Karen Robards Books in Order

Karen Robards is an American New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of romantic suspense, historical romance, and paranormal thriller novels. She is best known for the Dr. Charlotte Stone paranormal suspense series, the Guardian series featuring operative Bianca St. Ives, and a long run of standalone romantic suspense novels.

This page lists all Karen Robards books in order, including the Pirate duology, the Banning Sisters series, the Jessica Ford series, the Guardian series, and the Dr. Charlotte Stone series, organised by publication order.

Latest Karen Robards Books

The Moonlight Runner
The Moonlight Runner, March 2026

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Pirate Duology (Books in Order)

The Pirate series is a two-book historical romance duology following the swashbuckling adventures of a spirited heroine and a pirate captain. Island Flame (1981) was debut novel; Sea Fire (1982) is its direct sequel and ends the story. Both books should be read in order.

Reading Order

  1. Island Flame, 1982
  2. Sea Fire, 1982

Banning Sisters Series (Books in Order)

The Banning Sisters trilogy follows three aristocratic sisters, Gabriella, Claire, and Elizabeth, who are navigating love, danger, and financial ruin in Regency-era England. Each novel focuses on a different sister and can be read on its own, although reading in order starting with Scandalous gives fuller context for the family’s arc.

Reading Order

  1. Scandalous, 1999
  2. Irresistible, 2001
  3. Shameless, 2010

Jessica Ford Series (Books in Order)

The Jessica Ford series follows rookie Washington D.C. attorney Jessica Ford, who becomes the sole survivor of a car crash that killed the First Lady, and begins to suspect the accident was, in fact, no accident. The series is inspired by Karen Robards’ own legal background and combines political thriller with romantic suspense. Both books should be read in order, as the second picks up directly from events of the first.

Reading Order

  1. Pursuit, 2005
  2. Justice, 2011

The Guardian Series (Books in Order)

The Guardian series follows Bianca St. Ives, a highly skilled thief and covert operative with a complicated past, who gets pulled into high-stakes international missions that involve espionage, blackmail, and assassination. The series combines action thriller with romantic tension and is best read from book 1, The Ultimatum.

Reading Order

  1. The Ultimatum, 2017
  2. The Moscow Deception, 2018
  3. The Fifth Doctrine, 2019

Dr. Charlotte Stone Series (Books in Order)

The Dr. Charlotte Stone series follows criminal psychiatrist Charlie Stone, who specializes in profiling serial killers using her hidden ability to communicate with the recently dead. The series is paranormal romantic suspense with procedural crime elements. It follows a continuous storyline and should be read in order from The Last Victim.

Reading Order

  1. The Last Victim, 2012
  2. The Last Kiss Goodbye, 2013
  3. Her Last Whisper), 2014
  4. The Last Time I Saw Her, 2015

Standalone Novels

Novellas and Short Stories

Anthologies

Karen Robards Biography

Karen Robards

Karen Robards is an American author best known for writing romantic suspense, historical romance, and paranormal thrillers. Since her debut in 1981, she has published more than fifty novels and a novella.
Official website: karenrobards.com

Born on August 24, 1954, in Louisville, Kentucky, Karen Robards grew up in a family full of doctors and lawyers. As a teenager, she worked part-time in her father’s orthodontic office and in December 1973 she had a humorous anecdote published in Reader’s Digest, which made her interested in writing stories.

Her writing career really began at the University of Kentucky, where a graduate creative writing class challenged students to produce fifty publishable pages. After researching what was selling, she decided to try writing historical romance novels. Eventually, those pages became her first novel, Island Flame, which was published in 1981 when she was just 24. Later, she left law school to focus on writing full-time.

Karen Robards is one of the few historical romance authors who successfully shifted to the contemporary romantic suspense genre. Her series include the Dr. Charlotte Stone books, the Guardian novels starring Bianca St. Ives, the Jessica Ford legal thrillers, and the Banning Sisters trilogy. Over the years, she has also written many standalone romantic suspense novels.

A six-time winner of the Affaire de Coeur Silver Pen Award for Favorite Author, Karen Robards has received the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Karen Robards Awards and Honors

Awards

  • Romantic Times (RT) Best New Contemporary Writer (1985)
  • Wild Orchids – Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award (1986)
  • Dark Torment – Affaire de Coeur Gold Certificate Award
  • Loving Julia – Affaire de Coeur Gold Certificate Award
  • Six-time winner, Affaire de Coeur Silver Pen Award for Favorite Author

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.

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15 Comments

  1. Hi I love Karen Robards books. Please please write some more. I live in Australia and would love you to come here on a book tour.

  2. My most FAVORITE BOOK of the stand alone books is OBSESSION. I have read & reread that book so many times. The beginning, the first chapter, (OMG) & everything inbetween to the end was the absolute best of bests.

  3. With all the comments surrounding the Guardian series and the request for more, how could you deny your readers a conclusions or better yet a continuance of the series?

    2. I really would love a 4th book in the guardians series with Bianca St Ives and Colin!!

  4. I accidentally read THE GUARDIAN stories in reverse order. I still greatly enjoyed them! Along with other requests, I would love to read a Book 4!

    1. I just reread the guardian books after a few years. I keep hoping there will be a book 4 in the future. I read above you are only releasing one per annum, so making a bid or request that you pull us off the cliff with a great ending to the series in the form of a book 4.

      1. Please write the 4th book to the guardian series. Even if you don’t wish to continue, at least conclude it gorgeous us. Please, please ???? pleas!

  5. I have waited for a return of Michael in the Charlotte Stone book series. It’s my all-time favorite series. (Except for Jack Reacher. Lol) I’m sure you can think of a way to continue the series. ?.

  6. I thoroughly enjoy Karen Robards books, and wait for the next one..would really like more of the stand-alone ones as well as the series..the Charlotte Stone series is my favorite, but enjoyed the others as well..prefer the contemporary ones rather than the historical ones..

  7. Is there a 4th book due out in 2020 for the Guardian book series? Love this series and so look forward to reading about Bianca St. Ives adventures & romance. Thank you!

    1. Just read the Fifth Doctrine and loved it, are any more coming out about Bianca and Colin and the people in her office, you left us all henging.

  9. Does Karen Robards have a Book #4 in the works for her “Guardian” series, please? That would be wonderful; it is an excellent series! Thank you!

Comments are closed.