Kate Collins Books in Order
Browse Kate Collins books in order, with series lists, quick summaries, and simple guidance on where to start with her cozy mysteries and romances.
Last updated: June 11, 2026
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Publication Order
39 books
Promised to a Stranger
by Kate Collins
1998
Fleeing for her life on a westbound train, Madeline Beecher takes another woman's identity and agrees to marry a man she has never met. The plan keeps her safe, until she falls for the groom's brother instead.
Courting Claire
by Kate Collins
1999
Claire Cavanaugh comes home to find her family nearly ruined, then accepts help from the dangerously appealing Tyler McCane. He wants her land, not her heart, but Claire may be the one thing he did not plan for.
His Forbidden Touch
by Kate Collins
2000
Mariah Lowe returns to Coffee Creek determined to ignore Jake Sullivan, the man who once broke her trust. But old feelings, old secrets, and fresh danger make that promise hard to keep.
Beloved Protector
by Kate Collins
2001
Eliza Lowe reluctantly sets out under the protection of Pinkerton detective Case Brogan. Their journey is supposed to help a friend, not spark a risky attraction that could wreck the mission for both of them.
Mum's the Word
by Kate Collins
2004
Back in New Chapel and running Bloomers, Abby Knight just wants her flower shop to succeed. Then a hit and run, a price war, and a handsome ex-cop named Marco Salvare pull her into a dangerous murder case.
Dearly Depotted
by Kate Collins
2005
Jillian is headed to the altar again, and Abby is stuck doing flowers, bridesmaid duty, and grandma control. Then a guest is found dead behind the gazebo, and Abby starts digging through wedding day secrets.
Slay It with Flowers
by Kate Collins
2005
Abby is florist, bridesmaid, and family crisis manager for cousin Jillian's latest wedding. When a groomsman disappears and a wedding party member turns up dead, she has to keep the big day from becoming a crime scene.
Snipped in the Bud
by Kate Collins
2006
A black rose delivery drags Abby back to the law school she hates. When a professor turns up dead with the rose nearby, Abby becomes the prime suspect and has to clear her name fast.
A Rose from the Dead
by Kate Collins
2007
Hoping to drum up business, Abby sets up at a funeral directors' convention and finds herself staring at murder instead. When a friend becomes a suspect, she and Marco start digging through the convention's strange rivalries.
Acts of Violets
by Kate Collins
2007
Pickle Fest turns grim when the hired clown is found dead and Marco is the last person seen leaving his house. Abby dives into circus secrets and half truths to prove her boyfriend is innocent.
Shoots to Kill
by Kate Collins
2008
A troubled girl Abby once babysat returns to New Chapel with a new name and an unhealthy fixation on copying her life. When imitation turns dangerous and Abby is accused of murder, the game stops being funny.
Evil in Carnations
by Kate Collins
2009
Abby nudges her roommate Nikki into speed dating, only to have Nikki's date end up dead. With evidence piling up against her friend and Marco's family crowding in, Abby has another messy case on her hands.
Sleeping with Anemone
by Kate Collins
2009
Abby's protest against a food corporation's treatment of dairy animals quickly turns personal. After threats, broken windows, and repeated kidnapping attempts, the fight escalates into murder and Abby has to push back.
Dirty Rotten Tendrils
by Kate Collins
2010
When high powered lawyer Ken Lipinski dies of a suspicious overdose, Abby refuses to believe her old boss is the killer. With Marco beside her, she starts pruning a suspect list full of grudges and ambition.
Janey Webster, E.B.*
by Kate Collins
2010
In sixteen comic stories, self declared expert babysitter Janey Webster tackles impossible children, a crabby grandmother, and even a Cub Scout troop. It is a light, lively collection for readers who enjoy kid sized disasters.
Jason Jerviss at Your Service
by Kate Collins
2010
Jason starts a pet sitting business for summer spending money and to prove to his older brother that he is not a failure. With his friend Tom beside him, he takes on odd clients and one disaster after another.
Night of the Living Dandelion
by Kate Collins
2011
Rumors say Vlad Serban is a vampire. Abby is skeptical, until a woman is found drained of blood and Marco's old army friend becomes the obvious target. This case mixes small town gossip with a very real killer.
To Catch a Leaf
by Kate Collins
2011
Abby should be focused on wedding plans, not homicide. But when wealthy Constance Newport is killed and Abby's assistant Grace inherits a fortune, Abby and Marco uncover stolen art, missing pets, and a family full of motives.
Nightshade on Elm Street
by Kate Collins
2012
Wedding plans are already stressful when Jillian asks Abby and Marco to find a missing woman at the Osbourne beach house. Then a drowned body surfaces, and Abby's old ex Pryce lands squarely in the spotlight.
The Cozy Chicks Kitchen
by Kate Collins
2012
This collaborative cookbook from the Cozy Chicks authors invites readers into their fictional kitchens with recipes, anecdotes, and glimpses of beloved characters. It is packed with mains, soups, salads, desserts, and drinks that capture the warmth and comfort of their cozy mystery worlds.
Seed No Evil
by Kate Collins
2013
With her wedding just days away, Abby's life is already unraveling. Then an animal rights director is murdered and Abby's mother becomes the chief suspect, sending Abby and Marco after the truth before the ceremony.
Throw in the Trowel
by Kate Collins
2014
Fresh off their honeymoon, Abby and Marco discover a skeleton buried in the basement of his bar. Solving a decades old disappearance sounds romantic in theory, until the cold case starts putting their lives at risk.
A Root Awakening
by Kate Collins
2015
House hunting turns deadly when Abby and Marco watch a construction worker fall from a run down Victorian. Marco takes the case, Abby starts snooping on the odd family inside, and their investigations soon collide.
Florist Grump
by Kate Collins
2015
Living with her parents while a new house is built has Abby in a foul mood before the body even drops. When a well liked window washer is blamed for a local murder, Abby and Marco start asking questions.
Tea Time with the Cozy Chicks
by Kate Collins
2015
This companion volume from the Cozy Chicks authors celebrates tea with recipes, themed menus, essays, quotes, and hosting tips. It invites readers to brew a pot, sample treats, and enjoy stories and tidbits that connect their favorite cozy heroines to real life tea tables.
Moss Hysteria
by Kate Collins
2016
Abby and Marco are finally moving into their new home in Brandywine, a neat subdivision with polished lawns and friendly neighbors. Then a body turns up in the pond, and the whole development starts looking less peaceful.
Yews with Caution
by Kate Collins
2017
A missing landscaping owner, suspicious coworkers, and Nikki's bad luck pull Abby into another case. As she tries to clear her friend, Marco falls dangerously ill, leaving Abby to handle the investigation on her own.
Missing Under The Mistletoe
by Kate Collins
2018
On Christmas Eve, a simple poinsettia delivery lands Abby in the middle of a townwide crisis when beloved store owner Mr. Churchill disappears. Abby and Marco race to save both the man and New Chapel's holiday tradition.
Tulips Too Late
by Kate Collins
2018
After arriving late for a tulip delivery, Abby walks straight into a killing in progress. With Sean Reilly forced off the case, Team Salvare follows overlooked clues while Abby juggles diets, family pressure, and a coming cruise.
A Big Fat Greek Murder
by Kate Collins
2020
Athena's family is already stretched thin helping with a big Greek wedding rehearsal at the Parthenon. Then the groom is found stabbed, and Athena's sister Selene becomes the obvious suspect in a very public murder.
A Frond in Need
by Kate Collins
2020
Summer in New Chapel is busy enough without murder. When Nikki's charming surgeon boyfriend becomes a suspect, Abby juggles parade plans, Bloomers, and Marco's PI work while trying to learn whether Nikki is dating a killer.
Statue of Limitations
by Kate Collins
2020
Divorced mom Athena Spencer comes home to coastal Michigan, her big Greek family, and the garden center she thought she left behind. A disputed statue and a suspicious death pull her into a fight for Greene Street's future.
The Jillian Knight Osborne Fashionista Diaries
by Kate Collins
2020
This playful short story follows Jillian through a week of fashion tips, fitness advice, and self confidence that may be a bit overblown. Somewhere in the diary pages, a small mystery gives Abby a chance to step in.
Till Death Do Us Pot
by Kate Collins
2020
A missing person's case lands Abby and Marco on opposite sides of a stressful investigation just as fall settles over New Chapel. When Abby's niece Tara starts poking around on her own, the stakes jump even higher.
Big Trouble in Little Greektown
by Kate Collins
2021
Athena invites Case Donnelly to a Save Our Dunes fundraiser and hopes for a pleasant day by Lake Michigan. Instead they find a disgraced photographer dead, and the case opens onto politics, development, and family secrets.
Kick The Bouquet
by Kate Collins
2022
Thanksgiving plans are the least of Abby's worries when Marco's landlord and local realtor Arthur McMahon is found stabbed to death. With Marco suddenly a prime suspect, the Salvares face a long list of angry tenants and relatives.
Gone but Not for Garden
by Kate Collins
2023
Athena Spencer gets unexpected backup when Abby Knight comes to Sequoia to help cousin Jillian, who is accused of killing a model at a fashion show. Together they sort through catwalk egos, local power players, and a growing suspect list.
Roses Are Dead, Violets Are Blue
by Kate Collins
2024
Valentine's Day keeps Bloomers busy until Abby attends a play and the director turns up dead. Rumors of a theater curse swirl, but Abby sees human secrets, not ghosts, behind the killing.
A Vase in the Window
by Kate Collins
2025
Memorial Day fireworks mask a gunshot, and Abby soon learns Lottie's difficult neighbor has been killed. When suspicion falls on one of Lottie's boys, Abby and Marco dig into blockwide grudges and buried neighborhood secrets.
Where should I start?
If you want her signature cozy series: Mum's the Word → Slay It with Flowers → Dearly Depotted → Snipped in the Bud
If you like married sleuths and later-series payoff: To Catch a Leaf → Seed No Evil → Throw in the Trowel → A Root Awakening
If you want a big family, food, and Lake Michigan vibes: Statue of Limitations → A Big Fat Greek Murder → Big Trouble in Little Greektown → Gone but Not for Garden
If you want her earlier historical romances: Courting Claire → Beloved Protector → Promised to a Stranger → His Forbidden Touch
Author bio
Kate Collins grew up in a suburb of Hammond, Indiana, just a block from the family home of humorist Jean Shepherd. She stayed close to home for college, earning a master's degree in education from Purdue University, and for a while her life looked headed firmly toward the classroom.
She taught elementary school for six years.
After the birth of her first child, Collins stepped away from teaching and turned back to something she had wanted for a long time, writing stories of her own. She wrote short pieces for children, worked along the way, and in 1995 sold her first historical romance. Seven historical romantic suspense novels followed before she made the jump to mysteries.
That switch turned out to be a good fit.
Many readers know her best for the Flower Shop Mysteries, which begin with Mum's the Word. The series follows Abby Knight, a former law student who runs Bloomers flower shop in New Chapel, Indiana and keeps landing in the middle of murder cases. Books like Slay It with Flowers, Dearly Depotted, and Snipped in the Bud mix small town gossip, family mess, romance, and steady amateur sleuthing. Abby's partnership with Marco Salvare gives the books much of their spark, and Collins clearly enjoys both the jokes and the puzzle.
As the series went on, readers got to follow Abby through dating, engagement, marriage, and the everyday chaos that comes with running a business in a town where nothing stays quiet for long. Collins kept returning to that mix of warmth and trouble, and the Flower Shop books reached the New York Times bestseller list three times. In 2016, several of the novels were adapted into Hallmark mystery movies starring Brooke Shields as Abby.
Collins did not stay in one lane, though. Her early historical romances, including Courting Claire, Promised to a Stranger, Beloved Protector, and His Forbidden Touch, show the other side of her writing life, leaning more into emotional tension, hidden pasts, and couples pushed together by circumstance. She has also written children's stories like Janey Webster, E.B. and Jason Jerviss at Your Service, which fit neatly with her background in teaching and her affection for comic everyday problems.
More recently she launched the Goddess of Greene St. Mysteries, set in a Michigan tourist town near Lake Michigan. Starting with Statue of Limitations, the series follows Athena Spencer, a divorced mom who returns home to her big Greek-American family, their garden center, and a fresh set of murders. The books keep Collins's fondness for family comedy and horticultural detail, but give her a new setting and a slightly different rhythm.
What ties her work together is easy to spot. She likes capable women who are a little stubborn, towns where everybody notices everybody else, and plots where ordinary work, flowers, food, pets, wedding plans, and shop talk become tangled up with crime. Her books are cozy, but they keep moving.
These days Collins divides her time between northwest Indiana and Key West, Florida. That feels right somehow. One home keeps her close to the Midwest landscape that shaped so much of her fiction, and the other suggests she still likes a little sunshine with her mystery.
Edited by
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