Kathleen Barber Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Kathleen Barber is an American author of fiction. She grew up in a town called Galesburg in Illinois as a child. She graduated as a student at the University of Illinois and also went on to graduate from Northwestern University School of Law.

Kathleen Barber has previously practiced bankruptcy law at large firms located in Chicago and New York. She is married and when she is not spending time writing she enjoys traveling all over the world with her husband. much like Josie liked to travel all around the world in her first book.

Barber is the author of the novel Are You Sleeping. This debut fictional novel was released for public consumption in 2017 and was instantly a hit among readers and critics. It is set in the genre of suspense and psychological thriller mystery fiction. Read the book that people like J.T. Ellison that recommend this book to anyone that likes ‘twisty psychological thrillers’.

Kate Moretti calls Are You Sleeping a novel that is “beautifully and sympathetically written” with a social commentary as well as an exploration of sisterly bonds. Liz Nugent comments that reading this book is likely to keep the reader up all night and recounts that this ‘classic whodunnit’ kept her heart racing right until she got to the last page.

This debut novel from Kathleen Barber is engagingly written and is creatively unrestrained. If you loved In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware or just love any suspense novel, you’re going to love this intriguing and heart-pounding novel from Barber.

The only thing more dangerous when it comes to reality than a lie is a truth. In this novel, readers are introduced to Poppy Parnell. She is an investigative reporter that unwittingly sets off a firestorm within the mainstream media when a big podcast she does goes viral.

Poppy has no idea that it’s going to result in the reopening of a murder case that is going to disrupt the lives of the ones that he left behind, but she should have. The podcast was all about the murder of Charles Buhrman. It goes viral and that and Poppy’s involvement in the podcast opens up a case that is long closed regarding a man’s murder.

It turns out that the man had a daughter named Josie Buhrman. Josie’s world starts to unravel once the case is opened, and then tragedy strikes once more. Even though her mother has been absent for some time, what happens to her still rocks Josie quite a bit. Still, it’s nothing compared to the way that her family fell apart as a result of that fateful day.

Josie has spent the better part of a decade trying to run away from something. She’s been attempting to escape the reputation of her family and get away from them, and she’s been justified in trying to do so. Josie has a good reason to try and put some distance between herself and her family. Thirteen years ago her father was murdered and everything went down the drain.

It would be understandable for her mother to be upset at what happened and even take a long time to grieve. But to abandon her two daughters in the time when they need their mother the most is an unforgivable thing. Still, their mother is gone. Josie is left all alone with only her twin sister Lanie to keep her company. Lanie is her best friend in the world and has always been there for Josie.

However, Josie is really surprised when even Lanie turns on her and betrays her the day that their father is murdered. Josie never sees it coming and is devastated. She never imagined that Lanie would do that to her. Something is forever changed between the two sisters and though the twins will always have a connection, something will never be the same about their confidence.

Being abandoned by her mother and betrayed by her sister, Josie leaves after graduation. After five years traveling without purpose or point, Josie travels to New York. She finds that she really likes it there and starts having fun living life and meeting new people. Josie eventually meets and falls for Caleb, and they eventually become partners. She intends to stay in New York as long as she can and live her new life. After all, everyone in her family chose to leave her in the dust. Why shouldn’t she start again?

All in all, Josie has done well for herself despite going through a traumatic event with the murder of her father and then the ensuing disappearance of her mother. She really enjoys her new routine and life with Caleb, and there’s only one thing in the back of her mind that could ruin it all: the fact that almost everything about herself and her past that she has confided in her boyfriend is an outright lie.

It’s possible that the lie could disrupt their perfect life of domestic bliss in Brooklyn together. Josie desperately wants to stay in love with Caleb and keep their relationship together. But what happens and what will he do if he finds out that she has lied to him about a number of things, including her entire family background and history? Will he have his mind blown if he finds out that her last name is a lie as well?

With the pressure of the past mounting and the threat of secrets spilling out keeping her awake at night, Josie is forced to return home when news of her mother passing away reaches her. She must go back to the past that she has been running away from for so long in order to face up to the ghosts of the past and hopefully find a way to maintain not only her present but her future with Caleb.

Can she do it– or will the collective weight of the lies give Caleb a reason to leave? You’re going to have to pick up the dynamic first novel from Kathleen Barber in order to find out!