Erin McCarthy Books in Order (Updated 2026-02-27)

Erin McCarthy writes across several romance lanes, contemporary, new adult, romantic comedy, paranormal romance, and even a cozy-mystery-with-ghosts strand. The key to reading order is not “start at the beginning of her career,” because her catalogue is built around separate series universes that don’t require you to read across lanes.

If you pick a series and read within that series in order, you’re doing it right.

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Pick your lane (three clean entry points)

• For racing romance with a big cast: start with Flat-Out Sexy (2008) (Fast Track).
• For new adult / college-age emotional arcs: start with True (2013) (True Believers).
• For cozy mystery with a continuing lead and ongoing relationship beats: start with Gone With the Ghost (2017) (Murder By Design).

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The big three series most readers ask for

Fast Track (Racing romance) – read in order

1. Flat-Out Sexy (2008): A NASCAR-adjacent world opens with a high-heat romance that establishes the drivers, crews, and friendships the series keeps rotating through.
2. Hard and Fast (2009): A riskier pairing pushes deeper into the team dynamics, where career pressure and personal reputation start colliding.
3. Hot Finish (2010): The series widens its emotional range, pairing high stakes on the track with a romance that has to survive public scrutiny.
4. The Chase (2011): Competitive drive turns into real vulnerability, and the series’ “found family” feel becomes a bigger part of the payoff.
5. Slow Ride (2011): A steadier, more reflective romance lands after the earlier intensity, rewarding readers who know the wider cast.
6. Jacked Up (2012): Family baggage and ambition take center stage, tightening the series’ theme of how fast lives can change off the track.
7. Full Throttle (2013): A late-series escalation brings fresh energy and deeper consequences, leaning hard into the cost of long-term pressure.
8. Final Lap (2014): The closing sprint pulls together the community you’ve been living with, delivering the most “end of an era” resolution.

True Believers (New Adult) – read in order

1. True (2013): A new-adult romance kicks off with a relationship that forces both leads to confront who they are when the world is watching.
2. Sweet (2013): The series doubles down on vulnerability and trust, using a new couple to deepen the shared friend-group continuity.
3. Believe (2014): Past mistakes and present choices collide, pushing the series into its most direct “consequences matter” turning point.
4. Shatter (2014): The arc closes with the weight of everything already set in motion, landing best when the earlier emotional groundwork is fresh.

Murder By Design (Cozy mystery with ghosts) – read in order

1. Gone With the Ghost (2017): A home stager starts seeing a ghost and stumbles into murder, setting up the series’ core mix of humor, haunting, and sleuthing.
2. Silence of the Ghost (2017): The investigations get more personal, and the ongoing “how do I live with this gift?” thread sharpens.
3. Once Upon a Ghost (2017): A new case widens the circle, and the recurring cast starts feeling like a working team rather than a quirky accident.
4. How the Ghost Stole Christmas (2018): A holiday case blends seasonal chaos with a dead-serious mystery, building on the established rules of the ghostly help.
5. It’s a Ghost’s Life (2019): The lead leans into her role more openly, and the series shifts from reactive sleuthing to deliberate problem-solving.
6. Ghosts Like it Hot (2019): The pace stays brisk as the cases pile up, using the continuing relationships to add tension between clues.
7. Dances With Ghosts (2020): The ongoing personal stakes rise, making the “life outside the case” storylines matter just as much as the mystery.
8. A Midsummer Night’s Ghost (2025): The series returns with a larger-feeling event case, rewarding long-time readers who know the lead’s full journey.

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Contemporary rom-com and relationship series

Sassy in the City (Romantic comedies) – read in order

1. Weekend Wife (2020): A rom-com setup launches the series’ tone, big chemistry, messy timing, and a friend group that keeps reappearing.
2. Five First Dates (2020): Dating chaos turns into a pattern-breaking romance, pushing the continuity forward through shared circles and callbacks.
3. Forty Day Fiancé (2020): A time-boxed fake relationship brings pressure and unexpected sincerity, deepening the series’ “commitment under stress” theme.
4. Who’s the Boss? (2020): Work proximity sharpens the conflict, and the supporting cast becomes part of how the couple is tested.
5. Halftime Husband (2021): The series closes with a grumpy-boss collision that pays off the running “city life + love life” rhythm.

Optional holiday side story

• Holiday Husband (2020): A festive add-on that plays best once you already know the series’ voice and vibe.

Hot Mess Romance (also seen as New York Girlfriends) – read in order

1. The Pregnancy Test (2005): A life-interrupting surprise forces a heroine into fast decisions, setting the series’ “real life is inconvenient” tone.
2. You Don’t Know Jack (2006): A new couple shifts the energy while keeping the shared world intact, leaning into attraction that doesn’t arrive politely.
3. How to Get Lucky (2015): A later return updates the series’ voice while keeping the continuity payoffs for readers who started at Book 1.

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Romantic suspense and darker-leaning paranormal lanes

Bad Boys Online (Contemporary romance line) – read in order

1. Bad Boys Online (2003): The core concept introduces a digital-age romance premise where connection and risk arrive at the same time.
2. Hard Line (2017): The series is refreshed with a modern edge, focusing on a romance shaped by online fallout and real-world consequences.
3. Hard Drive (2017): Stakes intensify as privacy, reputation, and trust become the pressure points that drive both plot and relationship.
4. Hard Bargain (2017): A repayment-and-rescue setup turns personal fast, delivering the sharpest “we’re in this together now” payoff of the run.

Seven Deadly Sins (Paranormal romance) – read in order

1. My Immortal (2007): A paranormal romance framework opens with long shadows and lasting desire, establishing the series’ darker mythology.
2. Fallen (2008): The emotional stakes deepen as temptation and consequence take clearer shape inside the shared supernatural theme.
3. The Taking (2010): The trilogy closes by cashing in the earlier setup, leaning hardest into the costs of power and obsession.

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Shorter, quirkier small-town strand

Cuttersville, Ohio (also seen as “Ohio’s Most Haunted Town”) – read in order

1. A Date with the Other Side (2005): A small-town romance meets paranormal oddity, establishing Cuttersville as a place where the strange is normal.
2. Heiress for Hire (2006): A fish-out-of-water heroine collides with small-town life, building the local continuity and community feel.
3. Charlotte’s Web (2007): A mid-series bridge story keeps the town’s romantic orbit spinning and is best read after Book 2.
4. Seeing Is Believing (2013): A later return revisits the town’s ghostly side, tying romance to an old mystery and long-running local history.
5. Christmas Bree (2008): A seasonal novella that fits best after you’ve met the town and want a holiday detour.

(Because editions and collections vary, treat the Cuttersville “between books” items as optional extras rather than mandatory steps.)

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One-page “recommended order” that stays sane

If you want a guided sampler without getting trapped in a 20-series spiral:

1. Flat-Out Sexy (2008): Start with Fast Track if you like big cast momentum.
2. True (2013): Switch lanes to see her new-adult style at full strength.
3. Gone With the Ghost (2017): Try her cozy mystery voice and decide if you want to continue the series.
4. After that, commit to one series at a time (finish it, then move to the next lane).

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Where order matters (and where it doesn’t)

• Matters: within each numbered series list above, these books build ongoing friendships, references, and escalating stakes.
• Doesn’t matter: between series, Fast Track won’t spoil True Believers, and neither requires you to read the paranormal books.

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Bottom line

Erin McCarthy is best read by choosing a lane and going forward inside that lane. If you want the most universally friendly starting point, Flat-Out Sexy (2008) is the cleanest “meet the author” entry, then you can branch into new adult (True) or cozy mystery (Gone With the Ghost) without worrying you missed homework.