, Arianna and Saybrook find a dead professor, cryptic papers, and hints of a terrifying new weapon. To stop disaster, they must untangle science, espionage, and a secret recipe worth killing for.
Too Dangerous to Desire
by Andrea Penrose
2012
A hero with a dark reputation and a heroine with reasons to guard her heart are pushed together by a dangerous plot. The deeper they go, the clearer it becomes that desire may be the least of their risks.
Too Tempting to Resist
by Andrea Penrose
2012
Another of the so-called hellhounds of the ton meets a woman who refuses to be dazzled by title or charm. Suspicion, attraction, and real danger make resistance much harder than either expected.
Passionately Yours
by Andrea Penrose
2014
The final Sloane sister gets her turn in a romance shaped by wit, family pressure, and a heart that does not like being told what to do. Carolina's story brings poetry, feeling, and one last spirited battle with convention.
Pistols at Dawn
by Andrea Penrose
2014
An impulsive heroine and a man with secrets collide in a Regency tale where pride, family interests, and real danger all point toward a reckoning. Fast moving and sharp tongued, it gives romance a definite edge.
Scandalously Yours
by Andrea Penrose
2014
Olivia Sloane secretly writes fiery political essays while society expects her to smile and marry well. When a reform-minded earl uncovers her secret, they form a risky alliance that quickly becomes far more personal.
Sinfully Yours
by Andrea Penrose
2014
Anna Sloane would rather write adventure than live it, until a stay at a remote Scottish castle throws her together with the scandalous Marquess of Davenport. Mysterious threats soon turn flirtation into a fight for the truth.
Sweeter Than Sin
by Andrea Penrose
2014
Shamed by a past mistake, Lady Kyra lives quietly with her art and flowers until a wounded war hero arrives next door. Their slow healing connection is tested by danger, secrets, and the fear of trusting again.
Devil May Care
by Andrea Penrose
2015
Saved on the battlefield by a French officer and his wife, Jack returns to England changed and wary of society. When that officer becomes a prisoner, outspoken Harriet Farnum helps him unravel a dangerous plot and his own heart.
Christmas By Candlelight
by Andrea Penrose
2016
This holiday collection gathers two Regency novellas where winter mishaps, forced proximity, and guarded hearts lead to love. Snowstorms, unexpected houseguests, and Christmas kindness do most of the matchmaking.
Murder on Black Swan Lane
by Andrea Penrose
2017
When a sanctimonious clergyman is found murdered, the Earl of Wrexford becomes the most convenient suspect. Clearing his name means teaming with Charlotte Sloane, the brilliant satirical artist hiding behind the name A. J. Quill.
The Stolen Letters
by Andrea Penrose
2017
A missing packet of letters sends Arianna and Saybrook into a shorter but still knotty investigation. What looks like a private matter quickly opens onto secrets that could damage reputations and cost lives.
Murder at Half Moon Gate
by Andrea Penrose
2018
Wrexford discovers the body of a gifted inventor and learns the man's new steam engine plans vanished with him. With Charlotte at his side, he enters a case where industry, money, and murder are tightly entwined.
Smoke & Lies
by Andrea Penrose
2018
Peace in Europe does not last long for Arianna and Saybrook. Drawn to Elba by a missing relative and rumors around Napoleon, they walk into a maze of lies, loyalties, and enemies from Arianna's past.
A Question of Numbers
by Andrea Penrose
2019
As Europe braces for Napoleon's return, Arianna and Saybrook are drawn into a mission involving spies, kidnappings, and whispers of a secret weapon. The trail runs from London to Brussels with war closing in.
Murder at Kensington Palace
by Andrea Penrose
2019
Charlotte's cousin is found stabbed, and his twin brother is accused of the crime. Wrexford and Charlotte uncover rivalries, dangerous experiments, and secrets at court as they try to prove the wrong man is about to hang.
A Tangle of Serpents
by Andrea Penrose
2020
Arianna and Saybrook face another case of layered motives, hidden loyalties, and enemies striking from the shadows. The farther they chase the truth, the more personal and dangerous the web becomes.
Murder at Queen's Landing
by Andrea Penrose
2020
A new killing draws Wrexford and Charlotte into a case shaped by ambition, secrecy, and London's shifting centers of power. As always, the official story proves far too neat to trust.
Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens
by Andrea Penrose
2021
Death at the Royal Botanic Gardens gives Wrexford and Charlotte a case rooted in science, status, and ruthless self-interest. Beneath the beauty of rare plants, they find motives with real poison in them.
A Swirl of Shadows
by Andrea Penrose
2022
Another government entanglement pulls Arianna and Saybrook into a chase through secrets, shifting alliances, and danger that refuses to stay in the past. The mystery grows darker the closer they come to the center.
Murder at the Serpentine Bridge
by Andrea Penrose
2022
A death near one of London's most fashionable haunts sends Wrexford and Charlotte after clues that bridge society's glitter and its rot. The case tests both their intellect and the strength of their growing household.
Murder at the Merton Library
by Andrea Penrose
2023
An urgent plea draws Wrexford and Charlotte into a world of rare books, family secrets, and academic ambition. As the clues deepen, the case becomes as much about buried loyalties as it is about murder.
Murder at King’s Crossing
by Andrea Penrose
2024
A killing at King's Crossing pulls Wrexford and Charlotte into another tangle of class tension, ambition, and deception. The more they dig, the clearer it becomes that someone has been planning well ahead of them.
The Diamond of London
by Andrea Penrose
2024
Lady Hester Stanhope flees a controlling father and reinvents herself in Regency London as the brilliant ally of her uncle, William Pitt. Penrose turns her early life into a story of politics, society, and fierce self-determination.
The Thunder of Stones
by Andrea Penrose
2024
Arianna and Saybrook travel from Switzerland toward Greece when a missing half-brother and a clandestine mission turn deadly. Revolutionary unrest, stolen antiquities, and a vanished cache of explosives raise the stakes at every step.
Murder at Somerset House
by Andrea Penrose
2025
A murder within Regency London's scientific world leads Wrexford and Charlotte into a web of deception centered on Somerset House. Knowledge is power in this case, which means it is also something worth killing for.
To Love A Spy
by Andrea Penrose
2025
When a mission too important to delegate forces Lord Lynsley into the field himself, the mastermind behind Mrs. Merlin's academy must finally risk more than strategy. Old secrets, fresh danger, and unexpected feeling make a fitting return.
Murder on Threadneedle Street
by Andrea Penrose
2026
A death linked to London's moneyed world draws Wrexford and Charlotte into a case of glittering surfaces and hidden risk. On Threadneedle Street, numbers, power, and greed prove just as deadly as any blade.
The Price of Paradise
by Andrea Penrose
2026
In 1817, Arianna and Saybrook are asked to advise on a volatile political scheme tied to the Caribbean and the New World. A promise of profit and paradise soon reveals itself as a nest of betrayal and deadly ambition.
Where should I start?
For the Wrexford and Sloane mysteries: Murder on Black Swan Lane → Murder at Half Moon Gate → Murder at Kensington Palace
For Arianna, Saybrook, and the chocolate-laced spy plots: Sweet Revenge → The Cocoa Conspiracy → Recipe for Treason
For Regency romance with adventure: The Spy Wore Silk → Seduced by a Spy → The Scarlet Spy
For classic traditional Regency romance: The Defiant Governess → Second Chances → The Storybook Hero
For smart, slightly darker historical romance: To Sin with a Scoundrel → Too Wicked to Wed → Scandalously Yours
Author bio
Andrea Penrose came to fiction from the design side of the page. She studied art at Yale, took enough history classes to nearly major in that too, and then earned an M.F.A. in graphic design from the Yale School of Art, focusing on publication design.
Books were there even earlier.
In interviews and on her author pages, she has said she started making up Westerns at about five years old, complete with drawings of horses and cowboys. That mix of pictures, story, and history never really left her, and it helps explain why her novels feel so visually textured without losing their pace.
Before mystery readers knew her as Andrea Penrose, she published Regency romances as Andrea Pickens and Cara Elliott. Those books let her play with smart heroines, stubborn heroes, social rules, and the small acts of rebellion that make period fiction fun. She has said that reading Pride and Prejudice was the spark that drew her to Regency England, and once she found that world, she stayed.
You can see the range of her interests across those early books. The Defiant Governess and Second Chances lean into classic Regency emotion and mistaken identities. The Spy Wore Silk turns the period into a female spy adventure. As Cara Elliott, novels like Too Wicked to Wed and Scandalously Yours bring in bluestockings, political reform, and women who refuse to fit neatly into what society expects.
Then she shifted more fully into mystery.
Sweet Revenge introduced Lady Arianna Hadley and the Earl of Saybrook, mixing murder, espionage, and chocolate into a Regency series that feels both playful and dangerous. After that came Murder on Black Swan Lane, the opening Wrexford and Sloane mystery, which pairs a brilliant but prickly aristocratic scientist with a satirical artist who survives by wit, nerve, and secrecy. That partnership became one of Penrose's signatures.
Readers tend to come to her books for the puzzles, but they stay for the texture. Penrose likes the busy side of the Regency, not just ballrooms and titled households, but print shops, laboratories, kitchens, docks, back alleys, political clubs, and all the new ideas reshaping daily life. Science matters in the Wrexford and Sloane books. Chocolate, chemistry, and espionage matter in the Lady Arianna novels. Across all of them, she keeps returning to capable people trying to think their way out of trouble.
Her work has reached a wide audience. She is a three-time RITA Award finalist, a two-time Daphne du Maurier Award winner for historical mystery, and a two-time Gold Leaf Award winner, and her books have been translated into ten languages.
More recently, she stepped outside her ongoing series with The Diamond of London, a historical novel built around Lady Hester Stanhope. It feels like a natural move for a writer who has always been drawn to strong-minded characters who push against the limits of their time.
Penrose now lives in Connecticut and is part of the long-running WordWenches historical fiction community. The thread running through all of her work, from crayon Westerns to Regency sleuths, is simple: curiosity. She likes the meeting point between ideas and emotion, and her books invite readers to enjoy that intersection with her.
Edited by
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