Got into Catherine Rollins through a random library recommendation and I’m so glad I did. If you’re just starting, I’d point you straight to 'The Atlas of Forgotten Names'. It’s her breakout novel and really shows off what she does best—layered family secrets that unravel across generations. The prose isn’t overly flowery, but there’s a real weight to her sentences that makes you feel the characters’ regrets. It’s a complete story, so you get the full Rollins experience without needing prior knowledge. After that, if you like the slow-burn, psychological tension, 'A Veil of Smoke' is a fantastic follow-up, more focused on a single character’s unreliable memory.
Some might say start with her latest, 'The Keeper’s Silence', because it’s more polished, but I think the emotional rawness in 'Atlas' is what hooks people. Her short story collection, 'Seven Grey Houses', is also worth a look later on—it’s like a master key to her recurring themes of houses and hauntings, both literal and metaphorical.