San Francisco (Calif.) book series in reading order

by Marcia Muller

by James Patterson

by Stephen Greenleaf

by John Lescroart

by Jerry Kennealy

by D.W. Buffa

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.

Joe Gores

21 books• 1 series

Joe Gores (1931-2011) was an American mystery writer. The DKA File novels and stories follow Daniel Kearny Associates, a San Francisco firm that repossesses cars, and draw on the author's own work as a private eye and repo man. Hammett (1975) became a film in 1982, and Spade & Archer (2009) is a prequel to Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon. A Time of Predators (1969) and Come Morning (1986) are among the works tied to the Edgar Award. The catalogue holds 21 Gores books.

Stephen Greenleaf is the author of the John Marshall Tanner series. The catalogue lists 18 books from 1979 to 2012, with hard-boiled mystery, private investigators, San Francisco and trials among the subjects. Grave Error (1979) opens the list, with Death Bed (1980), State's Evidence (1982) and Fatal Obsession (1983) next. Beyond Blame and The Ditto List arrived in 1985, and Toll Call in 1987. R&R (2012) is the final listed title, and the catalogue is likely complete.

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.

Four sleuths carry the mysteries of Susan Dunlap: Vejay Haskell, Jill Smith, Kiernan O'Shaughnessy and Darcy Lott, each heading a series. Born in 1943, Dunlap has also edited crime fiction and written short stories for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and Checkout took both the Macavity and the Anthony Award in 1994. The catalogue lists 30 books from Karma (1981) to Out of Nowhere (2016), at a median of 247 pages, with California policing and San Francisco among the standing subjects.

Private investigator Nick Polo is the lead of Jerry Kennealy's main series, which opens with Polo Solo (1987). Kennealy has 25 catalogued books from 1987 to 2020, closing with I'm Dying As Fast As I Can (2020). Polo Anyone?, Polo's Ponies and Vintage Polo belong to the Polo run, and the Carroll Quint and Johnny O'Rorke series sit alongside the Polo books. The catalogue files the work under mystery, thrillers and action, with San Francisco among the subjects.

Rebecca M. Hale has 12 catalogued books from 2008 to 2016, spread across the Cats and Curios Mystery, Mystery in the Islands and Quirky Tales from the Caribbean series. How to Wash a Cat (2008) is the first title, and How to Moon a Cat, How to Tail a Cat and How to Paint a Cat followed. Adrift on St. John, Afoot on St. Croix and Aground on St. Thomas date from 2012 to 2014. Death of a Day-Tripper (2016) is the most recent. Subject tags include cats, San Francisco, the Virgin Islands and women sleuths.

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.

Kristin Billerbeck writes Christian romance with a humorous edge, much of it around San Francisco. Young women, dating and faith supply the subjects across 32 books published between 1997 and 2025, in series including Ashley Stockingdale, the Spa Girls, the Trophy Wives Club, Pacific Avenue and Universally Misunderstood. Strong As The Redwood (1997) opens the catalogue and Under a Neon Moon (2025) is the newest title.

Legal thrillers are the core of D.W. Buffa's 22 books, which begin with The Defense (1997). Joseph Antonelli is the character behind Buffa's main series, and murder trials, attorney and client, San Francisco and Portland are recurring subjects. The Prosecution, The Judgment and The Legacy followed from 1999 to 2002. Buffa also writes the Western Quartet and the Senator Bobby Hart series, published Rubicon (2008) as Lawrence Alexander, and closes the list with Lunatic Carnival (2023).

Jenn Bennett, born March 1978, is an American novelist writing for both teen and adult readers. Alex, Approximately, Starry Eyes and The Anatomical Shape of a Heart, also published as Night Owls, are named as notable works. The catalogue lists 19 books from Kindling the Moon (2011) to The Summer of Lost Things (2026), including the Arcadia Bell and Roaring Twenties series. Paranormal romance, magic, demonology and San Francisco appear among the subject tags.

Max Byrd's subject headings span private investigators and San Francisco on one side, and presidents, biographical fiction and the Civil War on the other. The catalogue lists 12 books from 1981 to 2020, along with the Mike Haller series. Fly Away, Jill (1981) and California Thriller (1984) are early titles, and Jefferson (1993), Jackson (1997) and Grant (2000) follow. Shooting the Sun (2003) and The Paris Deadline (2012) come later, and Pont Neuf (2020) is the newest.

Neil McMahon, born in 1949, is a novelist and a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford. McMahon wrote two series: the Carroll Monks books, which are Twice Dying (2000), Blood Double (2002), To the Bone (2003) and Revolution No. 9 (2005), and the Hugh Davoren books, Lone Creek (2007) and Dead Silver (2008). McMahon also collaborated with James Patterson on Toys, a New York Times number one bestseller. Three horror novels from the late 1980s, first published under the pseudonym Daniel Rhodes, have been reissued as ebooks. The catalogue adds a third series, Head of Time, and subject headings on medical examiners, physicians, cults and San Francisco.

J.L. Abramo is the author of the Jake Diamond, Private Investigator series and the Gravesend books. Subject headings name private investigators, organized crime, judges, San Francisco and the fictional character Jake Diamond, and include humorous mystery. The 10 catalogued books run from Catching Water in a Net (2001) to Crossing the Chicken (2019). Clutching at Straws (2003), Gravesend (2012), Chasing Charlie Chan (2013), Brooklyn Justice (2016) and Coney Island Avenue (2017) are among them.

Dianne Day was an American writer of mystery and suspense fiction. The catalogue records women sleuths, women detectives, feminists and historical settings in San Francisco and California. Fremont Jones is the recurring character, and the Fremont Jones series accounts for part of the run. Nine books span 1987 to 2002, from Obsidian (1987) to Cut to the Heart (2002), the last of them listed under the name Ava Day. Eight books have a recorded length, at a median of 288 pages.