Locket Trilogy Books in Order

The Locket Trilogy is a set of three linked novels that treats love stories the way real life does: messy, hopeful, and shaped by the past. Evans uses objects as connective tissue—the locket, the looking glass, the carousel—so the books feel like different rooms in the same house. Each novel has its own main characters and its own setting, but themes and choices echo across the set.

The Locket begins in the present day with Michael Keddington, a young man trying to get through grief after his mother’s death and figure out what kind of adult he wants to be. He takes a job at a nursing home and befriends Esther, an elderly woman who has spent years mourning the love she lost. Michael is drawn into her memories, and as he listens, he’s forced to look at his own relationship with clearer eyes.

A lot of the tension comes from the push and pull between what’s easy and what’s right. Michael wants certainty. Esther’s story insists that life doesn’t hand it out.

The Looking Glass shifts both timeline and atmosphere. It follows Hunter Bell, a minister who has turned his back on the life he thought he wanted, drifting west and landing in a rough gold camp in frontier Utah. After he finds an Irish woman, Quaye McGandley, injured in the snow, the two of them build a fragile partnership in a place that isn’t designed for mercy. The setting matters: danger is physical, winter is constant, and survival often depends on whether you can trust the person next to you.

Then The Carousel swings back to the contemporary thread and brings closure to the love story that began in the first book. It follows Michael and Faye Murrow as they try to build a marriage while dealing with distance, family expectations, and the kind of unexpected news that changes what “the plan” even means. It’s about love, yes, but also about growing up and learning that commitment is a daily decision.

Love here isn’t tidy.

Across all three novels, the tone is romantic but grounded. There are big emotions and a touch of fable-like coincidence, but the conflicts come from recognizable places: fear, pride, loneliness, and the urge to run when staying would hurt. Start with The Locket and read in order so the connections—and the payoffs—land the way they’re meant to. You’ll also see how one generation’s love story can quietly shape the next.