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O'Malley Family Saga
family saga
Series · contemporary fiction
Walsh Family
The Walsh Family series by Marian Keyes has 7 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Watermelon (1995).
- Books
- 7 books
- First published
- 1995
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Watermelon (1995) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Watermelon
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Watermelon - Book 2:
Rachel's Holiday
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rachel's Holiday - Book 3:
Angels
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Angels - Book 4:
Anybody Out There?
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Anybody Out There? - Book 5:
The Mystery of Mercy Close
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Mystery of Mercy Close - Book 6:
Again, Rachel
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Again, Rachel - Book 7:
My Favourite Mistake
Alternative text for cover: Cover of My Favourite Mistake
About the Walsh Family series
The Walsh family are a boisterous, tightly-bonded Dublin household -- overbearing Mammy, quietly long-suffering Dad, and five very different adult daughters (Claire, Rachel, Maggie, Anna and Helen) -- who anchor Marian Keyes' best-loved and longest-running series. Each of the first five novels follows a different sister through a defining personal crisis, using comedy as a route into genuinely difficult material: Watermelon (1995) opens the series with Claire, abandoned by her husband on the day she gives birth; Rachel's Holiday (1997), the series' most acclaimed entry, follows Rachel through addiction and a stint in rehab; Angels (2002) sends Maggie to Los Angeles after her marriage collapses; Anybody Out There? (2006) follows Anna through grief after the sudden death of her husband; and The Mystery of Mercy Close (2012) turns to youngest sister Helen, a private detective confronting her own severe depression while investigating a missing boy-band member.
After a decade away from the family, Keyes returned to it twice more: Again, Rachel (2022) catches up with Rachel Walsh in her late forties, now a addiction counsellor in New York facing the return of an old flame, and My Favourite Mistake (2024) brings the story back to Anna, adrift after losing her job and marriage in New York and returning to Ireland to reckon with her twenties. Across nearly thirty years, the series has become known for pairing sharp comic dialogue and a huge, memorably chaotic extended family with unflinching treatment of addiction, grief, depression and domestic abuse.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Walsh Family series in?
Publication order: Watermelon (1995), Rachel's Holiday (1997), Angels (2002), Anybody Out There? (2006), The Mystery of Mercy Close (2012), Again, Rachel (2022), My Favourite Mistake (2024).
Do I need to read the other Walsh books before Again, Rachel?
You should read Rachel's Holiday first -- Again, Rachel is a direct sequel to it, following the same character 25 years on.
Does each book follow a different sister?
The first five do -- Claire, Rachel, Maggie, Anna and Helen each get their own novel -- while the two most recent books return to Rachel and then Anna respectively.
Is Rachel's Holiday a standalone or does it require Watermelon first?
It can be read as a standalone, though Watermelon introduces the Walsh family and Claire's storyline first if you want full family context.
Is the Walsh Family series ongoing?
Yes -- Marian Keyes has continued adding to it periodically since 1995, most recently with My Favourite Mistake in 2024, and has not indicated the family's story is finished.
If you like the Walsh Family series
Reading order last verified .