Friday, May 9, 2025

 


Mystery Road Trip! 

by Heather Weidner

Spring has sprung, and it’s almost time to plan your summer vacation. And even if you’re not traveling, you can escape with a good mystery on a road trip across the United States. In no particular order, I listed as many mysteries as I could find by state. 

Alabama

  • Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery Series – Debra H. Goldstein

Alaska

  • An Alaskan Diner Mystery – Elizabeth Logan

Arizona

  • The Sophie Kimball Mysteries – J. C. Eaton
  • The Cupcake Bakery Mysteries – Jenn McKinlay

Arkansas

  • The Lily Bard Mystery Series – Charlaine Harris

California

  • The Cheese Shop Mysteries – Korina Moss
  • The Jaine Austen Mysteries – Laura Levine
  • The Material Witness Mysteries – Diane Vallere
  • Pampered Pets Mysteries – Sparkle Abbey
  • The Sally Solari Mystery Series – Leslie Karst

Colorado

  • Goldy Bear Mystery Series – Diane Mott Davidson
  • Lila MacClean Academic Mysteries – Cynthia Kuhn
  • The Callie Cassidy Mysteries - Lori Roberts Herbst

Connecticut

  • The Ice Cream Shop Mysteries – Meri Allen
  • The Food Blogger Mysteries – Debra Sennefelder
  • The Haunted Library Series – Allison Brook/Marilyn Levinson

Delaware

  • The Trending Topic Mysteries – Sarah E. Burr

Florida

  • Coffee Lover’s Mysteries – Tara Lush
  • All-day Breakfast Café Mysteries – Lena Gregory
  • Chloe Jackson, A Seaglass Mystery Series – Sherry Harris
  • The Hayden Kent Mysteries – Kait Carson 

Georgia

  • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries – Charlaine Harris
  • The Cherry Tucker Mystery Series – Larissa Reinhart

Hawaii

  • Carrie Jorgenson Mysteries – Catherine Bruns
  • The Aloha Lagoon Mysteries – Catherine Bruns

Idaho

  • Farm-to-Fork Mysteries – Lynn Cahoon
  • Kitchen Witch Mystery Series – Lynn Cahoon
  • The Hometown Mysteries – Rosalie Spielman

Illinois

  • The Alex St. James Mysteries – Julie Hyzy
  • The Endurance Mysteries – Susan Van Kirk

Indiana

  • The Country Store Mysteries – Maddie Day

Iowa

  • Merry Wrath Mysteries - Leslie Langry

Kansas

  • Queen Bee Quilt Shop Mysteries – Sally Goldenbaum

Kentucky

  • Killer Coffee Mystery Series – Tonya Kapps
  • Kenni Lowry Mystery Series – Tonya Kapps

Louisiana

  • The Vintage Cookbook Mysteries – Ellen Byron
  • Cajun Country Mysteries – Ellen Byron
  • The Crescent City New Orleans Mysteries – Martha Reed

Maine

  • A Mainely Needlepoint Mystery – Lea Wait
  • The Maine Clambake Mysteries – Barbara Ross

Maryland

  • The Five-ingredient Mysteries – Maya Corrigan
  • The Chesapeake Bay Mystery Series – Judy L. Murray
  • The Jesse Damon Crime Novels – K.M. Rockwood

Massachusetts

  • Nantucket Candle Maker Mysteries – Christin Brecher
  • The John and Sarah Jarad Nantucket Mysteries – Martha Reed
  • A Local Foods Mystery – Edith Maxwell
  • The Garden Squad Mysteries – Julia Henry
  • The Celtic Cozy Series – Lisa Q. Matthews
  • Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries – Sherry Harris
  • The Book Blogger Mysteries – Sarah E. Burr

Michigan

  • The Candy-coated Mysteries – Nancy Coco
  • The Beacon Bakeshop Mysteries – Darci Hannah
  • The Seamus McCree Mysteries – James M. Jackson

Minnesota

  • The Hannah Swensen Mysteries – Joanne Fluke

Mississippi

  • Southern Ladies – Miranda James

Missouri

  • Gram’s Country Cooking School Mystery – Paige Shelton

Montana

  • Food Lovers’ Village Mystery – Leslie Budewitz
  • Killer Chocolate Mysteries – Christina Romeril

Nebraska

  • Cassandra Sato Mysteries – Kelly Brakenhoff

Nevada

  • The Lucky O’Toole Vegas Adventure Series – Deborah Coonts

New Hampshire

  • The Cat Lady Mysteries – Linda Reilly
  • The Zen Goat Mystery Series – Janna Rollins

New Jersey

  • The Poppy McAllister Mysteries – Libby Klein
  • Kebab Kitchen Mysteries – Tina Kashian
  • The Ferrar Family Mysteries – J. D. Griffo
  • Cookies and Chance Mysteries – Catherine Bruns

New Mexico

  • Survivors’ Book Club Mystery Series – Lynn Cahoon

New York

  • Catering Hall Mysteries – Maria DiRico/Ellen Byron
  • Bay Island Psychic Mysteries – Lena Gregory
  • Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries – Lena Gregory
  • The Twin Lakes Mysteries – Marilyn Levinson
  • The Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Series – Marilyn Levinson
  • The Glenmyre Whim Mysteries – Sarah E. Burr

North Carolina

  • Seaside Café Mysteries – Bree Baker
  • The Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries – Molly MacRae

North Dakota

  • North Dakota Library Mysteries – Ellen Jacobson

Ohio

  • The Amish Candy Shop Mysteries – Amanda Flower
  • The Ethnic Eats Mysteries – Kylie Logan

Oklahoma

  • The Nela Farley Mystery – Caroyln G. Hart

Oregon

  • Hometown Hardware Mysteries – Paula Charles

Pennsylvania

  • The Tallie Graver Mysteries – Misty Simon
  • The Amish Mystery Series – Laura Bradford
  • The Zoe Chambers Mysteries – Annette Dashofy
  • The Detective Honeywell Mysteries – Annette Dashofy
  • The Laura Bishop Mystery Series – Grace Topping

Rhode Island

  • Gilded Newport Mysteries – Alyssa Maxwell

South Carolina

  • Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries – Laura Bradford

South Dakota

  • Happy Campers Mysteries – Mary Angela

Tennessee

  • Dog Club Mystery – V. M. Burns
  • House Flippers Mysteries – Diane Kelly
  • Haunted Yarn Shop – Molly MacRae

Texas

  • The Record Shop Mysteries – Olivia Blacke
  • The Faith McClellan Mysteries – LynDee Walker
  • A Texas Flower Farmer Mystery – Jackie Layton 

 Utah

  • A Dangerous Type – Paige Shelton

Vermont

  • True Confections Mysteries – Sarah Fox
  • Grilled Cheese Mysteries – Linda Reilly
  • True Confections Mysteries – Sarah Fox

Virginia

  • The Finlay Donovan Mysteries – Elle Cosimano
  • Headlines in Heels – LynDee Walker
  • The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries – Heather Weidner
  • The Pearly Girls Mysteries – Heather Weidner
  • The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries – Heather Weidner

Washington

  • Sloan Krause Mysteries – Ellie Alexander
  • Spice Shop Mysteries – Leslie Budewitz

West Virginia

  • Cider Shop Mysteries – Jullie Anne Lindsey

Wisconsin

  • Deep Dish Mysteries – Mindy Quigley

Wyoming

  • The Wind River Mysteries – Margaret Coel

And I can’t leave out some favorite Washington, D.C. ones

The District of Columbia

  • The Sophie Medina Mysteries – Ellen Crosby
  • Washington Whodunit Mystery Series – Colleen Shogan

What other series would you add to my list?

 

Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries. 

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers. 


15 comments:

  1. Debra H. GoldsteinMay 9, 2025 at 1:05 AM

    Such fun. I have read many on the list but see new ones to try (and many that I never thought about the state. Another Michigan book was my first, IPPY winning Maze in Blue, a mystery set on the University of Michigan’s campus in the 1970’s

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had so much fun building the list. It started out as how many mysteries set in the U. S. have I read (46) ... and then it grew!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a fun list! Thank you, Heather, for including Cherry Tucker in Georgia. I am going to enjoy using this list as my family travels. I love reading books set in the place I'm visiting! I'll give you another one for Mississippi -- the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries by Carolyn Haines are set in Zinnia, MS.

      Delete
  3. Always great to visit new places via books. Thanks for including Jesse and his Maryland setting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this! About ten years ago I began the Goodreads 50 state challenge. I'm still missing four - not anymore :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lori Roberts HerbstMay 9, 2025 at 11:06 AM

    Ready for a road trip! (P.S. Anyone searching on Amazon for Lisa Q. Mathews' Massachusetts-based series will find it under Irish Bed & Breakfast Mysteries. It's so good!)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love road trips -- both on wheels and armchair travel! Thanks for the list -- and for including my two series.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great job, Heather! I love lists like this and love reading books set in the states we visit. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. For Alaska, always, Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak series; for Calif., Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone series, now completed. Cathy H-S

    ReplyDelete
  9. Alabama

    Southern Sisters series. Anne George
    Darling Dahlias. Susan Wittig Albert

    California

    Savannah Reid series. G A McKevitt
    Cece Barton. Maddie Day

    Connecticut

    Library Lovers series. Jenn McKinlay

    Florida

    Key West food critics series. Lucy Burdette
    Miss Fortune series. Jana Deleon

    Hawaii

    Orchid isles series. Leslie Karst

    Indiana

    Flower shop series. Kate Collins

    Massachusetts

    Orchard series Sheila Connolly
    Cozy capers series. Maddie Day
    Martha’s Vineyard series. Philip Craig
    Brady Coyne mysteries. William Tapply
    Spencer mysteries. Robert Parker
    Faith Fairchild series. Katherine Hall Page
    Sherlock Holmes bookshop mysteries. Vicki Delany
    Tea shop by the sea. Vicki Delany

    Michigan

    Chocoholic mystery series. JoAnna Carl

    New Hampshire

    Josie Prescott antiques series. Jane Cleland

    New Jersey

    Plum series. Janet Evanovich

    New York

    Golden Age authors: Ellery Queen. Ellery Queen
    Nero Wolfe. Rex Stout
    Mr and Mrs North. Frances and Richard
    Lockridge

    Molly Murphy series Rhys Bowen

    North Carolina

    Laura Fleming series. Toni Kelner
    Lighthouse library series. Eva Gates

    Ohio

    Pepper Martin series. Casey Daniels

    Pennsylvania

    Museum mysteries. Sheila Connolly

    South Carolina

    Death on Demand series. Carolyn Hart
    Tea shop mystery series. Laura Child

    Texas

    Death and Taxes (Tara Holloway) mysteries. Diane Kelly
    Magical dressmaking mysteries. Melissa Bourbon
    China Bayles series. Susan Wittig Albert

    Virginia

    Meg Langslow series. Donna Andrews
    Wine country series Ellen Crosby

    Washington DC

    White House chef series. Julie Hyzy
    Eleanor Roosevelt series. Elliott Roosevelt


    ReplyDelete
  10. A wonderful list! Great fun to see my favorite authors and the settings for their books. I hope you can add my Florida cozy mystery series, The Dream Club Mysteries and the Talk Radio Mysteries. Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Correction - I mislocated Jana Deleon’s Miss Fortune series. They take place in Louisiana not Florida

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oops, I meant to say my Talk Radio Mysteries are set in Florida and the Dream Club Mysteries are set in Savannah, Georgia, Thanks! Mary Kennedy

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ellie Alexander's Torte Bakeshop series in Oregon

    ReplyDelete