Kate Quinn Books in Order

Kate Quinn writes historical fiction with double engines - a war and a woman the history books misfiled. The Alice Network (2017), a pregnant American socialite and a one-time spy hunting a traitor across 1915 and 1947, made her a bestseller; The Rose Code (2021) did it again with the Bletchley Park codebreakers; The Diamond Eye (2022) found Mila Pavlichenko, the Soviet sniper who toured America. Before 2017 she wrote the Empress of Rome novels and the Borgia Chronicles; since, one big standalone a year, and The Briar Club (2024), a 1950s London boarding house, is the newest. This page maps the whole shelf (2010–present).

Where to start

The Alice Network (2017) - the book that made her name and still the usual entry. Readers wanting Bletchley: The Rose Code (2021). Readers wanting Rome first: Mistress of Rome (2010).

Does the reading order matter?

Two careers. The early historicals - the Empress of Rome series (Mistress of Rome, 2010, through Lady of the Eternal City, 2014-15) and the Borgia Chronicles (The Serpent and the Pearl, 2013, The Lion and the Rose, 2014) - are loose series, readable in order or alone. The modern run, each a standalone: The Alice Network (2017), The Huntress (2019 - shares one character with Alice, better read second), The Rose Code (2021), The Diamond Eye (2022), The Phoenix Crown (2024, with Janie Chang, a China-and-San-Francisco collaboration), and The Briar Club (2024), the newest solo. No announced next title in current listings. The Huntress is the one true link: read it after The Alice Network for the crossover payoff

Which one is the best?

The Alice Network (2017), the breakout; The Rose Code (2021), the crowd favorite; The Diamond Eye (2022), the sniper.

Related guides

Readers finishing this shelf usually want the map next door: Kristin Hannah books in order, Lucinda Riley books in order, Khaled Hosseini books in order. Every guide follows the same format — the shelf, the entry point, the honest answer about order.

Make it a project

Pick a session size and let the days accumulate — at the pace our reading speed test measures, most shelves above clear in a few weeks of half-hours. Every guide on the books in order shelf follows this same format, and when a book lands, its 8-question quiz is waiting on the original book quiz.