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26 Novel Authors Writing Under Pen Names
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.What’s in a name? When Juliet’s famous question is applied to popular authors, sometimes the answer is surprising. While pseudonyms have long been a part of literary history, the reasons for choosing to publish under a nom de plume are as varied as the authors themselves.
The booklist below features some of the most popular contemporary authors (as well as a few from the past) who write under pen names. In the “Book Girls’ Say” section of the book descriptions, we’ve added some of the fun backstories of how or why the author chose their name.
As you explore the books on this list, you may be surprised to find that some of your favorite books were written by someone you never expected. Or perhaps you’ll discover that an author’s name you recognize is, in fact, a joint pseudonym for two writing partners. Along the way, we hope that you’ll also find some interesting new-to-you titles and authors to add to your TBR.
Contemporary & Classic Authors With Pen Names
A pen name, also known as a pseudonym or nom de plume, is a fictitious name, or sometimes a variant of their real name, that an author uses instead of their real name when publishing their writing.
Summers at The Saint
Real Name: Kathy Hogan Troucheck
Book Summary
Once upon a time, on the Georgia coast, there were the Saints and the Ain’ts. These terms delineated those who grew up spending their summers at the landmark St. Cecelia hotel and those who grew up on the “wrong” side of the river.
Traci was an Ain’t because her family wasn’t wealthy enough to summer at the hotel. But one fateful summer, she got a job at the hotel and ended up marrying the boss’s son. Years later, she is now the widowed owner of the historic hotel. Despite financial woes, staffing challenges, and a greedy brother-in-law who wants to see her fail, Traci is determined to return the Saint to its glory days.
With just one summer to turn things around, Traci hires a motley crew that includes her former best friend’s daughter. But will new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threaten everything? It will take everything she has to put past wrongs right in order to save the Saint.
The Book Girls Say…
Mary Kay Andrews is the pen name for Kathy Hogan Troucheck. The pseudonym is a combination of her children’s names—Mary Kay for her daughter, who was christened Mary Kathleen, and Andrews, for her son Andrew. Under this name, she is the New York Times bestselling author of 30 beach reads, mystery novels, and several short stories.
At the start of her writing career, Mary Kay Andrews published two series of books under her real name. Writing as Kathy Hogan Troucheck, she penned the Callahan Garrity series and the Truman Kicklighter series. In 2002, she assumed her pen name with the publication of Savannah Blues. Since that time, her early books have been republished and remarketed under her Mary Kay Andrews pseudonym.
The Woman in Cabin 10
Real Name: Ruth Warburton
Book Summary
Journalist Lo Blacklock scores a dream assignment when she’s sent aboard a super-luxury cruise ship, the Aurora, which only has a few cabins. As they set off across the North Sea, everything is perfect. However, as the weather becomes dreary, so does the mood on the ship when Lo witnesses a woman being thrown overboard.
However, the crew confirms all passengers are accounted for and the vacation continues. Lo knows what she has seen and must get others to understand that something sinister has happened. The book is often named one of the best modern locked-room mystery novels.
The Book Girls Say…
Ruth Ware originally published YA fantasy under her real name, Ruth Warburton, but adopted a pen name when she transitioned to writing psychological crime thrillers. Any of her books would also make a great pick for the Pen Names reading challenge prompt. See which Ruth Ware books our readers voted as their favorites in this post.
Also Featured on These Book Lists:
Bridgerton Series
Real Name: Julie Pottinger
Book Summary
Bridgerton is a series of Regency-era romances centered around the close-knit Bridgerton family. The family consists of eight siblings, each with a distinct personality, named in alphabetical order. Each book focuses on one sibling’s journey to love, with plenty of banter, ballrooms, scandals, and slow-burn chemistry along the way.
This book series was adapted into a hit TV series by Netflix. There are currently three seasons available for streaming, with three more seasons announced. Season 4 is currently scheduled for release in 2026.
The Book Girls Say…
Julia Quinn is the pen name of Julie Pottinger. She chose the pseudonym strategically so that her books would sit alongside popular Regency romance writer Amanda Quick on bookstore and library shelves. Interestingly, Amanda Quick is also a pen name.
The Edge of Summer
Real Name: Wade Rouse
Book Summary
Grieving her mother’s sudden death, fashion designer Sutton Douglas is left with more questions than closure. Her mother, a private Southern seamstress known as “Miss Mabel,” often shared her pearls of Ozarks wisdom but shielded Sutton from their family history.
Heartbroken and seeking answers to lifelong questions, Sutton impulsively heads to the resort town of Saugatuck–Douglas on Lake Michigan. There, she purchases a collection of buttons at an estate sale from Bonnie Lyons, the matriarch of the lakeside community. The trinkets remind Sutton of Miss Mabel’s sewing notions that she played with as a child. When she realizes how closely the collection mirrors her mother’s, she begins to suspect that she and Bonnie may be related.
Sutton cautiously befriends the older woman and is taken into her confidence. Slowly, she begins to uncover the truth about her family that Miss Mabel hid so carefully.
The Book Girls Say…
Viola Shipman, the pen name for Wade Rouse, is one of our favorite authors. Wade writes his feel-good novels under his grandmother’s name as a way to honor the woman who sacrificed so much for her family and whose memory inspires his works of fiction. He has also published several memoirs under his real name.
Wade grew up in the Missouri Ozarks and calls Michigan home for much of the year. His beautiful descriptions of these states are so vivid that you’ll feel like you are spending your summer alongside his lovable characters.
Other Viola Shipman novels that we recommend include The Page Turner, The Heirloom Garden, Famous in a Small Town, and The Secret of Snow.
What Does it Feel Like?
Real Name: Madeleine Sophie Wickham
Book Summary
Eve feels like the luckiest woman in the world. She has her dream career as a successful novelist and a happy family, including an amazing husband who made it possible for her to have both a career and children.
But then, in a day, everything changes. She wakes up in the hospital, unsure why she is there. Her doctors and husband remind her that she had a brain tumor and just had a major surgery to remove it. She’s gone from relying on her words and stories for her career to not even remembering the words to Christmas carols. Will she even remember her children?
The Book Girls Say…
Sophie Kinsella is the pen name of Madeleine Sophie Wickham. In the mid-1990s, she published numerous novels under her real name. In 2000, she published Confessions of a Shopaholic under the pseudonym Sophie Kinsella, marking a shift to a humorous, romantic-comedy style of writing.
The Book Girls both read Confessions of a Shopaholic in the early 2000s when it was first released, and then laughed their way through the series, living vicariously through Becky’s misadventures in London.
What Does It Feel Like is a departure from the light, rom-com style. It’s a novella-length autobiographical story based on Madeleine Wickham’s real experience being diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer, in late 2022.
While it is an emotional read, Melissa loved seeing the author’s wit, good nature, and positive outlook shine through. She talks about why she opted to make this a novel instead of a memoir in the Author’s Notes at the end, so don’t miss that after you read.
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If Tomorrow Never Comes
Real Name: Allison Baxley
Book Summary
Elliott Holland is battling leukemia and an uncertain future. On the eve of a stem cell transplant, she decides to live it up while she can. She meets a handsome and charming man named Jamie at a bar, and the chemistry is immediate. By the end of the night, they share a kiss with no expectations that they’ll ever cross paths again.
A year later, Elliott’s cancer is in remission, and her graphic design career is thriving. Her future looks bright, and she’s eager to express her gratitude to the stem cell donor who made that possible. But in a twist of fate, the donor, Carly, is dating Jamie, the man Elliott has been thinking about all year. When the chemistry between them reignites over shared coffee, books, and dog walks, Elliott is caught between loyalty, guilt, and longing.
The Book Girls Say…
Allison Ashley is the literary pen name of Allison Braxley, who works as a Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacist in Oklahoma. She writes contemporary romances and always incorporates medical elements into her novels, whether it’s through character backstories or plot points involving illness or treatment.
Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder
Real Name: Amanda Elliot
Book Summary
Pomona is a spoiled Upper East Side hotel heiress who has just stumbled out of a gala to find her grandmother’s body. This isn’t as shocking as you may expect because her grandma was more mean and paranoid than likable. In fact, she was so paranoid that her will included a clause that all assets be frozen if she died an “unnatural” death.
Pomona is suddenly locked out of her penthouse with nowhere to go…except to Gabe, the son of her former nanny. He also needs the family money unfrozen because it includes his mom’s retirement funds. Can Pomona figure out the cause of death so she can return to her privileged trust fund life? Or will her time with Gabe help her learn that there is more to life than money?
The Book Girls Say…
Bellamy Rose is a pen name for Amanda Elliot, who is a best-selling author of rom-coms featuring Jewish main characters, including Love You a Latke.
Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder is the first novel she has published under the Bellamy Rose pseudonym, but the second book in the series, Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer, has an expected publication date of April 2026.
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10 Things That Never Happened
Real Name: Kept Private
Book Summary
Sam spends his time managing a bed and bath store, and while it’s not the most glamorous career, he loves the team of misfits that keep everything running smoothly. The only real downside is the infuriating owner.
Jonathan regrets hiring Sam and has summoned him to London for a difficult conversation. When Sam arrives, he’s overly nervous, trips, and hits his head. And then somewhat accidentally implies that he doesn’t remember anything.
Could faking amnesia prevent him from being fired and give Sam and Jonathan a fresh start?
The Book Girls Say…
Author Alexis Hall has addressed their pseudonym, stating that they initially had a day job they didn’t want to complicate by using their real name. By the time the writing side hustle turned into a full-time job, they had grown to enjoy the privacy that comes with using a pen name and not revealing their real identity.
While this novel is the first in a new series and not part of the Boyfriend Material series, the characters do exist as part of the same universe.
Bananapants
Real Name: Kept Private
Book Summary
Ava Archer is a hardworking tax attorney who’s feeling extra lonely during the dreaded month of April, so when her posh coworker begs her to impersonate her at an over-the-top billionaires’ party, Ava says, “Why not?”
Enter Desmond “Des” Sullivan, Ava’s childhood best friend turned globe-trotting thief-for-hire, who’s back in Chicago to retrieve stolen tech.
Of course, the only person who can blow his cover is Ava, the last person he expects to bump into. Especially not in a ridiculous wig with a fake accent. Cue hilarious hijinks, nonstop banter, and Ava’s jaw-dropping realization that Des is no longer the kid she knew.
As they bicker their way through secret societies and danger, they also dig deeper into each other’s pasts, including Des’s bipolar journey and Ava’s emotional walls.
The Book Girls Say…
Penny Reid is the pen name the author chose to maintain her privacy and separate her personal identity from her writing persona.
She has published many novels spanning multiple series, including the Knitting in the City Series that we featured on our list of Books About Knitting, Crocheting, and Quilting.
We chose Bananapants for this list because it is Penny Reid’s newest standalone novel. However, it’s worth noting that the main characters in Bananapants are the adult children of the main characters from the Knitting in the City series. More specifically, Ava is the daughter of Fiona and Greg Archer, from Happily Ever Ninja, and her childhood friend Desmond is the son of Janie and Quinn Sullivan, from Neanderthal Seeks Human.
Beloved
Real Name: Chloe Wofford
Book Summary
Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later, she is still not free. She has too many bad memories of the Sweet Home plantation in Kentucky. And her new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless. The baby’s tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Throughout the novel, the ghost of Beloved embodies the collective memories of enslaved people, allowing them to tell their stories.
The Book Girls Say…
Toni Morrison is the pen name of Chloe Wofford, which she derived from her baptismal name, Anthony (Toni), and the surname of her first husband, Harold Morrison, whom she divorced six years prior to the publication of her first novel.
She stated in an interview, “People who call me Chloe are the people who know me best.” She told The Guardian, “Myself is kind of split. My name is Chloe. And the rest is … that other person.” She further explained in another interview, “Chloe writes the books” and Toni Morrison does the tours, the interviews, the “legacy and all of that.”
Although she has said that she sometimes regrets publishing her first novel, The Bluest Eye, under her pen name, she went on to experience immense literary success as Toni Morrison.
This is a similar story to how celebrated author Maya Angelou came to her professional name. Born Marguerite Annie Johnson, her family called her Maya from an early age (a nickname given by her older brother), and Angelou is a derivation of her first husband’s Greek last name, Angelos (which was likely Angelopoulos in the original Greek).
While Maya Angelou used this name in all aspects of her life (making it less of a pen name and more of an adopted name), Toni Morrison continued to maintain her separate identity as Chloe Wofford throughout her life.
The Library of Borrowed Hearts
Real Name: Tamara Berry
Book Summary
Librarian Chloe is struggling to take care of herself and her three younger siblings when she stumbles upon a rare edition of a 1960s book at the local flea market. She’s shocked when her cranky neighbor, Jasper, offers to buy it for an exorbitant price. But then she spots old notes scribbled in the margins between long lovers and realizes some of the handwriting is Jasper’s.
This kickstarts a literary scavenger hunt through not only this book, but others in town with similar notes. Is there more to Chloe’s cranky neighbor than meets the eye?
The Book Girls Say…
We included this book on another Book Lover’s Reading Challenge list earlier in the year, but it wasn’t until we were researching pen names that we discovered that Lucy Gilmore is the pen name of Tamara Berry.
She has also published several books under her real name, which we’ve recommended on other booklists, including Murder Runs in the Family (featured on our list of intergenerational novels) and the By the Book Mystery Series (included on our list of mysteries about authors).
The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a light, cozy, and heartfelt read that alternates between the 1960s and today as Chloe uncovers Jasper’s past. We love the dual connections over books, first between Jasper and his love, and then between Chloe and Jasper decades later.
Under the pen name Lucy Gilmore, she has also published The Lonely Hearts Book Club, which is featured on our list of books about book clubs.
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The Housemaid
Real Name Kept Private
Book Summary
Millie has a chance to start fresh when she gets a job working for Nina and Andrew Winchester as a live-in housekeeper and cook. She tries to ignore the annoyances of the job, like Nina constantly making messes just to watch her clean them up. Despite the beautiful wife, dreamy house, and fancy cars, Andrew seems more broken each day. His eyes are full of pain behind his outward appearance of a perfect life.
When Millie can’t resist trying on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses, she has no idea what the small act will set in action. Soon, she realizes her attic bedroom door only locks from the outside. The Winchesters may have even darker secrets than her own.
The Book Girls Say…
Freida McFadden is a pen name used by the author to keep her writing career separate from her career as a medical doctor practicing in the area of brain injuries. She avoids book tours and keeps her real name private to avoid potential conflicts with her medical career and patients.
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Middlemarch
Real Name: Mary Ann Evans
Book Summary
In this 1872 classic, we meet Dorothea Brooke, an idealistic young woman who aspires to make a meaningful impact on the world. Her choice of husband, the older and much more conservative Mr. Casaubon, sends her life into unexpected directions.
Dr. Tertius Lydgate, an ambitious doctor with lofty goals, finds himself trapped in his own set of challenges in the small town of Middlemarch. The novel paints a vivid portrait of 19th-century society and its flaws, while exploring the complexities of human desires, all wrapped in a detailed, yet accessible narrative.
The Book Girls Say…
As a writer in the Victorian Era, Mary Ann Evans sought to avoid stereotypes associated with women’s writing when publishing Middlemarch. She was already known as an editor, translator, and critic under her female name, so she selected the name George Eliot, hoping her writing would be more respected under a male name.
The Bronte sisters also wrote under pen names, Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily), and Acton (Anne) Bell, but have since been republished using their real names and are now more recognized under their real names rather than the pen names they originally chose.
We Were Liars
Real Name: Emily Jenkins
Book Summary
Cadence has debilitating migraines and memory loss after an accident on her family’s island compound just off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard during what she calls “Summer Fifteen.”
After being kept away from her cousins for the summer after the accident, the bulk of the book takes place as she finally returns to the island at age 17 and tries to piece together what happened to her.
The Book Girls Say…
E. Lockhart is the pen name of Emily Jenkins, who also publishes whimsical children’s books and picture books. She adopted E. Lockhart (using her middle name, Lockhart) as a pseudonym when she began writing novels with more mature themes for teens and older readers.
We Were Liars is quick read (256 pages) that will leave you guessing until the plot twist is finally revealed. It’s an excellent pick for those who enjoy suspenseful family drama. While it’s a YA title, we both read and enjoyed it as not-so-young adults.
If you’ve read and enjoyed this book, check out the prequel, Family of Liars, to learn more about the family backstory. Although it is a prequel, it was released after We Were Liars and is considered book #2; therefore, we still recommend reading We Were Liars first. The third novel in the series, We Fell Apart, has an expected publication date of November 2025.
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All Creatures Great and Small
Real Name: Alf Wight (James Alfred Wight)
Book Summary
This is a heartwarming and often hilarious semi-autobiographical story about the life of a young country vet in Northern England. Fresh out of veterinary school, James dives headfirst into rural life, treating everything from stubborn cows to spoiled poodles—often in unpredictable weather and even more unpredictable barns.
He quickly learns that animal medicine is only half the job; it’s the quirky farmers, eccentric villagers, and lovable pets that really make the job unforgettable. With equal parts charm, chaos, and compassion, James shares his adventures (and misadventures) on the job, all told with a dry wit and a deep love for animals.
The Book Girls Say…
James Herriot is the pen name of Alf Wight (full name James Alfred Wight), who was a veterinarian in Northern England. At the time of writing his books, British veterinary surgeons were prohibited from advertising. Publishing books under his real name could have been interpreted as a form of self-promotion, which would have violated professional ethics. To avoid even the impression of promoting his business, he adopted a pen name and kept his real name secret.
All Creatures Great and Small is part of a series of eight books, though the editions were published and grouped differently in the US and the UK.
Hidden Nature
Real Name: Eleanor Marie Robertson
Book Summary
Sloan is a Natural Resources officer in Maryland and was returning home from taking down a man who had been preying on hikers when she stumbled into a robbery in progress at a convenience store. She was shot and had to be shocked back to life during an operation.
To recover, she moved into her parents’ house in Heron’s Rest, Maryland. While in bed recovering, Sloan learns about a woman who has just vanished from a grocery store parking lot. Since she can’t work on the case in person, she turns to online detective work, which leads her to find similar instances spread across three states. But the victims have nothing in common. Luckily, there’s a new man in her life who is equally committed to solving this case.
The Book Girls Say…
Nora Roberts is a simplified version of author Eleanor Robertson’s real name. When she started writing, she mistakenly thought that every romance writer used pen names, so she selected one for herself.
*She has also written futuristic suspense novels under the name J.D. Robb since 1995, which she selected to reach a larger audience and avoid confusing her romance audience. It wasn’t until the 12th book in the successful In Death series that the publisher revealed Nora Roberts/Eleanor Marie Robertson as the writer behind J.D. Robb.
The Ex Hex Series
Real Name: Rachel Hawkins
Book Summary
This series begins with a curse that Vivienne Jones jokingly cast on her ex-boyfriend, Rhys Penhallow. She never expected it to work… but it did. Nine years later, Rhys returns to their small Southern hometown, Graves Glen, to help charge the ley lines at the annual Founder’s Day festival. But misfortune strikes, and every mishap hints that Vivi’s “silly little” heartbreak curse might be real.
To undo the unintended curse, Vivi, Rhys, and Vivi’s witchy cousin and aunt must channel ancestral magic—and face buried history tied to the town’s founders. Amid supernatural mayhem and witty banter, they work to break the spell and rediscover their past connection.
In the second installment, The Kiss Curse, the complications continue as the trio deals with new magical mishaps.
In the third installment, The Wedding Witch, Bowen Penhallow, a reclusive Welsh warlock, attends a Yuletide wedding at Tywyll House with a ghostly friend and unexpectedly finds himself transported back to 1950s Wales alongside magical artifact hunter Tamsyn Bligh.
The Book Girls Say…
We were so surprised to discover that Erin Sterling is the pen name of Rachel Hawkins, who we know from popular thriller titles like The Wife Upstairs and The Heiress.
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The Only One Left
Real Name: Todd Ritter
Book Summary
In 1929, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast. Although the police could never find evidence to support this theory, the town believed that seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible. Since that night, she has never left Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.
By 1983, Lenora is in her seventies, uses a wheelchair, and has been rendered mute after a series of strokes. She communicates by tapping out messages on an old typewriter. Kit, a home-health aide, is assigned to Hope’s End to assist Lenora after the previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. One evening, Lenora types a surprising message: “I want to tell you everything.“
As Kit helps Lenora tell her story, new details emerge. But Kit also begins to suspect that Lenora still isn’t telling the full truth.
The Book Girls Say…
Todd Ritter began his career as a novelist using his own name, but despite being critically acclaimed, his sales did not meet expectations. To start fresh, he adopted the name Riley Sager, which is a combination of family names. He said, “My parents are Ray and Linda. Riley seemed like a good combination. Sager is my grandmother’s name.”
Initially, the Riley Sager website did not use his photo and instead used only gender-neutral pronouns in an attempt to draw a broader audience, making this a fascinating flip from classic female authors who often used male or gender-neutral names.
In addition to Riley Sager, Todd Ritter also writes under the pen name Alan Finn.
Author Duos: Writing Partners With a Joint Pen Name
A joint pen name is a single pseudonym used by two or more authors who collaborate in the writing process and publish their work under one shared identity.
Battle of the Bookstores
Real Name: Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey
Book Summary
Josie and Ryan manage bookstores on the same street in Boston, but they’ve rarely had reason to interact. Josie’s store focuses on “serious” literature, while Ryan’s sells romance. But when both stores are purchased by a common owner who plans to consolidate them into one, Josie and Ryan are suddenly thrown into direct competition.
Only one person can retain the manager position, a decision that will be made solely based on who generates the largest profit by the end of the summer. Their management styles couldn’t be more different. Josie is efficient and meticulous, whereas Ryan is easygoing and disorganized. As the rivalry heats up between the two of them, so do the sparks.
As events clash, from poetry nights to genre-themed book clubs, their tension intensifies, both professionally and personally. Throughout the chaotic summer, they each find solace in an anonymous friendship in an online book forum… but little do they know, they are actually talking to one another.
The Book Girls Say…
Ali Brady is the pen name for the BFF writing duo of Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey. They first met in a writing group, where they began as critique partners, exchanging early drafts of their individual works before later deciding to co-author their first novel together.
Alison lives in Chicago, where she works as a creative director and is the Founder of Artists Against Antisemitism. Bradeigh lives in Utah with her husband and four children and works as a doctor. Each has published two standalone novels – Alison in the contemporary fiction genre and Bradeigh in the psychological thriller genre.
We’ve yet to read any of their individual writing, but we’ve enjoyed everything they’ve written together as Ali Brady, and especially appreciated the emphasis on female relationships (sisters and best friends) in their first three novels. In each instance, they outlined the novels together, and then Alison wrote the POV of one female main character, while Bradeigh wrote the other.
All of their books involve elements of romance, but Battle of the Bookstores is the first where a romantic rivalry takes center stage. You know we love books about bookstores, so what could possibly be better than a modern take on You’ve Got Mail?!
The Lost Orphans
Real Name: Catherine Curzon and Helen Barrell
Book Summary
In 1941, eight-year-old Elise had lost everything except her older brother, Jack. They evacuated London together, but ended up in a cruel farming family. Unfortunately, after escaping the farm and returning home, the house was destroyed, and their mother was gone. Elise hasn’t spoken since.
Jack knows he can’t help Elise alone in the bombed city, so they join a rag-tag band of other runaway evacuees who’ve returned to the city just like them. Despite the ongoing bombing and their terrible circumstances, the group is determined to help others. But one night, Elsie disappears, and the race is on to find her.
The Book Girls Say…
While this is a work of fiction, it’s inspired by a true story about runaway evacuees.
Catherine Curzon and Helen Barrell began writing together as Ellie Curzon in 2017 and quickly discovered their shared love of uniquely British historical stories. While we featured their newest release, they have several highly rated historical fiction novels for you to choose from!
Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?
Real Name: Nicci Gerard and Sean French (Husband and Wife)
Book Summary
Just before Christmas of 1990, Alec Salter is celebrating his 50th birthday in the small English village of Glensted. A few hours into the party, someone notices that Alec’s wife, Charlotte, is missing. Alec doesn’t seem concerned, but his four children, especially 15-year-old Etty, have major concerns that it’s freezing outside, and several days have now passed. Then Charlotte’s coat is seen by the river. While she is not found, the body of their neighbor, Duncan, is discovered floating in the river. The police come up with a story that Duncan and Charlotte were having an affair, and he killed her before he killed himself.
Thirty years later, Duncan’s son, a documentarian, has returned to Glensted with his older brother, Greg, to make a podcast based on their shared tragedy with the Salters. Alec now has dementia and is entering a care facility. As the men ask questions for the podcast, the entire town becomes involved, and new allegations emerge. With the podcast making national news, London sends Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor to Glensted to take over the investigation and uncover what really happened all those years ago.
The Book Girls Say…
This husband-and-wife duo, who make up the pen name Nicci French, also write separately, with books published under their own names: Nicci Gerard and Sean French.
The Last Mrs. Parrish
Real Names: Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine (sisters)
Book Summary
Philanthropist Daphne and her real-estate mogul husband seem like the perfect couple in their exclusive Connecticut town. Amber feels like the opposite – plain and invisible. She’s deeply envious of Daphne, but she has a plan.
As Amber puts her plan into place, she works her way into being Daphne’s closet confidante and then gets closer to Jackson during a trip to Europe. But can she make it to the end goal of her scheme before a skeleton from her past undermines everything?
The Book Girls Say…
If you enjoy The Last Mrs. Parrish, be sure to pick up the equally highly rated 2024 sequel, The Next Mrs. Parrish, which is also set in Bishops Harbor, Connecticut.
Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. In addition to the more than a dozen twisty psychological thrillers that they’ve published as a writing duo, Lynne has also published several other thrillers under the solo pseudonym L.C. Shaw.
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The Paradise Problem
Real Names: Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings (best friends)
Book Summary
Anna and West didn’t have much in common in college. He was a buttoned-up heir to a grocery chain, and she was a free-spirited artist. Their college marriage was a sham to get her access to subsidized family housing at UCLA. She thought their divorce was finalized at the time of her graduation.
Three years later, Anna is a starving artist while West is a Stanford professor. He has little interest in joining the family business, which he views as a heartless corporation, but he is interested in receiving his inheritance.
When it turns out that a clause in his grandfather’s will requires him to be happily married for five years before receiving one hundred million dollars, Liam thinks his marriage to Anna puts him in the home stretch. But now his family is pressuring him to meet his mysterious spouse. First, Liam worries about how his family will react to paint-splattered, foul-mouthed Anna. Then he begins to worry that introducing her into his toxic world of wealth will corrupt his pure-hearted fake wife.
The Book Girls Say…
Christina Lauren is the pen name for long-time writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. Christina is a former middle school counselor in her home state of Utah, and Lauren has a Ph.D. and is the mother of two in California. The two first connected over Twilight-based fan fiction in 2009, then met in person at San Diego Comic-Con. They “clicked” instantly and became fast friends and then writing partners, which we love because it so closely mirrors our own origin story as the Book Girls.
While this writing duo is best known for their more recent lighthearted romantic comedy writing (The Unhoneymooners, The Soulmate Equation, Love and Other Words, and In a Holidaze, to name a few of our favorites), they also have a backlist that includes more explicit romance novels that readers describe as somewhere between spicy and scorching (including the Wild Seasons series and the Beautiful series). Keep this in mind if you decide to dive deeper into their pre-2017 novels.
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Leviathan Wakes
Real Name: Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck
Book Summary
In this first installment of the Expanse Series, humans have colonized much of the solar system, from Mars to the Asteroid Belt. But no one has conquered the stars.
As part of his job, Jim Holden makes runs from Saturn’s outer rings to mining stations on the Belt. His crew has just encountered a derelict ship, which leads to uncovering a secret they wish they didn’t know. And someone else wishes they didn’t know as well. Now their lives are in danger.
Detective Miller is searching for a girl, which seems impossible in a vast system of billions, but her wealthy parents are willing to pay well to find her. His investigation leads him to the same derelict ship. Now, Holden and Miller must navigate the delicate balance between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations.
The Book Girls Say…
While Sci-Fi isn’t a genre that tops our personal reading lists, Angela was chatting with a fellow choir mom on a trip who raved about this award-winning series of novels. If you enjoy the genre and haven’t yet picked up this series, it comes highly recommended!
The name “James S.A. Corey” originated from the real middle names of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, along with the initials of Abraham’s daughters.
Coffeehouse Mysteries
Real Name: Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi (husband and wife)
Book Summary
This fun, fast-paced, cozy mystery collection is set in a charming coffee shop in New York’s Greenwich Village. The series stars Clare Cosi, a smart and sassy coffee expert who manages the Village Blend café and always finds herself at the center of some kind of murder or mayhem.
Whether she’s tracking a killer at a barista competition, unraveling a mystery behind the espresso machine, or helping her quirky customers, Clare’s blend of caffeine and curiosity never fails.
Alongside her ex-husband (who’s also her boss) and her tough-but-charming detective boyfriend, Clare navigates danger with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. Each book comes with bonus coffee tips and recipes, making the series perfect for fans of caffeine and crime.
The Book Girls Say…
Cleo Coyle is a pen name used by the husband-and-wife writing duo of Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi. Together, they are the authors behind two long-running cozy mystery franchises, the Coffeehouse Mysteries and the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries.
They originally released the Haunted Bookshop series under another pseudonym, Alice Kimberly, before consolidating their cozy mystery titles under the Cleo Coyle name.
Bess Crawford Series
Real Name: Caroline and David Watjen (Mother-son)
Book Summary
In this Historical Mystery series, Bess Crawford is a courageous World War I nurse and determined investigator. Instead of experiencing a typical upper-middle-class British gentlewoman’s upbringing, she grew up in India. Her officer father emphasized the importance of responsibility, honor, and duty.
Bess volunteered for the nursing corps at the onset of WW1, serving from the battlefields of France to the doomed hospital ship Britannic. When she bonds with a gravely ill soldier, she promises to pass on a message to his brother. Months later, she’s back in England after her own injury and can finally relay the message. Soon, this task of delivering a message has her enveloped in a mystery that may turn deadly.
The Book Girls Say…
This mother-son duo wrote together under the joint pen name Charles Todd until Caroline passed away in 2021. Now the son, David Watjen, has taken on the name Charles Todd and continued writing new books in the series under the same pen name.
While we know this is far from a comprehensive list, as many fabulous writers use pen names, especially classic authors, we hope you’ve enjoyed our curated recommendations.
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Printable Version of This Book List
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