Berserker (Emmy Laybourne) Books in Order

The Berserker books blend nineteenth-century frontier life with Norse mythology and a family secret that is anything but quiet. The story begins in 1883 with Hanne Hemstad, a Norwegian teenager whose family carries powers passed down from the old gods. Hanne's gift is especially dangerous: when someone she loves is threatened, she becomes a Berserker, driven into a violent state she struggles to control.

After Hanne kills men attacking her father, the Hemstad siblings have no choice but to leave Norway. They cross to the American West in search of an uncle who may understand their inheritance and help Hanne before her power destroys the family she is trying to protect.

The journey is only the beginning.

The first book, Berserker, follows Hanne as she faces the fear and guilt that come with her abilities. The series uses the rough, unfamiliar setting of the frontier to keep the pressure on. The siblings are newcomers, short on money, and unable to explain why powerful people seem interested in finding them. Their closeness is a strength, but it also gives enemies a way to hurt them.

Ransacker shifts much of the focus to Hanne's younger sister, Sissel, now living with the family in Montana. Sissel discovers that she is a Ransacker, able to locate and draw precious metals to herself. Gold brings opportunity in the mining country around her, but it also attracts greed, suspicion, and men who want to use her gift for their own ends.

The books are historical fantasy adventures with romance, family conflict, betrayals, and supernatural danger. Norse gods and old curses sit alongside ranches, mining towns, trains, and Pinkerton agents. The fantasy elements matter, but the heart of the series is the Hemstad family trying to stay together without surrendering control of their lives.

Expect danger, tense choices, and teenagers learning that power can be as much a burden as a weapon.