Mure Books In Order

Publication Order of Mure Books

Mure Series by Jenny Colgan

Jenny Colgan (aka J.T. Colgan, Jenny T. Colgan, and Jane Beaton) was born in Scotland. She studied at the University of Edinburgh and after college worked for six years in Health Services. She married Andrew Beaton, a marine engineer, and they have three children.

In 2000 she published her first novel, a romantic comedy titled Amanda’s Wedding. Since then Ms. Colgan has written dozens of cozy romantic comedies and science fiction stories. She’s contributed to the Dr Who legacy with many stories.

Over Ms. Colgan’s career she has been recognized with many nominations and awards for her writing; Romantic Novel of the Year, Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance, and Romantic Novelists’ Association award for Comedy Novel of the Year among others.

Ms. Colgan has written an impressive catalogue of stand-alone novels and many different series of stories. The Mure Series is one of her favorite collection of cozy romance stories.

The Mure Series is set in Scotland at the (fictional) tiny island of Mure is in the far North Sea located between Scotland and Norway. We are able to get acquainted with the people of the tiny remote island, a typical small place where no one can have secrets. A little place like this has everyone in each others’ pockets.

The first Mure story by Ms. Colgan is a short story- sort of a prequel to the main novels. A Very Distant Shore introduces us to the tiny island of Mure. The local GP is retiring and because the island is so small and very remote, after eight months of advertising the vacancy, no doctor has yet stepped forward for the job.

Lorna McLeod is thirty-one and the headmistress of the primary school. Her father is very ill and needs a doctor close by. Saif Hassan is a medical doctor who is also a Syrian refugee. He’s lost contact with his family and he needs a place to resettle. He agrees to go to Mure Island.

The first novel in the Mure Island series is The Cafe by the Sea. Flora left the place where she grew up thinking there was nothing she could do there. Although everyone had known her all her life, it was also true they wouldn’t let her forget her past. Flora didn’t think the quiet Scottish Mure Island didn’t hold a future for her.

Flora had a hectic life in London where she could be ambitious and more importantly, anonymous. Being utterly in love with her boss was a complication. She had aspirations to be a lawyer but had to stop short. She’s now working as a paralegal.

Now fate has brought Flora back to Mure. Her strapping, loud, and chaotic brothers and father have welcomed her back in. This has given her an opportunity to pivot and discover new skills and a passion for cooking.

With this new passion Flora has decided to restore the aged pink-fronted shop on the harbor. It’s her little cafe by the sea.

As Flora settles in the seasons are changing and it’s time for her to come own up to her past mistakes. In process she will try to work out her future.

Before Flora moved to Mure, she was working in a law office. An American man came in wanting their help to oppose a wind farm that was proposed to be built on the Scottish coast across from Muir. He’s been opposing the wind farm but now needs legal help. He knows Flora is from Mure and he demands that she help him.

Flora didn’t want to return to Mure but to keep her job she has to eat her pride and return to her former home so she can assist this man. Once there she finds out they hate her for abandoning the island and the American man isn’t going to get any better reception. The man hasn’t helped his cause. He’s been what they think is a lousy neighbor; he doesn’t buy from the locals and he’s not made an effort to get to know them.

Another Mure Island tale from Ms. Colgan is Christmas at the Island Hotel. The tiny island of Mure has a new hotel opening and it’s the event of the year. Flora and her brother Fintan are working like crazy to get it ready in time for Christmas.

The new hotel has an impressive kitchen and there’s some new hands who are unlikely friends. There’s Gaspard, a French chef brought in to run the hotel kitchen, and Isla is a hard worker and was the waitress in the island cafe. Konstantin, obviously has no experience, is working in the kitchens too but he harbors a secret.

Konstantin’s been sent by his father, Norwegian Duke of Utsire, to learn what hard work is before he will ever receive his inheritance. He’s resentful and angry but over time, working with Isla, his attitude softens.