Layne Fargo Books in Order
Currently residing in Chicago, Layne Fargo has a background in theatre, women’s studies, and library science. Her books are unapologetically feminist, and have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
I recently read The Favourites, which adds a dark spin to the current sports romance BookTok trend, and thought it was absolutely fantastic. Inspired by Wuthering Heights, the novel mixes first person narration with the script from a fictional documentary about the ice skating pair. It’s gripping and unpredictable, and I can’t wait to see what Layne writes next.
Here are all of her books in order.
Standalone Novels
Temper
Synopsis:
“After years of struggling in the Chicago theater scene, ambitious actress Kira Rascher finally lands the role of a lifetime. The catch? Starring in Temper means working with Malcolm Mercer, a mercurial director who’s known for pushing his performers past their limits onstage and off.
Kira’s convinced she can handle Malcolm, but the theater’s cofounder Joanna Cuyler is another story. Joanna sees Kira as a threat to her own thwarted artistic aspirations, her twisted relationship with Malcolm, and the shocking secret she’s keeping about the upcoming production.
But as opening night draws near, Kira and Joanna both start to realize that Malcolm’s dangerous extremes are nothing compared to what they're capable of themselves.
An edgy, addictive, and fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deceit, and power, Temper is a timely, heart-in-your-throat psychological thriller that will leave you breathless.”
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
They Never Learn
Synopsis:
“Every year, Dr. Clark searches for the worst man at Gorman University - professor, student, or otherwise - and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she's avoided drawing attention to herself... but as she's preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus.
Determined to keep her enemies close, Dr. Clark insinuates herself into the investigation and charms the woman in charge. Everything's going according to her master plan... until she loses control with her latest victim, putting her secret life at risk of exposure.
Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies and fade into the background. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident - everything Carly wishes she could be - and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship.
So when Allison is sexually assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay... and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality.”
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
The Favourites
Synopsis:
“Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn't. My first love was figure skating.
Katarina Shaw has always known she’s destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating – and each other – to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and rollercoaster relationship.
Until, at the Olympic Games, as the world holds its breath, a shocking incident instantly destroys their partnership.
Ten years later, an unauthorised tell-all documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha. If Kat wants to own her story, she must break her silence. As Kat’s account of her dramatic rise and fall alternates with scandalous interviews from the film, The Favourites spins into a dance between passion, ambition and what it truly means to win.”
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
The Widows Series
co-written with Vanessa Lillie, Kimberly Belle and Cate Holahan
Young Rich Widows
Synopsis:
“1985, Rhode Island.
“A private jet carrying four partners of a Providence law firm crashes outside New York City, killing all aboard but leaving behind more questions than answers and setting the stage for four widows to find the truth.
Justine: a former fashion model adjusting to suburban life
Camille: a beautiful, young second wife whom some suspect is a gold digger
Meredith: a stripper who was in a relationship with the firm's only female partner
Krystle: a founding partner's wife committed to the firm being a legacy for her sons
While the crash is initially ruled a tragic accident, something's not adding up: the team wasn't supposed to be in New York that day, and it's soon revealed there was a very large sum of cash that burned up with the plane.
The scene is as wild as '80s neon, and the manic chase to uncover the Mafia-laced secrets gives this rip-roaring read a rad vibe that will linger long after the '80s soundtrack fades and the hairspray falls.”
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
Desperate Deadly Widows
Synopsis:
“The widows are back! Big hair and bigger lies collide in the highly anticipated follow-up to Young Rich Widows, where nothing’s more dangerous than a widow with nothing left to lose.
Set in neon-drenched Providence, Rhode Island, circa 1987, just two years after a plane carrying four mafia-affiliated law-firm partners exploded over the Atlantic along with the cushy lives of their once wealthy wives.
Now, Krystle fights to keep their fallen law firm afloat. Justine hustles as a lawyer-in-training. Meredith owns and operates the strip club where she once danced. And Camille orchestrates honey-pot schemes for scorned women–until one of her arrangements goes terribly wrong, and she becomes implicated in the debauched Mayor Tom’s mysterious murder in the champagne room.
With everything on the line, the widows must join forces once more. But as the conspiracy unravels beyond the mayor's demise, their search for justice pits first wife against second wife and widow against widow. With the widows’ fragile bond now tested, will the women cement their friendships, or is loyalty a luxury they just can’t afford?
In this thrilling expansion of the Widows universe, brimming with sloshed champagne, smeared lipstick, and lethal secrets, Desperate Deadly Widows unfolds as an edge-of-your-seat thriller where desperation wears stilettos, trust is a poker chip, and redemption comes at the cost of everything you thought you knew.”
This book is scheduled to be published in May 2025
Have you read any of Layne Fargo’s books? Leave a comment and let me know.