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Buchanan-Renard-MacKenna Books in Order

Part ofJulie Garwood Books in Order

Track every Buchanan-Renard-MacKenna novel by Julie Garwood in order, with brief synopses, character notes, and guidance on the best place to jump into her contemporary romantic-suspense stories.

Last updated: December 18, 2025

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Publication Order

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14 books

1

Grace Under Fire

by Julie Garwood

2022

When Grace Isabel MacKenna stumbles into a shooting and kills the attacker in self-defense, her quiet visit to Boston explodes into a media storm. Former Navy SEAL turned attorney Michael Buchanan steps in to protect her, even as danger follows them to Scotland.

2

Wired

by Julie Garwood

2017

Brilliant programmer Allison Trent would rather write code than walk a runway, but both worlds collide when FBI agent Liam Scott asks her to secretly hack his own agency. As she hunts a mole, long-buried dangers from her past threaten them both.

3

Fast Track

by Julie Garwood

2014

Daddy’s girl Cordelia Kane reels when her ailing father reveals the truth about the mother she thought was dead. Chasing answers to Sydney with hotel magnate Aiden Madison, she’s swept into family secrets, political grudges, and increasingly deadly attempts on their lives.

4

Hotshot

by Julie Garwood

2013

Food critic Peyton Lockhart and her sisters have one year to turn an oceanfront resort around or lose it forever. As sabotage and threats escalate, she turns to childhood protector Finn MacBain—now an FBI agent—for help finding the saboteur and navigating their rekindled attraction.

5

Sweet Talk

by Julie Garwood

2012

IRS attorney Olivia MacKenzie crashes an FBI sting while tracking a massive Ponzi scheme tied to her own family. Agent Grayson Kincaid should be furious, yet he becomes her fiercest ally when someone decides Olivia knows far too much to live.

6

The Ideal Man

by Julie Garwood

2011

Trauma surgeon Ellie Sullivan witnesses a gunman ambush a federal agent in the park and suddenly becomes the only person who can identify a pair of dangerous fugitives. Assigned to protect her, FBI agent Max Daniels uncovers an even older threat stalking Ellie.

7

Sizzle

by Julie Garwood

2009

Film student Lyra Prescott accidentally records a brutal crime while shooting her documentary project. As accidents pile up around her, she realizes someone wants the footage destroyed. FBI agent Sam Kincaid steps in, offering protection that quickly turns into something more.

8

Fire and Ice

by Julie Garwood

2008

Chicago reporter Sophie Rose just wants a real story, not another puff piece on a local celebrity runner. When that runner vanishes and a body turns up in Alaska, she’s pulled into a dangerous investigation with undercover FBI agent Jack MacAlister—and a lethal secret program.

9

Shadow Dance

by Julie Garwood

2006

Practical, numbers-driven businesswoman Jordan Buchanan agrees to investigate a centuries-old feud between her family and the MacKennas. A quick research trip to tiny Serenity, Texas, turns deadly, leaving her dependent on charming FBI agent Noah Clayborne as murders, buried treasure, and romance collide.

10

Slow Burn

by Julie Garwood

2005

Charleston entrepreneur Kate MacKenna seems to be having a run of terrible luck—explosions, financial disaster, and an angry ex all hit at once. Her best friend’s brother, FBI agent Dylan Buchanan, suspects it’s not coincidence and insists on uncovering who wants Kate dead.

11

Murder List

by Julie Garwood

2004

Hotel heiress Regan Hamilton Madison thinks a self-help seminar exercise is harmless fun—until people from her tongue-in-cheek “murder list” start turning up dead. Detective Alec Buchanan’s last Chicago assignment is to guard Regan, but soon the case and their chemistry turn deadly serious.

12

Killjoy

by Julie Garwood

2002

FBI analyst Avery Delaney reluctantly agrees to meet her beloved aunt at an exclusive Colorado spa, only to find the woman has vanished. Tracking the clues with enigmatic ex-operative John Paul Renard, Avery uncovers a hired killer’s twisted game and becomes his next target.

13

Mercy

by Julie Garwood

2001

Justice Department attorney Theo Buchanan nearly collapses at a New Orleans gala and wakes to find his life saved by small-town surgeon Michelle Renard. When her Louisiana clinic is vandalized, Theo investigates, exposing a secret financial ring that will kill to keep Michelle silent.

14

Heartbreaker

by Julie Garwood

2000

A chilling confession in a confessional box sends FBI agent Nick Buchanan racing to protect Laurant Madden, the small-town shopkeeper a serial killer has marked as his next victim. As the predator closes in, Nick and Laurant’s wary partnership turns into something far more intimate.

Series background & context

The Buchanan‑Renard‑MacKenna books make up Julie Garwood’s long‑running line of contemporary romantic suspense. The stories are linked by an extended network of families—mostly the Buchanans of Boston, the Renards of Louisiana, and the MacKenna siblings—who pop in and out of one another’s lives as agents, lawyers, doctors, and friends.

The series kicks off with Heartbreaker, where FBI agent Nick Buchanan is dragged off a planned vacation because a serial killer has confessed in a confessional and named Nick’s best friend’s sister, Laurant, as his next victim. That basic pattern repeats in different forms: an ordinary day explodes into danger, and one of the Buchanans or their allies steps in to protect the person who suddenly has a target on their back.

In Mercy, Justice Department attorney Theo Buchanan collapses at a New Orleans gala and has his life saved by surgeon Michelle Renard. When Michelle’s small‑town Louisiana clinic is vandalized, Theo uncovers a white‑collar crime ring willing to kill to cover its tracks. Killjoy sends FBI analyst Avery Delaney to a luxurious Colorado spa where her aunt disappears and a hired assassin known as Monk is waiting. Murder List follows hotel heiress Regan Hamilton Madison after someone starts killing people whose names she jokingly wrote on a “wouldn’t mind if they vanished” list at a self‑help seminar.

Later books pull in other corners of the clan. In Slow Burn, Charleston businesswoman Kate MacKenna survives an explosion and a string of suspicious accidents, prompting Dylan Buchanan to look for a pattern that points straight to murder. Shadow Dance pairs computer‑savvy Jordan Buchanan with charming agent Noah Clayborne as an old Scottish feud and a very modern murder investigation collide. Fire and Ice sends Chicago reporter Sophie Rose and FBI agent Jack MacAlister into the Alaskan wilderness, while Sizzle has film student Lyra Prescott on the run after her camera catches a crime.

As the series moves on, Garwood leans into contemporary threats—cybercrime, Ponzi schemes, stalkers, and political corruption. The Ideal Man centers on trauma surgeon Ellie Sullivan, the only witness who can identify two wanted criminals. Sweet Talk throws IRS attorney Olivia MacKenzie into conflict with both a massive fraud case and FBI agent Grayson Kincaid. In Hotshot, disgruntled food critic Peyton Lockhart inherits a seaside resort and calls in childhood friend Finn MacBain when sabotage turns deadly. Fast Track follows teacher Cordelia Kane and hotel magnate Aiden Madison from a family funeral to Sydney, Australia, in search of answers about Cordelia’s mother and a way to outrun a vengeful politician. Wired and Grace Under Fire bring in tech prodigies and musicians, along with next‑generation Buchanans.

Although each novel stands on its own as a mystery and a romance, the pleasure of the series lies in watching family gatherings grow, inside jokes accumulate, and side characters eventually take center stage. Most books balance tense investigation scenes with quieter moments in kitchens, parish halls, or lakeside cabins where the Buchanans and their friends tease, argue, and close ranks around whoever needs help.

If you like your suspense threaded through with banter, big families, and competent professionals who keep falling inconveniently in love with their protectees, this is the Julie Garwood world to sink into.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 14 Buchanan-Renard-MacKenna Books in Order (2026)