Redemption Books in Order

The Redemption series is the starting point for Karen Kingsbury’s sprawling Baxter family saga. It introduces the Baxter household, their rhythms, and the way one hidden choice can shake an entire family tree. The tone is emotional and faith-forward, with a lot of attention on marriage, adult kids, and the push and pull between honesty and self-protection.

The story opens in Redemption, when John and Elizabeth Baxter’s long marriage is threatened by a secret from John’s past. Their adult children are suddenly dealing with questions they never expected to ask about loyalty, trust, and what they think a “good family” is supposed to look like.

From there, the series follows the aftershocks through Remember, Return, Rejoice, and Reunion. Each book shifts the spotlight to different members of the family, so you see the same problem from multiple angles, the parents, the siblings, the spouses, and the people pulled into the Baxters’ orbit.

This is family drama with consequences.

Kingsbury does not treat forgiveness as instant or simple. Characters struggle, make messy choices, and sometimes say the wrong thing before they finally say the right one. Faith shows up in prayer and church, but also in the way people choose to love each other when they are disappointed or scared.

If you are wondering where to begin with the Baxters, start here. Reading the five books in order gives you the emotional foundation for everything that comes later in Firstborn, Sunrise, and beyond, because the relationships formed and repaired here keep mattering for a long time.