Judy Leigh Books in Order

Cecily Hamilton is nearing ninety two and believes she has chosen friendship and independence over romance for good. Then the granddaughter of her first love arrives with news that he has never forgotten her, prompting Cecily and her circle of Silver Ladies to consider whether it is ever too late for one more great love story.

After local DJ and journalist Irina asks to meet with explosive information and then turns up dead on the beach, Morwenna knows something is very wrong. Branded with the nickname “Cream Tea Killer,” the case soon threatens her tearoom running family as much as the town’s peace.

Christmas in Seal Bay should be all twinkling lights and village parties, until quarrelsome local author Pawly Yelland is found dead at a festive gathering. As sinister Christmas cards and a prowling Santa figure unsettle the town, Morwenna races to solve the case before the holidays are ruined.

Octogenarian sisters in law Sadie and Bronagh accidentally create chaos at a village bake off and decide the only answer is to borrow a bright red Ferrari and flee. Their impulsive dash across Ireland, full of fake names, police close calls and unexpected allies, might just deliver the freedom and family they did not know they needed.

In seventeenth century Hertfordshire, young Katherine Ferrers is pushed into a loveless marriage and finds a dangerous kind of freedom as a masked highway robber. In the present day, Charlie Wolfe uncovers her story while renovating a cottage on Nomansland Common and begins to sense that her restless spirit has unfinished business.

Five years after their wild Paris hen party, Tess and her fellow “French Hens” are scattered across the world, embracing late life adventures in very different ways. When tragedy jolts Tess and Della into a trip to the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye, the friends find new landscapes, new companions and fresh reasons to celebrate life.

Fliss, a stylish sixty nine year old business owner, has everything except real companionship, while her capable assistant Shirl is worn out by caring for everyone else. A spontaneous trip to Brittany lets them swap routines for patisseries, village fêtes and sea views, and gradually imagine very different futures.

When a travelling theatre company rolls into Seal Bay and its director is killed, Morwenna Mutton cannot resist another mystery. Balancing library shifts, family chaos and sea swims, she digs into backstage rivalries and village gossip to unmask a murderer hiding in plain sight.

Contented loner Robert Parkin, now in his seventies, lives with his cat and a few mischievous animals in the Devon village of Millbrook, baking extraordinary cakes and scones. When a cream tea competition puts him and his recipes in the spotlight, his sisters and neighbours are drawn into a summer of rivalry, new friendships and sweet second chances.

Sixty years after leaving Miss Hamilton’s primary school class, friends Lin, Josie and Minnie are all facing upheaval, from bereavement to marital secrets and lonely success. When their ninety year old former teacher reappears in a purple mobility scooter, a series of long, talkative lunches helps each woman imagine a braver future.

In 1307, kitchen maid Agnes Fitzgerald flees an English attack and finds refuge at Ravenscraig Castle, where love and war pull her life off course. Centuries later, twins Leah and Zoe arrive to caretake the castle and must face the restless grief that seems to seep from its tower and the surrounding loch.

In the supposedly quiet season in Seal Bay, librarian and wild swimmer Morwenna Mutton finds a local businessman dying on the beach during her daughter’s engagement party. With her own family under suspicion, she throws herself into investigating the murder before the killer strikes again.

Artist Selena retreats to Sloe Cottage in a quiet Somerset village to mend a broken heart, only to sense another woman’s story pressing in from the past. In 1682, Grace Cotter’s hopes of love curdled into accusations of witchcraft, and Selena must untangle the house’s dark history so Grace’s spirit can finally rest.

At Glen Carrick House above Loch Ness, eighty eight year old former chorus girl Mimi McKinlay lives surrounded by her three grown sons and memories of the stage. When newly single Jess Oliver arrives in the Highlands, an unexpected friendship leads both women toward fresh adventures, family truths and the chance of late life love.

In the Somerset village of Combe Pomeroy, a library book club brings together women who all feel stuck in one way or another. As they read everything from the classics to racy novels, a cider farm, a French exchange trip and a year of big decisions push them toward braver futures.

Freshly divorced in her seventies, Val moves into a fisherman’s cottage in the Cornish town of Lowenstowe and decides she needs a date for her son’s Christmas wedding. A year of disastrous coffees and promising almost romances slowly teaches her what she really wants from life.

After a long, lonely spell, London neighbours Vivienne, Mary and Gwen borrow a motorhome and escape the city. From stone circles to moors and windswept coasts, their road trip across Britain helps them shed old hurts, deepen their friendship and open the door to unexpected love.

Eighty two year old Lil books herself, her daughter Cassie and their friend Maggie onto a budget coach tour across Europe, hoping to shake up their quiet routines. Among rowdy footballers, competitive tennis players and poignant stops from Normandy to Bruges, all three women confront old griefs and new possibilities.

Molly’s seventieth birthday leaves her reeling, while her sister Nell’s long marriage falls apart. A spur of the moment trip to Spain turns into a longer journey as the sisters chase sunshine, friendship and maybe romance, and Molly has to decide where happiness truly lies.

Following a health scare, sharp tongued seventy seven year old Barbara goes to convalesce with her kinder, home loving sister Pauline in the village of Winsley Green. When they accidentally knock down a mysterious vagrant called Bisto Mulligan, taking him in forces all three to rethink what they want from the years ahead.

Seventy something couple Billy and Dawnie swap their old life for a new start in a Devon seaside street, complete with Harley Davidson, loud clothes and curious neighbours. As friendships form and crises hit, the residents of Margot Street learn to live more boldly, whatever their age.

When seventy three year old Jen announces she is marrying Eddie, a man she met on the beach only months before, her four aqua aerobics friends are stunned. While Eddie heads to Las Vegas on a stag trip, the women plan a wild Paris hen week that ends up transforming all their lives.

Georgie Turner is juggling a temperamental teenage daughter, a difficult brother in law and an outrageous elderly aunt who refuses to behave. When a family crisis erupts, the three Turner women hit the road together, discovering sunshine, trouble and surprising second chances along the way.

Evie Gallagher regrets moving into a care home after her husband’s death, so at seventy five she walks out and takes a one way ticket to Europe. As her anxious son and daughter in law try to track her down, Evie proves that it is never too late for a great adventure.