Cities of Refuge Books in Order

The Cities of Refuge novels imagine what it might have been like to live inside the sanctuary towns described in the book of Joshua. In ancient Israel, these Levitical cities offered protection to people accused of killing someone, while the priests sorted out questions of guilt, justice, and mercy.

Connilyn Cossette uses that legal framework as the backdrop for a long family saga that stretches across four books and about forty years of Israel’s early life in the land. The stories pick up after the fall of Jericho, when the dust of conquest has settled but personal wounds, cultural clashes, and lingering fears still shape everyday life.

In A Light on the Hill we meet Moriyah, a young woman who survived captivity in Jericho but carries a pagan brand on her face that makes her an outcast in her own community. When a tragic accident leaves her accused of a terrible crime, she has no choice but to flee toward a city of refuge and trust that the God she barely understands will shelter her. Her journey introduces readers to the idea of these sacred towns as places where both danger and unexpected grace wait at the gates.

Shelter of the Most High brings in Sofea, the daughter of a pagan priest from a distant island, who is kidnapped by raiders and carried to the city of Kedesh. There she collides with Eitan, a young man who has grown up inside the city’s walls and is restless under its limits. When a murder plot threatens the community, Sofea and Eitan must uncover hidden loyalties while deciding whether they will keep clinging to their pasts or risk a different future together.

In Until the Mountains Fall the focus shifts to Rivkah, the head priest’s recently widowed daughter, and Malakhi, the man she is expected to marry under levirate law. Rivkah’s decision to run from that obligation pulls her far from the shelter of Kedesh and into a web of exploitation, regret, and hard consequences. Years later, war on Israel’s borders and a desperate request from her father force Rivkah and Malakhi back into each other’s lives, where forgiveness is anything but simple.

The series concludes with Like Flames in the Night, which follows Tirzah, a determined young woman trained for a covert mission inside the enemy stronghold of Shechem, and Liyam, a grief-stricken warrior bent on revenge for his daughter’s death. Their paths collide in the shadows of occupation and resistance, where every choice could tip the balance between victory and disaster.

Taken together, the Cities of Refuge books blend adventure, romance, and careful biblical research with a strong thread of family ties that carry from one generation to the next. Readers can expect high stakes, vivid settings, and a steady emphasis on how justice and compassion meet in the character of God. The series stands on its own, but it also links naturally to the Out From Egypt novels that come before it and The Covenant House and The King’s Men stories that follow.