Kristin Hannah Books in Order
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Born in California in 1960, Kristin Hannah is best known for her multimillion copy bestselling novel The Nightingale.
Hannah’s first published book, A Handful of Heaven, was released in 1991. She has continued to write prolifically since then and now has more than 20 novels to her name. Her very first book, however, was written with her mother who has since passed away from cancer. That novel remains unpublished.
Kristin Hannah has won numerous awards and accolades over the years, including the Goodreads Best Historical Fiction Novel for 2015. She’s also a New York Times bestseller, and The Nightingale was selected for the Reese Witherspoon Book Club in 2023.
Like many other popular authors, Hannah’s works have successfully been adapted for the screen, with Firefly Lane achieving huge popularity when it was released on Netflix. A movie adaption of The Nightingale is due to hit streaming services in 2025.
Here are all of Kristin Hannah’s books in order. Enjoy!
Standalone Novels
A Handful of Heaven, 1991
Synopsis:
“Yukon Territory was a gold miner's heaven, and Devon O'Shea had come to claim her share. But instead of a thriving store in a boom town, Devon discovered she was part owner of a filthy, disorganized tent with a bunch of gold diggers and a mountainous slap of animosity for a partner: Stone Man McKenna.
Gathering mop, pail and sheer determination, Devon vowed to make this post the best in the Yukon Territory. Stone Man didn't scare her. But his kiss -- a gruff attempt to convince her that the Yukon was no place for a lady -- left her feeling, for the first time in her life, feminine and alive…”
Synopsis:
“Emmaline Hatter was a beautiful, brilliant, and rich Wall Street financier in the nineteenth century until the crash of 1893 wiped her out completely. Desperate to recoup her losses, she joins Dr. Larence Digby in his search for the legendary lost city of Cibola, rumored to be rich in gold. Emmaline was used to getting her own way, but Larence was not about to give up control of his expedition to a woman.
Somehow, in a world of enchantment, each would have to learn to believe -- to trust the other with their lives, their secrets, and their hearts.”
Synopsis:
“Tess Gregory's brilliant career as a research scientist hides her longings for husband and child. Though deaf, she is a free spirit--a woman full of life and love. She is struck down all too soon.
But for Tess, a new life begins at her death, in post-Civil War America. She is now Amarylis Rafferty, wife and mother of three--and she can hear. Shocked and disoriented by her new surroundings, she is drawn into the savage heartache burdening the family, especially her husband, Jack, a man who fears himself capable of anything.”
Synopsis:
“He never intended to stay. She couldn't bear to let him go.
Mad Dog Stone was a carefree drifter, a man who loved life on the open road and never looked back. Mariah Throckmorton was lonely and frightened, hiding from a past filled with heartbreak and scandal. A man in need of love, a woman in need of laughter . . .
He wandered onto her quiet apple farm in search of a few days' work, threatening her peace of mind and stirring the emotions she tried so hard to hide. Theirs was a love born against all odds, impossible to count on, impossible to hold.
Together they would face the heartache of loss, the price of passion, the aftermath of betrayal. For only then would they learn the bittersweet truth--that love exists only if you believe…”
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
Synopsis:
“Romance writer Alaina Costanza has given up on dreams and fairy tales. Then one storm-tossed, enchanted night she is plunged back in time to the wild, Western world of her newest novel. Disoriented and disbelieving, she is kidnapped by her own character, a ruthless outlaw only known as Killian.
At first Alaina is not afraid. After all, she wrote this story, invented the notoriously sexy Killian. Now she's matching him hard-bitten word for word . . . until she's hit with the shock of her life: this is all too real. Once wisecracking and invincible, she is now a mother desperate to return to the child she left behind--one hundred years in the future.
Thrown together by fate, Alaina and Killian will discover a love too magnificent to last a single lifetime. But even magic has a price, and time is running out. For the sake of Alaina's child, they must risk it all and fight for a future that depends on lightning striking… twice.”
Synopsis:
“Selena doesn't remember who she is or how she came to the hidden mansion on the isolated Maine coast. Lost in a confusing world filled with strangers, she finds comfort in a man whose eyes reflect her own desperate loneliness.
Dr. Ian Carrick invites Selena into his mysterious sanctuary where he has retreated from the world that betrayed him. For her, he begins to believe in himself once more.
But even love cannot protect her from her own terrible secrets…”
Synopsis:
“Madelaine Hillyard is a world-famous heart surgeon at the top of her game. Her personal life is far less successful. A loving but overworked single mom, she is constantly at odds with her teenage daughter.
At sixteen, Lina is confused, angry, and fast becoming a stranger to her mother--a rebel desperate to find the father who walked away before she was born. Complicating matters for Madelaine are the vastly different DeMarco brothers: While priest Francis DeMarco is always ready to lend a helping hand, his brother, Angel, long ago took on the role of bad boy. Years earlier Angel abandoned Madelaine--and fatherhood--to go in search of fame and fortune.
His departure left Madelaine devastated, but now he reappears and seeks help from the very people he betrayed--as a patient in dire need.”
Synopsis:
“Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school abroad. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Alone in the house that is no longer a home, Annie comes to the painful realization that for years she has been slowly disappearing. Lonely and afraid, she retreats to Mystic, the small Washington town where she grew up, hoping that there she can reclaim the woman she once was--the woman she is now desperate to become again.
In Mystic, she is reunited with her first love, Nick Delacroix, a recent widower unable to cope with his grieving, too-silent six-year-old daughter, Izzie. Together, the three of them begin to heal, and, at last, Annie learns that she can love without losing herself. But just when she has found a second chance at happiness, her life is turned upside down again, and Annie must make a choice no woman should have to make…”
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
Synopsis:
“When Mikaela Campbell, beloved wife and mother, falls into a coma, it is up to her husband, Liam, to hold the family together and care for their grieving, frightened children. Doctors tell Liam not to expect a recovery, but he believes that love can accomplish what medical science cannot.
Daily he sits at Mikaela's bedside, telling her stories of the precious life they have built together, hoping against hope that she will wake up. But then he discovers evidence of his wife's secret past: a first marriage to movie star Julian True.
Desperate to bring Mikaela back at any cost, Liam knows that he must turn to Julian for help. But will that choice cost Liam his wife, his family, and everything he holds dear? One of Kristin Hannah's most moving novels, Angel Falls is a poignant and unforgettable portrait of marriage and commitment, of an ordinary man who dares to risk everything in the name of love.”
Synopsis:
“Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and left her daughters behind. She has since become a famous radio talk-show host and newspaper columnist beloved for her moral advice. Her youngest daughter, Ruby, is a struggling comedienne who uses her famous mother as fuel for her bitter, cynical humor. When the tabloids unearth a scandalous secret from Nora's past, their estrangement suddenly becomes dramatic: Nora is injured in an accident and a glossy magazine offers Ruby a fortune to write a tell-all about her mother. Under false pretenses, Ruby returns home to take care of the woman she hasn't spoken to for almost a decade.
Nora insists they retreat to Summer Island in the San Juans, to the lovely old house on the water where Ruby grew up, a place filled with childhood memories of love and joy and belonging. There Ruby is also reunited with her first love and his brother. Once, the three of them had been best friends, inseparable. Until the summer that Nora had left and everyone's hearts had been broken…
What began as an expose evolves, as Ruby writes, into an exploration of her family's past. Nora is not the woman Ruby has hated all these years. Witty, wise, and vulnerable, she is desperate to reconcile with her daughter. As the magazine deadline draws near and Ruby finishes what has begun to seem to her an act of brutal betrayal, she is forced to grow up and at last to look at her mother--and herself--through the eyes of a woman. And she must, finally, allow herself to love.”
Synopsis:
“Elizabeth and Jackson Shore married young, raised two daughters, and weathered the storms of youth as they built a family. From a distance, their lives look picture perfect. But after the girls leave home, Jack and Elizabeth quietly drift apart. When Jack accepts a wonderful new job, Elizabeth puts her own needs aside to follow him across the country.
Then tragedy turns Elizabeth's world upside down. In the aftermath, she questions everything about her life--her choices, her marriage, even her long-forgotten dreams. In a daring move that shocks her husband, friends, and daughters, she lets go of the woman she has become--and reaches out for the woman she wants to be.”
Synopsis:
“We all make mistakes, but for Meghann Dontess the terrible choice she made some years ago cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Meghann is now a highly successful attorney, and has put all thoughts of love completely behind her – until she meets the one man who believes he can change her mind.
Claire has fallen in love for the first time in her life, and as her wedding day approaches she prepares to face her strong-willed older sister. Reunited after two decades, these two women who believe they have nothing in common will try to become what they never were: a family.”
Synopsis:
“Angie DeSaria has spent years of her life trying to have a child. Now, her marriage has crumbled under the strain. Adrift and alone, she returns to her childhood home, a small coastal town in the Pacific Northwest, to help try and rescue the beloved, failing family business.
Lauren Ribido is a senior in high school. She dreams of an Ivy League education, escaping her hometown and her troubled mother.
When Angie hires Lauren to work at the restaurant, they form an immediate bond, which deepens when Lauren’s mother abruptly leaves town and Angie offers her a place to stay. But nothing could have prepared Angie for the far-reaching repercussions of this act of kindness. Together, these two women – one who longs for a child and the other who longs for a mother’s love – will be tested in ways that neither could have imagined.”
Synopsis:
“Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can't summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When an unexpected detour takes her deep into the woods of the Olympic rainforest, Joy makes a bold decision to leave her ordinary life behind--to just walk away--and thus begins an adventure unlike any she could have imagined.
In the small town of Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O'Shea is facing his first Christmas without a mother. Unable to handle the loss, Bobby has closed himself off from the world, talking only to his invisible best friend. His father Daniel is beside himself, desperate to help his son cope. Yet when the little boy meets Joy, these two unlikely souls form a deep and powerful bond. In helping Bobby and Daniel heal, Joy finds herself again.
But not everything is as it seems in quiet Rain Valley, and in an instant, Joy's world is ripped apart, and her heart is broken. On a magical Christmas Eve, a night of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, Joy must find the courage to believe in a love--and a family--that can't possibly exist, and go in search of what she wants… and the new life only she can find.”
Synopsis:
“In the rugged Pacific Northwest of the United States lies the Olympic National Forest – a vast expanse of impenetrable darkness and impossible beauty. From deep within this mysterious woodland, a six-year-old girl appears. Speechless and alone, she offers no clue as to her identity, no hint of her past.
Having retreated to her hometown after a scandal left her career in ruins, child psychiatrist Dr Julia Cates begins working with the extraordinary little girl. Naming her Alice, Julia is determined to free her from a prison of unimaginable fear and isolation, and discover the truth about Alice’s past.
The shocking facts of Alice’s life test the limits of Julia’s faith and strength, even as she struggles to make a home for Alice – and find a new one for herself.”
Synopsis:
“The Grey sisters have always looked after one another. Growing up on a sprawling ranch with an emotionally distant father, they had nowhere else to turn after their mother died.
Winona, the oldest, craves her father’s approval. Happier reading a book than riding a horse, she knows she isn’t the daughter he wanted – but she’s determined to prove her worth. Aurora is the peacemaker, trying to keep everyone happy, whilst hiding her own feelings. Vivi Ann, the youngest, is the star of the family. Beautiful and spirited, everything comes easily to her – until a stranger comes to town.
When Vivi Ann makes a fateful decision to follow her heart, everything changes. Suddenly the sisters are pitted against each other. Loyalties are tested, secrets revealed – and then a terrible crime threatens to tear their whole community apart.”
Synopsis:
“Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her family and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and travelled the world to become a famous photojournalist.
But these two estranged women come together at their father’s deathbed standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, to hear the one last promise he extracts from the women in his life.
It begins with a story like no other. A captivating, mysterious love story that spans sixty-five years and moves from war torn Leningrad in the 1940s to modern-day Alaska.
The three women are brought together by a story so unexpected and extraordinary that when Meredith and Nina finally learn the secret of their mother’s past and uncover a truth so terrible, it will shake the very foundation of the family and who they think they are.”
Synopsis:
“Lexi and Mia are inseparable from the moment they start high school. Though different in so many ways – Lexi is an orphan and lives with her aunt on a trailer park, while Mia is a golden girl blessed with a loving family and a beautiful home – they nonetheless recognize something in each other, and Mia comes to rely heavily on Lexi’s steadfast friendship.
The summer they graduate is a time they’ll never forget; a summer of love, best friends and shared confidences. But then one night changes them forever. As hearts are broken, loyalties challenged and hopes dashed, the time has come to leave childhood behind and learn to face a new future…”
Synopsis:
“An intimate look at the inner landscape of a disintegrating marriage and a dramatic exploration of the price of war.
From a distance, Michael and Jolen Zarkades seem to have it all: a solid dependable marriage, exciting careers and children they adore. But after twelve blissful years together, the couple has lost their way. They are unhappy and edging towards divorce.
Then an unexpected deployment tears their already fragile family apart, sending one of them deep into harm's way and leaving the other at home, caring for the children and waiting for news. When the worst happens, each must face their darkest fear and fight for the future of their family.”
Synopsis:
“This story is about what it was like to be a woman during World War II, when women’s stories were all too often forgotten or overlooked…
Vianne and Isabelle Mauriac are two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals and passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path towards survival, love and freedom in war-torn France.
It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.”
Synopsis:
“A woman has to be tough as steel up here. You can’t count on anyone to save you and your children. You have to be willing to save yourselves’
Thirteen-year-old Leni is coming of age in a tumultuous time. Caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, she dares to hope that Alaska will lead to a better future for her family, and a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.
As Leni grows up in the shadow of her parents’ increasingly volatile marriage, she meets Matthew. And Matthew – thoughtful, kind, and brave – makes her believe in the possibility of a better life.”
Synopsis:
“She will discover the best of herself in the worst of times . . .
Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she’d yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa’s world is shattered to the winds.
Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess?
From the overriding love of a mother for her child, the value of female friendship and the ability to love again – against all odds – Elsa’s incredible journey is a story of survival, hope and what we do for the ones we love.”
Synopsis:
“Their friendship changed lives. Their bravery changed history.
'Women can be heroes, too'. When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances "Frankie" McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California's idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.”
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
Girls of Firefly Lane Series
Synopsis:
“It is 1974 and the summer of love is drawing to a close. Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the secondary school social food chain. Then, to her amazement, Tully Hart – the girl all the boys want to know – moves in across the street and wants to be her best friend. Tully and Kate became inseparable and by summer’s end they vow that their friendship will last forever.
For thirty years Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship, jealousy, anger, hurt and resentment. Tully follows her ambition to find fame and success. Kate knows that all she wants is to fall in love and have a family. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and a mother will change her.
They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart. But when tragedy strikes, can the bonds of friendship survive? Or is it the one hurdle that even a lifelong friendship cannot overcome?”
Synopsis:
“Tully Hart, a celebrity news reporter is spiralling downward after the sudden loss of her best friend Kate.
Consumed with guilt, Tully and Kate's daughter, Marah, grapple with their past mistakes. Meanwhile, Cloud, Tully's mother, endeavours to alleviate the burden. For them to find their way back, forgiveness becomes their only hope.
And then something momentous happens – something which causes each one of them to realize what they’ve done, and what they have become.”
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
Novellas
The Glass Case, 2011
Synopsis:
“In her classic short story THE GLASS CASE, Kristin Hannah explores the heart and mind of a young mother. April Bannerman is a young mother of three, married to her high school sweetheart and living in the same small town in which she grew up.
Although she loves her children and husband, April is plagued by the growing doubt that she has not lived up to her mother's expectations for her---until one day when something terrible and unexpected happens, and April must face the truth about her own life and discover what really matters.”
Do you have a favourite Kristin Hannah book? Leave a comment and let me know.