Author Information
Karen Robards
  • Bibliography:
    55 Books (6 Series)
  • First Book:
    December 1980
  • Latest Book:
    July 2024
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About the Author

Karen was born on 24 August 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She has been writing since she was a teenager. She sold her first short story at a very young age when she was published in the December 1973 issue of Reader's Digest. However, she did not sell her first romance novel until 1981, when she was 24. After that, she dropped out of law school to pursue her writing career. Today, a regular on the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, among others, she is the winner of six Affaire de Coeur Silver Pen Awards for favorite romance author, as well as numerous other awards. She writes historical and contemporary romances.

Karen lives in her native Louisville with her husband, Doug Robards, and their three sons Peter (b. 1983), Christopher "Chris" (b. 1989), and Jack (b. 1994). She says: "I read, I write, and I chauffeur children," she says with a laugh. "That's my life."

Full Series List in Order

The Banning Sisters Trilogy

1 - Scandalous (Mar-2001)
2 - Irresistible (Sep-2002)
3 - Shameless (Apr-2010)

A Charlotte Stone Novel

1 - The Last Victim (Aug-2012)
2 - The Last Kiss Goodbye (Aug-2013)
3 - Her Last Whisper (Sep-2014)
4 - The Last Time I Saw Her (Aug-2015)

The Guardian

1 - The Ultimatum (Jun-2017)
2 - The Moscow Deception (Jun-2018)
3 - The Fifth Doctrine (Mar-2019)

Jessica Ford

1 - Pursuit (Apr-2009)
2 - Justice (Jul-2011)

Lady Catherine Aldley

1 - Island Flame (Jan-1981)
2 - Sea Fire (Jan-1982)

Related Books

1 - Island Flame (Jan-1981)
2 - Sea Fire (Jan-1982)

Book List in Order: 55 titles



  • INNOCENCE AND ECSTASY When Megan had last seen her guardian, handsome, aristocratic Justin Brant, she had been a rebellious child, and he had seemed a stern, forbidding figure. Now, at seventeen, she was a breathtaking beauty, beneath whose dew...



  • A PIRATE'S PRIZE Young and exquisitely beautiful, Lady Catherine Aldley had been raised by England's most proper governesses and sent to the finest schools, but Jonathan Hale made her feel like a common doxy. The lustful pirate had attacked Cather...



  • FROM A BUCCANEER'S BRIDE TO A LORD'S LADY Lady Catherine Aldley's marriage to the virile pirate Jonathan Hale only intensified their all-consuming love. But their idyllic existence on Jon's Carolina plantation was shattered when Cathy was called b...



  • A REBEL PIRATE WAS HER ONLY MASTER... Impetuous English beauty Lady Amanda Rose was determined to escape the loveless marriage that her cruel stepbrother would force on her. But it was a black-haired rogue from the New World who was to change the ...



  • Under the searing African sun they fought as fiercely as they loved... She was Lisa Collins, beautiful and willful, a spoiled rich girl recovering from a tragic marriage, now in Africa as a journalist. He was Sam Eastman, a hardened soldier of for...



  • SHE WAS MISTRESS, BUT PASSION MADE HER HIS SLAVE. A landowner's daughter, honey-blonde Sarah Markham was a virgin furiously dedicated to dreams of a just world - yet feverishly yearning for a man's clasping arms...Then she met a black-haired Irish...



  • He wanted her hungry--hot and wild, burning with desire for him. She wanted him forever. All her young life Lora Harding had dreamed of a man whose touch would teach her passion. Then suddenly, on a Mexican vacation, there he was... in her car...



  • "You'll have to learn to speak, to dress, to conduct yourself as a lady." Those orders were intoned by Sebastian, the cold haughty Earl of Moorland to Jewel Combs, the cockney commoner defiantly facing him in his luxurious drawing room. D...



  • WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE A SECRET AGENT? Author Clara Winston was snuggling in for the night when the strange men burst into her carriage house apartment. Terrified, she couldn't make sense of their heavy Russian accents, but they seemed to be dema...






  • FROM AN IRELAND SEETHING WITH REBELLION TO THE GILDED CAGE OF LONDON SOCIETY Rescued from the streets of Dublin, Caitlyn O'Malley found herself under the protection of Connor d'Arcy, Earl of Iveagh by day, Ireland's boldest highwayman ...



  • LOVE WILD, LOVE FREE How could Lilah Remy force herself to forget Joss San Pietro? How could she deny the anguish that filled her days --- or the feverish longing that tormented her nights? He was gone, torn from her arms forever by the cruel ...



  • THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN EYES He was the tawny, golden-eyed king of London's underworld. She was an aristocratic heiress, born to the satin sheets of an ancient family. Their two proud hearts struck a flame that would consume them both in the blaze...



  • THE SWEET MUSIC OF RESTLESS HEARTS Their destinies intertwined on a sprawling plantation in the heat of a blistering Southern summer - a young Mississippi wildflower in the early bloom of womanhood and a brazen riverboat gambler living the dangero...



  • A SHADOW... The bold intruder crept through the silent mansion, determined to claim the fortune that was rightfully his. But Julian Chase was undone, his daring scheme thwarted by a bewitching silver-blond beauty with eyes that sparkled like preciou...



  • HE WAS EVERYTHING SHE FEARED... Defiantly beautiful, Caroline Wetherby stepped ashore in a land so wild and fierce, she trembled. She had come seeking refuge with the last of her family, but her sister was dead. Waiting to greet her were pious Pilgr...



  • AN AMERICAN INNOCENT In Carolina Colony, the community admired Susannah Redmon, plain eldest daughter of the preacher. Her herbal healing skills made her an angel of mercy, her determination held together the family's farm, and her strong will alway...



  • HE WAS PURE UNADULTERATED TROUBLE. Johnny Harris is home again, his too-tight jeans and damn-your-eyes belligerence honed to perfection by a ten-year stretch in federal prison for murder. Now he's out on parole and ready for the job Rachel Grant ha...



  • She was Mrs. Lyle Forrest now, the coolly elegant wife of Louisville's most prominent publisher, the slum girl whose dreams -- and nightmares -- came true the night she married the multimillionaire old enough to be her father. For twelve years Maggy ...



  • WAS HE DEAD, OR... The nude male body an the embalming table, battered beyond recognition. Gingerly, Summer McAfee, chairwoman, CEO, and sole employee of Daisy Fresh cleaning service reached out to touch an arm to reassure herself that she hadn't ...






  • SHE RAN FROM LOVE. UNTIL HE CAUGHT HER. Molly Ballard was desperate. It wasn't easy caring for two brothers and two sisters; and keeping a roof over their heads. She needed money more than ever. Yet in a fit of anger she quit her job as a groom at...



  • Nothing in anchorwoman Lynn Nelson's high-profile TV career prepared her for saddle sores, frayed tempers, or her teenage daughter Rory's raging hormones as they vacation in Utah's mountain wilderness. The object of Rory's passion is their guide, dr...



  • Carly Linton is hell-bent on starting over. After a bruising divorce, she moves back to her tiny hometown of Benton, Georgia, to start up a bed-and-breakfast in the old house she inherited from her grandmother. The whole town remembers her as the pro...



  • Ronnie Honneker is the senator's wife. When she fell for the dashing politician, the stars in her eyes kept her from seeing his flaws. And when she discovered his constant need for other women, it was already too late. Now all the glamour of politics...



  • A TIME TO FEAR Grace Hart seemed to have it all: a bright, beautiful daughter, a successful career as a Judge, and a lovely home in an Ohio suburb. But beneath the placid veneer, darker truths lie waiting. Her fifteen-year-old, Jessica, is teeteri...



  • Set in rural Louisiana, Karen Robards's Ghost Moon finds prodigal daughter Olivia Martin returning home to reconcile with her stepfamily. Her sudden arrival after nearly a decade throws the family into a tizzy, and sets off her grandfather's heart at...



  • Left bankrupt after her billionaire father's sudden death, Alexandra Haywood returns to Shelby County, Kentucky -- that bit of Southern splendor known as Paradise County--to sell the family's magnificent horse farm. Part of her mission is to fire Joe...



  • England, 1810: When Lady Gabriella Banning receives word that her half-brother, the Earl of Wickham, has died on his tea plantation in Ceylon, she faces the reality that she and her younger sisters, Claire and Elizabeth, are suddenly penniless. The f...



  • Danger and desire ignite when Charlotte Bates drives straight into a DEA agent's hot pursuit of a drug smuggler. But when the lawman takes Charlie hostage, an electrifying adventure begins .......



  • She trusted her husband and got burned. Now she's playing with fire and daring To Trust A Stranger Suspicion burned within Julie Carlson -- the heartbreaking, infuriating suspicion that her husband, a wealthy and powerful contractor, was havi...






  • Claire Banning fulfilled every debutante's dream when she married a rich nobleman. Soon, however, the celebrated beauty realizes she wed a dissolute wastrel. Bitterly hurt and desperately lonely, Claire vows nonetheless to take her expected place in ...



  • Hot summer passion. Cold-blooded fear. When Christy Petrino discovers that her fiance, Michael DePalma, and the law firm where she works are linked to the mob, she breaks her engagement and quits her job. But no one walks away from the DePalma fam...



  • When beautiful advertising executive Maddie Fitzgerald is attacked in a New Orleans hotel, she thinks that she's a victim of random, senseless violence. FBI agent Sam McCabe thinks otherwise--that she's the target of a serial killer who's eluded the ...



  • The beautiful vistas of Pawleys Island hide a dark side - the murder of a local girl fifteen years ago and the strange disappearance of her two friends. The story of the unsolved crime could be journalist Nicole Sullivan's big break. But while Nicole...



  • Ten years ago, Sarah Mason's six-year-old daughter vanished during an outing at a local park in Beaufort, South Carolina. Despite a furious search, little Lexie was never found, and Sarah was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and go on...



  • After surviving a horrific attack by masked gunmen, Katharine Lawrence awakens in the hospital--with an unfamiliar face staring back at her in the mirror. Katharine may not recognize her appearance, but she does know that she's the twenty-nine-yea...



  • Kate White is a single mom and successful prosecutor in the Philadelphia DA’s office. She’s used to challenges, but none as terrifying as Mario Castellanos, the violent career criminal she's been hired to convict. But Kate and Mario have already ...



  • Yesterday, the high-profile assignment sounded like a thrilling opportunity for rookie attorney Jessica Ford: At the request of her boss, she was to meet with the First Lady at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Today, all Jess remembers is speeding into d...



  • IN REGENCY ENGLAND, A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN FINDS HER LIFE THROWN INTO TURMOIL BY THE ARRIVAL OF A HANDSOME SCOUNDREL. Lady Elizabeth, the youngest and most headstrong of the three Banning sisters, has been engaged three times and broken them all....



  • Aspiring attorney Lisa Grant has headed back to the Kentucky farm she called home to care for her ailing mother. She's also taken a research job pulling cold case files for District Attorney Scott Buchanan, a former crush. Then Lisa comes across one ...






  • New York Times and USA Today bestselling author KAREN ROBARDS delivers an exhilarating new romantic thriller that will leave readers breathless. Ever since feisty criminal attorney Jessica Ford started her dream job at a prestigious Washington, D. C...



  • Cops and mothers don’t mix. When police officer Micayla Lange catches con man Jason Davis red-handed with photos that implicate family friend Nicco Marino in the murder of a city councilman, she must reconcile her professional instincts with an ...



  • Electrifying suspense, cutting-edge psychological insight, and an unforgettably sensuous love story -- these are the trademarks of Karen Robards’s sizzling novels. Now the New York Times bestselling author launches a red-hot new paranormal romantic...



  • That night, Samantha Jones was doing what she always did: just trying to get by. Left to make her own way on the mean streets of East St. Louis, the pretty twenty-three-year-old single mother supported herself and her son as best she could by repo-in...



  • Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone has dedicated her career as a psychiatrist to exploring the darkest territory of all: the hearts and minds of serial killers. It’s a job she’s uniquely suited for, thanks to the secret talent that gives her an un...



  • In "New York Times" bestselling author Karen Robards's latest heart-pounding romantic suspense novel, a reckless former detective knows too much, and a hostage negotiator is forced to join him on the run for his life. Caroline Wallace is one of N...



  • Readers who relish heated passion and chilling suspense love New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards’s acclaimed novels featuring Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone. A heroine with a keen mind for catching killers and a soft heart for bad bo...



  • She trusts her instincts ... can she trust his? Jeff told her they were after him. And now that her ex-husband is gone, Riley Cowan wishes he'd told her who they were. The police ruled Jeff's death a suicide, but Riley has her doubts. The evidence...



  • In the sizzling new novel from New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards, Dr. Charlie Stone must prove the innocence of a dangerously sexy condemned man, or lose her one chance at true love. THE LAST TIME I SAW HER In this world, Dr. Ch...



  • New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards continues her penchant for "fantastic storytelling" (RT Book Reviews) with this next heart-pumping romantic suspense novel, the tale of a brilliant ornithologist trapped on the remote Attu Island in Ala...






  • Thief. Manipulator. Con artist. Call it what you will -- Bianca St. Ives is the best in the business. Growing up, Bianca St. Ives knew she was different from all her friends. Instead of playing hopscotch or combing her dolls' hair, she studied ma...



  • Clever, cunning and highly skilled -- there’s only one Bianca St. Ives and don’t you dare forget it. Bianca St. Ives was recently put through the wringer, but she came out the same way she always does -- the way her father trained her to -- hu...



  • With her back against the wall, everything’s on the line for Bianca St. Ives. She’s either going to save the world -- or die trying. It took one hell of an effort for the authorities to finally get the jump on master manipulator Bianca St. Ive...



  • A captivating story of estranged sisters reunited by a devastating war and the race to save their mother's life Paris, 1944 Celebrated singer Genevieve Dumont is both a star and a smoke screen. An unwilling darling to the Nazis, the chanteu...



  • Inspired by Picasso’s great masterpiece, Guernica, New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards returns with a riveting story of intrigue, deception and bravery in the face of war… On an April day in 1937, the sky opens and fire rains down ...



  • A serial killer on the loose. A profiler with a hidden past. A world at war. Trust is a luxury no one can afford. September 1943: Berlin is the heart of darkness -- and the last place Dr. Elin Lund wishes to be. An expert in psychological profi...


Award-Winning Books by Karen Robards

Nobody's Angel
1993 RT Reviewers Choice Award -- Colonial Romance
Sleepwalker
2012 RT Reviewers Choice Award -- Romantic Suspense
This Side of Heaven
1991 RT Reviewers Choice Award -- Colonial Romance
Wild Orchids
1986 RT Reviewers Choice Award -- Contemporary Romance


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Karen Robards has published 55 books.

The next book by Karen Robards, Some Murders in Berlin, will be published in July 2024.

The first book by Karen Robards, Forbidden Love, was published in December 1980.

Yes. Karen Robards has 6 series.