Islands book series in reading order

by Josh Lacey

by Enid Blyton

by Greg Farshtey

by Lisa McMann

by Donna Kauffman

by Dave Barry

by Elisabeth Ogilvie

by Greg Farshtey

by E. Lockhart

Anne Zouroudi, born in Lincolnshire, is a British crime novelist who sets her Greek Detective series among the islands and towns of Greece. Hermes Diaktoros, known as the fat man, investigates each murder. Zouroudi was shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Breakthrough Authors in 2008, the year The Messenger of Athens was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. Eleven books run from that debut in 2007 to The Demons of December (2018).

Josh Lacey, born in London in 1968, is a British writer of children's books who also publishes as Joshua Doder. One adult title sits in the catalogue: God Is Brazilian (2005), a biography of Charles Miller, the man who brought football to Brazil. The children's books run to 27 catalogued titles dated 2004 to 2021, with dragons, pets, islands and adventure among the recorded subjects, in series including Dragonsitter, Misfitz Mysteries, Hope Jones and Tom Trelawney.

Marie Force has 132 books catalogued from Line of Scrimmage (2008) to State of Mind (2026), across contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Force's series include Gansett Island, Fatal, First Family, Quantum, Green Mountain, Butler, Vermont, Treading Water, Wild Widows and Miami Heat/Miami Nights. Islands, Vermont, Washington, D.C., policewomen and murder investigations appear among the subjects. Fatal Affair dates from 2010. Force is still publishing.

Enid Blyton

957 books• 42 series

Enid Blyton (11 August 1897 to 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer and one of the best-selling authors of children's literature, with more than 600 million copies sold and translations into ninety languages. Blyton wrote on education, natural history, fantasy, mystery and biblical stories. Noddy, the Famous Five, the Secret Seven, the Five Find-Outers and Malory Towers are the best-remembered Blyton books, and St Clare's, Mary Mouse and Toyland Stories are also listed. The catalogue opens with The Enid Blyton Book of Fairies (1924), and The Naughtiest Girl in the School (1930) and The Adventures of the Wishing-Chair (1937) follow. Titles dated after Blyton's death also appear, up to Stories of Wonders and Wishes (2023).

Gregory Todd Farshtey, born July 14, 1965, is an American writer known for the Bionicle novels (2003-2010), the Bionicle comics (2001-2010) and the Ninjago graphic novels. The catalogue counts 80 Farshtey books, from The River of God (1992) to Ghost Ninja (2015). Series include Bionicle Adventures, Bionicle Legends, LEGO Ninjago Graphic Novels, LEGO Ninjago Chapter Books, LEGO Legends of Chima: Chapter Books, LEGO Hero Factory: Secret Mission, Exo-force and Bloodshadows. Legends of Metru Nui (2004) and The Official Guide to Bionicle (2003) are among the titles, and subjects include LEGO toys, heroes, ninja and robots.

Peter May

33 books• 5 series

Peter May, born 20 December 1951, is a Scottish novelist, crime writer and television screenwriter. The Blackhouse won the U.S. Barry Award for Crime Novel of the Year and France's Cezam Prix Litteraire, and The Lewis Man took Le Telegramme's Grand Prix des Lecteurs. Entry Island won two awards in 2014, and May received France's Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in 2025. Sales exceed twelve million copies. The catalogue lists 33 books, from The Reporter (1978) to The Black Loch (2024), with the China Thrillers, the Enzo Files and the Lewis Tetralogy among the series.

Lisa McMann

37 books• 7 series

Lisa McMann, born February 27, 1968, is an American author who created The Unwanteds and The Unwanteds Quests for young readers and the Wake trilogy for young adults. The catalogue lists 37 McMann books from 2008 to 2026, beginning with Wake (2008), Fade (2009) and Gone (2010). The Unwanteds (2011) and Island of Silence (2012) are among the titles. Other series include Forgotten Five, Visions and Going Wild. Subjects include twins, magic, superheroes and dreams, and Forever Rogue (2026) is the newest.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole is one of the series by Kathryn Lasky, an American children's writer born June 24, 1944, who writes for adults as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann. Lasky's children's work also includes Dear America and The Royal Diaries books, Wolves of the Beyond, Sugaring Time and The Night Journey, and honours include a Newbery Honor, the National Jewish Book Award and the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature. The catalogue holds 159 books from I Have Four Names for My Grandfather (1976) to Sacred Light (2026), including Tugboats Never Sleep (1977), The Weaver's Gift (1980) and Beyond the Divide (1983). Horses Of The Dawn, Bears Of The Ice and Camp Princess are further series, and subjects name owls, wolves, diaries and Jews.

Daisy Meadows is the name on the Rainbow Magic children's books, a fantasy line whose subjects include fairies, goblins, Jack Frost and two girls, Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker. The catalogue opens in 2003 with colour-fairy titles such as Ruby the Red Fairy, Amber the Orange Fairy and Fern the Green Fairy, and runs to Nur the Vlogger Fairy (2023). Sub-series include the Weather, Jewel, Party, Pet Keeper, Dance, Ocean and Showtime Fairies. Magic Animal Friends appears under the same name.

Michael Morpurgo

171 books• 5 series

Sir Michael Morpurgo, born 5 October 1943, is an English author, poet, playwright and librettist best known for children's novels such as War Horse (1982). Morpurgo served as the third Children's Laureate from 2003 to 2005 and is President of BookTrust, a children's reading charity. Recurring themes include outsiders who triumph, survival and bonds with nature, set in places such as the Cornish coast and the First World War trenches. The catalogue holds 171 books from It Never Rained (1974) to Down Burrow Lane (2026), including the Mudpuddle Farm series.

Elisabetta Dami

309 books• 22 series

Elisabetta Dami, born 1 January 1958, is an Italian children's author known for the Geronimo Stilton book series. The catalogue credits Dami with 309 books from 1998 to 2026. Titles from 2000 include Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye, Attack Of The Bandit Cats and Four Mice Deep in the Jungle. Other listings include Geronimo Stilton: Thea Stilton, Mouseford Academy, Kingdom Of Fantasy, Geronimo Stilton Cavemice, Geronimo Stilton Spacemice and Creepella von Cacklefur. Subjects include mice, journalists, time travel and humorous stories. The Legend of Chocolate Hills (2026) is the newest title.

R.L. Stine

589 books• 64 series

Robert Lawrence Stine, born October 8, 1943, is an American novelist who writes horror fiction for children. Goosebumps, the series Stine created, sold more than 400 million copies in 35 languages and grew into a franchise of two television series, video games, comics and two feature films. Fear Street, Stine's horror sequence for teenagers, passed 80 million copies and was adapted for film. Stine has been called the Stephen King of children's literature. The listing runs to 590 titles, from How to Be Funny (1978), published as Jovial Bob Stine, to How to Train Your Dummy, scheduled for 2027.

Dave Barry

56 books• 7 series

Dave Barry writes humour, most of it non-fiction. The catalogue holds 56 titles, from The Taming of the Screw (1983) through Dave Barry's Bad Habits (1985), Dave Barry Slept Here (1989), Dave Barry Turns Forty (1990) and Dave Barry Talks Back (1991) to Class Clown in 2025. The Peter and the Starcatchers and Never Land children's books, written with Ridley Pearson, sit beside the essays.

Thomas Kinkade (January 19, 1958 – April 6, 2012), born William Thomas Kinkade III, was an American painter of realistic, pastoral and idyllic scenes who marketed the work as prints and licensed products through the Thomas Kinkade Company. Kinkade used the trademarked label "Painter of Light". The catalogue lists 20 books under the Kinkade name, from The Artist's Guide to Sketching (1983) and Lightposts for Living (1999) to 25 Years of Light (2025). The listing also carries the Cape Light and Angel Island fiction series and the Girls of Lighthouse Lane books, with New England, lighthouses, islands and family life among the subjects.

Angie Sage, born 20 June 1952, is an English author of children's books. Septimus Heap, the TodHunter Moon trilogy and Araminta Spook (published as Araminta Spookie in the United States) are Sage's series. The catalogue lists 42 books, starting with Monkeys in the Jungle (1989) and ending with Midnight Train (2021). Subjects include magic, wizards, apprentices, ghosts, haunted houses and picture books.

Patricia MacLachlan (March 3, 1938 to March 31, 2022), born Patricia Marie Pritzkau, was an American children's writer. MacLachlan's novel Sarah, Plain and Tall won the Newbery Medal in 1986 and gave its name to a series. The catalogue holds 63 books for young readers, including the Barkus series, Arthur, for the Very First Time and My Poet (2022). Family life, dogs, grandparents, friendship and frontier life are frequent subjects.

Leslie Thomas

38 books• 2 series

The Virgin Soldiers (1966) opens Leslie Thomas's catalogue and is the comic novel Thomas is best known for. Thomas (1931-2014) was a Welsh author, appointed OBE, with 38 catalogued books running to My World of Islands (2011). Two series are catalogued: Virgin Soldiers, continued in Onward Virgin Soldiers (1972), and Dangerous Davies. Military life, the British Army, the Second World War, islands and travel writing fill out the list, alongside Orange Wednesday (1967), Come To The War (1971) and Arthur McCann And All His Women (1974).

Liz Kessler, born 15 October 1966, is an English children's author. Emily Windsnap, a half-mermaid, is the central figure of Kessler's most notable series. The catalogue holds 32 books from 2003 to 2025, opening with The Tail of Emily Windsnap (2003) and reaching Emily Windsnap and the Crystal Caves (2025). Other series are Philippa Fisher and Poppy, and the subjects include mermaids, fairies, magic and friendship.

Clive Cussler

104 books• 9 series

Clive Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. Cussler founded and chaired the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), which has located more than 60 shipwreck sites. Cussler's thrillers, many of them featuring Dirk Pitt, reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than 20 times. The catalogue lists 105 books under Cussler's name, beginning with The Mediterranean Caper (1973), with The Serpent's Eye due in 2027. Robin Burcell shares credit on 6 of them, Jack Du Brul on 5 and Grant Blackwood on 3. Series include Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, Oregon Files and Sea Hunters.

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.

Jenny Colgan

67 books• 19 series

Jenny Colgan is a Scottish writer of romantic comedy and science fiction, born 14 September 1971 in Prestwick, Ayrshire. Colgan has written Doctor Who stories and also publishes as Jane Beaton and J. T. Colgan. Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams won the Romantic Novel of the Year award in 2013, and The Summer Seaside Kitchen won the Romantic Novelists' Association Comedy Novel of the Year in 2018. The catalogue lists 67 titles, from Amanda's Wedding (1999) to The Secret Christmas Library (2025), across series such as Scottish Island of Mure, Little Beach Street Bakery, Cupcake Café and Scottish Bookshop.

Susan Mallery is an American romance novelist born in 1970, whose books are set in small, tight-knit communities and give pets a prominent role. The catalogue counts 201 books from Tender Loving Care (1991) onward, including early titles published as Susan Macias. Series include Fool's Gold, Desert Rogues, Hometown Heartbreakers, Happily Inc., Marcelli, Buchanans, Blackberry Island and Mischief Bay. The Bookstore Diaries (2026) is the newest release, and Friend Request is due in 2027.

Dennis Lehane

19 books• 7 series

Dennis Lehane, born August 4, 1965, is an American novelist and screenwriter. Lehane's first several novels formed a mystery series with recurring characters, among them A Drink Before the War (1994). Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, both private investigators, are named in the subject tags. Mystic River, Shutter Island, Gone, Baby, Gone and Live by Night were each filmed under the same title, and the short story Animal Rescue became the 2014 film The Drop. The catalogue counts 19 books up to Small Mercies (2023), including the Coughlin novels, graphic novels and standalone fiction.

Tracie Peterson, born 1959, writes Christian fiction, mostly historical novels carrying romance and faith themes. Peterson used the pen name Janelle Jamison early on and has written joint novels with other Christian authors; Bethany House publishes many of the titles. Several Peterson series feature Harvey Girls, the waitstaff of the Fred Harvey Company. The catalogue lists 153 books from A Kingdom Divided (1991) to Devoted to Love (2026), across series such as Heirs of Montana, Westward Chronicles, Ribbons West, Yukon Quest, Shannon Saga and Desert Roses. Peterson lives in Montana and runs Peterson Ink with husband Jim.