April Smith Books in Order
Browse April Smith books in order, from Ana Grey thrillers to historical fiction, with quick summaries, series notes, and help choosing where to start.
Last updated: July 5, 2026
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Publication Order
13 books
James at 15
by April Smith
1977
After his family moves from Oregon to Boston, fifteen-year-old James Hunter feels cut off from the life he knew. This tie-in novel follows his uneasy new start, where school, family pressure, and growing up all hit at once.
Friends
by April Smith
1978
James Hunter is still trying to find his place in Boston as school, family, and new relationships grow more complicated. This tie-in novel leans into the awkward intensity of friendship and adolescence.
North of Montana
by April Smith
1994
Young FBI agent Ana Grey lands a politically explosive Los Angeles case involving a fading movie star, a doctor, and illegal prescription drugs. When a murdered woman links the investigation to Ana's own family history, the job turns painfully personal.
Be the One
by April Smith
2000
Cassidy Sanderson, the only female scout in major league baseball, chases a gifted young player in the Dominican Republic. Back in Los Angeles, the discovery pulls her into blackmail, violence, and a dangerous world of money and ambition.
Good Morning, Killer
by April Smith
2002
When a kidnapped fifteen-year-old returns traumatized, FBI agent Ana Grey realizes she is far too emotionally invested in the case. Working beside Detective Andrew Berringer, she risks her judgment, her career, and the thin line between duty and obsession.
The Case of the Posturing Principal
by April Smith
2003
New history teacher Haley Ann Lethridge is settling into school life when the hard-edged principal is shot in the parking lot. Convinced the obvious suspect is innocent, Haley starts digging with help from her ever-present huskies.
The Case of the Smoking Supervisor
by April Smith
2003
Office assistant Haley Ann Lethridge already has enough trouble with her awful boss and difficult coworkers. When murder strikes at work and suspicion circles toward her, Haley must clear her name before she loses both her freedom and her dogs.
The Case of the Mendacious Medicine Man
by April Smith
2006
When a suspicious death rattles a hospital, insurance biller Pamela Falke finds herself in the middle of a murder case. With Haley Ann Lethridge, three huskies, and two cats nearby, the search for the killer turns chaotic fast.
Judas Horse
by April Smith
2009
Ana Grey goes undercover in Oregon after an FBI agent is killed while tracking a radical animal-rights cell. Living inside a tense farm commune, she has to uncover a planned act of terrorism before her cover, and her judgment, break.
White Shotgun
by April Smith
2011
After a shooting in London, FBI agent Ana Grey is sent to Siena to investigate a wealthy coffee importer with suspected mafia ties. A missing mistress, a kidnapped half-sister, and buried family secrets turn the case painfully personal.
A Star for Mrs. Blake
by April Smith
2014
Cora Blake joins a 1930s government pilgrimage to France to visit her son's grave from the First World War. On the journey, grief, friendship, and an unexpected romance reshape how she sees the past and herself.
Home Sweet Home
by April Smith
2017
In 1950, Cal and Betsy Kusek move their family from New York to South Dakota hoping for a fresh start. McCarthy-era paranoia and local politics soon turn neighbors into enemies, with consequences that echo for decades.
Project Based Learning Made Simple
by April Smith
2018
This classroom guide breaks project-based learning into manageable steps for upper elementary teachers. It offers 100 ready-to-use activities designed to build curiosity, problem solving, collaboration, and more student ownership in everyday lessons.
Where should I start?
If you want the Ana Grey thrillers in order: North of Montana → Good Morning, Killer → Judas Horse → White Shotgun
If you want historical suspense: A Star for Mrs. Blake → Home Sweet Home
If you want a standalone thriller: Be the One
If you want her early YA tie-ins: James at 15 → Friends
Author bio
April Smith was born in the Bronx and grew up there, then went on to the Bronx High School of Science, graduating in 1967. She studied English at Boston University and later earned a master's degree in creative writing at Stanford.
Writing was there early, but the road into a book career took a while. After Stanford, she spent time in Cambridge, worked as a copywriter in Boston, and in 1976 moved to Los Angeles, where television became her main job.
TV paid the bills.
Over the years she wrote and produced for shows such as Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey, and Chicago Hope, and wrote teleplays for films including Black and Blue and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. She was nominated for Emmys, and later adapted her own novel Good Morning, Killer for TNT.
The turn back to fiction came during the 1988 writers' strike. Smith wrote North of Montana on spec, and when it appeared in 1994 it introduced FBI Special Agent Ana Grey, a Los Angeles investigator whose work keeps colliding with family history, politics, and the emotional cost of the job.
Ana Grey stayed with her. In Good Morning, Killer, Judas Horse, and White Shotgun, Smith writes crime novels that move quickly but still make room for bruised feelings, divided loyalties, and the way a case can get under a person's skin. Readers who like these books often come for the suspense and stay for the lead character, who is capable, stubborn, and never neatly in control.
She did not stay in one lane. Be the One follows Cassidy Sanderson, the only female scout in major league baseball, and turns the business of talent-hunting into a suspense story shaped by money, ambition, and danger. Later, Smith moved into historical fiction with A Star for Mrs. Blake, about Gold Star mothers traveling to France in the 1930s, and Home Sweet Home, a McCarthy-era family saga set in South Dakota. Those novels widen her focus, but they keep her interest in pressure, loyalty, fear, and the way private lives get squeezed by larger forces.
Place matters in Smith's books.
She has said she scouts locations and wants to feel what her characters would feel in a setting before writing it. That helps explain why her books are so rooted in place, whether she is writing about Santa Monica, the Dominican Republic, France, South Dakota, Oregon, or Siena.
Smith lives in Santa Monica with her husband. In interviews she has described a working life built around family, swimming, biking, hiking, and then getting back to the page, which feels right for a writer whose books balance drive with close attention to everyday life.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts