Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fantasy Man | 1988 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 2 | Strings | 1988 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 3 | Mother Knows Best | 1989 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 4 | Sail Away | 1989 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 5 | Mother for Hire | 1989 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 6 | Cupid Connection | 1990 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 7 | Moonlight and Lace | 1990 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 8 | Slow Larkin’s Revenge | 1991 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 9 | All That Glitters | 1991 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 10 | The Baby Bargain | 1991 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 11 | Free Spirits | 1991 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 12 | Beyond Summer | 1991 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 13 | Tangled Web | 1991 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 14 | Gerrity’s Bride | 1995 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
| 15 | Bound for Bliss | 2006 | Cathy Gillen Thacker | Buy |
The Close to Home series by Cathy Gillen Thacker opened in 1988 with Fantasy Man and Strings, then added three more titles in 1989 — Mother Knows Best, Sail Away, and Mother for Hire. The pace picked up further in 1991, when six books arrived in a single year: Slow Larkin’s Revenge, All That Glitters, The Baby Bargain, Free Spirits, Beyond Summer, and Tangled Web.
After that run the series went quiet for several years, with Gerrity’s Bride appearing in 1995 and a final entry, Bound for Bliss, not arriving until 2006. The gap between the middle books and the later ones means the series spans nearly two decades in total, even though most of the titles were published within the first three years.