A guide to Kate Morton's books in order

Learn where to start reading Kate Morton's books including her latest novel, Homecoming, in our essential guide to the author and her bestselling stories. 

With their evocative settings in eras past and mysteries that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you journey between the past and the present, Kate Morton's books are unputdownable. Citing her childhood spent in the Australian rainforest, her lifelong love of literature and theatre, and her time living in London as just some of her inspirations, each of Morton's seven novels have topped bestseller lists around the world thanks to their vivid settings and twisty, mysterious plots with family secrets at their heart. 

With Kate Morton's new novel, Homecoming, out last year in hardback and this year in paperback, there's never been a better time to fall in love with her books. Each of Kate Morton's seven novels, all reissued for 2023 with new cover designs, has its own standalone set of characters, settings and secrets to discover. As such, you can read her books in any order. Whether you're new to Kate Morton, or already a fan, here is a guide to the author's brilliant storytelling. 

What is Kate Morton's latest book?

Homecoming

by Kate Morton

A gripping mystery set between Australia and London, Homecoming is an immersive, twisting epic. When 89-year-old Nora's health takes an unexpected turn for the worse, Jess boards the first plane out of London, her home of twenty years, to be by her grandmother's bedside in Sydney. Soon, she discovers that the usually stoic Nora has been hiding a family secret and vows to get to the heart of the mystery of what happened on a fateful Christmas Eve sixty years before. 

Kate Morton's books in order

The House at Riverton

by Kate Morton

Book cover for The House at Riverton

Grace Bradley has kept the truth about the events surrounding a young poet's suicide at Riverton Manor a secret for almost seventy years. But then, a young filmmaker visits her in his quest to make a film about the tragic event and threatens to reveal the truth behind the long-forgotten mystery. The House of Riverton, the bestselling debut novel by Kate Morton, is an enthralling story of secrets and lies, set between English high society in the roaring twenties and a world on the cusp of a new millennium. 

The Forgotten Garden

by Kate Morton

Book cover for The Forgotten Garden

Abandoned on a passenger ship bound for Australia on the eve of the First World War, young Nell can only remember a mysterious woman who had promised to look after her but vanished without a trace. Six decades on, she embarks on a pilgrimage to the estate of Blackhurst Manor in Cornwall, hoping to discover what led her family to abandon her all those years ago. Told from the perspectives of Nell and her grandaughter Cassandra at three distinct points in their lives, The Forgotten Garden is a page-turning novel of turmoil and deceit with one ill-fated family at its heart. 

The Distant Hours

by Kate Morton

Book cover for The Distant Hours

For Edie Burchill, her elderly mother has always been somewhat of an enigma, with her evacuee childhood set within the confines of Milderhurst Castle and her reluctance to talk about events in her past. When a letter arrives with the castle as its return address, Edie resolves to find out about her mother's past, once and for all. Arriving at Milderhurst, Edie soon realises she is set to discover more than she bargained for as the mysterious Blythe sisters share their devastating secrets. A taught gothic novel, The Distant Hours is a spine-chilling story from master storyteller Kate Morton.  

The Secret Keeper

by Kate Morton

Book cover for The Secret Keeper

When she witnesses a shocking crime on a boiling summer's day in 1961, sixteen-year-old Laurel's life changes instantly. Fifty years later, after enjoying a career as one of the most-loved actresses on stage and screen, she sets out to discover the truth behind what she saw and finally put the memories that haunt her to rest. Told in three parts and set in Britain in the 1930s, 1960s and 2010s, The Secret Keeper is a page-turning story of three lives brought together by fate in war-time London and of the tragedy that bound them together forever.


The Lake House

by Kate Morton

Book cover for The Lake House

When she stumbles upon an abandoned lake house in rural Cornwall, off-duty police officer DC Sadie Sparrow can't help but think there's more to the property than meets the eye. Tracking down the owner, she finds herself at the doorstep of bestselling author Alice Edevane, who hasn't set foot inside her childhood home in decades. Forced to confront her family's long-buried secret, Alice has no choice but to face the past she has spent a lifetime running away from. The Lake House's twisty mystery and story told in both the past and the present will leave you guessing until the very last page. 

The Clockmaker's Daughter

by Kate Morton

Book cover for The Clockmaker's Daughter

When a young girl is abandoned on Victorian London's filthy streets in the depths of winter, she's taken in by a benevolent stranger. Over the years, she transforms from a young thief into a beautiful woman and moves into grand Birchwood Manor with other young artists. The collective thrives until a shot rings out one day, and a tragedy occurs. Weaving the layered narratives of Birchwood's eclectic residents and their secrets through a century of London history, The Clockmaker's Daughter is Kate Morton at her gripping best.

Author photograph credit: Paco Navarro