Venery Books in Order

The Venery books start with three people whose lives keep circling back to one another. Alex Penda survives the 1973 coup in Chile and grows up in America with the Lark family. Valerie Lark becomes both his protector and, later, his wife. Javier Landes is thrown out by his family as a teenager and learns to survive by selling sex. When Alex, Val, and Jav meet, attraction, friendship, and damage all arrive in the room together.

What makes this series stand out is its scale. The books move across decades and between countries, from Chile under Pinochet to New York City, the Hudson Valley, Vancouver, and Seattle. But even when the story gets wide, it stays personal. Political violence, exile, secrecy, and class all matter here, yet they matter because of what they do to specific people trying to build a home, protect the people they love, and make sense of desire that does not fit neat categories.

The series grows outward after An Exaltation of Larks. In A Charm of Finches, Javier's story deepens through his relationship with art therapist Steffen Finch and Steffen's traumatized client, Geno Caan. In A Scarcity of Condors, the focus shifts again, this time to Jude Tholet and the shock that sends his family back into the buried history of Chile's dictatorship. Each book widens the family tree while still feeling connected to the same emotional universe.

These are big books with long memories.

Expect found family, unconventional love, and a lot of hard questions about loyalty. The tone is intimate even when the stakes are huge. Laqueur writes about men and women who are deeply marked by the past, but who still keep reaching for tenderness, honesty, and belonging. The romance matters, but so do parent-child bonds, old betrayals, friendship, migration, and the way trauma can echo across generations.

Venery also has bonus material for readers who want to stay in the world longer. Tales From Cushman Row is a companion collection built around Javier and Steffen. The Voyages of Trueblood Cay is a fantasy novel written by a character inside the series, but it can also be read on its own. A Plump of Woodcocks is a short, intimate extra for established fans. Start with An Exaltation of Larks, then keep going in order if you want the full sweep.