Linda Howard (born Linda S. Howington) writes romance and romantic suspense, ranging from short category-romance runs to darker, high-stakes standalones. Her “in order” needs are uneven: some parts are true series, while a large portion of her catalog is meant to be read as one-and-done thrillers.
If you want the cleanest experience, read each named series in order, and treat everything else as standalone picks.
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What connects to what
Read in order (real series continuity):
- Mackenzie Family Saga
- Blair Mallory
- CIA’s Spies (John Medina)
- GO-Team
Short series (still best in order, but easier to jump into):
- Rescues
- Spencer–Nyle Co.
- Western Ladies
- Patterson–Cannon
Separate “co-authored shelf” (different continuity):
- Linda Howard & Linda Jones collaborations (listed below)
The series, in order
Mackenzie Family Saga
- Mackenzie’s Mountain: The Mackenzie family line starts here with Wolf Mackenzie as the first central hero.
- Mackenzie’s Mission: Another Mackenzie-led romance that builds on the family’s reputation and setting established in book one.
- Mackenzie’s Pleasure: Zane Mackenzie takes the spotlight in a romance that assumes you know the family’s legend.
- Mackenzie’s Magic: A shorter entry that works best after you’ve read the first three Mackenzie books.
- A Game of Chance: A later Mackenzie installment that lands best once you’ve met the earlier core family.
Blair Mallory (comic-leaning romantic suspense duology)
- To Die For: Introduces Blair Mallory and the series’ fast, humorous mystery-romance tone.
- Drop Dead Gorgeous: A direct follow-up that expects you to know Blair’s voice, relationships, and the fallout from book one.
CIA’s Spies (John Medina)
- Kill and Tell: Establishes the CIA-operatives framework and the kind of mission-driven suspense this mini-series runs on.
- All the Queen’s Men: Continues the connected spy world with returning tone and assumptions about the first book’s stakes.
- Kiss Me While I Sleep: The third entry completes the main CIA’s Spies run and reads best after the first two.
GO-Team
- Troublemaker: Launches the paramilitary team setup and the series’ “mission + romance” engine.
- The Woman Left Behind: Continues the GO-Team world with the strongest payoff if you’ve read Troublemaker first.
Short series and early runs
Rescues
- Midnight Rainbow: Begins a connected set of suspense-forward romances that share tone and thematic DNA.
- Diamond Bay: Continues the “danger + protection” style of the Rescues line and is smoother after Midnight Rainbow.
- Heartbreaker: Keeps the same action-romance emphasis and reads best in sequence.
- White Lies: Closes the Rescues run as a later entry that benefits from familiarity with the earlier books’ style.
Spencer-Nyle Co.
- Sarah’s Child: Starts this small cluster with an emotionally heavy premise and a more character-driven focus.
- Almost Forever: Continues the connected grouping with the best context if you read Sarah’s Child first.
- Bluebird Winter: Completes the run and works best after the first two.
Western Ladies
- A Lady of the West: Opens the Western Ladies historical run with the intended starting point.
- Angel Creek: Continues the western historical setting and is written to follow A Lady of the West.
- The Touch of Fire: The third entry completes the Western Ladies sequence in order.
Patterson-Cannon
- Duncan’s Bride: Begins the duo with the series’ central couple/world premise.
- Loving Evangeline: A follow-up that lands best once you’ve read Duncan’s Bride.
Co-authored books (Linda Howard & Linda Jones)
These do not require any of the series above.
- Blood Born: A paranormal-leaning thriller/romance that starts their co-authored run under both names.
- Running Wild: A romantic-suspense western setup that follows their collaboration path as a separate continuity.
- Frost Line: A cold-weather, survival-tilted romantic suspense entry written as another co-authored standalone-style novel.
- After Sundown: A co-authored romantic suspense novel that stands on its own and is not part of GO-Team or Mackenzie continuity.
Standalones most readers start with
Linda Howard has many standalones; these are common entry picks because you can read them without series homework.
- Mr. Perfect: A workplace-centered romantic suspense that’s often treated as a signature standalone.
- Open Season: A revenge-to-reinvention setup that stays standalone while keeping suspense elements active.
- Dying to Please: A high-tension romantic suspense built to work as a single, self-contained story.
- Now You See Her: A one-book mystery-romance with no required ties to her other continuities.
- Cover of Night: A small-town suspense romance meant to be read independently.
- Up Close and Dangerous: A survival-in-the-wilderness romantic suspense that is fully standalone.
- Prey: A later-era standalone romantic suspense with no series prerequisites.
- Veil of Night: A crime-adjacent romantic suspense that works best as a one-and-done.
A non-repetitive “best use of your time” reading plan
- If you want family romance with continuity payoff, go Mackenzie straight through.
- If you want lighter voice + mystery, read Blair Mallory as a quick two-book set.
- If you want spy/mission suspense, read CIA’s Spies in order.
- If you want modern team action, do GO-Team (two books), then sample standalones.
Latest Releases:
The recent book released by the author is: 5 Golden Flings (November 2024)
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.