Who is Emily Bleeker?
Emily Bleeker is a bestselling author known for crafting novels that seamlessly blend suspense, romance, and raw human emotion. A former educator from Chicago and a cancer survivor, Bleeker draws on her own life-altering experiences with grief, motherhood, and resilience to create characters that feel authentic and deeply relatable. With over two million readers worldwide, her stories tackle tough themes like childhood trauma, memory loss, and relationship secrets, always keeping readers hooked with unexpected twists.
Where to Start Reading Emily Bleeker
Since almost all of Emily Bleeker's books are standalone novels, you have a lot of freedom in choosing where to begin. However, if you want the classic experience, we recommend starting with one of these entry points:
- For Suspense Lovers: Start with her debut novel, Wreckage (2015). It is a thrilling survival story that puts her signature style of shifting timelines and hidden secrets on full display.
- For Emotional Contemporary Fiction: Start with When I'm Gone (2016). This Wall Street Journal bestseller is a beautiful, heart-wrenching exploration of grief and post-mortem letters.
- For Historical Fiction Fans: Start with When We Were Enemies (2023), her first foray into historical drama, which introduces a rich story set during World War II.
Emily Bleeker Books in Publication Order
For readers who want to watch Bleeker's evolution as a writer, reading her books in order of publication is a great approach. Aside from her two interconnected historical novels, all of these are standalone stories that can be read in any order:
1. Wreckage (2015)
Lillian Linden and Dave Hall are the only survivors of a plane crash on a deserted island. After being rescued, they tell a carefully fabricated story to the media to protect the people they love. However, an investigative journalist is determined to uncover the truth, forcing them to confront the secrets they left behind on the island.
2. When I'm Gone (2016)
After his wife Natalie passes away from cancer, grieving father Luke Richardson discovers a letter she left behind. More letters follow, guiding Luke through his grief and parenting, but also revealing shocking secrets Natalie kept during her life, forcing him to question the marriage he thought was perfect.
3. Working Fire (2017)
This domestic suspense novel centers on two estranged sisters, Ellie and Amelia. Following a tragic shooting, they are forced to reunite and navigate a web of family secrets, trauma, and the complicated bonds of sisterhood.
4. The Waiting Room (2018)
Lucy is a mother struggling with severe postpartum depression and grief after a terrible tragedy. As she battles hallucinations and questions her own sanity, she must unravel the dark secrets within her family to find a path toward healing.
5. What It Seems (2020)
Tara is a young woman living in a witness protection-style program with her adoptive mother. When secrets from Tara's past begin to catch up with them, the boundaries of trust and family are pushed to their absolute limits in this suspenseful thriller.
6. What's Left Unsaid (2021)
Hannah wakes up from a coma after a devastating accident with no memory of the events leading up to it. As she tries to piece her life back together, she realizes that her husband and close friends are hiding secrets about what really happened before she crashed.
7. When We Were Enemies (2023)
Bleeker's first historical novel tells a dual-timeline story. In the present day, Elise Branson seeks answers about her grandmother's past. In 1943, her grandmother Vivian Snow works as an interpreter at Camp Atterbury, an Italian prisoner-of-war camp in Indiana, where she forms a complex connection with a POW named Antonio Trombello.
8. When We Chased the Light (2024)
A companion novel to When We Were Enemies, this book focuses on the life of legendary Hollywood icon Vivian Snow. Set during a 1998 auction of her belongings, the story reveals the mystery behind sixty years of hand-drawn postcards sent to her by Father Antonio Trombello, exploring their lifelong relationship and the secrets of her rise to fame.
9. Good Days Bad Days (2025)
Charlie McFadden returns to her childhood home to assist her father, Greg, after her mother, Betty, is moved into memory care. Having been removed from the home by protective services as a teenager due to her mother's extreme hoarding, Charlie must confront her childhood trauma and uncover family secrets through alternating timelines starting in 1969.
Other Publications & Anthologies
In addition to her novels, Emily Bleeker contributed to Steam vs. Substance (2023), an issue of Mythulu Magazine edited by Laura Crenshaw and Hana Jabr. This collection explores the spectrum of romance in fiction, from chaste build-ups to steamy relationships, highlighting how different tropes connect with readers.
Reading Guidance and Caveats
Because Emily Bleeker writes standalone novels, you do not need to worry about chronological order or complex continuity cliffhangers. The only exception is her historical fiction duology: When We Were Enemies (2023) and When We Chased the Light (2024). While both are designed to be enjoyed as separate, self-contained narratives, we highly recommend reading When We Were Enemies first. This ensures you fully understand the origins of Vivian Snow's relationship with Antonio Trombello and the secrets established during the World War II timeline before diving into the Hollywood-focused companion sequel.