21 Touching Books by Richard Paul Evans

This Christmas story of faith and hope became an international bestseller, the first book to reach #1 New York Times bestseller status in both its paperback and hardcover editions at the same time. It also launched the literary career of Richard Paul Evans and touched the lives of millions of readers. 

The story of a woman mourning the loss of her child and the family that becomes a part of her life has been hailed by Newsweek as “the most popular holiday tale since Tiny Tim,” and has remained perpetually in print since its initial publication more than 30 years ago. 

A bidding war followed the massive success of Richard Paul Evans’ first novel, and his second also became a bestseller. A prequel to The Christmas Box, Timepiece tells the story of the relationship between David and MaryAnne Parkin, and how their marriage bridged the generations and created the wisdom that MaryAnne would eventually share in The Christmas Box. 

Like its predecessor, Timepiece was turned into a TV movie, this time starring Naomi Watts, James Earl Jones, and Ellen Burstyn. 

The third (and, thus far, final) book in Evans’ Christmas Box series continues the story of MaryAnne and David Parkins. Nineteen years after the death of their child, they find their marriage straining, but a mysterious occurrence at their daughter’s grave suggests a mystery – that David’s long-lost mother might still be alive. 

The result is an “engaging and inspirational” book (Library Journal) that is sure to win over fans of Evans’ “sentimental journeys,” who “will want to keep their hankies handy” (Amazon.com). 

By 2009, when Richard Paul Evans embarked upon what was to become his third major book series, he already had numerous bestsellers under his belt, and had proven himself as a popular author of inspirational fiction. 

In The Walk, he attempted a new sort of story, the tale of Alan Christofferson, a successful 28-year-old advertising executive who loses everything and sets out on a cross-country journey to walk from Bellevue, Washington to “the furthest point reachable by foot,” in Key West, Florida. The journey will take him a long time, and readers are brought along with every step of it, beginning in this “intriguing” book  that is “definitely a journey worth taking” (Booklist). 

A vicious roadside stabbing has interrupted Alan’s journey in this “stand-alone page turner” (Publishers Weekly) that picks up where The Walk left off. Rather than continuing his planned journey, Alan finds himself in a hospital bed, reliant on the generosity of a woman who is a stranger to him. 

Before he can resume his own journey, he will have to find out who she is and what has brought them together in this book that shows why the New York Journal of Books raved that Evans’ “books are the ones you can’t wait to finish, but when you do, you wish you hadn’t.” 

“There’s no doubt Evans knows how to keep the pages turning,” hails Booklist about the third installment in this five-book series about Alan Christofferson’s journey across the United States. 

As he travels from South Dakota to St. Louis, he meets ghost hunters, an elderly Polish man, and other unforgettable characters in this “fast and pleasurable read with plenty of local color and enough sentiment to evoke a tear or two” (Kirkus). 

Though he has reached the halfway point of his cross-country journey, Alan suddenly finds himself at a crossroads as yet another personal tragedy puts his entire odyssey at risk in this “unconventional road trip” novel that “travels a path of self-discovery and determination” (Publishers Weekly). Will Alan be able to resume his journey and, if so, what’s waiting for him at the other end? These are the questions that keep readers returning to this bestselling series. 

Alan Christofferson’s cross-country journey is fraught with setbacks that could easily dissuade him from his course. In this case, it’s his own ailing father back in his childhood home of Pasadena, California. With help from friends both new and old, however, Alan will eventually make his way to Florida, where he will meet new people and face new challenges. 

But will he find the grace that he has been searching for in his cross-country sojourn? Readers will have to pick up this final book in Alan’s story to know for sure… 

It isn’t just because of the massive success of The Christmas Box that Richard Paul Evans has been hailed as the “king of Christmas fiction” by the New York Times. 

Evans has returned to the holiday many times since, including in the books that make up his acclaimed Noel Collection, which begins right here, as romance author Jacob Churcher returns to his childhood home for the first time since his unstable mother threw him out at age 16. She has since passed away, and he has returned to try to make sense of his own history while settling her estate and possibly building himself a new future. 

Capable of being read as a standalone novel, The Noel Stranger is a “sweet second tale in the Noel series” (Publishers Weekly) that offers “enjoyable reading” (Booklist). Recently divorced, Maggie Walther is trying to put her life back together this holiday season, starting by putting up a Christmas tree. However, in the process, she meets Andrew, someone who is new in town. As they get to know one another, it seems like Maggie may have found the person to help her learn to trust again – but Andrew harbors a secret that will threaten their budding romance. 

The year is 1975 and Elle Sheen is a single mom trying to raise her 6-year-old son while working as a waitress at the Noel Street Café in the small town of Mistletoe, Utah. Into her life comes William Smith, a recently returned POW from the war in Vietnam, who has his own demons to face in this “outstanding holiday love story” that combines powerful themes of forgiveness and second chances with a “thought-provoking romance” (Booklist). 

In the concluding volume of Richard Paul Evans’ Noel Collection, Noel Post, a successful New York publisher, returns to her childhood home in Salt Lake City for what she thinks will be a short visit to see her estranged father before he dies. 

When he leaves her his bookstore, however, the visit becomes longer than expected in this “enjoyable Yuletide tale” that “deserves a place under many a Christmas tree” (Kirkus). 

With the first book in his Broken Road trilogy, Richard Paul Evans returns to some of the ideas that made The Walk such a beloved series. This time, we’re introduced to Charles James, a Chicago huckster who has achieved fame and fortune through the power of his personality – but at what price? 

As his world is shaken, he finds himself faced with an unexpected second chance at redemption, but the possibility of a different future awaits him at the other end of a long journey – one that will see him walking the entire length of Route 66. 

As Charles James walks the length of Route 66, he is searching for a fresh start. Specifically, he hopes to find his ex-wife Monica and ask her to give him another chance. Along the way, however, he’ll meet people and situations who will test and challenge him and leave him with lasting lessons that will change him in ways both big and small. 

Readers who enjoyed Evans’ previous road trip novels are bound to enjoy accompanying Charles on his unforgettable journey. 

When Charles James began his heartfelt journey along Route 66, he thought he was going to find his ex-wife Monica at the other end. Now, he learns that she is planning to marry someone else. With the original goal of his trip in jeopardy, will Charles continue on his journey, or take the easy way out and return to his life of empty fortune? 

That’s the question that resonates in this heartfelt conclusion to Richard Paul Evans’ Broken Road trilogy, bringing readers along on the last leg of Charles James’ pilgrimage, which may just end up in unexpected places. 

“Richard Paul Evans always gives readers a great Christmas story,” raves the Free Lance-Star, and this first book in his Mistletoe Collection trilogy is no exception. Elise Dutton no longer loves the holidays, not since her husband cheated on her three years ago, bringing their marriage to a bitter end. 

As the season draws near, however, she finds herself offered an unusual proposal by a stranger who lives in her building. Until Christmas Day, they will pretend to be a couple, so that they don’t have to spend the holidays alone. The safety of the fake relationship may be just what they both need, but will their respective pasts threaten even that? 

“A must-read for any hopeless romantic, especially during the holidays” (PopSugar), the second standalone book in Richard Paul Evans’ Mistletoe Collection is a “modern fairy-tale romance” (Library Journal). 

The story follows Kimberly Rossi, a finance officer at a Lexus dealership who is unlucky in love but who harbors a secret dream of one day writing romance novels. It’s that dream that brings her to the Mistletoe Retreat, a nine-day workshop for romance writers, where she just might find more than tips on how to spruce up her manuscripts. 

Nursing a broken heart, Alex Bartlett has traveled halfway across the country to find the blogger who simply calls herself LBH in this “great re-interpretation of a classic romance” (Roswell Daily Record). He’s convinced that the two of them are perfect for each other, but first he has to find out who she really is. 

Along the way, he meets a number of possible suspects, and finds unexpected kinship with Aria, the waitress at the Mistletoe Diner, who encourages him in his quest in this “short and sweet seasonal read” that is “filled with holiday cheer” (St. Lawrence Plaindealer). 

On a humanitarian mission to an orphanage in Peru called the Sunflower, two people who are picking up the pieces of their lives find unexpected love with one another in this “entertaining albeit syrupy” (Publishers Weekly) book from the New York Times-bestselling author. 

Dental hygienist Christine Hollister had her engagement broken off a week before the wedding. ER doctor Paul Cook lost two patients in one night and found his career following not long after. Now, miles from home and in the midst of the jungle, the two have found each other in this “sweet and uplifting” romance (Booklist). 

“A touching redemption story," Evans has taken his mastery of the Christmas tale and combined it with the biblical story of the prodigal son in this “heartwarming, feel-good tale” (Booklist) about Luke Crisp, the son of a Fortune 500 CEO who isn’t interested in taking over his father’s business. 

Instead, he takes his trust fund and begins a life of hedonistic indulgence. But, as the funds run out, Luke finds himself working a menial job at the lowest rung of his father’s company, and facing a holiday season that will teach him what he really values. 

It may seem like there are only so many ways that you can write a Christmas-themed romance, but that doesn’t stop Richard Paul Evans from trying to find new ones. In this “inventive, heartwarming tale” (Booklist), that attempt comes in the form of an unexpected twist. 

Beth Cardall’s life is falling apart. She has learned that her husband was unfaithful just before he dies unexpectedly of pancreatic cancer. Her daughter has a mysterious illness that baffles the medical profession, and the bills are beginning to drown her. Then, she meets a handsome stranger with a secret straight out of the Twilight Zone – one that will reveal his unexpected connection to Beth’s life and her future.