Emma Lord Books in Order
See Emma Lord books in order, with summaries, reading guidance, author background, and simple suggestions for choosing your first romantic read.
Last updated: July 14, 2026
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Emma Lord books in publication order
32 books
The Alpine Advocate
by Emma Lord
1992
Emma Lord needs a big story for her small-town weekly, and she gets one when Mark Doukas is murdered in Alpine. Chasing answers through a tight-lipped family quickly turns her first major scoop into a fight for survival.
The Alpine Betrayal
by Emma Lord
1993
When hometown girl Dani Marsh returns to Alpine as a movie star, old feelings reignite across town. After her former husband dies, Emma Lord digs into the gossip and finds a case far murkier than anyone admits.
The Alpine Christmas
by Emma Lord
1993
Christmas brings brutal murder to Alpine, and Emma's search for the truth puts her directly in danger. Holiday cheer quickly gives way to suspicion, gossip, and the possibility that Emma herself could wind up in the obituary pages.
The Alpine Decoy
by Emma Lord
1994
A young man is shot, and blame falls on a Black nurse already dealing with Alpine's prejudice. Emma and Vida dig past rumor and bias to see who really wants the case solved their way.
The Alpine Escape
by Emma Lord
1995
Needing time away, Emma lands in Port Angeles instead of peace when a skeleton turns up in a friend's basement. The century-old death pulls her into a dark family story that refuses to stay buried.
The Alpine Fury
by Emma Lord
1995
A Seattle banker's arrival rattles Alpine's financial world, then a bookkeeper is murdered. Emma follows the nerves, secrets, and money trail to see why respectable people are suddenly so afraid.
The Alpine Gamble
by Emma Lord
1996
A proposed luxury spa divides Alpine between jobs and progress on one side, glitz and ruin on the other. When murder cuts through the debate, Emma has to report the story and solve it.
The Alpine Hero
by Emma Lord
1996
A body in the local salon sends Emma after a case full of rumor, missing persons, and danger. What looks like mere town talk soon becomes the biggest story Alpine has seen in months.
The Alpine Icon
by Emma Lord
1997
Glamorous Ursula O'Toole Randall returns to Alpine to marry for the third time, then dies before the wedding. Emma has to look past old histories and fresh drama to find the killer.
The Alpine Journey
by Emma Lord
1998
Emma is on vacation on the Oregon coast when a woman is killed after her nightly nude swim and the husband vanishes. The couple's strangely calm children make the case even harder to read.
The Alpine Kindred
by Emma Lord
1998
A new disturbance in Alpine forces Emma back into the messy territory of family ties, old loyalties, and fresh suspicion. As gossip spreads, she has to work out which connection is merely personal and which one is deadly.
The Alpine Legacy
by Emma Lord
1999
A radical new local paper attacks Emma personally, then its editor Crystal Bird is murdered and Emma becomes the top suspect. Clearing her name means stepping into one of Alpine's ugliest media wars.
The Alpine Menace
by Emma Lord
2000
When Alpine native Carol Stokes is strangled in Seattle, Emma's cousin Ronnie is accused and has almost no defense. Emma and Vida hunt for another suspect before the killer edits them out of the story too.
The Alpine Nemesis
by Emma Lord
2001
A long-running family feud explodes after three bodies are found in a meat freezer, with a fourth corpse making the case even stranger. As Emma chases the biggest story of her career, she uncovers a conspiracy that will change her life.
The Alpine Obituary
by Emma Lord
2002
An old man's funeral turns upside down when his widow insists he was murdered. Emma juggles that claim, threats against a local judge, and wildfire on the mountainside in a case with murder, blackmail, and arson.
The Alpine Pursuit
by Emma Lord
2004
Emma expects boredom at a community college play until a dean dies onstage from a prop gun loaded with real bullets. With Vida's help, she investigates a campus murder wrapped in backstage grudges.
The Alpine Quilt
by Emma Lord
2005
Alpine's quilting circle plans a grand welcome home for Genevieve Bayard, but she dies at dinner instead. Burglaries, old scandals, and Vida's unusual reluctance make the case more personal than Emma expects.
The Alpine Recluse
by Emma Lord
2006
A house fire kills Tim Rafferty and leaves Alpine buzzing about arson, money trouble, and a mysterious recluse called Old Nick. Emma and Vida push past rumor to uncover what really burned.
The Alpine Scandal
by Emma Lord
2007
An obituary arrives for Elmer Nystrom before he is even dead, and Emma soon finds him murdered in a henhouse. With Milo sidelined, she and Vida chase the prophecy, the family tension, and the hand that mailed it.
The Alpine Traitor
by Emma Lord
2008
Emma's newspaper is hit with a takeover bid from the heirs of her late lover, and the fight turns deadly when the buyer's front man is killed. Suddenly Emma is both reporter and suspect in a battle for the Advocate.
The Alpine Uproar
by Emma Lord
2009
Another round of Alpine gossip turns explosive when a new death sends Emma back into the town's feuds and secrets. She has to separate noise from fact before a public uproar hides the real killer.
The Alpine Vengeance
by Emma Lord
2010
Just as Alpine seems ready for calmer days, a grim highway accident leaves two people dead and another clinging to life. Emma follows the aftermath into a case where grief, blame, and buried motives keep shifting.
The Alpine Winter
by Emma Lord
2011
Children find old bones on the mountain, reviving questions about a woman who vanished years earlier. Then a jail escape and a second corpse turn a cold Alpine winter into one of Emma's most tangled cases.
The Alpine Xanadu
by Emma Lord
2013
While the paper covers a new rehab and mental health center and Emma's engagement to Milo stirs town talk, a suspicious death rocks Alpine. When Vida disappears, Emma and Milo face more loose ends than ever.
The Alpine Yeoman
by Emma Lord
2014
Trouble blows through Alpine when Deputy Sam Heppner suddenly goes missing. Emma and Milo have to work through rumor, loyalty, and local nerves before the disappearance grows into something worse.
The Alpine Zen
by Emma Lord
2015
Emma would love a quieter season, but Alpine rarely cooperates when gossip and death arrive together. Balancing the Advocate, Milo, and a fresh case, she has to find the truth beneath the town's latest swirl of rumors.
Alpha Alpine
by Emma Lord
2017
Death returns to Alpine just as old rivalries flare, including Milo's long-running conflict with Black Jack. Emma is back at the Advocate, trying to untangle the case before personal history clouds the facts.
Bitter Alpine
by Emma Lord
2020
In a snowbound Alpine, the apparent murder of a woman at a motel on the edge of town sets everyone talking. Emma has to work through red herrings, harsh weather, and the town's usual tangle of loyalties.
Tweet Cute
by Emma Lord
2020
Pepper runs a burger chain's social media account, while Jack fights to protect his family's deli after its recipe is copied. Their viral online rivalry hides an anonymous connection that could change everything.
You Have a Match
by Emma Lord
2021
A DNA test reveals that photographer Abby has a secret older sister, Savannah. At summer camp, the girls dig into their parents' hidden past while Abby also faces growing feelings for her best friend, Leo.
When You Get the Chance
by Emma Lord
2022
Broadway-bound Millie Price finds an old online journal and sets out to identify the mother she has never known. Her summer search brings complicated answers, family changes, and an inconveniently charming theatre rival.
Begin Again
by Emma Lord
2023
Andie Rose transfers to Blue Ridge State determined to execute the perfect fresh start. As her old relationship unravels, a pirate-radio legacy left by her late mother and unexpected friends push her to rethink every plan.
Where to start with Emma Lord
For an online rivals-to-romance story: Tweet Cute
For summer camp, family secrets, and friendship: You Have a Match
For musical theater and a search for family: When You Get the Chance
For a college fresh start: Begin Again
Standalone Emma Lord books

The Alpine Advocate
by Emma Lord
1992
The Alpine Betrayal
by Emma Lord
1993
The Alpine Christmas
by Emma Lord
1993
The Alpine Decoy
by Emma Lord
1994
The Alpine Escape
by Emma Lord
1995
The Alpine Fury
by Emma Lord
1995
The Alpine Gamble
by Emma Lord
1996
The Alpine Hero
by Emma Lord
1996
The Alpine Icon
by Emma Lord
1997
The Alpine Journey
by Emma Lord
1998
The Alpine Kindred
by Emma Lord
1998
The Alpine Legacy
by Emma Lord
1999
The Alpine Menace
by Emma Lord
2000
The Alpine Nemesis
by Emma Lord
2001
The Alpine Obituary
by Emma Lord
2002
The Alpine Pursuit
by Emma Lord
2004
The Alpine Quilt
by Emma Lord
2005
The Alpine Recluse
by Emma Lord
2006
The Alpine Scandal
by Emma Lord
2007
The Alpine Traitor
by Emma Lord
2008
The Alpine Uproar
by Emma Lord
2009
The Alpine Vengeance
by Emma Lord
2010
The Alpine Winter
by Emma Lord
2011
The Alpine Xanadu
by Emma Lord
2013
The Alpine Yeoman
by Emma Lord
2014
The Alpine Zen
by Emma Lord
2015
Alpha Alpine
by Emma Lord
2017
Bitter Alpine
by Emma Lord
2020
Tweet Cute
by Emma Lord
2020A Novel
You Have a Match
by Emma Lord
2021
When You Get the Chance
by Emma Lord
2022
Begin Again
by Emma Lord
2023
Author bio
Emma Lord writes romantic, funny novels for teens and young adults, often about people who are trying to make a plan for their future while life keeps handing them surprises. She lives in New York City and has also worked as a digital media editor and writer.
She studied psychology at the University of Virginia. Her public bio also nods to an earlier writing habit: quietly updating fan fiction when she was supposed to be paying attention in class. It is an amusing detail, but it also fits the books she went on to write, which are tuned in to online life, friendship groups, crushes, and the way young people talk themselves through big feelings.
Her first novel, Tweet Cute, arrived in 2020. It follows Pepper, a stressed-out student secretly running the social media account for her family's burger chain, and Jack, whose family's deli is hurt when the chain copies his grandmother's grilled-cheese recipe. Their public online feud becomes more complicated when they begin connecting anonymously offline. The book uses the setup for jokes and sparks, but it also makes room for family pressure and questions about what each character actually wants.
Food, messages, and messy feelings all matter here.
In You Have a Match, Lord shifts the focus toward family. A DNA test tells photographer Abby that she has an older sister, Savannah, who was given up for adoption by Abby's parents. The two meet at summer camp to work out what happened, while Abby's friendship with Leo, her longtime crush, grows harder to ignore. It is a romance, but it is equally interested in sisters, old friends, and the imperfect ways families try to protect one another.
Then came When You Get the Chance, a New York-set story with musical theater at its center. Millie Price wants a future on Broadway, but an old online journal written by her father sends her looking for the mother she has never known. Her search brings her closer to people from her dad's past and keeps putting her in the path of her theatre rival, Oliver. It is a lively story about ambition, grief, chosen family, and allowing old ideas of home to change.
Begin Again moves to college. Andie Rose transfers to Blue Ridge State determined to make her carefully organized future work, only to find that her relationship, friendships, and plans all need more honesty than she expected. A campus pirate radio station, connected to Andie's late mother, gives her a new way to speak up. The book keeps Lord's familiar warmth while looking at the awkward freedom of starting over.
Across these novels, Lord returns to people who care deeply, sometimes too deeply, and who have to learn that being capable does not mean handling everything alone. Readers who enjoy quick banter and romantic tension will find plenty of that, but the love stories share space with sibling bonds, loyal friends, creative goals, and parents who are trying their best. Her characters often begin with a tidy answer to a problem, then discover that real life is more complicated, and more interesting.
When she is not writing, Lord has said she likes running and singing show tunes in community theater. That sense of play is easy to spot in her work. The stories are full of big plans, accidental chaos, and characters who gradually find a way to be more themselves.
Edited by
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