Julia Bryan Thomas Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Julia Bryan Thomas
Julia Bryan Thomas is a graduate of the Yale Writers’ Workshop and Northeastern State University. She is married to Will Thomas, a mystery novelist.

“For Those Who Are Lost” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2022. Inspired by true events, this novel starts on the eve of the Nazi invasion of the island of Guernsey, when some horrified parents have a decision to make: send their kids alone to England, or keep the family together and risk whatever might come to their villages.

Joseph and Ava Simon reluctantly put Henry (their 9 year old son) and Catherine (4 year old daughter) in the care of their son’s teacher, who is to escort them on a boat to mainland England. Right when the ferry is about to leave, Lily (the teacher’s sister) shows up. The two swap places, as Helen does not want to leave Guernsey, and Lily’s desperate to have a fresh start.

Lily’s the one that accompanies the kids to England, and she’s the one that lets Henry board a train by himself, deciding in a split second to take Catherine with her and head the other way. This split second choice lingers long after the war has ended, impacting the rest of everybody’s lives.

This is at once thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and uplifting, and perfect for fans of “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society”.

Julia has ensured that everyone who reads this novel are never going to forget any of the kids of Guernsey that were displaced during World War II. This is a complex and captivating tale about deception, about family, about flawed characters in inconceivable circumstances, and about the power of love to both heal and damage.

Here is a richly layered story about finding, losing, and forgiving which all unfolds when a Nazi threat to an innocent island just off the coast of France is imminent. Desperate action is taken and kids get sent off into the unknown where destinies are altered. Then pressures and isolation of a tedious war beget heroes and heartaches. This is riddled with sins and secrets for the sake of survival. This is both a compelling and poignant read.

“The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club” is the second stand alone novel and was released in 2023. Here is a story of female freedom and constraints which do not shy away from the joy and trauma which faced US women. Literature impacts everybody uniquely, yet it also unites us.

1954, Massachusetts. Alice Campbell escapes halfway across the country and finds she’s in front of this derelict building that’s tucked among the cobblestone streets in Cambridge, and she turns that sad small shop into the charming bookstore out of her dreams.

Evie, Caroline, Tess, and Merritt become quick friends in the sanctuary of Alice’s monthly reading club at The Cambridge Bookshop, where they can escape from the pressures of being newly independent college women in a world which seems to want to keep them in the kitchen. However they each embody quite different personalities, and when a member of the group finds herself shattered, everything that they know about one another, and themselves, is going to get called into question.

An inspiring, heart-wrenching, extraordinary love letter to books set against the backdrop of one of the most crucial periods in American history, this novel explores how women forge their own paths, regardless of what society has expected of them. It also illuminates the importance of literature and the vital conversation that it sparks.

Here is an engaging and loving tribute to the intimate power of books and to female friendship. This is full of compelling storytelling and some elegant prose. It’s easy to enjoy every single empowering, heartbreaking, unexpected, and uplifting moment of it.

“The Kennedy Girl” is the third stand alone novel and was released in 2025. A journey to France through the eyes of this wide-eyed American orphan that becomes embroiled in this international espionage scheme.

This American Girl in Paris may just hold the fate of nations.

It is the 1960s, and the fashion culture of Milan, New York, and Paris is beginning to make an impression on the mid-century American woman. Jackie Kennedy’s own effortless style leads the nation, even though Mia’s bustling bakery job does not usually give her the time or money to craft a stylish closet after her idol that’s in the White House. However when this mysterious stranger offers her a modeling job in Paris at the esteemed House of Rousseau, from out of nowhere, she takes a chance on it, despite knowing nothing of the world of fashion. As an orphan with huge dreams, holding a one-way ticket to Paris, she heads off for what she hopes is a much better life.

However modeling runs much deeper than runway walks and photoshoots, and while she adjusts to the Parisienne lifestyle, she realizes that not everything is like it appears. Becoming more and more successful in her job as up-and-coming model, she’s soon drawn into the Cold War by the exact same fashion house she works for. And while she finds she’s falling deeper into national politics and crimes, she’ll quickly have to decide which side of history she’s truly on.

Jackie Kennedy’s no longer the only woman for whom politics and fashion dramatically collide.

Here is an immersive and pulse racing tale perfect for history buffs and armchair travelers alike, with glimpses into the inner workings of the most prestigious Parisian fashion houses and the propulsive Cold War era of espionage.

Paris during the 1960s, with all the glamour, fashion, espionage, and romance? Yes, please. Julia delivers a Cold War mystery novel that is well-researched, skillfully crafted. She impresses readers with her captivating and layered characters and fully realized and vivid European settings as she maneuvers through the complexities of war, gender, and international intrigue. This is quite the engaging escape that will dazzle and intrigue all the way until its delicious end. Her writing is colorful, bold, and fearless in an absolutely riveting read that has all the ingredients of a fantastic novel.