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. 

A Better Person through Fiction

By Julie Tollefson 

Recently, a candidate for a high profile job at our local university said this during a presentation as part of the job interview: “I don’t read novels. I tend to only read books that make me a better person.”

Oof. What a thing to say in a town that’s proud of its deep, rich literary history. Langston Hughes and William Burroughs both lived here. Lawrence is home to more than one of Kansas’s poets laureate as well as the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. Our coffee shops, bars, and independent bookstores regularly host well-attended readings and other literary events. We’re a community that thrives on reading and writing of all types.

"William S. Burroughs home, Lawrence, KS" by Topeka Public Library is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

When I think about the role fiction has played in my life, I know I’m a better person because I read novels. Novels open windows into worlds far beyond my own. Through books, I’ve traveled alongside Elizabeth Bennet in 19th century England in Pride and Prejudice; held my breath as three children—unlikely friends—bring a Secret Garden back to life as they learn empathy and independence; wept over the injustices and unfounded suspicions in Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River; experienced life on a Kansas ranch in Nancy Pickard’s Scent of Rain and Lightning.

Beyond the personal delight of finding the perfect story, though, many strong relationships have been built on a foundation of books. In mid-May, we gathered for a weekend camping reunion with a group of dear but geographically scattered friends. Three of us sat by the campfire and swapped book recommendations for hours, just like old times. The exchange of perspectives and ideas each month at my book club stokes my enthusiasm to read outside my favorite genres and topics. 

But maybe the best bonds forged by a mutual love of books have been within our little nuclear family.

The boy's reading selections for
a six-day road trip in 2014.

When my son was little, we read the Harry Potter series aloud together. On long car trips from Kansas to Louisiana or Florida, the books entertained the whole family. My husband drove while I read and the miles flew by. I remember one year, wrapped in a quilt on the porch swing of a cabin at Lake Fausse Pointe, Louisiana, the kiddo snuggled in between us, reading late into the night because all three of us wanted to know what happened next.

Later, when he was a very early teen, we gave him a copy of Blood Magic by local author Tessa Gratton. I shared his joy when he got to meet her in person at our library. Blood Magic is still his favorite book, and that’s a bond we will always have.

So do I read books that make me a better person? Yes I do. The fact that most of my favorites are fiction doesn’t make the things they teach me any less real.

How have novels made you a better person?
What novels would you recommend I add to my list in my quest to become a better person through fiction?