Philadelphia (Pa.) book series in reading order

by Jane Haddam

W.E.B. Griffin was the best-known pen name of William Edmund Butterworth III (November 10, 1929 to February 12, 2019), an American author of military and detective fiction. Under the Griffin name Butterworth published 59 novels across seven series, 21 of them written with Butterworth's son, William E. Butterworth IV. The catalogue files 194 titles here, including 1960s books issued as W.E. Butterworth, Webb Beech and Walker E. Blake. Series include Brotherhood of War, Presidential Agent and M*A*S*H, and World War II and the U.S. Marine Corps recur in the subjects.

Richard Montanari is an American crime writer, born in 1952 in Northeast Ohio, where he still lives. His debut Deviant Way (1995) won the Online Mystery Award for Best First Mystery. In 2005 Montanari began a Philadelphia police procedural series with The Rosary Girls, set inside the homicide unit of the Philadelphia Police Department and introducing detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. An earlier series follows Jack Paris. The catalogue holds 15 books dated 1995 to 2018, built on serial murder and crime investigation, and has been translated into close to 30 languages.

Jane Haddam was the pen name of Orania Papazoglou, an American mystery writer who lived from 1951 to 2019. Gregor Demarkian, a private investigator of Armenian American background working in Philadelphia, heads her longest series. Patience McKenna and Georgia Xenakis head two more, and some early titles carry the Papazoglou name. The catalogue holds 39 books published between 1984 and 2020, from Sweet, Savage Death (1984) to One of Our Own (2020), which appeared after her death.

Legal thrillers about women lawyers form the core of Lisa Scottoline's work. Rosato & Associates, later listed as Rosato & DiNunzio, names the recurring law firm series, and the catalogue runs to 51 titles from Everywhere That Mary Went (1993) to This Changes Everything (2026). Scottoline also writes standalone suspense, non-fiction, and the Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman books, which the subject tags mark as humour. Publication is ongoing.

William Lashner, born in 1956, is an American novelist who worked as a trial lawyer, serving in the Criminal Division of the United States Justice Department; NYU School of Law and the Iowa Writers' Workshop trained him, and he lives outside Philadelphia. Victor Carl, a Philadelphia lawyer, is the recurring character of the main series, which runs from Hostile Witness (1995) through Fatal Flaw and Past Due (both 2003), Falls the Shadow (2005) and Marked Man (2006) to A Killer's Kiss (2007). Kockroach (2006) appeared under the name Tyler Knox. Twenty books are catalogued, the last being Elizabeth Webster and the Chamber of Stolen Ghosts (2021).

Cozy mysteries filled Sheila Connolly's list: the Orchard Mysteries around apple growing, the Museum Mysteries in Philadelphia, the County Cork books in Ireland, a Victorian Village series and the Relatively Dead novels. One Bad Apple (2008) opens 51 catalogued books, which end at Fatal Roots in 2020, with the early glassblowing titles written as Sarah Atwell.

L.A. Banks has 46 books catalogued from 1996 to 2011, and the author is listed as likely complete. Sundance (1996) and Slow Burn (1997) are the earliest, followed by Love Lessons, Love Notes and Rivers of the Soul (2001), then Soul Food and Through the Storm (2002). Minion appeared in 2003. Series include Vampire Huntress, Crimson Moon, Betrayal of the Trust and Scarface. Vampires, werewolves, Damali Richards, African American women and women martial artists appear in the subject tags, along with romance, horror and paranormal fiction.

Nancy Martin is the author of the Blackbird Sisters Mysteries, with subjects that include socialites, sisters, women detectives and Philadelphia. The catalogue holds 37 books from Showdown (1980) to Bye, Bye Blackbird (2016). Early titles include Black Diamonds (1984), Nightcap (1986), Hit Man (1989) and Looking for Trouble (1990). Other series are Roxy Abruzzo, Miss Ruffles Mysteries and Opposite Attract. Subjects also include romance, women journalists and murder investigation. No new Martin title has appeared since 2016.

Duane Swierczynski (Duane Louis Swierczynski, born February 22, 1972) is an American crime writer whose work spans non-fiction, novels and comic books. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Frauds, Scams, and Cons (2002) is the first catalogued title, and Secret Dead Men (2005) and The Wheelman (2005) are early titles. Series in the listing include Cable, Birds of Prey, Bloodshot, Black Hood, Level 26 and Charlie Hardie. Comics, superheroes, Judge Dredd, ex-police officers and Philadelphia appear among the subjects.

Teri Woods is an American novelist from Philadelphia who works in urban fiction. True to the Game (1998) is the first book: after six years of rejections, Woods had copies printed and sold them to booksellers directly, then founded Teri Woods Publishing. The 15 catalogued titles take in the Dutch Trilogy, from Dutch (2003) to Dutch II: Angel's Revenge (2005), plus the Deadly Reigns books and two further True to the Game sequels. Subjects cover drug dealers, organised crime and African American life in Philadelphia.

Jenna Black is the pen name Jennifer Black has used since 2006 for paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult fantasy. One earlier novel appeared as Jennifer Barlow, short stories before that under her birth name, and Jenna Glass is a further pen name. The 32 catalogued books open with Prince of Air and Darkness and Watchers in the Night, both 2006, run through a Devil sequence, The Devil Inside (2007), The Devil You Know and The Devil's Due (2008), Speak of the Devil (2009), and end with Mother of All in 2021. Faeriewalker, Nikki Glass, Nightstruck and Women's War are among eight series; exorcism, demonology and vampires fill the subject list.

Urban fiction is where Brittani Williams works, with drug traffic, African American women, sisters and erotica among the recorded subjects, and Philadelphia and New York among the settings. The 16 catalogued books open with Automatic Princess (2005) and include Daddy's Little Girl (2007), Black Diamond (2008), Lucky Chance (2012) and Eye Candi (2014). Williams is credited alone on all 16. The last listed title, The Streets Keep Pulling Me Back, appeared in 2022.

Diane McKinney-Whetstone, born 14 August 1953, is an American novelist and a member of the Creative Writing faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Her fiction has taken the BCALA Literary Award for Fiction in 2005 and again in 2009. Tumbling (1996) opens a catalogue of 8 books that reaches Family Spirit (2025). Subject headings name African American families, Philadelphia, sisters, married people and foster children. Tempest Rising (1998), Leaving Cecil Street (2004) and Lazaretto (2016) sit along the way, at a median length of 368 pages.

Jennifer Weiner

32 books• 6 series

Jennifer Weiner is an American novelist, television producer and journalist, born on March 28, 1970, and based in Philadelphia. The catalogue has 32 Weiner books from 2002 to 2025, beginning with Good in Bed and In Her Shoes (both 2002). In Her Shoes was filmed with Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine. Female friendship, sisters, motherhood and single women run through the subjects. Weiner also writes the Cannie Shapiro and Littlest Bigfoot series, and The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits (2025) is the newest title.

Mary Pope Osborne

166 books• 9 series

Mary Pope Osborne, born May 20, 1949, is an American children's author and audiobook narrator best known for the Magic Tree House series, which had sold more than 134 million copies worldwide by 2017. Awards have gone to both the series and Osborne, including recognition for work promoting children's literacy. Osborne attended the University of North Carolina and published a first book in 1982. The catalogue counts 166 Osborne books, from Run, Run, As Fast As You Can (1982) to Sea Otter Sunrise (2025). Time travel, tree houses, history, folklore and Greek mythology appear among the subjects.

Robert Kirkman

181 books• 31 series

Robert Kirkman, born 30 November 1978, is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and producer. Kirkman co-created The Walking Dead, Invincible, Tech Jacket, Outcast, Oblivion Song and Fire Power for Image Comics, wrote Ultimate X-Men, Irredeemable Ant-Man and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics, and worked with Todd McFarlane on Haunt. Kirkman is one of the five partners of Image Comics and serves as its COO. The catalogue gathers 181 volumes published between 2001 and 2026, listed as graphic novel and omnibus collections, from Battle Pope, Vol. 1: Genesis (2001) to The Emissary (2026). Charlie Adlard shares the credit on 2 volumes and Sean Phillips on 1.