Hutton & Co Books In Order

Publication Order of Hutton & Co. Books

Hutton & Co is a series of romance novels written by Diana Palmer. Palmer tells the stories of the vulnerable women struggling to claim the hearts of the strong men they love.

+The Story

The Hutton & Co series is fairly typical of the romance genre. The first novel (Once in Paris) introduces readers to Brianne Martin.

An 18-year-old with a big heart, Brianne is sent off to Paris to pursue her education by her stepfather. The journey brings Brianne into contact with Pierce Hutton, an older gentleman with a closet full of secrets.
Pierce is closed off. Having lost a wife he dearly loved, the 37-year-old has decided to embrace a solitary lifestyle. His determination is shaken when Brianne attempts to seduce him.

‘Once in Paris’ has been known to cause discomfort amongst certain audiences because of the age difference between the hero and the heroine. Additionally, Pierce is not a necessarily nice man.

Even though he initially sets out to protect Brianne from an arranged marriage, Pierce proceeds to show no mercy in the emotional abuse with which he assaults her. Diane Palmer, the author, attempts to excuse Pierce’s actions.

She posits that Pierce is so thoroughly determined to keep his heart safe from pain that he has learned to lash out at anyone that has the capacity to bypass his defenses.

However, that defense only rings true for some readers. Others have been known to discard the Hutton & Co series completely just because they couldn’t stand Pierce’s attitude.

Fans of Diana Palmer will defend her characterization of Pierce Hutton with considerable fervor, pointing out that his brutish ways make his eventual transformation all the more satisfying.

The rest of the books in the Hutton & Co series tend to attract the same sort of reception, probably because Diana Palmer allows the same themes to permeate throughout the sequels to ‘Once in Paris’.

Palmer’s heroes are not just alpha males with athletic bodies; they are also the wrong sort of man. Tate Winthrop is a Native American whose people do not look fondly upon the concept of mixed marriage.

Sheikh Philippe Sabon comes from the wrong part of the world, and Pierce Hutton is only the first man in the Hutton series whose age difference with the heroine raises eyebrows.

Not only are the heroes frowned upon as potential partners for the heroines, they are also not receptive to the idea of romance. In some cases, they have been hurt in the past. In other cases, the heroine is simply the wrong kind of woman.

As tends to happen with most romance novels, the attraction between the hero and the heroine is instant. The hero fights it but he will, on occasion, admit that he is drawn to the heroine. And if it was up to him, that attraction would never burgeon into anything meaningful.

However, in these Diana Palmer books, the heroines always play the aggressive role. They are always honest with themselves about their feelings. They also make every effort possible to sneak into the heart of the hero, forcing him to confront his own emotions and driving him into a situation where he can finally begin to contemplate the idea of romance.

It is because Diana Palmer’s heroines are so aggressive that the heroes tend to be jerks. She makes them fight so hard to keep their passions and desires in check, and the harder the heroines push, the more cruelly the heroes push back.

Besides the romance, the Hutton series tends to feature political intrigue and espionage. Some of Diane Palmer’s fans believe that these books would be better off if they were crafted as pure romance, without all the thriller aspects.

The Hutton & Co books can be read in any order. The novels are only loosely connected. No one book has a drastic impact on the books that come before or after it. As such, it is possible to read and enjoy any one Hutton & Co novel without first reading its predecessor.

+The Author

Diana Palmer is an American author born in 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia. Diana started her career as a newspaper reporter. All that changed in 1979 when she began to write novels. She went on to sell more than 40 million copies of her books.

Diana Palmer is a pen name used by the author Susan Kyle.

+Once in Paris

Brianne Martin moves to Paris to study at the behest of her stepfather. It is there that she meets Pierce Hutton, a widowed oilman. Brianne immediately falls for Pierce. But Pierce wants nothing to do with Brianne.

He has been hurt in the past and he cannot afford to expose his heart to further pain. It doesn’t help that Pierce is pursuing a shady mission that could put her in danger.

The first novel in the Hutton & Co series finds an 18-year-old struggling to maneuver a relationship with a 37-year-old.

Pierce Hutton loved his wife dearly. So when she dies, he refuses to remarry because he simply cannot get over her.

Brianne’s father died. The man her mother remarries attempts to arrange a marriage between Brianne and a business partner in order to secure a lucrative deal. Circumstances bring Brianne and Pierce together, and while Pierce succeeds in keeping Brianne safe from her stepfather’s arranged marriage, he refuses to give in to her advances.

Brianne must fight tooth and nail to find a place in the heart of a man that refuses to let the memory of his wife go.

+Paper Rose

Cecily Petersen loves Tate Winthrop. She has known this since she was a teen. But the Native American wants nothing to do with her. For Tate, the idea of a mixed marriage is simply unacceptable.

However, that doesn’t mean Tate doesn’t care about Cecily. He does what he can to protect her from an abusive stepfather. Using bogus grants, Tate succeeds in paying for her college and housing.

When Cecily finds out that Tate has been giving her money, she is furious. Neither Cecily nor Tate planned for that anger to spark their romance. By the time a political scandal emerges to threaten Tate’s future, Cecily is certain about her feelings for her Native American partner and she will sacrifice everything to protect him.