Below is the complete list of Mary Monroe’s Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart books in order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart Books
- Can You Keep a Secret? (2016)
Can You Keep a Secret? was published in 2016 and is listed as book #1 in the Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart series. - Every Woman’s Dream (2016)
Published in 2016, Every Woman’s Dream is listed as book #2 in the Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart series. - Never Trust a Stranger (2017)
Never Trust a Stranger is a 2017 release and appears as book #3 in the Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart series. - The Devil You Know (2017)
In the Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart series, The Devil You Know is book #4 and was published in 2017.
About Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart
Mary Monroe’s Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart series is a suspenseful contemporary drama built around loneliness, romantic fantasy, betrayal, and the dangerous choices people make when they believe happiness has finally come within reach. The series begins with Every Woman’s Dream, continues with Never Trust a Stranger, and reaches its climax in The Devil You Know. A connected prequel, Can You Keep a Secret?, adds background to the world, but the main arc follows Lola Poole and Joan Proctor-Riley as friendship, disappointment, desire, and deception pull them into increasingly risky territory.
Lola Poole is one of the series’ central figures, a woman who has spent too much of her life feeling used, overlooked, and held back by selfish relatives. Her longing for love and stability is understandable, but Monroe does not present that longing as simple or harmless. Lola wants a better life, and when online dating opens the door to attention, excitement, and the possibility of a dependable man, she allows hope to override caution. That emotional vulnerability gives the series much of its tension. Lola is not foolish because she wants to be loved; she becomes vulnerable because she wants it so badly that warning signs become easier to explain away.
Joan Proctor-Riley, Lola’s best friend, brings another layer to the series. Joan is trapped in her own unhappy marriage and drawn to the same fantasy of escape, pleasure, and reinvention. Her friendship with Lola is important because the two women encourage each other, protect each other, and sometimes push each other toward decisions that become more dangerous than either expects. Monroe often writes female friendships as complicated bonds rather than perfect support systems, and that is especially true here. Lola and Joan understand each other’s dissatisfaction, but shared longing can become its own kind of trap.
Every Woman’s Dream sets the emotional and dramatic pattern by showing how ordinary unhappiness can make fantasy feel irresistible. The men Lola and Joan meet seem to offer freedom from disappointment, especially Calvin Ramsey, a handsome trucker whose warmth and reliability make him appear to be the kind of man Lola has always wanted. Calvin becomes one of the series’ most unsettling figures because Monroe slowly reveals the danger beneath the comforting surface. The title itself carries irony: the dream Lola reaches for may be exactly what places her in danger.
Never Trust a Stranger deepens the suspense by continuing the consequences of misplaced trust. In this series, strangers are not the only danger. Family, friends, spouses, lovers, and familiar faces can all betray, manipulate, or disappoint. Monroe uses that uncertainty to keep the story moving through secrets, suspicion, and emotional reversals. The drama is not only about romance gone wrong; it is about how desperation can distort judgment when someone believes the next person might finally offer rescue.
The Devil You Know brings the series toward its most intense confrontation, as Lola and Joan’s choices collide with Calvin’s darker intentions and the damage caused by greed, betrayal, and obsession. Monroe’s storytelling is dramatic and direct, with twists that turn everyday desires into life-altering consequences.
Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart works best as a cautionary suspense saga about women who want love, security, and excitement after years of disappointment. Its power comes from the way Monroe connects emotional hunger with danger. Lola and Joan are not chasing luxury alone; they are chasing the feeling of being chosen. The tragedy of the series is that the wrong kind of attention can feel like salvation at first, especially to people who have waited too long to feel valued.