Blackthorn & Grim Books in Order

The Blackthorn & Grim books are adult historical fantasies set in a version of early medieval Ireland where old magic still clings to certain woods and wells. At their centre are two former prisoners, Blackthorn and Grim, whose partnership is as important as any spell in the story.

When readers first meet Blackthorn she is awaiting execution in a brutal lockup run by the sadistic chieftain Mathuin. A fey nobleman, Conmael, offers her a bargain: he will free her if she travels north to Dalriada, lives on the edge of a haunted forest and spends seven years giving help to anyone who asks, putting aside open vengeance for the length of the pact. She has little choice but to accept. Grim, a huge, wary fellow prisoner, escapes with her and quietly appoints himself her companion and protector.

In Dreamer's Pool, the pair settle in a humble cottage near an uncanny stretch of woodland and are quickly drawn into the affairs of Prince Oran, whose arranged marriage has taken a sinister turn. Blackthorn's sharp eye for deceit and Grim's patience and kindness help them untangle a mystery that mixes forged letters, hidden identities and the old magic of a pool where people sometimes see more than they wish to. Along the way, both of them begin, very reluctantly, to rejoin community life.

Tower of Thorns sends the two away from home to aid a noblewoman whose lands are haunted by incessant, maddening screams from a creature trapped in an old tower ringed by an impenetrable hedge of thorns. As they investigate, Blackthorn is forced to confront memories of her lost family and the depth of her hatred for Mathuin, while Grim uncovers the sad history behind the supposed monster. The case is as much about grief and forgiveness as it is about breaking a curse.

In Den of Wolves, their paths diverge. Blackthorn is asked to care for Cara, a troubled teenage girl brought to Prince Oran's court for her own safety, while Grim is sent to Cara's home at Wolf Glen to oversee the building of a peculiar heartwood house. The project is steeped in old superstition, and the wealthy landowner is hiding far too much. Secrets in Wolf Glen and long buried wrongs in Blackthorn's past begin to converge, forcing both of them to decide whether to cling to vengeance or protect the fragile life they have built.

The trilogy braids together mystery plots, slow burn character work and a strong sense of landscape and folklore. Rather than epic battles, expect village disputes, eerie ruins, careful problem solving and a relationship between two traumatised adults that grows from wary necessity into deep, hard won trust.