Lowcountry Tales Books in Order
Part ofDorothea Benton Frank Books in OrderThe Lowcountry Tales series by Dorothea Benton Frank, featuring heartwarming stories of family, friendship, and secrets set in coastal South Carolina.
Last updated: December 14, 2025
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Publication Order
13 books
Queen Bee
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2019
Holly McNee Jensen finds solace in her backyard bees to escape her demanding mother, the town's "Queen Bee." But when her flamboyant sister returns and a widower moves in next door, Holly's quiet life gets a lot louder.
Same Beach, Next Year
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2017
Two couples have vacationed together on the Isle of Palms for twenty years. But the long history between them includes a past romance that threatens to complicate their enduring friendship and their marriages.
All the Single Ladies /Carolina Girls
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2015
Lisa St. Clair and two other women bond over the death of a mutual friend. Together, they investigate the mystery of the deceased woman's life while helping each other navigate their own midlife challenges.
The Hurricane Sisters
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2014
Three generations of women—fierce matriarch Maisie, her stressed daughter Liz, and drifting granddaughter Ashley—weather personal storms in the Lowcountry. As secrets spill out, they must learn to lean on each other to survive.
Folly Beach
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2011
Cate Cooper, newly widowed and financially ruined, retreats to Folly Beach to start over. She finds inspiration in the local history of playwright Dorothy Heyward, discovering parallels between their lives that help her heal.
Lowcountry Summer
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2010
In this sequel to *Plantation*, the Wimbley family struggles to find their footing after the death of their matriarch. Caroline must hold the family together as old secrets resurface and new relationships blossom along the Edisto River.
Return to Sullivan's Island
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2009
Recent college graduate Beth Hayes is tasked with house-sitting the family home, the Island Gamble. While she plans to rest, she instead finds herself entangled in the island's ghost stories, family legacy, and a complicated new romance.
Bulls Island
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2008
Betts McGee, a high-powered banking executive, returns to Charleston to head a project that could destroy the pristine Bulls Island. Her return reignites an old feud with the wealthy Langley family and forces her to confront her former fiancé.
Pawleys Island
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2005
After her marriage implodes, artist Rebecca Simms retreats to Pawleys Island to hide from the fallout. There, she strikes up a friendship with a group of retirees who help her find the courage to face her past and paint a new future.
Shem Creek
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2002
Single mom Linda Breland leaves New Jersey for a fresh start in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Managing a restaurant on Shem Creek, she finds herself charmed by the water, the locals, and the possibility of a second chance at love.
Plantation
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2001
Caroline Wimbley Levine swears she will never return to Tall Pines Plantation, but a family crisis forces her back. Now she must face her difficult mother, Miss Lavinia, and the tangled secrets that have bound their family to the land for generations.
Isle of Palms
by Dorothea Benton Frank
2001
Anna Lutz Abbot thinks she has her independent life under control until her daughter returns from college with a new attitude and her ex-husband shows up. As the summer heat rises, Anna has to navigate family chaos and a surprising new romance.
Sullivan's Island
by Dorothea Benton Frank
1999
Susan Hayes returns to her childhood home on Sullivan's Island after her husband's betrayal shatters her life in Charleston. Surrounded by the memories of her eccentric family and the Gullah storyteller who raised her, she begins to rebuild her identity.
Series background & context
The Lowcountry Tales represent the absolute heart of Dorothea Benton Frank’s writing life. Serving as a long-running love letter to the barrier islands and coastal towns of South Carolina, these novels did more than just tell stories—they put a specific region on the literary map. For nearly two decades, Frank used this series to explore the unique magic of the "Lowcountry," a place where the air is thick, the tea is sweet, and the family secrets run incredibly deep.
One of the most frequent questions new readers ask is where to begin. The answer is simpler than you might expect.
While the series includes over a dozen titles—starting with her breakout hit Sullivan’s Island and continuing through titles like Plantation, Isle of Palms, and Shem Creek—most of these books function as stand-alone novels. There is no strict chronology you have to memorize and no cliffhangers that demand you buy the next volume immediately. While a few characters might pop up in cameos across different books, or specific locations are revisited, you are generally free to pick up whichever story appeals to you and dive right in.
The novels almost always center on a woman finding herself at a major crossroads. The protagonist is often a South Carolina native who fled north for a fast-paced career or a marriage, only to have her life unravel. Whether she is dealing with a messy divorce, financial ruin, or the death of a parent, the solution is always the same: she must go home.
But going home isn’t easy.
Frank was a master at writing the friction between generations. The women in these stories have to navigate complex, thorny relationships with eccentric family matriarchs who haven't changed a bit. These mother-daughter dynamics provide much of the series' trademark humor. The conversations are filled with sharp Southern sass and passive-aggressive politeness, grounding the drama in a reality that feels familiar to anyone with a difficult family.
The setting itself acts as the most important character in the cast. The author treats the landscape with reverence, bringing the sensory details of the coast to life. You can practically smell the pluff mud and feel the humidity rising off the page. The books also frequently weave in elements of local history and Gullah culture, paying tribute to the traditions that shaped the region.
Ultimately, these stories are about the healing power of the coast. The marshes and the tides offer a rhythm that helps the characters piece their lives back together. It is a world where porch-sitting is a legitimate activity and where the ocean has the final say.
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