Series · romantic suspense

Family Secrets

by Alicia Scott

The Family Secrets series by Alicia Scott has 3 known books (3 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Maggie's Man (1997).

Books
3 known books (3 novels)
Published
3
First published
1997
Status
completed
Shelved under
Last checked

Start here: Maggie's Man (1997) — then read straight through in publication order.

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Book 1:

    Maggie's Man

    Novel

    Maggie's Man opens the trilogy in 1997 at 375 pages, introducing three estranged half-siblings and the first thread of the family mystery that runs beneath all three books, written by Lisa Gardner under her Alicia Scott pseudonym.

    Alternative text for cover: Cover of Maggie's Man
  2. Book 2:

    MacNamara's Woman

    Novel

    MacNamara's Woman continues the trilogy in 1997 at 288 pages, following the second of the three estranged half-siblings as another piece of the family's buried history comes to light. Published for Silhouette Intimate Moments the same year as Maggie's Man, it keeps the single ongoing mystery -- what really fractured this family -- running beneath its own central romance.

    Alternative text for cover: Cover of MacNamara's Woman
  3. Book 3:

    Brandon's Bride

    Novel

    Brandon's Bride closes the trilogy in 1998 at 349 pages, resolving through the third and final sibling the mystery of what really happened to fracture this family. It's the natural end point of Lisa Gardner's early, more compressed take -- written as Alicia Scott -- on the family-secrets theme she'd return to later under her own name.

    Alternative text for cover: Cover of Brandon's Bride

About the Family Secrets series

Family Secrets, one of the later series Lisa Gardner wrote as Alicia Scott, follows three estranged half-siblings -- brought together only after the truth about their shared, troubled family history starts coming apart -- as each confronts a different piece of what their parents kept hidden. Maggie's Man opens the series introducing the siblings' fractured history and the first thread of the larger family mystery; MacNamara's Woman and Brandon's Bride continue through the remaining two siblings, each pairing a fresh romance with another uncovered piece of the family's past.

Published in 1997 and 1998 for Silhouette Intimate Moments, the trilogy is more tightly serialized than the earlier Guiness Gang books, with a single ongoing mystery -- what really happened to fracture this family -- running underneath all three romances rather than a shared small-town setting alone. It's a natural next step for readers who enjoy Gardner's later interest, as Lisa Gardner, in family secrets and long-buried trauma, seen here in an earlier, more compressed category-romance form.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Family Secrets series?

Three, published in 1997 and 1998 under the Alicia Scott pen name: Maggie's Man, MacNamara's Woman, and Brandon's Bride.

What is the Family Secrets series about?

Three estranged half-siblings who are drawn back together as long-hidden truths about their shared family history come to light, with each book pairing a sibling's romance with another piece of the mystery.

What order should I read the Family Secrets books in?

Publication order: Maggie's Man, MacNamara's Woman, then Brandon's Bride. The family mystery builds across all three.

Was Family Secrets Alicia Scott's last series?

No -- two further standalone Alicia Scott titles, Partners in Crime and Marrying Mike...Again, followed it in 1998 and 2000 before the author retired the pen name and began publishing as Lisa Gardner.

Is this connected to the Guiness Gang series?

No shared characters -- both are Alicia Scott-era romantic suspense, but Family Secrets is a separate, later trilogy with its own family and mystery.


Reading order last verified .