C.J. Cooke Books in Order

Where Should You Start Reading C.J. Cooke?

Because all of C.J. Cooke’s novels are written as standalone stories, you have complete freedom to choose where to begin. However, if you want the absolute best introduction to her signature style—which blends historical folklore, feminist themes, and time-slipping gothic mystery—we highly recommend starting with The Lighthouse Witches (2021). This international bestseller is set on the remote Scottish island of Lona and follows a mother and her daughters caught between a historical witch hunt in 1662 and a modern-day mystery. It perfectly showcases Cooke's ability to build chilling atmosphere and weave complex, emotional narratives.

If you prefer a slower, more claustrophobic thriller, The Nesting (2020) is another superb entry point. Set deep in the Norwegian forests, it leans heavily into environmental dread and Scandinavian folklore. For those who want raw, freezing isolation, A Haunting in the Arctic (2023), set aboard a cursed whaling ship wrecked off the coast of Iceland, offers a hauntingly beautiful survival story.

Publication Order of C.J. Cooke Novels

If you prefer to watch the author’s style evolve over time, reading in order of release is a rewarding path. Her early standalone novels are grounded in contemporary psychological suspense, whereas her later novels shift fully into the gothic historical fantasy that made her famous.

• I Know My Name (2017) – A suspenseful psychological thriller about a woman who wakes up on a deserted beach with amnesia.
• The Blame Game (2019) – A tense domestic thriller focusing on a therapist who gets too close to her clients.
• The Nesting (2020) – The transition into gothic fiction, featuring a nanny in a remote Norwegian home haunted by folklore.
• The Lighthouse Witches (2021) – Her breakout gothic hit exploring Scottish witch trials, curses, and missing children across timelines.
• The Ghost Woods (2022) – Set in 1965 Scotland, this book deals with a home for unmarried pregnant women next to an ancient, eerie forest.
• A Haunting in the Arctic (2023) – A dual-timeline mystery following a modern explorer and a 1901 crew aboard a haunted ship in Iceland.
• The Book of Witching (2024) – A dual-narrative connecting a modern tragedy in the Orkney Islands with the historical trial of Alison Balfour in 1594.
• The Last Witch (2025) – Set in 1485 Innsbruck, Austria, following a woman targeted by the infamous witchfinder Heinrich Kramer.
• The House of Cursed Daughters (Expected October 2026) – A gothic historical novel set in Spain spanning seven centuries of curses and female resilience.

The "Witchy" Timeline: Chronological Order of Historical Settings

While the stories are not connected by characters or plot, C.J. Cooke has written several novels centered on historical witch trials, folklore, and the persecution of women. If you want to read these thematic sister novels based on the chronological order of their historical settings rather than when they were published, you can follow this path:

1. The Last Witch (Set in 1485) – Explores the origins of the witch trials in Innsbruck, Austria, and the writing of the infamous Malleus Maleficarum.
2. The Book of Witching (Set in 1594) – Follows the real-life trial of Alison Balfour in the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
3. The Lighthouse Witches (Set in 1662) – Explores the height of the Scottish witch trials on the fictional island of Lona.
4. The House of Cursed Daughters (Spans seven centuries) – Follows the legacy of a curse across generations in historical Spain.
5. The Ghost Woods (Set in 1965) – Examines the historical institutionalization of unmarried pregnant young women in mid-century Scotland.
6. A Haunting in the Arctic (Set in 1901) – Explores the harsh reality of life aboard a whaling vessel at the turn of the 20th century.

Writing as Carolyn Jess-Cooke and Caro Carver

Before adopting the pen name C.J. Cooke for her thrillers, the author published novels under her full name, Carolyn Jess-Cooke. These books lean more toward emotional drama, magical realism, and psychological depth rather than gothic horror. If you want to explore this side of her writing, look for:

• The Guardian Angel's Journal (2011) – A moving story about a woman who dies and returns to earth as her own guardian angel.
• The Boy Who Could See Demons (2012) – A heartbreaking look at mental illness and childhood trauma, following a child psychologist and a young boy who claims to see a demon.

Additionally, the author launched a brand new direction in 2024 under the pseudonym Caro Carver. Writing as Caro Carver, she crafts sun-drenched, fast-paced "destination thrillers" that contrast sharply with the cold, dark gothic settings of her C.J. Cooke books:

• Bad Tourists (2024) – A tense psychological thriller set at a luxury resort in the Maldives where three friends celebrating their divorces find themselves caught in a murder investigation.
• The Guilty Party (Expected January 2027) – An upcoming psychological suspense novel.

What to Know Before You Start

C.J. Cooke’s stories are deeply atmospheric and research-driven, reflecting her academic background as a Reader in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. Her gothic novels frequently touch on heavy themes, including maternal grief, systemic trauma, institutional abuse, and the historical marginalization of women. However, she balances these dark elements with beautiful, poetic prose and a deep respect for folklore and history, making her books perfect for fans of Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Stacey Halls, and Catriona Ward.