Julie Garwood Books in Order
Browse all Julie Garwood books in order, with series reading guides, summaries, and tips on historical and suspense romances and advice on where to start.
Last updated: December 18, 2025
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Publication Order
36 books
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Shadow Music
by Julie Garwood
2007
Princess Gabrielle of St. Biel is sent to the Highlands as part of a royal marriage bargain, only to derail the plan with one fateful arrow. Accused, exiled, and coveted, she finds unlikely refuge with formidable laird Colm MacHugh amid treacherous clan politics.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ransom
by Julie Garwood
1999
As a child, Gillian survived the night her father was murdered for a jeweled box tied to King John. Years later, forced to retrieve the treasure, she flees instead to Scotland with a kidnapped boy and enlists lairds Brodick Buchanan and Ramsey Sinclair in her fight.
One White Rose
by Julie Garwood
1997
Steady, soft-spoken Douglas Clayborne rides out to collect a prized stallion and instead finds Isabel Grant, widowed, very pregnant, and under siege from a bullying neighbor. Douglas vows to see her safely through the birth and the looming fight for her land.
One Red Rose
by Julie Garwood
1997
Thoughtful Adam Clayborne plans to remain a bachelor, until lively Genevieve Delacroix arrives in Blue Belle to marry another man. As danger from her past follows her west, Adam must decide whether his fierce independence matters more than protecting—and loving—her.
One Pink Rose
by Julie Garwood
1997
Youngest Clayborne brother Travis agrees to escort Emily Finnegan west to marry a stranger as a mail-order bride. Along the trail, dangerous surprises and quiet conversations make both of them question duty, loyalty, and what it really means to choose a partner.
Come the Spring
by Julie Garwood
1997
While his brothers settle into family life, restless Cole Clayborne is drawn into a manhunt with U.S. marshal Daniel Ryan. Their pursuit of a killer tangles with the fate of a young woman who witnessed a brutal crime, testing loyalties and opening the door to unexpected love.
The Wedding
by Julie Garwood
1996
On her way to wed a stranger, English noblewoman Brenna is abducted by fierce Highlanders and ordered to marry their laird, Connor MacAlister—her childhood crush. As clan vendettas erupt around them, Brenna must decide whether to trust the husband who stole her future.
For the Roses
by Julie Garwood
1995
Four ragged New York street boys rescue an abandoned baby and raise her as Mary Rose Clayborne on a ranch in Montana. Years later, when an English gentleman arrives claiming ties to her past, the tight-knit family must face questions of identity, class, and belonging.
Prince Charming
by Julie Garwood
1994
After her fiancé elopes with her cousin, London heiress Taylor Stapleton hatches a bold escape: a temporary marriage to taciturn Montana rancher Lucas Ross. Their bargain will get her nieces to America safely—if they can outrun greedy relatives and their growing feelings.
Saving Grace
by Julie Garwood
1993
At sixteen, newly widowed Lady Johanna swears never to marry another brutal husband. When King John orders otherwise, she escapes into a risky match with Highland laird Gabriel MacBain, finding safety, family, and love just as deadly political schemes close in.
Castles
by Julie Garwood
1993
Orphaned Princess Alesandra is sent to England for safety and told her best protection is a quick marriage. Under the watchful eye of guardian Colin Hallbrook, she captivates London society—until a kidnap attempt forces Colin into a “in name only” marriage that never stays that way.
The Secret
by Julie Garwood
1992
Englishwoman Judith Hampton travels to the Highlands to support her dearest friend in childbirth and finally meet the father she never knew. Escorted by stern laird Iain Maitland, she challenges clan customs, uncovers painful truths, and finds a love strong enough to bridge two worlds.
The Prize
by Julie Garwood
1991
In William the Conqueror’s turbulent court, proud Saxon lady Nicholaa is forced to select a Norman husband. She chooses battle-hardened Baron Royce, vowing to bend him to her will even as war, divided loyalties, and an unwanted tenderness complicate their unusual marriage.
The Gift
by Julie Garwood
1991
Married as a child to settle a family feud, Sara Winchester grows up dreaming of the mysterious husband who never claimed her. When pirate-turned-marquess Nathan St. James finally appears, a playful kidnapping, sea voyage, and scandalous conspiracy test whether their arranged union can become real love.
Honor's Splendour
by Julie Garwood
1991
Gentle Lady Madelyne risks everything to free the warrior her vicious brother has left to die on the ice. When Baron Duncan of Wexton claims her as his prisoner instead, their uneasy alliance deepens into a fierce love tested by family betrayal.
Guardian Angel
by Julie Garwood
1990
Determined to avenge his brother’s death, the Marquess of Cainewood hunts the elusive pirate Pagan. Instead he finds Jade, a runaway redhead begging for protection from unknown killers, and soon realizes that uncovering her secrets may matter more than revenge.
The Bride
by Julie Garwood
1989
Ordered by the king to take an English bride, Highland laird Alec Kincaid chooses spirited Jamie Jamison. Whisked to Scotland against her will, Jamie battles her intimidating husband, clan feuds, and dark rumors before passion slowly turns their arranged match into a true partnership.
The Lion's Lady
by Julie Garwood
1988
Raised far from England with a warrior tribe, Christina Bennett storms London society with exotic manners and a guarded past. Lyon, Marquess of Lyonwood, suspects she’s hiding more than scandal—and falls for the fiercely independent woman even as danger from her history closes in.
Rebellious Desire
by Julie Garwood
1986
Boston-born beauty Caroline Richmond has rebuilt her life in London, determined never to give up her independence again. Drawn into a wary courtship with arrogant Duke Jered Marcus Benton, she’s soon caught in a deadly intrigue that forces them to trust each other.
A Girl Named Summer
by Julie Garwood
1986
When shy Summer Matthews falls for popular David, one impulsive lie about loving long-distance running spins out of control. As she secretly trains for a six-mile race, a ruthless rival and her own nerves threaten both the romance and her confidence.
What's a Girl to Do?
by Julie Garwood
1985
Roommates Shelley, Faith, and Dana sign up to volunteer at the local hospital, hoping to do some good. Between play auditions, blossoming crushes, and a controversial new student at Canby Hall, they must remember to lean on each other, not fight.
Gentle Warrior
by Julie Garwood
1985
After surviving the brutal attack that destroys her family, Elizabeth Montwright rides back to her stolen castle disguised as a peasant. She begs powerful baron Geoffrey Berkley for help and finds herself torn between fierce vengeance and unexpected desire.
Where should I start?
If you love Highland historicals: The Secret → Ransom → Shadow Music
If you want medieval marriage-of-convenience drama: The Bride → The Wedding → Saving Grace
If you prefer contemporary romantic suspense: Heartbreaker → Mercy → Killjoy → Murder List
If you like Western family sagas: For the Roses → One Pink Rose → One White Rose → Come the Spring
If you're sharing with a teen reader: A Girl Named Summer → What's a Girl to Do?
Author bio
Julie Garwood grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, in a big Irish Catholic family where noise, stories, and hand‑me‑down paperbacks were part of the furniture. She was one of many children, and the house was always full of siblings, cousins, and neighborhood kids.
Serious illness and a tonsillectomy kept her out of school for stretches, and she slipped through the early grades without really learning to read. That changed when a math teacher, Sister Elizabeth, spent one long summer tutoring her. Garwood later said that summer didn’t just give her reading skills; it gave her a lifelong love of stories, and she eventually named her daughter Elizabeth in gratitude.
As a young woman she studied nursing, then surprised herself by falling in love with Russian and European history. She ended up with a double major in nursing and history, a mix that trained her to pay attention both to human detail and to the sweep of the past. One of her professors praised her essays and nudged her toward trying a book of her own.
Garwood married young and built her writing life around a busy household with three children. While her kids were small she took on freelance writing jobs and, in the margins of the day, drafted fiction for her own amusement. Those side projects turned into a children’s novel, A Girl Named Summer, and her first medieval romance, Gentle Warrior, which together opened the door to a full‑time career.
Through the late 1980s and 1990s she became best known for historical romances set in medieval England and Scotland. Books like Honor's Splendour, The Bride, The Secret, Saving Grace, The Prize, and Prince Charming paired fierce warriors with heroines who were kind, stubborn, frequently clumsy, and almost always better at emotional honesty than the men around them. Readers came for the castles and battles and stayed for the humor, family warmth, and sharp dialogue.
Garwood was also careful with the history behind the stories. She liked to check multiple sources before weaving real events and customs into her plots, whether she was writing about life in a Highland clan or the politics of an English court. At the same time, she wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult subjects. Spousal abuse, the limits placed on women, and questions of faith and power run beneath the surface of several of her most beloved novels.
In 2000 she shifted into contemporary romantic suspense with Heartbreaker, the first book in what became the long‑running Buchanan‑Renard‑MacKenna series. Those novels still center on family—FBI agents, federal attorneys, doctors, and friends whose lives keep intersecting—as they chase killers, unravel financial schemes, and fall in love in the middle of the chaos. Titles such as Mercy, Killjoy, Murder List, Fire and Ice, Sizzle, Wired, and Grace Under Fire brought her voice to a new generation of readers.
Alongside the big historical sagas and modern thrillers, she wrote for younger readers, including A Girl Named Summer and a Girls of Canby Hall novel, and saw For the Roses adapted as the television movie Rose Hill. Altogether her books sold tens of millions of copies and spent years on bestseller lists, crossing language and genre boundaries.
Garwood lived for decades in the Kansas City area, balancing deadlines with family life and an active circle of writer friends. She died in 2023 in Kansas, still working on new stories. Readers often describe her novels as comfort reads, and that may be the clearest part of her legacy: warm, funny, deeply romantic books that people return to again and again.
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