A guide to Karen Swan's books in order

On the remote Isle of St Kilda, Jayne Ferguson’s life is defined by two burdens: her second sight – which reveals the deaths of those around her – and her tumultuous marriage to a handsome but cruel husband. When a senseless death shakes the island, Jayne’s already strained marriage deteriorates further. As the island faces forced evacuation, tensions erupt, culminating in another murder – one Jayne had foreseen and one her closest friends are involved in. After leaving St Kilda, Jayne hopes the past is behind her, but disturbing dreams reveal that the island's secrets are far from over. The Midnight Secret is the fourth and final book in Karen Swan's Wild Isles series.

The first in the Wild Isle series,The Last Summer tells the story of free-spirited Effie Gillies. Effie has lived all her life on the remote Scottish island of St Kilda, and when handsome Lord Sholto arrives on the island she shows him around. The attraction is instant, but when the islanders are evacuated three months later Effie is conflicted. When she is offered a job on Sholto's estate, the differences in their stations seem insurmountable. Meanwhile, a shocking discovery back on the island threatens dreams for a new start. Based on the true life story of St Kilda in the 1930s.

In 1929, Mhairi MacKinnon seeks a husband to secure her future on the Scottish island of St Kilda. Through a plan with her neighbour, Donald, she becomes engaged but falls in love with another man. As St Kilda faces evacuation, Mhairi and her forbidden love enjoy a brief respite. However, their happiness is marred by tragedy and suspicion when a dead body is discovered on the abandoned island. Mhairi, along with her friends Effie and Flora, must confront their own hardships and the shadow of suspicion in this captivating tale of secrets and romance.

Flora MacQueen has always dreamt of more than life on the small Scottish island of St Kilda. So, when she catches the eye of visiting adventurer and wealthy businessman James Callaghan, her future seems brighter. Winter seas separate the lovers, but the island’s evacuation the following summer promises to reunite them – until tragedy strikes. Heartbroken and needing to support her family on the mainland, a chance meeting offers hope. Soon, Flora is the toast of glamorous Paris; fame and fortune are hers for the taking. But at a high price. When a scandal erupts back home, Flora is implicated, along with her friends Effifie and Mhairi. But as dark secrets come to light, it is a lie by a fellow islander that changes everything . . .

Tucked away on a cobbled Paris back street, an apartment lies thick with dust, hidden stories and priceless artworks. When the treasure trove of paintings is discovered, star art agent Flora travels to Paris from London to uncover the story of each one. But first she must deal with the glamorous Vermeil family, not least brooding Xavier, who seems keen to exclude Flora from his family's affairs – exactly what is he hiding?

Twenty-year-old Tara Tremain already has is all: she's training to be a doctor, and her adored fiancé is an impassioned American biology student. But then life falls apart: Alex betrays her. Ten years on, and Tara has turned her life around. Her career is great, her friends are loyal and she has a man who loves her. But when Tara reenters the world of her affluent family at a party in Costa Rica she is thrown into crisis. A child is gravely ill and the treatment is several days' hike away. The only person who can help Tara is the one who broke her heart – but can she trust him?

Two is a romance, but three is definitely a crowd. In the most ancient area of Stockholm, Bell Everhurst is loving her role as a nanny to the three children of wealthy and charming Hanna and Max Mogert. One day though, everything shifts. Bell takes a call from a clinic she has never heard of, saying that Hanna's husband is awake. And he is not Max. As the reality of Hanna's past emerges, there are terrible consequences, and Bell fears she will be caught in the emotional crossfire.

As one of Spain's richest men lies dying, his family is shocked that he plans to give away his fortune to a young woman they do not know. What is her secret and why does she have a hold on him? Charlotte Fairfax is asked to travel to the family home to investigate. It's the week before her wedding, but Charlotte thinks it will be an open and shut case. Over in Madrid though, the young woman in question knows nothing about the money she is to be bequeathed. Is she lying? As Charlotte digs further, some unsettling secrets are uncovered . . . 

Before a fresh start, there has to be an ending . . . Running from a tough heart break, Chloe Marston leaves her life in London for a new start in New York. In her role at a luxury concierge company, she makes the lives of others run smoothly, even if her own life seems to have stopped. But a dreadful accident forces Chloe to step into a different job, at the side of one of the company's most influential clients, charismatic Joe Lincoln. When Chloe's long-time love Tom shows up in Manhattan, she jumps ship to help Joe seek out a Greek holiday home. But as she begins to find Joe hard to resist, some questions about his past threaten to overwhelm the burgeoning chemistry between them. Just who can Chloe trust?

1974 and Elena Damiani lives a gilded life, born to wealth and a noted beauty, when she meets her love match who happens to be the one man she can never have.

2017 and Francesca Hackett is living in Rome, and forgetting the ghosts she left behind in London, when she finds a stolen handbag. When she returns it to her neighbour - famed socialite Viscontessa Elena dei Damiani Pignatelli della Mirandola, Elena is thrilled for it contains an unopened letter written by her husband on his deathbed. Mutually intrigued by each other, the two women agree to work together asCesca interviews Elena for her memoirs. But when a priceless diamond ring found in an ancient tunnel below the city streets is ascribed to Elena, Cesca begins to suspect a shocking secret at the heart of Elena's life.

Cassie loves Henry. Henry loves Cassie. With a Tiffany ring on her finger, all that Cassie has left to do is plan the wedding. It should be so simple but when Henry pushes for a date, Cassie pulls back. When Henry lands an expedition sailing the Pacific for the summer, Cassie decamps to Cornwall, hoping to find the peace of mind she needs to move forwards. But in the dunes and coves of the northern Cornish coast, she soon discovers the past isn't finished with her yet . . .

A story of love, laughter and happily ever after, Summer at Tiffany's by bestselling Karen Swan is the captivating and romantic sequel to Christmas at Tiffany's.

Rowena Tipton isn't looking for a new life, just a new adventure, something to while away the months as her long-term boyfriend presses pause on their relationship before they become engaged. But when a chance encounter at a New York wedding leads to an audition for a coveted houseshare in The Hamptons – suddenly a new life is exactly what she's got . . .

Darcy Cotterell’s is newly single and far from festive. She plans to spend her Christmas in Copenhagen buried in her art history PhD. But her best friend, Freja, has other plans – namely, signing Darcy up for three blind dates to spark some holiday romance. What Darcy doesn’t expect is that bachelor number one, the charming but infuriating lawyer Max Lorensen, will also be key to her research. As professional tensions heat up alongside their undeniable chemistry, Darcy is torn between her heart and her instincts. Can she trust Max, or is there more to his agenda than meets the eye? 

As Christmas approaches and snow falls, high-flier Libby and her new boyfriend head home from a wedding to attend her university reunion at Archie Templeton's grand family estate. Stranded by the snowstorm, they're forced to spend the night. At first, being snowed in together is fun as the old friends wait in high spirits for the farmer to clear a path. But as hours pass with no news, everyone grows restless. Then the power goes out. Hunkered down together by candlelight, they reminisce about old times, and tensions soon start to rise. Secrets from the past begin to unravel and Libby is confronted with a truth she has long tried to deny.

From the cosy Cotswolds to the majesty of the Himalayan foothills, Karen Swan's new novel is about how the closest connections can be the furthest apart. After a make-or-break holiday for their marriage,  Natasha and Rob’s rekindled romance is short-lived when their daughter’s beloved soft toy disappears. When Natasha uses social media to find the toy, she discovers it has become the lucky mascot of a man named Duffy, thousands of miles away. The pair begin a correspondence that soon becomes more meaningful to both of them, but when Duffy heads deeper into the mountains, one day the messages stop. Too late, Natasha wonders why he had ever needed a lucky mascot at all . . .

Star director Clover Phillips is on a high when she encounters Kit Foley in the Austrian Alps; he is a surfer and snowboarder as renowned for controversy as he is for seizing championships. Kit has never spoken about his role in an accident that affected a sworn rival. Clover digs deeper despite Kit's reluctance, and finds herself both drawn to him, and sure that he is concealing a secret.

When Lee first arrived in Amsterdam she had a new baby – and a secret. Now, five years on, she has got her life back. Her celebrity photographer career is on fire, and she is enjoying the pre-Christmas season with son Jasper and their friendship circle. But then Lee finds a book in her bicycle basket, scrawled with a desperate message. She hunts down the book's author Sam, and they instantly connect. But as the ice grows thicker on the canals, Lee's secrets begin to rise up. Christmas is about togetherness, but will telling the truth leave her all alone?

When Declan Lorne, Ireland's last knight, suddenly dies, his historic title dies with him. But his estate on the wild west coast of Scotland passes to his three daughters. To everyone's shock it is the youngest - Willow - who inherits the castle. But Willow has left her family swearing never to return, so she determines to sell the castle. As the prospective owner plans a lavish Christmas party, the three sisters are forced to take a long hard look at their past and their future . . .

Escape with an ideal winter's day indulgence, and run to the snowy fjords of Norway with The Christmas Lights, an enticing tale full of winter sparkle, yearning and optimism by Sunday Times bestseller Karen Swan. Bo is living her dream life. She and her boyfriend Zac are paid to travel, sharing their escapades with online followers. And when Zac proposes, things couldn't be better for Bo. Together they head to a hillside farmhouse in Norway, intent on a romantic Christmas break. But the mountains hold secrets, and as the temperatures drop the tensions rise. Is Bo's life quite as perfect as she thought?

Alex Hyde is a star executive coach: her waiting list is months' long, but even so she can't turn down the unusual but hugely lucrative offer that arrives just before Christmas. Renegade whisky executive Lochlan Farquhar wants to turn his company around. So Alex arrives in Islay with the snow falling around her, to be faced with the dark enigma that is Lochlan. Soon the professional edges blur, and Alex finds herself facing an impossible choice.

In the Canadian Rockies, Meg and Mitch are living their dream. Just weeks away from their wedding, they work and play with Tuck and Lucy, their closest and oldest friends. 

But when a polar storm hits, tragedy strikes. Alone in the tiny mountain log cabin she shares with Mitch, Meg desperately tries to radio for help – and it comes from a lone voice across the airwaves that sees what she cannot.

As the snow melts and they try to live with their loss, the friendship Meg thought was forever is buckled by rivalries and devastating secrets. Nothing is as she thought and only her radio contact understands. As they share confidences in the dark, Meg is forced to consider a strange truth – is it her friends who are the strangers? And a stranger who really knows her best?

Twinkling lights brighten London's Primrose Hill as Christmas nears – but for Nettie Watson, it's not parties and presents that she wants. For Nettie, Christmas only serves as a stark reminder of the life she used to have. One day she made a promise to never leave home, and so far she's stayed true to her word.

Under the glaring spotlight of the world's media, Nettie is unexpectedly caught up in a 21st century storm. Her exploits have made her a global name and attracted the attention of one of the world's most eligible men – famous front man, Jamie Westlake. But now she has his attention, does she want to keep it?

In London, Allegra Fisher is pitching for the biggest deal of her career and can't afford to fail. And when she meets attractive stranger, Sam Kemp, on the plane to the meeting, she can't afford to lose her focus either. But when Allegra finds herself up against Sam for the bid, their passion quickly turns sour.

In the Swiss Alps, a long-lost mountain hut is discovered in the snow after sixty years and the last person expecting to become involved is Allegra – she hasn't even heard of the woman they found inside. But it soon becomes clear the two women are linked and, as she tries to make sense of the mystery, hearts thaw and dark secrets are uncovered, long buried by the snow.

From rural Scotland to the most glamorous cities in the world, Christmas at Tiffany's is an exciting, globetrotting story of friendship and romance from Karen Swan.

Cassie settled down too young, marrying her first serious boyfriend. Now, ten years later, she is betrayed and broken. With her marriage in tatters and no career or home of her own, she needs to work out where she belongs in the world and who she really is. So begins a year-long trial as Cassie leaves her sheltered life to stay with each of her best friends in New York, Paris and London. Cassie tries on each city for size as she attempts to track down the life she was supposed to have been leading, and with it, the man who was supposed to love her all along.