Businesswomen book series in reading order

by Jackie Collins

by Barbara Taylor Bradford

by Emily March

by Jenn McKinlay

by Colleen Hoover

Barbara Taylor Bradford began in non-fiction, with Fashions That Please Him (1970) and a run of interior decorating guides, then wrote A Woman of Substance (1979) and the family sagas that followed. Businesswomen, inheritance and mothers and daughters are the standing subjects. 47 catalogued books include the Emma Harte and Harte Family sagas, Cavendon Hall, the House of Falconer and the Ravenscar novels. The Wonder of It All, published in 2023, closes the catalogue.

Nora Roberts

279 books• 37 series

Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950, is an American writer of romance under that name. As J. D. Robb, Roberts writes police procedurals with science-fiction elements, and has also published as Jill March and, in the UK, as Sarah Hardesty. This listing carries 280 Roberts books, opening with Irish Thoroughbred (1981); The Missing is scheduled for 2027. Series on the page include the In Death Universe, the MacGregors, Night Tales, the Calhoun Women, the Chesapeake Bay Saga, Irish Hearts and the O'Hurleys.

Laura Childs writes cozy mysteries in three series: the Tea Shop Mysteries, with Theodosia Browning in Charleston, South Carolina, the Scrapbooking Mysteries and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Death by Darjeeling (2001) opens the catalogue, which holds 56 books and reaches Death at a Firefly Tea. Buttermint Bomb is scheduled for 2027.

Jayne Ann Krentz, born Jayne Castle on 28 March 1948 in Cobb, California, is an American romance novelist with New York Times bestsellers under seven pseudonyms. Three names remain in use: Krentz for contemporary romantic suspense, Amanda Quick for historical romantic suspense and Jayne Ann Castle for futuristic and paranormal romantic suspense. More than 35 million copies are in print. The catalogue lists 205 books, from Vintage of Surrender (1979, as Jayne Castle) to Enter the Nightmare (2026), with The Book Hunter due in 2027. Early titles also appeared as Jayne Bentley, Jayne Taylor and Stephanie James. Series include Burning Cove, Eclipse Bay and the Dreamlight Trilogy.

Two mystery series carry most of Mary Daheim's catalogue: the Bed-and-Breakfast books around Judith McMonigle Flynn, and the Emma Lord novels about a newspaper publisher in Washington state. Eighty-four titles are catalogued between The Royal Mile (1983) and Lady MacDeath in 2020, with historical romances among the early work. The 1990s were the densest decade.

Jackie Collins

40 books• 6 series

Jackie Collins wrote about Hollywood, the film business and the women who fought their way through it. 40 catalogued books run from The World Is Full of Married Men (1960) through The Stud (1969), The Love Killers (1974), The World Is Full Of Divorced Women (1975) and Lovers and Gamblers (1977), ending at The Santangelos. Lucky Santangelo is the character Collins is best known for, joined by the Madison Castelli and Fontaine Khaled books. The catalogue is likely complete.

Maggy Thorsen, a Wisconsin businesswoman in the coffeehouse trade, is the sleuth Sandra Balzo returns to most often, from Uncommon Grounds (2004) onward. Balzo grew up in southeastern Wisconsin and came to mystery writing after twenty years in corporate public relations, event management and publicity. 23 catalogued books reach Poison and Pooches (2025), across three series: Maggy Thorsen Mystery, Main Street Mystery and the Dog-sitting Mysteries. A displaced journalist, AnnaLise Griggs, carries a second strand. Balzo's novels have been nominated for the Anthony and Macavity awards, and her short fiction has taken the Macavity, Derringer and Robert L. Fish awards.

Barbara Delinsky, born Barbara Ruth Greenberg on August 9, 1945, is an American romance novelist with 19 New York Times bestsellers. Delinsky has also used the pen names Bonnie Drake and Billie Douglass, and 1982 titles such as A Time to Love are listed under Douglass. The catalogue counts 96 books from 1981 to Tender Loving Care (2024), starting with Surrender by Moonlight and Passionate Touch. Series include Crosslyn Rise, Blake Sisters and Victoria Lesser, and mothers and daughters recur in the subjects.

Meredith Wild writes erotic romance. Billionaires, businesswomen, personal trainers, and sexual dominance and submission recur as subjects across 21 catalogued books published between 2013 and 2025. Hardwired (2013) opens the run and Sweet Escape (2025) is the newest entry. The #Hacker, Bridge, Red Ledger, Hawthorne Vines and Blood of Zeus sets are the series catalogued under Wild's name, and Mia Michelle is credited alongside Wild on 2 titles.

Across 194 catalogued books, Danielle Steel writes contemporary romance and family drama: love stories, marriages, widowhood and the turns that reshape a life. The run starts with Going Home (1973) and continues through Celebration, with 24 Hours scheduled for 2027. Steel's catalogue also holds children's picture books, short stories and non-fiction beside the standalone novels that make up most of it.

Lori Foster

146 books• 33 series

Lori Foster is an American romance novelist who also publishes urban fantasy as L.L. Foster, and has appeared on the USA Today, Publishers Weekly and New York Times bestseller lists. Foster is currently published by Harlequin. The catalogue holds 146 books from Impetuous (1995) to The Lake House (2026), with the 2000s the busiest decade; one book also credits Christie Ridgway. Series include Buckhorn Brothers, SBC Fighters, Body Armor, Ultimate and Love Undercover, and mixed martial arts shows up among the subjects.

Melanie Scott writes paranormal romance and fantasy. The catalogue holds 29 books, opening with Shadow Kin (2011) and running to Wicked Lies (2026). Scott's series are TechWitch, New York Saints, Half-Light City, Four Arts, Cloud Bay and Daughter of Ravens. Recorded subjects include magic, fairies, female assassins, businesswomen, man-woman relationships, New York, baseball, baseball players and baseball team owners.

Sandra Brown

94 books• 11 series

Sandra Brown, born Sandra Lynn Cox on March 12, 1948, is an American author of romance and suspense thrillers. Brown has also published under three pen names: Rachel Ryan, Laura Jordan and Erin St. Claire. The catalogue counts 94 titles from 1981, when Love's Encore and Love Beyond Reason came out as Rachel Ryan, to Bloodlust (2026). Listed series include the Texas! Tyler Family Saga, the Coleman Family Saga, Mason Sisters and Lee Coburn. Texas, widows and murder recur among the subject headings.

Cozy mysteries with a trade attached are Jenn McKinlay's speciality: a library, a cupcake bakery, a hat shop and a resale business each anchor a series. The catalogue reaches 69 titles between 2002 and 2026, including contemporary romance in the Bluff Point and Museum of Literature books and the Decoupage mysteries written as Lucy Lawrence. Stuck on Murder (2009) and Sprinkle with Murder (2010) start the main cozy runs, and Booking for Trouble is the most recent title.

Linda Howard is the pen name of Linda S. Howington, an American author of romance and suspense born on August 3, 1950, in Alabama. The catalogue counts 63 books between All That Glitters (1982) and After Sundown (2019). Series include the Mackenzie Family Saga, Rescues/Kell Sabin, CIA's Spies/John Medina, Blair Mallory and GO-Team, alongside standalone novels. Contemporary, historical and paranormal romance all appear in the subject tags, together with romantic suspense.

Mariah Stewart writes women's fiction and romantic suspense. The Chesapeake Diaries, Wyndham Beach, the Hudson Sisters, Mercy Street, Enright and Last are the series in a catalogue of 50 titles, which opens in 1995 with Moments in Time and reaches Wake-Up Calls (2026). Maryland settings, federal investigators, serial murders and family life fill the subject tags.

Denise Swanson is an American mystery writer. The Scumble River Mysteries are set in a fictional Illinois town, and the Devereaux's Dime Store Mysteries in a small fictional town in Missouri. Catalogue subjects name Skye Denison as a recurring fictional character and list school psychologists, murder, investigation and women sleuths. The catalogue holds 46 books running from Murder of a Small-Town Honey (2000) to Wedding Jitters and Stormy Rivers (2026). Welcome Back To Scumble River, Chef-To-Go Mysteries, Stephanie Danielson and Forever Charmed Mysteries are the other series listed. Swanson has been nominated for the Agatha Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award.

Kate White

27 books• 1 series

Kate White's catalogue divides between suspense and career advice. Bailey Weggins, a journalist, is the lead of White's mystery series, and early fiction titles include A Body to Die For (2003), 'Til Death Do Us Part (2004) and Over Her Dead Body (2005). The non-fiction side opens with Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead... But Gutsy Girls Do (1995) and covers business success and career development. Twenty-seven books run to I Came Back for You in 2026.

Emily March's catalogue holds 35 books, from The Scoundrel's Bride (1995) to Second Chance Season (2024). Eternity Springs names three series, Eternity Springs, Eternity Springs: The McBrides of Texas and Celebrate Eternity Springs, and Lake in the Clouds, Cedar Dell, Texas and Brazos Bend are further series. Simmer All Night (1999), Sizzle All Day (2000), Season of Sisters (2002) and A Callahan Carol (2010) are other listed titles. Contemporary romance, women veterinarians, widowers and Colorado appear among the subjects.

Female friendship holds Wendy Wax's women's fiction together, often with a house restoration or a reality television programme in the plot. Key to My Heart (1999) opens the catalogue and 7 Days and 7 Nights (2003) follows. Ten Beach Road is the named series. Twenty-seven titles are catalogued, reaching Just Beachy in 2025.

Nikki Turner is an American writer of urban fiction whom Trendsetter Magazine called the Queen of Hip Hop Lit. A Hustler's Wife and A Project Chick, both from 2003, were the first two books and had sold about 150,000 copies by 2005. Turner, born in Richmond, Virginia, holds a degree from North Carolina Central University and left work as a travel agent to write full time, aiming to show the dark side of street life. The catalogue lists 28 books through Mamma (2024), including The Glamorous Life (2005), Riding Dirty on I-95 (2006), Forever a Hustler's Wife (2007) and Black Widow (2008). Unique, A Hustler's Wife, Project Chick and Glamorous Life are the series.

Laurelin Paige, born November 18, 1974, is an American romance novelist. Most of Paige's novels have reached the New York Times, Wall Street Journal or USA Today bestseller lists. The Fixed Trilogy appeared on People magazine's Reader's Choice top ten books of 2014 and was the only self-published title among Amazon's ten top sellers. Fixed on You and Found in You (both 2013) open the catalogue of 60 books, which runs to Brutal Bargain (2024). Series include Dirty Universe, Fixed, Found Duet, Slay Quartet, Man In Charge Duet, Brutal Billionaires, Dating Season and Hollywood Heat. Nightclubs, stalkers, businesswomen and romantic suspense appear in the subject tags.

Ann Aguirre, born on 27 August 1970, is an American writer of speculative fiction across urban fantasy, romantic science fiction and post-apocalyptic dystopian young adult fiction. Apocalyptic paranormal romance appears under the shared name Ellen Connor with Carrie Lofty, and paranormal romantic suspense under the name Ava Gray. The catalogue lists 160 books, from Grimspace (2008) and Wanderlust (2008) to The Hocus Pocus Handbook (2026). Series include Sirantha Jax, Razorland, Corine Solomon and Ars Numina, plus Ava Gray series such as Alpha Billionaire and Valkov Bratva. Subjects include interstellar travel and women astronauts.

Shirlee McCoy writes Christian romance and inspirational romantic suspense, with subjects that include police, widows and single mothers. The catalogue lists 64 books from Still Waters (2003) to Blizzard Showdown (2021) and marks the author as dormant. Series include Heroes For Hire, Mission: Rescue, Lakeview, FBI: Special Crimes Unit, Apple Valley and Bradshaws. Die Before Nightfall (2005), Little Girl Lost (2007) and Lakeview Protector (2008) are among the titles.