The Lumber Baron's Daughters Books in Order

The Lumber Baron’s Daughters series shifts to 1870s California and trades cattle for timber. The three Stiles sisters are brilliant, engineering-minded women who helped build their late father’s lumber empire. After his death, a controlling stepfather tries to marry them off to pliable men so he can keep hold of both their fortunes and the company.

In The Element of Love, Laura Stiles fakes a shipboard disaster to escape an arranged marriage, dragging her sisters and mother into a risky plan that involves hiding at a remote mission school. A gruff but kind-hearted pastor and his community help them regroup, even as danger from San Francisco tracks them down the coast.

Inventions of the Heart focuses on Michelle, who is happiest sketching out water systems and mill improvements. On the run in the Sierra foothills, she partners with a rancher trying to save his property from sabotage. Their joint efforts to protect both cattle and timber reveal just how far their enemies will go.

In A Model of Devotion, youngest sister Jilly, a mechanical genius, faces the stepfather most directly. Posing as a model for a photographer to gather evidence, she walks a tightrope between exposure and justice, with a steady ally at her side who understands both her mind and her heart.

This trilogy is full of explosions, derailments, and industrial skulduggery, but at its core it’s about three women refusing to be treated as pawns. The California setting—bustling cities, forested hills, and a coast full of fog—adds a fresh backdrop while keeping Connealy’s familiar blend of action, wit, and faith.