Lorena McCourtney Books in Order
Browse Lorena McCourtney books in order, with series guides, short summaries, author background, and easy suggestions on where to start reading.
Last updated: June 10, 2026
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Publication Order
51 books
Promise in Paradise
by Lorena McCourtney
1979
A clean romance set in a dream setting where escape, attraction, and uncertainty all arrive together. Paradise looks simple from a distance, but the real question is whether love can survive honest choices.
Bridal Trap
by Lorena McCourtney
1980
A harmless deception becomes a real wedding when Trevor Barrone tries to ease his grandmother's last days by marrying Robyn Christopher. Once the lie is in place, Robyn has to ask whether the marriage can become real.
Legacy of the Heart
by Lorena McCourtney
1980
Holly Whittaker leaves Minnesota for a new job in the Bahamas and is swept up by freedom, glamour, and the charm of her employer's handsome son. Independence feels thrilling until his reputation starts to matter.
Shadows of the Heart
by Lorena McCourtney
1980
Trish Bellingham travels to Costa Rica for the wedding of the half sister she has never known and finds family secrets waiting for her. The tropical setting is gorgeous, but the questions she asks may prove dangerous.
Desert Devil
by Lorena McCourtney
1981
Juli Townsend drives to Arizona determined to confront the powerful businessman she believes cheated her family. Facing Thorne Taylor should bring justice, but the conflict quickly grows more personal than she planned.
Glitter Girl
by Lorena McCourtney
1981
Seven years after leaving Clay Gossard for a richer man, Tiffany Harte comes back divorced and very much unwelcome. The attraction is still there, but so is the hurt, and proving she has changed will not be easy.
Tender Conquest
by Lorena McCourtney
1981
Photographer Susan Hunter travels to the Mexican desert to document her late husband's archaeological finds. Instead she finds a proud aristocrat who unsettles her plans and turns the journey into romance.
The Steele Heart
by Lorena McCourtney
1982
A classic romance built around a guarded heart, a strong mutual pull, and the emotional walls that make closeness difficult. The conflict stays intimate, with feeling doing more work than spectacle.
Island Fires
by Lorena McCourtney
1983
Set against an island backdrop, this romance mixes escape, attraction, and the pressure of past choices. McCourtney keeps the focus on two people deciding whether love is worth the risk.
River of Love
by Lorena McCourtney
1983
A tender early romance shaped by emotional baggage, strong attraction, and the chance to begin again. McCourtney keeps the stakes personal as two people discover that love is easier to resist in theory than in life.
Tarnished Rainbow
by Lorena McCourtney
1983
Jan McFarland plans a little revenge on the fiance who once jilted her and picks a dazzling escort to help her do it. The trouble is that Logan Pierce is not at all the simple choice she expected.
The Marrying Kind
by Lorena McCourtney
1983
Reva Jonathan's quiet life changes when Drake McQuaid walks into her cheese shop looking very much like trouble. Their attraction is immediate, but McCourtney gives the romance enough complication to keep it lively.
Valley of Broken Hearts
by Lorena McCourtney
1983
Vickie Thornton comes to the Chandler ranch certain she knows who is right and who is wrong. Then Barr Chandler proves far harder to resist, and the truth she is hiding threatens everything between them.
Escape
by Lorena McCourtney
1984
Beth Curtis promised to raise her young nephew if tragedy struck, and now she has to run to keep that promise. A powerful family wants the child, and every mile of escape brings fresh danger.
Singing Stone
by Lorena McCourtney
1984
Jennifer arrives in Hawaii determined not to repeat her mother's mistakes, then meets the charismatic Jordan Kane. The island romance feels dangerous from the start, and she cannot tell how much of him to trust.
Sometimes a Lady
by Lorena McCourtney
1984
This vintage romance plays with image, expectation, and the gap between appearances and genuine feeling. What begins with attraction turns into a harder question about honesty, pride, and whether either heart can bend.
Golden Echo
by Lorena McCourtney
1985
An early category romance about attraction, hesitation, and feelings that refuse to stay in the past. McCourtney leans into emotional misunderstandings and the hope that love may deserve another hearing.
No Strings Attached
by Lorena McCourtney
1985
Sable Arrington thinks love and marriage belong together, so she keeps her attention on her bikini-design business. Then Mark Taylor offers passion without the commitment she wants, and the emotional debate gets harder.
Top of the Moon
by Lorena McCourtney
1985
Lacy Purcell loves her small patch of Oregon mountain land and plans to protect every tree on it. Then logger Ward Falconer wants to buy the property, and the fight over the land turns deeply personal.
By Invitation Only
by Lorena McCourtney
1986
Sharrel agrees to test a handsome construction boss's fidelity for her best friend during a costume party. The plan is awkward enough, until her own attraction to Tal O'Neal starts getting very real.
With Flying Colors
by Lorena McCourtney
1987
A lonely man whose life was wrecked by an embezzlement accusation meets a lively kite-shop worker hiding pain of her own. On the Oregon coast, both have to decide whether trust can be rebuilt.
Free-Fall
by Lorena McCourtney
1989
A daring skydiving photographer thinks she wants a safe, dependable man after being burned by a reckless ex. Falling for someone new should steady her, but love turns out to feel risky all over again.
Just You & Me
by Lorena McCourtney
1990
This early romance narrows the stakes to two people trying to be honest about what they really want. Old fears and crossed expectations keep getting in the way of a future that should be simple.
Romancing Cody
by Lorena McCourtney
1994
A clean romance centered on Cody and a woman who is not prepared for how complicated love can become. McCourtney keeps the focus on attraction, emotional risk, and the hard work of learning to trust again.
Betrayed
by Lorena McCourtney
1996
After the Depression destroys her sheltered life and her fiance runs off with her best friend, Rosalyn Fallon heads west to start over. In Oregon she meets Shea Donahue, a wounded logger who may help her heal.
Dear Silver
by Lorena McCourtney
1997
Silver Sinclair is furious when she receives a cold breakup letter from a man she has never even met. Tracking down Chris Bentley begins as righteous indignation, but sparks fly as fast as the spilled coffee.
Canyon
by Lorena McCourtney
1998
Kit and Tyler plan to marry and build a life together guiding rafters through the Grand Canyon. Then family secrets and shocking plans from their parents open a gulf between them that may be hard to cross.
Forgotten
by Lorena McCourtney
1998
An injured woman wakes on the Oregon coast with no memory, no clear identity, and the growing sense that her past was dangerous. As pieces return, so does the threat from someone determined she has no future.
Searching for Stardust
by Lorena McCourtney
1999
Jan Hilliard combs through her dead son's journal and finds one name that will not leave her alone, Stardust. Searching for the girl may uncover the truth about his death, but it forces Jan back toward an ex-husband she would rather avoid.
Riptide
by Lorena McCourtney
2002
Separated at birth, twins Sarah and Julie have finally found each other, but their reunion is shaken by one terrible night. In Julesburg, old secrets and fresh danger spread fast once the truth starts coming out.
Whirlpool
by Lorena McCourtney
2002
Stefanie Canfield is already reeling from grief and divorce when the mill she co-owns with her ex burns down and she becomes a suspect. Then murder strikes, and even Stefanie is not sure what she can trust.
Undertow
by Lorena McCourtney
2003
Former model Angie now runs the weekly paper in Julesburg and starts digging into the history of the old Nevermore Theater. A murder, an unwelcome ex, and the theater's eerie reputation make the story dangerously personal.
Invisible
by Lorena McCourtney
2004
Ivy Malone realizes that people often look straight past an older woman, and she decides to use that to her advantage. Her curiosity turns a local disturbance into a murder investigation and puts her on a killer's trail.
In Plain Sight
by Lorena McCourtney
2005
With the Braxtons still after her, Ivy hides out in Arkansas and lets people mistake her for a harmless housekeeper. That invisibility helps, until murder and too many secrets make staying hidden nearly impossible.
The Blue Moon
by Lorena McCourtney
2005
Abigail Stanton finds a blue diamond necklace hidden in her desk at the Sparrow Island Nature Conservatory and learns it may be the cursed Blue Moon. Soon the island is buzzing, threats are flying, and her sister's service dog is missing.
On the Run
by Lorena McCourtney
2006
Ivy Malone takes to the road in her motorhome, hoping distance will keep the Braxtons from catching up with her. Trouble follows anyway, and hiding out proves harder once Ivy starts noticing too much.
Stranded
by Lorena McCourtney
2006
Still living with the fallout from earlier cases, Ivy finds herself stuck in one more place she never planned to stay. Being stranded would be simpler if suspicious people, buried secrets, and fresh danger were not waiting there too.
Your Chariot Awaits
by Lorena McCourtney
2007
Downsized, dumped, and nearing sixty, Andi McConnell inherits a limousine and almost immediately finds a corpse in the trunk. To clear her name, she teams up with former TV detective Fitz and starts asking dangerous questions.
Here Comes The Ride
by Lorena McCourtney
2008
Andi's limo service lands the wedding of the century, complete with blackmail, betrayal, and a bride afraid she will be killed. Between the chaos and a murder, this job is anything but glamorous.
Dying to Read
by Lorena McCourtney
2012
Cate Kinkaid takes a temporary job with her private investigator uncle and expects boring legwork. Instead she finds a dead woman at a rambling old house and gets pulled into a mystery full of secrets and suspicious stories.
Dolled Up to Die
by Lorena McCourtney
2013
Cate races to what sounds like a horrific triple homicide and finds the victims are dolls, at least at first. The case quickly turns human, and the joke of it vanishes as the danger becomes real.
Death Takes a Ride
by Lorena McCourtney
2014
Cate Kinkaid heads to a vintage auto shop for a simple favor and walks into a shooting instead. A search for a rare motorcycle soon tangles with murder, and Cate starts to doubt the easy answers.
Three Secrets
by Lorena McCourtney
2014
Carolyn expects only a quiet Christmas break on the Baja coast, not romance with a capable silver-haired handyman. But she is keeping three life-changing secrets, and they may end the relationship before it begins.
For Whom the Limo Rolls
by Lorena McCourtney
2015
Andi McConnell's limo business is finally running smoothly when an odd renter, stranger neighbors, and one inconvenient corpse ruin the calm. Solving the case means juggling suspicion, faith, and Fitz all over again.
Go, Ivy, Go!
by Lorena McCourtney
2015
After years on the road, Ivy thinks it may be safe to return home, until a body in her bathtub proves the Braxtons have not forgotten her. Going back to Missouri means facing old enemies and fresh danger.
Something Buried, Something Blue
by Lorena McCourtney
2016
Ivy and Mac are finally set to marry, but a dead body and a pile of suspicious money crash the wedding plans. What should be a joyful week turns into a hunt for answers before a killer stops them for good.
Detour
by Lorena McCourtney
2018
Newly married Ivy and Mac expect a quiet honeymoon, but a stop at a rundown dinosaur park comes with a corpse and growing suspicion. Soon they are dodging sabotage, old secrets, and danger aimed straight at them.
Midnight Escape
by Lorena McCourtney
2018
In 1933, Beth Curtis runs to protect baby Joey from the powerful family determined to claim him. As the chase tightens, she discovers that Guy Wilkerson wants more than the child, and escape may not be simple.
Desert Dead
by Lorena McCourtney
2019
Ivy and Mac are finally headed for their honeymoon when a friend's report of a vanished body drags them into an Arizona desert mystery. Blackmail, old grudges, and a killer turn the detour into a deadly one.
Charlie's Secrets
by Lorena McCourtney
2024
Mac and Ivy expect a straightforward memoir project for a veiled, reclusive woman. Instead they uncover explosive secrets about her three famous ex-husbands, and those men may be willing to kill to stop the story.
Over the Hill
by Lorena McCourtney
2026
Ivy hopes a temporary library job in the town of Stumble will be nice and quiet. Instead she gets a feud, a suspect's arrest in a black negligee, a hostile cat, and a murder that puts her right back in the middle.
Where should I start?
If you want a funny senior sleuth: Invisible → In Plain Sight → On the Run
If you want cozy mysteries with a younger private investigator: Dying to Read → Dolled Up to Die → Death Takes a Ride
If you want later-life reinvention with humor: Your Chariot Awaits → Here Comes The Ride → For Whom the Limo Rolls
If you want road-trip mystery and banter: Something Buried, Something Blue → Detour → Desert Dead
If you want a darker small-town suspense thread: Whirlpool → Riptide → Undertow
Author bio
Lorena McCourtney was born in eastern Washington, and she has spent much of her life in the Pacific Northwest. She earned a degree in agriculture from Washington State College, which is not the background most people expect from a mystery writer, but it fits her practical, grounded style more than you might think.
Her path to fiction was not a straight line.
In her own telling, the earliest stories she wrote were about horses. After college, she took a job with a large meat-packing company and quickly realized that writing about hogs and sausage was not the life she wanted. Marriage and motherhood changed the shape of her days, and when she came back to writing in a serious way, she started with short fiction for children and teenagers, especially for Sunday school publications.
That was the beginning. Then came women's short stories and a long run of romance novels. By the time she turned more fully toward Christian fiction, she had already published two dozen romances and learned how to build pace, character chemistry, and the kind of story that keeps pages turning.
The mystery turn seems to have clicked for her almost at once. She has said that after adding a murder to one of her earlier inspirational novels, she realized she liked writing suspense very much. That instinct led to books like Whirlpool, Riptide, and Undertow, and later to the lighter, funnier mysteries many readers know best, including Invisible, Dying to Read, and Your Chariot Awaits.
Her books tend to meet readers where they live. Ordinary women get pulled into trouble. Small towns keep secrets. Faith matters, but it usually arrives as part of the character's daily life, not a sermon dropped into the plot. Even when the danger is real, there is often a wry line, an oddball neighbor, or a wonderfully inconvenient pet waiting around the corner.
Ivy Malone is probably the clearest example of that mix. Ivy is older, underestimated, and very aware that people look past a gray-haired woman. McCourtney has said she feels a strong connection to Ivy's sense of becoming invisible with age, and she turns that idea into one of the most memorable hooks in her fiction. Readers who like Ivy usually like the rest of McCourtney's work for the same reason, smart heroines, clean suspense, humor, and a deep affection for everyday people.
The awards followed. Invisible and On the Run received Daphne du Maurier Awards of Excellence, and Your Chariot Awaits won American Christian Fiction Writers' Mystery Book of the Year. Those honors tell part of the story, but the books themselves tell the rest. She knows how to balance menace with warmth.
Now she and her husband Jim live in southern Oregon. She has written about moving from rural acreage into town later in life, still writing mysteries all the while. She also enjoys walking, especially on Oregon beaches, along with reading, animals, and country and western music, which feels exactly right for a writer whose stories are often sharp-eyed, companionable, and a little bit mischievous.
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