Sherry Thomas Books in Order: All 29 Titles
Sherry Thomas is an American novelist, born in 1975 in Qingdao, China, who emigrated to the United States at thirteen and learned English partly by reading romance and science fiction. She debuted in 2008 with the Victorian-set Private Arrangements and won the RITA Award for Best Historical Romance twice, for Not Quite a Husband in 2010 and His at Night in 2011. Since 2016 she has been best known for the Lady Sherlock series, historical mysteries that recast Sherlock Holmes as Charlotte Holmes in 1886 London. She has also written young-adult fantasy, a Mulan retelling and contemporary fiction, and writes everything under her own name. She lives in Austin, Texas.
Do you have to read Sherry Thomas in order?
If you want her historical romance, start anywhere: the London Trilogy and the Marsdens are effectively standalones, and only the Fitzhughs really reward reading in sequence (Beguiling the Beauty, then Ravishing the Heiress, then Tempting the Bride, with the short pieces optional). Read The Hidden Blade before My Beautiful Enemy. The Lady Sherlock mysteries are a different matter and must be read in publication order from A Study in Scarlet Women, because the Moriarty plot and the Charlotte-and-Ingram relationship carry across every book. Her young-adult Elemental Trilogy is one story in three parts and also needs to be read in order.
Genres and eras: Three distinct phases. Adult historical romance from 2008 to 2014, set in late-Victorian Britain rather than the Regency, and the only part of her output that belongs on a historical romance list. Young-adult fantasy and historical fiction from 2013 to 2019. Historical mystery from 2016 onward with the Lady Sherlock series, which is set in 1886 London and is crime fiction with a slow-burn romantic subplot rather than romance. She has published one contemporary romance (2015), one contemporary mystery (2025) and one science-fiction romance novella (2017). No new adult historical romance has appeared since 2014.
The London Trilogy in order (2008-2013)
Late-Victorian historical romances, connected loosely rather than by a continuing plot. The author's own bookshelf lists them as The Luckiest Lady in London, Private Arrangements, His at Night, which is her preferred reading order; the positions below are publication order, which her printable booklist uses.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Private Arrangements | 2008 |
| 2 | His at Night | 2010 |
| 3 | The Luckiest Lady in London | 2013 |
The Marsdens in order (2008-2009)
Two Victorian romances about the Marsden family. Not Quite a Husband won the 2010 RITA Award for Best Historical Romance and is the book most often named her best.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delicious | 2008 |
| 2 | Not Quite a Husband | 2009 |
The Fitzhughs in order (2012-2014)
Three novels and three shorter pieces about the Fitzhugh siblings, published in rapid succession in 2012. Claiming the Duchess is a free 6,000-word short story the author offers as a low-commitment sample; The Bride of Larkspear is an erotic companion piece to Ravishing the Heiress; A Dance in Moonlight first appeared in the anthology Midnight Scandals. This trilogy has the most continuity of her romance work and is best read in order.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | Claiming the Duchess novella | 2014 |
| 1 | Beguiling the Beauty | 2012 |
| 2 | Ravishing the Heiress | 2012 |
| 2.5 | A Dance in Moonlight anthology-contribution | 2012 |
| 3 | Tempting the Bride | 2012 |
| 3.5 | The Bride of Larkspear novella | 2012 |
Ten Regency romances, one download
If Sherry Thomas has you wanting more lords, scandal and slow-burning devotion, the Margot St. James collection bundles ten full-length Regency romances into one instant download.
$79.90 $9.99 for all 10
Instant download • EPUB & PDF • DRM-free
The Heart of Blade Duology in order (2014)
Her own site describes this as coming-of-age and historical romance with wuxia elements. The Hidden Blade is a prequel covering the childhoods of both leads and has no romance of its own; My Beautiful Enemy is the romance. Read The Hidden Blade first.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hidden Blade | 2014 |
| 2 | My Beautiful Enemy | 2014 |
Lady Sherlock in order (2016-2026)
Historical mystery, not romance. Charlotte Holmes solves crimes in 1886 London under the invented persona of her bedridden brother Sherlock. Continuity is tight - an ongoing Moriarty arc and a slow-burn relationship with Lord Ingram - so these must be read in order. The Vanished Sister was scheduled for 29 September 2026 and is listed here as forthcoming.
More on the Lady Sherlock series →
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Study in Scarlet Women | 2016 |
| 2 | A Conspiracy in Belgravia | 2017 |
| 2.5 | Charlotte Holmes and the Locked Box novella | 2017 |
| 3 | The Hollow of Fear | 2018 |
| 4 | The Art of Theft | 2019 |
| 5 | Murder on Cold Street | 2020 |
| 6 | Miss Moriarty, I Presume? | 2021 |
| 7 | A Tempest at Sea | 2023 |
| 8 | A Ruse of Shadows | 2024 |
| 9 | The Vanished Sister forthcoming | 2026 |
The Elemental Trilogy in order (2013-2015)
Young-adult fantasy set in an 1880s England with a parallel magical world. One continuous story across three books, so it must be read in order.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Burning Sky | 2013 |
| 2 | The Perilous Sea | 2014 |
| 3 | The Immortal Heights | 2015 |
A Ballad of Mulan in order (2019)
A single young-adult historical retelling of the Mulan legend. No further volumes have appeared.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan | 2019 |
Sherry Thomas: books outside the series
These sit outside the numbered series and can be read in any order.
| Title | First published | |
|---|---|---|
| — | The One in My Heart | 2015 |
| — | The Heart Is a Universe novella | 2017 |
| — | The Librarians | 2025 |
Where to start with Sherry Thomas
The Luckiest Lady in London
The author's own default recommendation for romance readers, and a self-contained Victorian romance.
Not Quite a Husband
Her 2010 RITA winner and the book most often named her best; needs no prior reading.
Private Arrangements
Her 2008 debut and the natural start if you want to read the London Trilogy in publication order.
A Study in Scarlet Women
The required first step into Lady Sherlock, which is the series she is best known for today.
Claiming the Duchess
A free 6,000-word short story she offers specifically as a no-commitment sample of her writing.
Frequently asked questions
Do the Lady Sherlock books have to be read in order?
Yes. The mysteries are individually resolved, but the series carries a continuing Moriarty storyline and a slowly developing relationship between Charlotte Holmes and Lord Ingram, and later books spoil earlier ones outright. Start with A Study in Scarlet Women (2016).
How many Lady Sherlock books are there?
Eight published, from A Study in Scarlet Women (2016) to A Ruse of Shadows (June 2024), plus a short story, Charlotte Holmes and the Locked Box (2017). A ninth novel, The Vanished Sister, was scheduled for 29 September 2026.
What order should I read Sherry Thomas's books in?
By series, because she writes in several genres. The historical romances (the London Trilogy, the Marsdens, the Fitzhughs and the Heart of Blade duology) came first, from 2008 to 2014; the young-adult Elemental Trilogy ran 2013-2015; the Lady Sherlock mysteries began in 2016 and are ongoing. Only Lady Sherlock, the Elemental Trilogy and the Fitzhughs need to be read in sequence.
Which Sherry Thomas book should I read first?
The Luckiest Lady in London is her own recommendation for romance readers, and Not Quite a Husband is the RITA-winning title most reviewers name as her best. If you want the mysteries instead, start with A Study in Scarlet Women. Claiming the Duchess is a free short story if you want to sample her writing first.
Are Sherry Thomas's romances Regency romances?
No. Her historical romances are set in the late Victorian period, mostly the 1880s and 1890s, and the Lady Sherlock mysteries begin in 1886. Retailers sometimes shelve her with Regency authors, but the settings, technology and social world are several decades later.
Does Sherry Thomas still write historical romance?
Not currently. My Beautiful Enemy (2014) was her last adult historical romance; since 2016 she has concentrated on the Lady Sherlock historical mysteries, with occasional books in other genres such as the contemporary mystery The Librarians (2025).
What order do the Fitzhugh books go in?
Beguiling the Beauty, Ravishing the Heiress, then Tempting the Bride, all published in 2012. The extras are optional: Claiming the Duchess is a free prequel short story, A Dance in Moonlight sits after book two, and The Bride of Larkspear is an erotic companion to Ravishing the Heiress.
How this list was counted
This guide lists 29 titles — 26 across 7 series and 3 outside them. 29 works published as of 7 September 2026: 24 novels and 5 shorter works (4 novellas or short stories plus one science-fiction romance novella). Broken down: 10 adult historical romance novels, 8 Lady Sherlock mystery novels, 4 young-adult novels, 1 contemporary romance, 1 contemporary mystery, and 5 short works. Excludes The Vanished Sister, Lady Sherlock book 9, which was scheduled for 29 September 2026 and had not been published at the date of this check. Excludes Midnight Scandals (2012), a three-author anthology whose Thomas contribution, A Dance in Moonlight, is already counted. She uses no pen names, so nothing is excluded on that basis.
The Vanished Sister (Lady Sherlock 9) is listed in the series but deliberately excluded from total_titles, because its publisher date of 29 September 2026 falls after this verification date. Sources disagree on two years and both were resolved against the author's own material: the Lady Sherlock site's book grid implies 2023 for A Ruse of Shadows, but its own book page and the author's news page both give 25 June 2024; Wikipedia's Lady Sherlock list stops at book 7 and is stale. Wikipedia also lists the London Trilogy in the order The Luckiest Lady in London, Private Arrangements, His at Night, matching the author's bookshelf, while her printable booklist gives publication order - both orders are documented in the series note. bookseriesinorder.com lists a 2025 title called Prima among her novellas; it could not be verified anywhere else, returns zero results in Open Library, and does not appear on the author's own site, so it is deliberately omitted. The Heart Is a Universe is filed on her own site under Science Fiction Romance without a length designation; two list sites call it a short story and it is recorded here as a novella, which may be imprecise. A Dance in Moonlight first appeared inside the three-author anthology Midnight Scandals (August 2012) and was reissued alone in April 2013, so 2012 is used as its first-publication year. Only the ten adult historical romance novels and their three short companions belong on a historical romance reading list; the Lady Sherlock books are mysteries and should be labelled as such.