Shirley Wells Books in Order

Recently widowed Ella Rochfort returns to her Cotswold village after an unhappy marriage. As she worries that her children are repeating old mistakes, an unexpected second chance at love challenges her to make choices for herself.

Olivia Standish expects luxury and status as the wife of a successful politician. Discovering a recording of his infidelities shatters that confidence, prompting her to seek revenge against a husband whose marriage was built on convenience.

Widowed translator Megan opposes her university-age daughter's sudden plans to marry. The prospective groom's divorced father shares her concerns, and their efforts to protect their children bring support and new complications into their own lives.

After her husband's accident, Sarah Lyndhurst takes responsibility for his joinery business. Accustomed to defining herself through marriage and motherhood, she must adapt to unfamiliar demands while wondering how her changing identity will affect their relationship.

Doctor Lara Daniels returns to Shetland to work near her boyfriend and explore a cherished childhood memory. Her grandfather's wartime experiences reveal family secrets, while a local fisherman makes her question the future she imagined.

Four years after her husband's death, Thea Stevenson takes their daughter to his native Orkney island. Meeting the family that rejected him brings fears of another rejection, but also friendship, unexpected truths, and the possibility of love.

Widowed Fran Martin hesitates to marry again as she and her children rebuild their lives. Her daughter Louise's church documentary brings her back to her father's former parish, where the new vicar challenges her expectations.

Ishbel Montrose realizes her ambition to become a missionary when she takes a post in Shanghai. Settling into China, she befriends a tea merchant's daughters and their American accountant, forming relationships within an unfamiliar society.

Sarah Chadwick hopes her retired husband will manage their antiques shop while she pursues theater work. His decision to volunteer abroad leaves their daughter running the business and tests what a year apart will mean for their marriage.

Forensic psychologist Jill Kennedy retreats to a Lancashire village after a disastrous case. A vicar's wife's murder reunites her with detective Max Trentham, while disturbing reminders of her past suggest an uncaught killer may be watching her.

Landscape designer Laurie Summerfield returns to the estate where her father was wrongly convicted of murder. Hired by the victim's unsuspecting son, she sees her work restoring the grounds as an opportunity to uncover the truth.

The murder of a teenage boy draws forensic psychologist Jill Kennedy back into police work with Max Trentham. Their search reveals troubling discrepancies beneath village appearances, and another killing increases the pressure to identify the murderer.

A woman's body found in a quarry resembles killings attributed to a suspect presumed dead years earlier. Jill Kennedy and Max Trentham must determine whether the murderer survived, a copycat is active, or their original investigation was wrong.

Disgraced former policeman Dylan Scott accepts a daughter's plea to investigate her mother's disappearance thirteen years earlier. His inquiries in Dawson's Clough expose numerous suspects and a community reluctant to reveal what really happened.

A newcomer to Kelton Bridge is murdered while Max Trentham faces suspension over another investigation. Working with Jill Kennedy, he explores the victim's hidden past and connections to a businessman he already suspects of a separate crime.

A dying father hires Dylan Scott to find the daughter who vanished on her way to work. Behind accounts of her happy life, Dylan discovers conflicting relationships, concealed histories, and someone determined to frighten him away.

Abandoned with her twin at a Liverpool orphanage, Amelia Penrose grows up craving security. Marriage to an American sailor takes her to Seattle and the Klondike, where the search for gold brings love, loss, and difficult discoveries.

Dylan Scott reluctantly joins his family on an Arctic cruise, expecting boredom rather than trouble. When a neighboring passenger dies, he questions the apparent heart attack and suspects a murderer is still aboard the ship.

An ex-lover persuades Dylan Scott to investigate a woman's death dismissed as a burglary gone wrong. An overlooked valuable object raises doubts, and inquiries stretching to France uncover secrets her own family never understood.

A young woman's murder disrupts Christmas preparations in Kelton Bridge, and Max Trentham suspects Jill Kennedy's neighbor. Determined to defend her friend, Jill investigates his past while new evidence and another body challenge her certainty.

Dylan Scott investigates a man serving life for his former wife's murder despite apparently conclusive evidence. Remembering his own unjust imprisonment, the private detective searches for overlooked truths in Dawson's Clough and questions the alternative suspect's seemingly secure alibi.

Two girls disappear from a religious community led by a former drug dealer Dylan Scott once investigated. Returning undercover puts him at risk of recognition as he tries to establish whether the refuge conceals another criminal enterprise.

Threatening calls warn Dylan Scott that someone wants revenge, and a series of killings follows. Investigating old enemies across London, he must identify the connection before the murderer reaches the intended final victim: Dylan himself.

Grieving his wife, Dylan Scott finds new purpose investigating the murder of a man who once helped him. He suspects an incriminating photograph lies behind the crime, but pursuing the truth puts his surviving family at risk.

On the eve of her wedding to Max Trentham, Jill Kennedy learns that a schoolgirl is missing. The suspected stepfather belongs to Jill's past, drawing her into an investigation that threatens both their honeymoon plans and her safety.