J.E. Rowney Books in Order (Updated February 25, 2026)

J.E. Rowney (also listed in some catalogues as Jayne Rowney) writes in a few distinct modes: a five-book midwifery series, a growing Survivor Stories thriller line, a long run of standalone psychological suspense, and a small set of poetry collections.

The only real trap is accidentally reading a series sequel first.

Reading order in one glance

• Want a series with clear continuity? Start Lessons of a Student Midwife at Life Lessons (2020).
• Want the newest “series” thrillers? Start The Survivor Stories at Where No One Can Hear You (2025).
• Want standalones with no commitment? Pick any thriller from 2022–2025 and read in whatever order sounds best.

---

Lessons of a Student Midwife (series continuity)

This is one continuous arc. Read in publication order.

1. Life Lessons (2020): A student midwife’s first real tests arrive fast, setting the emotional baseline for the series and the pressures that keep returning.
2. Love Lessons (2020): Work and personal life start colliding harder, pushing the protagonist into choices that shape the rest of her training.
3. Lessons Learned (2020): The “confidence versus competence” gap becomes the story, as experience accumulates and the job stops feeling theoretical.
4. The On Call Midwife at Christmas (2020): A seasonal, high-stakes stretch on shift that spotlights stress, resilience, and the costs of always being available.
5. Starting Out (2021): Newly qualified reality hits, shifting the series from learning the role to surviving it.

---

The Survivor Stories (series continuity)

This line is explicitly numbered as a series on major retailers. Read in order.

1. Where No One Can Hear You (2025): A survivor-centered thriller built around memory, aftermath, and what it takes to speak when silence feels safer.
2. Where No One Can Find You (2026): The follow-up expands the “survival” theme into a second case-shaped story; scheduled for May 28, 2026 (date can vary by edition/region).

---

Standalone novels (separate continuity)

These are designed to be read independently. Publication order is listed here mainly for collectors.

1. Charcoal (2012): A return-to-the-past story where escape was never clean, and coming home forces old truths back into the present.
2. Derelict (2019): A life that looks stable on paper starts to collapse under the weight of what was buried, with momentum driven by unease and exposure.
3. Ghosted (2020): A relationship-shaped suspense novel that leans into absence, misdirection, and the danger of what you can’t verify.
4. The Woman in the Woods (2021): A woodland discovery story that uses isolation and uncertainty to keep tightening the circle around the truth.
5. I Can’t Sleep (2022): A spiraling, sleepless premise where vulnerability becomes the engine and perception can’t be trusted for long.
6. Other People’s Lives (2022): A voyeurism-and-consequence thriller about watching, wanting, and what happens when curiosity becomes participation.
7. The Book Swap (2022): A seemingly harmless exchange becomes the access point for intrusion, secrets, and a creeping sense of being targeted.
8. Gaslight (2023): A psychological control story focused on reality being rewritten in plain sight, and the fight to prove it’s happening.
9. The House Sitter (2023): A “safe house” setup that turns unstable, where being inside someone else’s life becomes its own trap.
10. Zero Days Since Last Incident (2023): Workplace pressure and risk culture collide, building tension through escalation rather than a single twist.
11. The Other Passenger (2024): A confined-journey suspense where proximity, assumptions, and strangers’ narratives become the threat.
12. Waking Up in Vegas (2024): A disorientation-driven thriller that weaponizes missing time and the gap between what happened and what you remember.
13. Xmas Break (2024): A holiday-set pressure cooker that uses the season’s expectations as cover for something far colder.
14. Wish You Were Her (2025): A glossy escape offer turns into a high-risk reinvention, with danger hiding behind “perfect” new beginnings.
15. Red Flags (2025): A modern-dating anxiety thriller where signals, screens, and self-doubt blur into a single suspense engine.
16. King of Christmas (2025): A Christmas thriller built around branching choices, turning the reader’s decisions into part of the tension.

---

Poetry collections (separate from the fiction)

These are not connected to the novels above.

1. five seven five (2012): A compact collection centered on short-form poetry and precision.
2. Desire Lines (2013): A continuation of the poetic voice, leaning into connection, longing, and movement.
3. How the Heart Behaves (2014): A later collection focused on emotional mechanics, how feeling changes shape under pressure.

---

What to read first (three clean entry picks)

• Series-first: Life Lessons (2020)
• Thriller-series-first: Where No One Can Hear You (2025)
• Standalone-first: Gaslight (2023) (if you want pure psychological suspense without any series setup)

---

FAQ

Do I need to read the standalones in order?
No. They don’t share a continuing detective or recurring cast, so you can jump in anywhere.

Is “The Survivor Stories” separate from the other thrillers?
Yes. It’s marketed and numbered as its own series, so treat it as a distinct track.

Why list poetry here at all?
Because it’s part of Rowney’s bibliography, but it’s a different lane. If you’re here for thrillers or the midwife series, you can safely skip it.

---

Bottom line

If you want the smoothest experience, start with the first book of the track you actually want: Life Lessons for the midwife continuity, Where No One Can Hear You for the Survivor Stories line, or any standalone thriller that matches your mood.