South Carolina book series in reading order

by Mary Alice Monroe

South Carolina is the setting of Dorothea Benton Frank's novels, among them Porch Lights and By Invitation Only. Frank, an American novelist, lived from September 12, 1951 to September 2, 2019. Frank's 26 catalogued books begin with Sullivan's Island (1999) and end with Reunion Beach (2021). The Lowcountry Tales form the main series, beside standalone novels and a children's title. Subjects on the books include family life, mothers and daughters, plantation life, widows and friendship.

Mary Alice Monroe is an American novelist, born in Evanston, Illinois, on 25 May 1960, and resident in South Carolina. Monroe's fiction draws parallels between nature and human nature: The Beach House and Swimming Lessons both involve injured sea turtles, and Time Is a River follows breast cancer survivors in a North Carolina fly-fishing group. The catalogue holds 33 books from The Long Road Home (1995) to Where the Rivers Merge (2025), with The Rivers' End due in 2027, plus the Beach House, Lowcountry Summer, Islanders and Rivers series. One title appeared under the name Mary Alice Kruesi.

Carolyn G. Hart writes mystery and detective fiction with women sleuths, and the subject records name Annie Laurance Darling, Max Darling and Henrie O as fictitious characters, alongside booksellers and bookselling, women journalists and murder. The catalogue holds 69 books, from The Secret of the Cellars (1964) to Ghost Blows a Kiss (2021), with the 2000s the heaviest decade. Death On Demand, Bailey Ruth, Henrie O and Nela Farley are the lines on record, beside standalone novels, short stories and non-fiction. No new title has been listed since 2021, so the entry is dormant.

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.

Laura Bradford writes mysteries across 6 listed series: Amish Mysteries, Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries, Jenkins & Burns Mysteries, Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, Tobi Tobias and Friend for Hire Mystery. Subject headings name the Amish, sewing, South Carolina, librarians and murder, and romance appears too. The catalogue counts 48 books from Jury of One / Deadly Readings (2005) to The Big Picture (2026). Sew Deadly (2009), Death Threads (2010), Pinned for Murder (2010), Dangerous Alterations (2011) and Deadly Notions (2011) are among the titles, alongside Kayla's Daddy, A Mom for Callie and Miracle Baby from 2010.

Cozy mystery is Leann Sweeney's form, split across the Yellow Rose Mysteries and the Cats In Trouble Mysteries. The 14 catalogued books open with Pick Your Poison (2004) and close with The Cat, the Collector and the Killer (2016). Recurring subjects include cats and cat owners, quiltmakers, South Carolina, missing persons and the private investigator Abby Rose. Nothing has followed 2016.

Fern Michaels was the pen name of Mary Ruth Kuczkir, born Mary Ruth Koval on April 9, 1933, who died on November 12, 2025. The American novelist wrote romance and thrillers, including the Texas quartet, the Captive series, Family Blessings, Pretty Woman and Crown Jewel. Michaels's output passed 200 books with an estimated 150 million copies sold. The catalogue lists 190 titles, from Pride and Passion (1975) to A Season of Secrets (2026). Series include the Sisterhood, Godmothers, Men of the Sisterhood, Lost and Found, Vegas, Kentucky and Twin Lights. Female friendship, vigilantes and revenge appear among the subject tags.

Karen Robards has written historical romance, contemporary romance and romantic suspense across 56 catalogued books. Island Flame (1981) opens the list, followed by Sea Fire (1982), Forbidden Love (1983), Amanda Rose (1984), Dark Torment (1985) and To Love a Man (1985). Dr. Charlotte Stone, the Banning Sisters and Jessica Ford head series inside a catalogue otherwise made of standalone novels. The Moonlight Runner is the newest title, and Robards remains actively publishing.

Robert Whitlow writes Christian legal fiction set in Georgia and South Carolina. The List (2000) opens a catalogue of 24 books that includes the Tides of Truth series, the Alexia Lindale novels and Chosen People, with women lawyers and courtroom cases recurring throughout. Whitlow publishes into 2026 with Witness Protection.

The American South is where Anne Rivers Siddons set her fiction, in novels about families, friendships and the houses and towns that shape both. John Chancellor Makes Me Cry (1975), a memoir, opens the catalogue; The House Next Door (1978) turns to the uncanny, and Peachtree Road (1989) is the Atlanta novel. Twenty-two titles make up the list, closing with The Girls of August in 2014, at a median of 400 pages.

Shelley Noble writes contemporary romance and mystery, much of it set on the shore. Noble's 24 catalogued books span 2012 to 2026, beginning with Beach Colors and reaching The Sisters of Book Row. Female friendship, family life, fathers and daughters, and seaside towns are the recurring subjects. Whisper Beach and Stargazey carry the romance strand; the Lady Dunbridge Mystery series carries the detective strand.

Livia J. Washburn writes mysteries and westerns, with 57 books in the catalogue from The Emerald Land (1983) to Tourist Trap (2024). Some titles appeared under other names: Ghost River (1990) and Red River Ruse (1991) as L.J. Washburn, Crusade: Lyron's Lament (1995) as Livia Reasoner with James Reasoner, and Rivers of Gold (1995) as J.L. Reasoner. Washburn series include Fresh-Baked Mysteries, Lucas Hallam, Delilah Dickinson, Kingfisher P.I., Evans Novel of the West, Palmetto, Tongue-Tied Witch and Our Town. Subjects include baking, murder, women sleuths, Texas, South Carolina and Phyllis Newsom.

Kami Garcia

39 books• 9 series

Kami Garcia, born March 25, 1972, is an American writer of young adult fiction and of graphic novels for DC Comics. Beautiful Creatures (2009) opens the catalogue, followed by Beautiful Darkness (2010), Beautiful Chaos (2011) and Beautiful Redemption (2012). Dream Dark (2011) is also listed, and Teen Titans: Together (2026) is the newest title. Series include Dangerous Creatures, Beautiful Creatures: The Untold Stories, Beautiful Creatures Graphic Novels and Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity. Paranormal fiction, psychic ability, demonology, high schools and orphans appear in the subject tags.

Cathy Gillen Thacker is an American romance novelist. The catalogue lists 153 books published from 1982 to 2025, from Island of Desire to Stand-In Texas Dad. Texas appears among the subjects, alongside cowboys, ranchers, physicians, single fathers and single mothers, and the romance is tagged as both contemporary and western. Family series under the Thacker name include McCabes of Texas, McCabe Multiples, Lockharts of Texas, Deveraux Legacy and Texas Legacies: The Carrigans.

Niobia Bryant is an African-American novelist, born November 24 in Newark, New Jersey, who writes romance and mainstream fiction. Bryant has also written urban and crime fiction as Meesha Mink and young adult fiction as Simone Bryant. The 41 catalogued books begin with Admission Of Love (2000) and reach Breaking Their One Rule (2024). Series include Mistress, Strong Family, Cress Brothers, Hot In Holtsville, Friends & Sins, Dutton Sisters, Pace Academy and Passion Grove, with female friendship, adultery and South Carolina among the subjects.

Mignon F. Ballard, born in 1934, grew up in a small Georgia town and lives in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Ballard writes mysteries with women sleuths in two series, Augusta Goodnight and Miss Dimple Kilpatrick. Guardian angels, elementary school teachers and the Second World War are among the subjects. Aunt Matilda's Ghost (1978) opens a 23-book list that includes An Angel to Die For (2000). No Word for Goodbye (2021) is the last.