San Francisco (Calif.) book series in reading order

by Marcia Muller

by James Patterson

by John Lescroart

Marcia Muller, born September 28, 1944 in Detroit, is an American mystery and thriller author who created the female private detective Sharon McCone. Vanishing Point won the Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel after four earlier nominations, and Mystery Writers of America named Muller a Grand Master in 2005. Muller studied English at the University of Michigan and worked at Sunset magazine. Muller is married to Bill Pronzini, a collaborator on several novels. The catalogue lists 74 books, including Edwin of the Iron Shoes (1977) and Circle in the Water (2024).

James Patterson

510 books• 73 series

James Patterson, born on March 22, 1947, is an American writer whose catalogue here holds 514 books published from 1976 to 2027. The run opens with The Thomas Berryman Number (1976), and Along Came a Spider (1992) and Kiss the Girls (1995) follow later. Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, Witch & Wizard, NYPD Red, Private, Middle School and the Women's Murder Club are among the Patterson series, alongside standalone thrillers, non-fiction and romance. Marshall Karp shares the credit on 5 of the books. Patterson's sales exceed 425 million copies, and Patterson was the first person to sell one million e-books. Forbes ranked Patterson the highest-paid author in 2016, for a third year running, and the National Book Foundation gave Patterson the Literarian Award in November 2015. 27 Stars is scheduled for 2027.

John Lescroart, born January 14, 1948, writes legal and crime thrillers built around three recurring characters: Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky and Wyatt Hunt. More than 10 million copies of Lescroart's novels have sold, in 22 languages across more than 75 countries, and 18 titles have reached the New York Times bestseller list. San Francisco appears in the subject tags. The catalogue lists 35 books, opening with Sunburn (1981), then Son of Holmes (1986), Rasputin's Revenge (1987) and Dead Irish (1989). The Vig (1990), Hard Evidence (1993) and The 13th Juror (1994) come next. The Auguste Lupa Mystery series and standalone novels also appear.

Bill Pronzini, born April 13, 1943, is an American detective fiction writer and the creator of the Nameless Detective, a San Francisco private investigator who appeared in over 40 books from the early 1970s into the 2000s. Pronzini has also compiled more than 100 anthologies of mystery, western and science fiction stories. The catalogue lists 115 books, from The Stalker (1971) and The Snatch (1971) to The Hanging Man & Other Western Stories (2024). Other series include Carpenter and Quincannon and Academy Mystery.

Christopher Moore

22 books• 8 series

Comic fantasy is Christopher Moore's register, vampires in San Francisco, demons in a small California town, humour throughout. The catalogue holds 22 books published between 1987 and 2025, grouped into Pine Cove, Bloodsucking Fiends, Fool and Grim Reaper, with standalone novels between them. Anima Rising is the newest catalogued title.

Armistead Maupin

17 books• 2 series

Armistead Maupin, an American writer born May 13, 1944, is noted for Tales of the City, a series of novels set in San Francisco. The catalogue lists 17 Maupin books from 1978 to 2024. Tales of the City and More Tales of the City are both dated 1978, followed by Further Tales of the City (1982), Babycakes (1984), Significant Others (1987) and Sure of You (1989). Maybe the Moon (1992) and The Night Listener (2000) are also listed. Subjects include gay men, lesbians and city life in San Francisco. Mona of the Manor (2024) is the newest title.

Joanne Pence writes culinary mysteries. The amateur sleuth is Angie Amalfi, an underemployed food writer and gourmet chef in San Francisco, and Amalfi's romance with homicide inspector Paavo Smith runs alongside the cases; the flavour is humorous, screwball adventure. Born Joanne Lopez in San Francisco, Pence attended the University of California, Berkeley and managed operations analysis at the Social Security administration from 1970 to 1998. The catalogue lists 58 titles, opening with Dangerous Journey (1987) and Something's Cooking (1993) and reaching Deadly Ever After in 2025. Series include Cook and Inspector Mysteries, Inspector Rebecca Mayfield Mystery, Angie & Friends Food & Spirits Mysteries and Donnelly Cabin Inn.

Juliet Blackwell writes cozy mysteries. The Witchcraft Mystery series and the Haunted Home Renovation Mystery series are the two named series, and standalone novels and novellas sit beside them. The catalogue counts 30 books from Secondhand Spirits (2009) to The Séance Garden (2026). Witches, magic, San Francisco, vintage clothing, remodeling and women business owners appear in the subject tags.

Across 194 catalogued books, Danielle Steel writes contemporary romance and family drama: love stories, marriages, widowhood and the turns that reshape a life. The run starts with Going Home (1973) and continues through Celebration, with 24 Hours scheduled for 2027. Steel's catalogue also holds children's picture books, short stories and non-fiction beside the standalone novels that make up most of it.

Bella Andre is a New York-born American author of contemporary romance and the writer of The Sullivans series, a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Andre's books had sold over 8 million copies as of 2019. Andre also writes as Lucy Kevin for Four Weddings and a Fiasco and Married in Malibu, and the Billionaire for Me series appeared as Bella Riley. The catalogue lists 87 books from Crown Jewels (2004) to Tempted in Love (2026), with Maverick Billionaires, Bad Boys of Football and Hot Shots: Men of Fire among the other series.

Julie Smith, born November 25, 1944, is an American mystery writer whose sixth book, New Orleans Mourning, won the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Novel. Skip Langdon, Talba Wallis, Rebecca Schwartz and Paul MacDonald are series, and subjects include policewomen, New Orleans, women lawyers and San Francisco. The catalogue lists 31 books, starting with Death Turns a Trick (1982) and ending with The Big Crazy (2019). The Axeman's Jazz (1991) and Jazz Funeral (1993) are listed titles.

Kyra Davis, born August 23, 1972, is an American novelist of the Sophie Katz mysteries and the Just One Night trilogy. Anonymous Content optioned Just One Night for television in 2013. The Great Mann (2025), a reinterpretation of The Great Gatsby, was the first book under the married name Kyra Davis Lurie. The catalogue lists 14 books from Sex, Murder And A Double Latte (2005) to Chaos, Desire & A Kick-Ass Cupcake (2017), including Passion, Betrayal And Killer Highlights (2006). Subjects include San Francisco, women private investigators and romantic suspense.

Lisa Jackson

189 books• 27 series

Lisa Jackson, born Susan Lisa Jackson in 1952, is an American author of romance and romantic suspense novels, with more than 75 to that name. The catalogue holds 189 Lisa Jackson books, from A Twist of Fate (1983) to Not What It Seems (2026). Subjects across the list include serial murders, women detectives, Montana and contemporary romance. Jackson's series include Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli, McCaffertys, Cahills / San Francisco, Savannah and the Dark Jewels Trilogy, plus a historical trilogy issued as Susan Lynn Crose. New Jackson titles continue to appear.

Historical romance and FBI suspense make up Catherine Coulter's two main bodies of work. Regency and medieval romances such as the Sherbrooke Brides and Medieval Song sequences date back to the 1979 debut The Rebel Bride, while the FBI Thriller series and A Brit in the FBI follow government investigator Dillon Savich. Coulter's catalogue runs to 95 books, reaching The Heir of Whitestone in 2026.

Debbie Macomber

245 books• 35 series

Debbie Macomber, born October 22, 1948, is an American author of romance novels and contemporary women's fiction. Six Macomber novels became made-for-TV movies, and the Cedar Cove novels became a television series of the same name, with Macomber serving as executive producer on the adaptations. Macomber won the first fan-voted Quill Award for romance in 2005 and holds a RITA Award and a lifetime achievement award from the Romance Writers of America. The catalogue counts 245 books between Starlight (1983) and A Date with Santa (2026). Series include Heart of Texas, Midnight Sons, Navy, Those Manning Men, Orchard Valley and Angels Everywhere.

Robert Dugoni writes legal thrillers and murder investigations, with 33 books in the catalogue from The Cyanide Canary (2004) to One Split Second (2026). Dugoni's series are Tracy Crosswhite, David Sloane, Charles Jenkins and Keera Duggan, alongside standalone novels and non-fiction. My Sister's Grave (2014) and Her Final Breath (2015) are among the listed titles. Subject tags point to Seattle and San Francisco, lawyers, conspiracies, women detectives and fathers and sons.

Contemporary romance is the territory of Jill Shalvis, an American novelist whose work includes the Lucky Harbor books. The catalogue records 140 books, opening with Summer of Fire in 1996 and extending to Falling into You in 2026. Heartbreaker Bay, Wildstone, Animal Magnetism, Sunrise Cove, Cedar Ridge and Sky High Air are among the series. Firefighters, bush pilots, sisters, California and Washington state appear in the subject tags, and Shalvis is still publishing.

Brian Freeman's catalogue holds 31 books, starting with Immoral (2005) and running to Where the Road Ends (2026). Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton are recurring characters, and further series include Cab Bolton and Tess Drake. Police procedurals, missing persons, murder investigations and Minnesota are among the subjects. Stripped (2006), Stalked (2007), The Burying Place (2009) and The Cold Nowhere (2013) are other listed titles, and Freeman is still publishing.

Lee Goldberg

87 books• 12 series

Lee Goldberg is an American author, screenwriter, producer and publisher, with television crime work that includes Diagnosis: Murder, Monk, The Glades and SeaQuest. Lost Hills and True Fiction are bestselling Goldberg novels. The catalogue carries 88 books from 1990 to 2027, beginning with Unsold TV Pilots: The Greatest Shows You Never Saw (1990) and later Successful Television Writing (2003). Fiction series include Monk, Diagnosis Murder, Eve Ronin, Ian Ludlow Thrillers, Sharpe & Walker, Charlie Willis and Crown Vic. Split Screen appeared in 2026 and The Invisible Architect is due in 2027.

Legal and political thrillers make up Richard North Patterson's catalogue - lawyers, murder trials, presidential candidates and terrorism. The Lasko Tangent (1979) opens the list, and Degree of Guilt (1992) and Eyes of a Child (1995) belong to the Christopher Paget run. Kerry Kilcannon and Tony Lord head the other series. Twenty-four titles are catalogued, the last of them Trial in 2023.

Barbara Freethy is a California-born, #1 New York Times bestselling American author of women's fiction, contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Freethy has won the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award twice, sold more than 5 million books and placed 18 titles on the New York Times list, and Amazon named Freethy its KDP Bestselling Author of All Time in 2014. The catalogue holds 109 books from Promise of Marriage (1990) to Love Me Like You Do (2026), with Whoever She Was due in 2027. Callaways, Off The Grid: FBI, Angel's Bay, River Rock and Mysteries Uncorked are among the series.

Legal thrillers set around criminal defence work make up Sheldon Siegel's catalogue. Special Circumstances (2000) opens the Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez series, followed by Incriminating Evidence, Criminal Intent, Final Verdict and The Confession. The David Gold novels run alongside, and 21 books reach Unfinished Business in 2026.

Andrew Klavan

50 books• 9 series

Andrew Klavan writes crime and psychological suspense, with a young adult strand beside it. Face of the Earth (1980) is his earliest catalogued book, and the Cameron Winter mysteries, the Weiss and Bishop novels, the Homelanders series for teenagers, Mindwar and Another Kingdom follow. Some early titles appeared as Keith Peterson. Fifty books reach Find Me Nowhere in 2026.

James Ponti writes mystery and adventure fiction for readers in grades 3 to 5. The catalogue lists 38 books between 1992 and 2027, starting with Hollywood East: Florida's Fabulous Flicks (1992) and reaching Operation Oz, scheduled for 2027. City Spies, Dead City, the Sherlock Society and the Florian Bates T.O.A.S.T. mysteries are the series recorded. Early entries include junior novelizations, among them Around the World in 80 Days Jr. Novel (2004) and The Santa Clause 3: Escape Clause (2006).