Lucinda Riley, the Irish author best known for the Seven Sisters series, died on June 11 at age 56 after a four-year battle with cancer. In announcing Riley's death, her family noted that in her last four years, she wrote five novels, "and this week, The Missing Sister is Number 1 in book charts across the world." The Missing Sister is the seventh entry in the Seven Sisters series. Riley's books have sold more than 30 million copies and have been particularly popular in the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway and Germany. Besides the Seven Sisters series, she wrote the Guardian Angels series for children in collaboration with her eldest son, Harry Whittaker; the first of these, Grace and the Christmas Angel, will be published in October. The proudest moment of her life was when, after 27 years as a published author, in the fall of 2019, The Butterfly Room topped the London Sunday Times bestseller list for the first time.
In North America, Atria Books became Riley's publisher in 2012, beginning with The Orchid House, which Shelf Awareness called "a sweeping, poignant saga that will enthrall fans of The House at Riverton, Rebecca and Downton Abbey," followed by Girl on the Cliff, Lavender Garden, Midnight Rose and The Royal Secret. Blue Box Press, an imprint of Evil Eye Concepts, was Riley's publisher over the last two years, including for The Missing Sister ($19.99).