Lucinda Riley's standalone books: a complete guide

Born and raised in a small village on the Yorkshire moors, Leah Thompson grows more beautiful with each passing day. When she catches the attention of the influential, troubled Delancey family, she knows her life will never be the same again. Years later, Leah has taken the modelling world by storm, and is living in the lap of luxury. But her past follows her like a dark shadow, mysteriously intertwined with the tragic tale of two young siblings in Poland during the Second World War. As two generations of secrets threaten to explode, Leah is haunted by a fatal, forgotten prophecy from her past, and must fight to challenge the destiny that has been mapped out for her in the stars . . .

The sudden death of a pupil in Fleat House at St Stephen’s is a shocking event that the headmaster is very keen to call a tragic accident, but the case prompts the return of high-flying Detective Inspector Jazmine ‘Jazz’ Hunter to the force. She begins to probe the circumstances around Charlie Cavendish's death and senses foul play. As staff at the school close ranks, the disappearance of another young pupil and the death of an elderly Classics master provide Jazz with important leads. But when another suspect goes missing, Jazz must also confront her personal demons. 

When Helena inherits a crumbling Cypriot house, ‘Pandora’, from her godfather, she returns there with her family for the first time since her youth. But as memories of her first love come flooding back, a web of secrets she has she has hidden from her husband and son threatens to unravel. And when a meeting with her childhood sweetheart sets a chain of events in motion, both Helena and her son know life will never be the same.

Approaching her seventieth birthday and still living in the beautiful family home where she spent her idyllic childhood and then raised her own children, Posy Montague knows she has a painful decision to make. Despite it’s memories, the house is falling apart, and the time has come to sell it. But then a face from the past – her first love – reappears, with a devastating secret.

Set in London in the mid-’90s, The Love Letter is a thrilling tale full of secrets and lies. When revered actor Sir James Harrison dies, he leaves behind a secret so scandalous it could strike the heart of the English establishment. Driven young journalist Joanna Haslam discovers a letter James left behind and she’s determined to uncover the truth behind the lies, but there are others who will stop at nothing to reach the letter first . . .

When Greta returns to Marchmont Hall for Christmas, invited by her old friend David, she has no recollection of having lived there before, a tragic accident having caused her to lose the memories of more than two decades of her life. But when she comes across a grave in the woods something strikes a chord, and Greta begins a quest to rediscover her past. The story she pieces together is not just hers but her daughter Cheska’s, who was not the angel she appeared to be.

The Italian Girl is a story of love, betrayal and self-discovery which transports the reader from the backstreets of Naples to the world’s grandest opera houses. When young Rosanna Menici meets Roberto Rossini, her life changes forever. Bound together by both their operatic talents and their obsessive love, their relationship, haunted by events from the past, will affect the lives of everyone dear to them.

A sweeping epic that travels from the glittering palaces of India to England’s majestic stately homes, this is the extraordinary story of Anahita Chavan. During the time of the British Raj, Anahita travels with her lifelong friend, Princess Indira, to England where she meets  reluctant heir Donald Astbury and his scheming mother. Eighty years later, film star Rebecca is shooting her new film at Astbury Hall when she meets Ari Malik, Anahita’s great-grandson, and together they uncover the Astbury dynasty’s dark past.

Moving between the present day and 1940s war-torn England and France, The Light Behind the Window is a breathtaking story of love, war and forgiveness. Despite fighting against her aristocratic background, Emilie de la Martiniéres inherits her grand family home in the south of France. Alone in the world, a book of poems leads her to unravel the story of the mysterious Sophia, whose tragic love affair changed her family history forever.

After a recent loss, Grania Ross returns to her loving family in Ireland. There she meets Aurora, and discovers that their family histories are mysteriously entwined. With Aurora’s help she will unlock the secrets of the past, from wartime romance to lost siblings.

When tragedy strikes, Julia Forrester retreats to Wharton Park, where as a child she spent many idyllic hours in the hothouse where her grandfather tended the flowers. When the renovation of the estate uncovers an old diary, Julia is prompted to seek out her grandmother and learn the truth about an affair which almost destroyed Wharton Park.

Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli finally has everything she had wished for – a family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens her family and community, Elsa must decide whether to stay and fight for the land she loves or flee to California in search of a better life. The Four Winds, an instant New York Times number one bestseller and Richard and Judy Book Club Pick is a deeply moving story about the strength and resilience of women and the bond between mother and daughter.

Soon to be a major motion picture, The Nightingale has captured the hearts of millions of readers becoming a number one bestseller across the world. It is a heart-breakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the endurance of women. 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.