Cathy Kelly Books in Order
Browse all Cathy Kelly books in order, with reading guides, short plot summaries, and tips on where to start with her warm Irish womens fiction.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
26 books
Woman To Woman
by Cathy Kelly
1997
Best friends Jo Ryan, a glamorous fashion journalist, and Aisling Moran, devoted mother of twin boys, believe they have everything under control. One Friday brings twin shocks a suspicious lingerie receipt in Aislings husbands pocket and a positive pregnancy test for commitment-shy Jo upending their ideas about love and loyalty.
Never Too Late
by Cathy Kelly
1999
Evie is finally about to marry safe, dependable Simon, yet a nagging doubt wont go away. Her sister Cara lurches from one romantic disaster to another, and best friend Olivia hides in a comfortable but wrong marriage. A family Christmas and a surprise engagement force all three to start again.
She's the One
by Cathy Kelly
1999
Advice columnist Dee writes soothing words for strangers while ignoring the chaos in her own life with lazy fiancé Gary and his overbearing mother. Newly separated Isabel has fled home to Dublin with her teenage daughters. When both women compete for the same newspaper job, unexpected solidarity begins to trump rivalry.
Someone Like You
by Cathy Kelly
2000
On holiday in Egypt, three very different Dublin women heartbroken Hannah, baby-obsessed newlywed Emma and divorced mother Leonie strike up an unlikely friendship. Back home, that bond helps each of them confront controlling families, old betrayals and the fear that it might be too late to change.
What She Wants
by Cathy Kelly
2001
Hope imagines a quiet life raising her children in the Irish village of Redlion, until a move and an unexpected attraction shake her marriage. Her driven music-executive sister Sam, elegant widow Virginia and young singer Nicole are all forced to rethink careers, love and what they really want from the future.
Just Between Us
by Cathy Kelly
2002
In Kinvarra, the glamorous Miller sisters seem to have it all: Stella the high-powered lawyer, Tara the newlywed scriptwriter and bohemian youngest sister Holly. As their mother Roses fortieth wedding anniversary approaches, buried hurts and marital crises surface, testing whether this close-knit family can truly be honest with one another.
Letter from Chicago
by Cathy Kelly
2002
Irish sisters Elsie and Maisie have spent decades exaggerating their lives in letters between Dublin and Chicago. When Maisies sophisticated granddaughter arrives for an extended visit, Elsies down-to-earth family scramble to impress, only to discover that honesty and affection matter more than polished stories.
Best of Friends
by Cathy Kelly
2003
TV presenter Abby Barton looks like she has the perfect life in a pretty Irish town, but her marriage and teenage daughter are slipping away from her. With salon-owner Sally and generous single mum Lizzie and newcomer Erin from Chicago she discovers how friendship can steady even the rockiest times.
Always and Forever
by Cathy Kelly
2004
In Carrickwell, ambitious PR executive Mel, feisty hotel graduate Cleo and fashion buyer Daisy are each close to burning out. A stay at Leahs new spa, Clouds Hill, brings the three strangers together, prompting them to question old choices and imagine braver futures for themselves and the people they love.
Past Secrets
by Cathy Kelly
2006
On pretty Summer Street, warm-hearted Christie Devlin seems to have an answer for everyone elses problems, yet her own past is catching up with her. Single mum Faye, headstrong daughter Amber and cautious Maggie are all hiding painful secrets that, once exposed, could finally set them free.
Lessons in Heartbreak
by Cathy Kelly
2008
Izzie Silver has carved out a glossy New York career booking models, but falling for a married man shatters her certainty about right and wrong. Back in coastal Tamarin, her aunt Anneliese faces betrayal and grandmother Lilys wartime secrets emerge, teaching all three women hard lessons about love and forgiveness.
Once In a Lifetime
by Cathy Kelly
2009
In the Irish town of Ardagh, family department store Kennys sits at the centre of everything. When a takeover threat and personal tragedy hit, Ingrid Fitzgerald, tapestry artist Star Bluestone and floor manager Charlie Fallon are forced to rethink love, loyalty and what a lifetimes work is really worth.
Homecoming
by Cathy Kelly
2010
After decades in New York, eighty-something Eleanor returns to Dublins Golden Square with a suitcase of memories and her mothers handwritten recipes for living. Her new neighbours scandal-hit actress Megan, over-stretched volunteer Rae and romantic daydreamer Connie soon discover that home is less about place than about people.
The Perfect Holiday
by Cathy Kelly
2010
A short, sun-soaked story about three strangers sharing a turbulent flight to Greece. Married couple Anthony and Carole hope a week away will heal old hurts, while widow Jessica is travelling alone for the first time; unexpected drama in the air forces each of them to face what they are really running from.
Christmas Magic
by Cathy Kelly
2011
This festive collection of linked short stories follows women facing complicated Decembers controlling mothers, lonely Christmas tables, dreaded office parties and mysterious fortune-tellers above a travel agency. Across the tales, Cathy Kelly mixes humour and heart to show how small acts of courage can make the season feel magical again.
The House on Willow Street
by Cathy Kelly
2012
In the coastal town of Avalon, postmistress Danae keeps everyones secrets while fiercely guarding her own. When her niece Mara arrives heartbroken and local woman Tess is forced to confront returning sister Suki and first love Cashel, the women of Willow Street are pushed toward difficult truths and new beginnings.
The Honey Queen
by Cathy Kelly
2013
Australian Lillie Maguire travels to the Irish town of Redstone to meet the half-brother she never knew and the family who might finally claim her. There she becomes a quiet catalyst for change, helping exhausted Frankie, restless Peggy and troubled teenagers find fresh purpose and sweetness in their lives.
It Started with Paris
by Cathy Kelly
2014
A romantic proposal at the Eiffel Tower should be pure joy for Michael and Katy, yet their good news unsettles everyone around them. As friends and family rally to plan the wedding, three women in particular must decide whether it is too late to rewrite their own love stories.
Between Sisters
by Cathy Kelly
2015
Cassie has built a careful life around her daughters, husband and domineering mother-in-law, while her sister Coco hides from commitment behind a vintage dress shop. As an old family wound resurfaces, the sisters and their grandmother Pearl must finally face the mother who walked away.
Secrets of a Happy Marriage
by Cathy Kelly
2018
When Bess plans a grand birthday celebration for her much older husband Edward, she hopes to prove their MayDecember marriage really works. But resentful stepdaughter Jojo, guarded cousin Cari and long-estranged relatives arrive with their own baggage, exposing just how fragile the Brannigan clan truly is.
The Year that Changed Everything
by Cathy Kelly
2018
On the same day, Ginger turns thirty, Sam goes into labour on her fortieth birthday and Callie throws a lavish fiftieth party in Dublin. Over the year that follows, unexpected upheavals push each woman to rebuild her life and choose what happiness means on her own terms.
A Woman's Heart
by Cathy Kelly
2020
After Michael proposes to Katy high above Paris, their engagement sends ripples through their Irish town. Best friend Leila, widowed cake-maker Vonnie and headmistress Grace all find their own hearts tested as the upcoming wedding forces them to confront past hurts and second chances.
Other Women
by Cathy Kelly
2021
Three Dublin women sharp, self-protective Sid, immaculate but insecure Marin and romantic single mum Bea appear to have little in common. When friendship exposes the lies they tell themselves about love, money and motherhood, each has to decide what to hold on to and what to let go.
The Family Gift
by Cathy Kelly
2021
TV chef and busy mother Freya Abalone seems to have it all blended family, new home and booming career until a traumatic event leaves her battling a harsh inner critic she calls Mildred. As past and present pressures collide, Freya must fight for her own voice and the family she loves.
The Wedding Party
by Cathy Kelly
2022
Four Robicheaux sisters head home to the glamorous Hotel Sorrento for their parents wedding, the first time they have all been together in years. Over one chaotic weekend, old rivalries, new romances and long-buried secrets force each woman to rethink what family means.
Sisterhood
by Cathy Kelly
2024
Lou has always said yes to everyone, from her ungrateful husband to her dramatic mother, but a disastrous fiftieth birthday and a shocking family secret push her to breaking point. Joining forces with her younger sister Tori, a TV presenter in crisis, she sets off on a journey across Ireland and Sicily to rediscover herself.
Where should I start?
If you want a modern standalone to try first: The Year that Changed Everything d Other Women
If you love small-town Irish communities: Homecoming d Once In a Lifetime d The House on Willow Street
If youd like to follow her career from the beginning: Woman To Woman d Shes the One d Never Too Late
If family and sister stories are your thing: Between Sisters d Secrets of a Happy Marriage d The Family Gift
If youre after a cosy seasonal read: The Wedding Party d Christmas Magic d The Perfect Holiday
Author bio
Cathy Kelly was born in Belfast in 1966 and grew up in Dublin, where stories and newspapers were part of everyday life. She would later become one of Irelands best-known writers of womens fiction, but she started out on the other side of the page.
After convent school she went straight into journalism, joining the Sunday World as a young reporter. Over thirteen years she worked across news and features, became a fashion and news editor, reviewed films and, for many readers, was the warm, no-nonsense voice behind an advice column.
Fiction was always tugging at her sleeve. She wrote at night and on weekends until she finished her first novel, Woman To Woman, which was published in 1997 and quickly became an international bestseller. Two more novels, Shes the One and Never Too Late, followed while she was still holding down the day job.
By 2001 she had taken the leap into full-time writing. Someone Like You went on to win the Romantic Novelists Association Novel of the Year award, and over the next two decades books such as What She Wants, Just Between Us, Best of Friends and Always and Forever regularly appeared on bestseller lists in Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Kellys novels tend to circle the same territory in the best possible way: women at turning points, complicated families, and the small communities that both trap and support them. She likes big casts and intersecting storylines, whether she is writing about the residents of Dublins Golden Square in Homecoming or the women connected to a family department store in Once In a Lifetime.
Readers come to her books for warmth, but she rarely shies away from hard subjects. Depression, grief, infidelity, addiction and financial pressure all surface in her stories, often alongside cosy details of cafés, kitchens and seaside towns. The tone stays hopeful without pretending that everything is easy, and her heroines are usually the kind of women you might meet at school gates or in supermarket queues.
Outside of fiction, Kelly has been closely involved with UNICEF Ireland since 2005, using her platform to raise awareness and funds for children orphaned by or living with HIV/AIDS. Trips to countries such as Mozambique and Rwanda have fed into the compassion that runs through her work, where children and teenagers are rarely just background characters.
She lives in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, with her husband John, their twin sons Dylan and Murray, and three much-loved dogs. When she is not writing or travelling to meet readers, she speaks openly about the messiness of modern family life, proving that the empathy in her novels comes from paying close attention to real people as much as to plots.
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