The O’Connells Books In Order

Publication Order of The O'Connells Books

“The O’Connells” is a series of mystery suspense novels by Lorhainne Eckhart a western, romance and mystery/suspense author. The USA Today bestselling author has been called old school Dallas meets Longmire. “Lost and Found” one of her titles was the winner of the Readers Favorite Award in 2013. She currently has more than thirty novels in print and often makes Top 100 bestselling lists in the many genres she writes in.

Eckhart has made her name for writing raw relatable and realistic romance novels where family and morals are running themes. The Queen of family saga loves writing about what goes on within families which she spices up with some angst, suspense and a bit of romance for good measure. “The Neighbor,” which is the debut novel of “The O’Connels” series of novels was first published in 2020. Lorhainne now has more than 120 novels spread over several series and audio books that have been translated into half a dozen languages. She currently lives with her husband in Salt Spring Island in the sunny west coast. Since her eldest child is a sufferer of autism, she has been in the forefront on advocating for never giving up on dreams.

“The O’Connells” series of novels follow the life and times of the O’Connells. They live in Livingston Montana and are the farthest thing from a typical family. It is a family of six siblings that were brought up by a determined and fierce single mother. While they have their idiosyncrasies and flaws, each is valued and loved member of a tight family unit. They support and look out for each other with unconditional loyalty and love. In “The Neighbor” the second novel of the series, Ryan O’Connell learns that his new neighbors are a woman from his past named Jenny and her snarky and rebellious teenage daughter. It is not long before he notices that daughter and mother do not get along as the daughter is full of anger, animosity and angst towards her overwhelmed and stressed mother. In “The Third Call” the second novel of the series, a young mother and her child are left homeless while Marcus is abandoned by a system that should have had his back. But then he realizes that someone he has wanted back in his life for the longest time wants to help him get back on his feet. “The Secret Husband” is the story of Karen a woman who has kept a secret for years. She had once failed to keep her loved ones safe and when her ex husband calls asking for help in a murder case she cannot deny him.

Park Ranger Ryan is the lead in “The Neighbor,” the debut of “The O’Connells” series of novels. Ryan is shocked when a one night stand from years past named Jenny comes to live in the remote small town he lives in. She has with her Alison, a troublesome teenage daughter and he knows he should stay away. But there is an irresistible pull towards the woman, particularly when the real identify of the child is revealed after she goes missing. She had packed up her bags to move to Livingston in Montana to find a fresh start and never knew Ryan that one night stand from years ago was living there. She is shocked when he knocks at her door looking to confirm if indeed it was her. As one of the six O’Connell siblings, he had been raised by a single mother and is now a rock of a man. He has a great career and had been living a comfortable life until Jenny moved into town. She is not too interested in making friends but despite feigning a cool demeanor, he can tell that she is hurting and wants to help her. He knows that daughter and mother have a secret and that he should walk away but he cannot.
In “The Third Call,” the second novel of the series, Marcus O’Connell the Deputy is blindsided when he gets several calls from a child in one night. The six year old child introduced herself as Eva and said someone was in her house looking to hurt her. Marcus is a former bad boy that turned the corner and knows all about the bad guys. He now deputizes the sheriff’s office in Livingston and knows everybody and everything in the small town. He also knows all about trouble and how to get himself out of tricky situations. Nobody can get something over him which is why he makes such as good deputy for Livingston. But even he dreads the third call just like any other cop who has ever received it. When he first receives the call, he believes it is a child playing a prank. When the child calls the second time, he is sure there is something very wrong. The third call convinces him that he needs to get out there and help Eva. But the girl seems to be very terrified and cannot stay on the line and he immediately knows there has to be someone inside that house.

“The Secret Husband” the third novel in “The O’Connells” series of novels is the story of Karen O’Connnell. She thinks that most of her clients that find themselves in trouble and scandal have done so because of reckless indulgence in love. She does not believe in the heart wants what it wants until she gets a call from her vengeful ex husband Jack Curtis. Karen had never told anyone in her family about the man but now he is in a whole lot of trouble as he has been charged with murder. He claims he is innocent and needs her help to prove it. Her instinct is to reject his request but she knows that he would not be asking for her help if he did not need it. Moreover, he openly despises her and had not spoken to her in years which make his call seem legit. Karen believes there must be more to the story but what she does not know is that the murder could have had something to do with the tragic end of their marriage.