Claire Douglas is a UK thriller writer whose bibliography is primarily standalone novels. The stories do not form a single continuing series, so you can read them in any order without missing required continuity.
What does carry across the books is a consistent approach: domestic settings, buried history, and “what really happened” structures. If you like to preserve twists, using publication order is the simplest way to watch her themes evolve.
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A simple way to choose your first Claire Douglas
Pick by the experience you want, not by “series order”:
- Start at the beginning: The Sisters (her debut, sets the tone).
- Try a big, modern fan-favorite hook: The Couple at No. 9 (a home-and-secrets setup).
- Go newest-first: The New Neighbours (most recent release as of 2025).
- If you enjoy missing-person mysteries: Local Girl Missing or The Girls Who Disappeared.
All Claire Douglas novels in publication order
These are standalone unless explicitly marketed otherwise.
- The Sisters (2015): A fresh start in Bath curdles into an unsettling web of friendship, grief, and suspicion.
- Local Girl Missing (2016): A long-ago disappearance resurfaces, pulling old friends back to a seaside past that won’t stay buried.
- Last Seen Alive (2017): A house swap meant to heal a marriage becomes a pressure cooker of secrets and paranoia.
- Do Not Disturb (2018): A remote retreat amplifies unease as isolation turns from comfort into threat.
- Then She Vanishes (2019): A vanished girl’s shadow stretches into the present, forcing characters to re-litigate what they “knew” back then.
- Just Like the Other Girls (2020): A new job and a new circle expose uncomfortable power dynamics and the cost of belonging.
- The Couple at No. 9 (2021): Renovation dreams collide with a discovery that rewrites a family story and escalates fast.
- The Girls Who Disappeared (2022): A case built around absence, who went missing, who stayed silent, and why the timeline doesn’t add up.
- The Woman Who Lied (2023): A relationship-driven thriller where what people claim happened matters as much as what did.
- The Wrong Sister (2024): Family identity and loyalty become the battleground as competing versions of the truth surface.
- The New Neighbours (2025): A new street and new faces trigger suspicion that feels personal, and may be tied to an older secret.
- The Family Friend (2026): An inheritance of a country house reopens a formative summer and the consequences that followed.
Short fiction and collections
These are optional and do not set up required plot for the novels.
- The Text (2017): A short thriller built around a single message and the ripple effects that follow.
(If you’re reading for “complete bibliography,” add it after you’ve tried at least one novel so you’re already calibrated to her style.)
Reading routes that work well
Because the novels are standalone, think in “routes”:
Route A: Watch her style evolve
- The Sisters → 2) Local Girl Missing → 3) Last Seen Alive → continue in publication order.
Route B: Modern-first, then backfill
Start with The Couple at No. 9 or The Wrong Sister → then read whichever premises tempt you most.
Route C: Newest-first
The New Neighbours → (when released) The Family Friend → then circle back.
Does chronological order differ from publication order?
No meaningful difference here because the books are not one continuous storyline. “Chronological order” is effectively “any order.”
Current release picture (as of February 22, 2026)
- Most recent published novel: The New Neighbours (2025).
- Next announced novel: The Family Friend (March 2026).
FAQ
Are any of Claire Douglas’s books a series?
They are broadly treated and marketed as standalone thrillers. There isn’t a required sequence for character continuity.
Will I spoil another book if I read out of order?
Not in a continuity sense. Each story’s twists are self-contained within that title.
What’s the safest “try one” pick?
If you want a clean sample of her core approach, start with The Sisters. If you want a later, high-concept setup, try The Couple at No. 9.
The calm recommendation
If you prefer a structured plan, read in publication order starting with The Sisters. If you’d rather maximize immediate hook, start with The Couple at No. 9 and then hop around by premise.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.