Poppy & Serena Books in Order

The Poppy and Serena books follow two women whose lives were tied together as frightened teenagers and never really came apart. As girls they were dragged into a scandalous murder case, splashed across the tabloids and given the nickname that still haunts them. The series follows what happened that summer and how its aftershocks ripple through their families decades later.

In The Ice Cream Girls, Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe are the only witnesses to the violent death of their charismatic teacher. The public sees two glamorous girls in bikinis and decides they must be villains. In court one is convicted and sent to prison, the other walks free, but both carry the weight of abuse, shame and a story no one has ever really believed.

Years on, they are living completely different lives in Brighton. Serena has built a careful existence as a mother, wife and professional, desperately hiding her past from the people she loves. Poppy is finally released after years behind bars and is determined to prove she was not the monster the press made her out to be, even if that means confronting Serena face to face.

Together the books dig into the messy reality behind a sensational headline. They explore grooming and coercive control, the way race and class shape who is believed, and how the justice system can both protect and damage vulnerable people. Scenes set in kitchens, school playgrounds and quiet seaside streets make the horror feel chillingly close to everyday life.

All My Lies Are True picks up the story many years later, when Serena's adult daughter Verity and Poppy's brother Logan form an intense bond of their own. Their relationship forces buried truths to the surface and shows how secrets, even when told with the best of intentions, can twist the next generation's lives. The past refuses to stay over, and one desperate decision leads to another crime.

Across both novels you can expect shifting viewpoints, slow burning tension and the kind of reveals that make you rethink earlier chapters. This series is ideal if you like crime fiction that cares as much about survivors, family dynamics and emotional fallout as it does about the question of what happened on the night of the murder.