Small town book series in reading order

by Sherryl Woods

by Lilian Jackson Braun

by Susan Mallery

Sherryl Woods is an American writer of romance and mystery, born July 23, 1944, in Arlington, Virginia, who has also used the pen names Alexandra Kirk and Suzanne Sherrill. The Chesapeake Shores novels became a six-season Hallmark Channel series, and Netflix's Sweet Magnolias is based on Woods' books, with Woods as an executive producer. The catalogue lists 157 titles from Restoring Love (1982) to Starlit Secrets (2024). Other named series include Calamity Janes, Devaney Brothers and the Amanda Roberts and Molly DeWitt mysteries.

Needlework is the organising idea of Monica Ferris's cozy mysteries, in which Betsy Devonshire runs a small-town needlecraft shop and keeps finding murders. Crewel World (1999) opens the series, followed by Framed in Lace, A Stitch in Time, Unraveled Sleeve, A Murderous Yarn and Cutwork. Nineteen books make up the run, which ends at Knit Your Own Murder in 2016, at a median of 268 pages.

Lori Wilde is the current pen name of Laurie Blalock Vanzura, a Texas-born American writer of contemporary romance who first published as Laura Anthony. The catalogue counts 156 books from Look Alike Bride (1997), issued as Laura Anthony, to A Perfect Christmas Night (2025). Twilight, Texas, Cupid, Texas, Kringle, Texas, Texas Rascals and Moonglow Cove are among the series. Small towns, Christmas, cowboys and Texas recur in the subject tags.

RaeAnne Thayne has 87 books in the catalogue, from The Mating Game / Endangered (1996) to Cozy Little Christmas (2026), with subject headings centred on contemporary romance, small towns, ranchers, cowboys and single parents. Series include Hope's Crossing, Haven Point, Cape Sanctuary, Women Of Brambleberry House, Searchers, Outlaw Hartes, Redhawks and Dugan/Riley, and Cowboys of Cold Creek is a listed grouping. Wild Streak (1996), Sweet Justice (1998), Saving Grace (2000) and Renegade Father (2001) are early titles. Suspense also appears among the subjects.

Lilian Jackson Braun wrote the Cat Who mysteries, in which the journalist Jim Qwilleran solves crimes alongside his Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. 32 catalogued books span 1966 to 2007, among them The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern (1967), The Cat Who Turned On And Off (1968), The Cat Who Saw Red (1986), The Cat Who Played Brahms (1987) and The Cat Who Played Post Office (1987). The last catalogued title is The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, and short stories sit alongside the novels.

Susan Mallery is an American romance novelist born in 1970, whose books are set in small, tight-knit communities and give pets a prominent role. The catalogue counts 201 books from Tender Loving Care (1991) onward, including early titles published as Susan Macias. Series include Fool's Gold, Desert Rogues, Hometown Heartbreakers, Happily Inc., Marcelli, Buchanans, Blackberry Island and Mischief Bay. The Bookstore Diaries (2026) is the newest release, and Friend Request is due in 2027.

Gena Showalter is an American novelist, born in Oklahoma in 1975, who writes contemporary romance, paranormal romance and young adult fiction. Showalter sold a first book at age 27 and has reached the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. The catalogue lists 116 books from The Stone Prince (2004) to The Kraken Bride (2026). Lords of the Underworld, Alien Huntress, Angels of the Dark and the White Rabbit Chronicles are among the linked series, and vampires and demonology recur in the subject headings.

Jaci Burton is an Oklahoma-based romance author who came to writing after years in the business world. The subject tags list erotic romance, contemporary romance, small towns, baseball players and football players. The catalogue holds 110 books from Mesmerized (2003) to Designs on You (2024). Play by Play, Wild Riders, Demon Hunters, Kismet, Holloway, Boots and Bouquets and Kent Brothers are among the series.

Lucy Score has 45 books in the catalogue, starting with Pretend You're Mine (2015) and running to The Heist Before Christmas (2026), with Just One More Chapter due in 2027. The subject headings place the work in contemporary romance. Score's series include Blue Moon, Bootleg Springs, Riley Thorn, Benevolence, Knockemout, Story Lake and Sinner and Saint, alongside standalone novels and shorter fiction.

Death by Coffee (2015) opens Alex Erickson's Bookstore Cafe Mysteries, cozy whodunits built around a bookshop and a coffee house. Twenty-one catalogued books run to Death by Red Velvet Latte in 2026, with the Furever Pets Mysteries and the Cat Yoga Mysteries alongside. Small towns, rescued animals and murder investigations supply the material.

Sheila Roberts writes contemporary romance and women's fiction, with Christmas and holidays among the subject headings. The catalogue counts 51 titles from On Strike for Christmas (2007) to Have Yourself a Merry Little Meltdown (2026). Life in Icicle Falls, Moonlight Harbor, Heart Lake and Holly are named series, and Bikini Season (2008), Angel Lane (2009) and The Snow Globe (2010) sit early in the run. Female friendship and widowers appear among the subject headings.

Ann Napolitano is an American novelist whose four catalogued books work in family saga: Irish American households, conflicts between generations, small-town Georgia, the figure of Flannery O'Connor. The run opens with Within Arm's Reach (2004) and reaches Hello Beautiful (2023), with A Good Hard Look (2011) and Dear Edward (2020) in between. Roughly six years separate one Napolitano novel from the next, and nothing has been catalogued since 2023.

Megan Crane, born around 1973, is an American novelist who also writes as Caitlin Crews and is one half of Hazel Beck, a byline for upmarket paranormal women's fiction. The catalogue holds 41 books from English as a Second Language (2004) to The Cowboy's Pretend Bride (2026), including Everyone Else's Girl (2005), Frenemies (2007) and Names My Sisters Call Me (2008). Subjects include romantic suspense, veterans, sisters, small towns and humour. Series include Alaska Force, Careys of Cowboy Point, Greys of Montana, Devil's Keepers, Fortunes of Lost Lake and Bloodlore. Katherine Garbera, Kathleen O'Brien and Joanne Walsh each share the credit on 1 book.