C.L. Taylor Books in Order (Updated February 22, 2026)

C.L. Taylor is the thriller pen name of Cally Taylor. Under C.L. Taylor, she writes standalone psychological thrillers (plus two YA thrillers). That means there is no mandatory “series order” for plot continuity.

What order does change is your experience of her evolving style: early books lean into tight domestic pressure, while later books often widen the cast, setting, and misdirection.

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How to read C.L. Taylor without overthinking it

If you want the cleanest “first taste”

• The Accident (2014): a crisp entry point, very representative of her suspense mechanics. (Also published as Before I Wake in some markets.)

If you want an “unreliable environment” thriller

• Sleep (2019): travel/isolation energy with escalating distrust.

If you want a “new life, old danger” setup

• Strangers (2020) or Her Last Holiday (2021): contemporary, twist-forward, and accessible.

If you want YA (separate shelf, same tension)

• The Treatment (2017, YA) or The Island (2021, YA): readable anytime, not connected to the adult novels.

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The adult thrillers (publication order)

All titles below are standalone. Each entry includes a one-line “what it is” so you can pick by premise.

1. The Accident (2014): A marriage-and-memory thriller where a single incident fractures what the characters believe about each other. (Also published as Before I Wake.)
2. The Lie (2015): A friendship-driven suspense story that peels back a shared past and the cost of keeping it sealed.
3. The Missing (2016): A family-in-crisis thriller built around disappearance, exposure, and competing versions of “what really happened.”
4. The Escape (2017): A fresh-start narrative that turns into a trap as someone’s past closes in with intent.
5. The Fear (2018): Domestic tension and neighborhood scrutiny collide, pushing ordinary routines into paranoia and risk.
6. Sleep (2019): A holiday setting becomes a pressure cooker as isolation and suspicion feed off each other.
7. Strangers (2020): A community-and-secrets thriller where strangers aren’t the only unknowns in the house.
8. Her Last Holiday (2021): A trip with emotional baggage turns investigative, as grief and doubt reshape every clue.
9. The Guilty Couple (2022): A relationship-centered thriller focused on complicity, how “we did nothing” becomes its own confession.
10. Every Move You Make (2024): A surveillance-flavored suspense story where being watched (or thinking you are) becomes the engine of threat.
11. It’s Always the Husband (2025): A marriage-and-motive thriller built around loyalty, leverage, and the consequences of believing the wrong person first.

Practical note: There is no 2023 adult novel in the standard bibliographies for C.L. Taylor; listings typically jump from 2022 to 2024.

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Young Adult thrillers (separate continuity)

These are not connected to the adult books and can be read anytime.

1. The Treatment (2017, YA): A teen-focused thriller where power, secrecy, and vulnerability escalate in a closed social ecosystem.
2. The Island (2021, YA): A high-stakes survival-style YA thriller that pressures friendships until they fracture.

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Cally Taylor books (different pen name, different lane)

If you’re here strictly for C.L. Taylor thrillers, you can skip this section. It’s included because many catalogs tie the pen names together.

Romantic comedy novels (publication order, as Cally Taylor)

1. Heaven Can Wait (2009): A lighter, relationship-led story built around reinvention after disruption.
2. Home for Christmas (2011): A holiday-centered romantic comedy about returning, reassessing, and choosing what to keep.
3. Secrets and Rain (2013): Often listed as a standalone in this pen name’s bibliography; editions can vary in how it’s described.

Short fiction collections and stories (optional)

• Tell Them No Lies (2021): A crime short-story collection; a couple of stories reference characters from the C.L. Taylor novels, so it lands best after you’ve read at least one adult thriller.
• Secrets and Rain (collection title used in some editions): Also used for a collection of magazine short stories; because catalogs vary, treat this as edition-dependent rather than a completely separate “new” book.

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Two ready-made reading routes

Route 1: “Show me her evolution”

Read the adult thrillers in publication order from The Accident → It’s Always the Husband.

Route 2: “Give me the strongest modern entry points”

Try Sleep → Strangers → Her Last Holiday → The Guilty Couple, then circle back to the earlier titles.

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FAQ

Do any C.L. Taylor books need to be read in sequence?
No. The adult novels are standalones, and the YA titles are standalones as well.

Is Before I Wake a different book from The Accident?
No. It’s an alternate title used in some markets.

Where should I place the short story collection Tell Them No Lies?
After at least one adult thriller (for maximum context and minimal “soft spoilers”).

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Best default choice

If you want one dependable start that represents what she does, begin with The Accident (2014), then either continue in publication order or jump to Sleep (2019) if you prefer a more modern, high-tension setup.