Tennessee book series in reading order

by Alex Bledsoe

Paula Graves writes romantic suspense, with catalogue subjects that list Tennessee, North Carolina, government investigators, police and serial murder. The 41 books run from Forbidden Territory (2006) to Operation Nanny (2017). Series credited to Graves include Cooper Justice, Cooper Security, Bitterwood P.D., Gates, Campbell Cove Academy and Brody & Hannigan Mysteries. Cowboy Alibi (2008), Bachelor Sheriff (2010) and Code Name: Willow (2011) are among the earlier titles.

Beverly Barton was the pen name of Beverly Marie Beaver, née Inman (December 23, 1946 – April 21, 2011), an American author of romantic suspense. Barton wrote more than thirty contemporary romance novels and created The Protectors series for Silhouette's Intimate Moments lines. Yankee Lover, the first book, came out from Silhouette Desire in July 1990. Series in the catalogue include Griffin Powell, Raintree, Cherokee Pointe Trilogy and 3 Babies For 3 Brothers. Serial murder investigations, bodyguards and Tennessee are recurring subjects, and the listing carries titles dated as late as Poisoned (2018).

Sharyn McCrumb

35 books• 9 series

Appalachian history and folklore run through Sharyn McCrumb's fiction. Born in 1948, McCrumb is an American novelist whose Ballad series is set in the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains; the Elizabeth MacPherson books are mysteries, and the St. Dale series takes NASCAR as its subject. The catalogue holds 35 titles published between 1984 and 2017, from Sick of Shadows to Old Land, Dark Land, Strange Land. Forensic anthropology, murder investigation and mountain life recur as subjects.

William Elbert Gay (1941-2012) was an American novelist who also wrote short stories and essays. The catalogue lists 11 Gay titles, from The Long Home (1999) and Provinces of Night (2000) to Stories from the Attic (2022). I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down (2002), Twilight (2006) and Little Sister Death (2015) are among them. Subject headings include Tennessee, brothers, fathers and sons, carpenters, domestic fiction and single-author short stories.

Cormac McCarthy

17 books• 3 series

Cormac McCarthy's fiction moves from Tennessee to the ranch country of the American West, with fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, and psychological pressure as its material. The Orchard Keeper (1965) opens the catalogue, followed by Outer Dark (1968), Child of God (1973), Suttree (1979), Blood Meridian (1985), All the Pretty Horses (1992) and The Crossing (1994). Plays and screenplays are catalogued beside the novels, and the listing reaches a graphic novel adaptation of The Road in 2024.

Forensic anthropology is Jefferson Bass's material: the Body Farm novels put Bill Brockton, a forensic anthropologist in Tennessee, onto criminal cases. The catalogue holds 16 titles, from Human Osteology (1971) and Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Body Farm (2003) to the novels Carved in Bone (2006), The Devil's Bones (2008), The Bone Thief (2010) and Without Mercy. The catalogue is listed as likely complete.

Diane Fanning, born 21 June 1950, is an American crime writer working in both non-fiction and mystery fiction. Case studies of murder and serial murderers sit in the catalogue beside the Lucinda Pierce and Libby Clark mystery series. The listing holds 30 books published between 2000 and 2019, from The Windwalkers (2000) to Death on the River (2019). Subjects also record investigation, women sleuths, Tennessee and the Second World War.

Lin Stepp writes romance set in the Smoky Mountains. 24 catalogued books run from The Foster Girls (2009) to Wildflower Haven (2026). Mountain Home carries the Tennessee and North Carolina stories, among them Tell Me about Orchard Hollow (2010), Delia's Place (2012) and Saving Laurel Springs (2015); Edisto and Lighthouse Sisters are the other two series. Widows, single mothers, foster children and changes of life run through the subjects.

Richard Yancey

16 books• 6 series

Richard Yancey, born John Richard Yancey on 4 November 1962, is an American writer of young adult suspense, fantasy and science fiction. The Alfred Kropp, Monstrumologist and 5th Wave series are the best known of that work, and The 5th Wave became a feature film in 2016. The catalogue also lists the Teddy Ruzak series, with subjects including private investigators, Tennessee, monsters and extraterrestrials. The 16 catalogued books run from A Burning in Homeland (2003) to The Last Star (2016), and include The Highly Effective Detective (2006) and The Monstrumologist (2009).

Christian historical romance is Tamera Alexander's form, with frontier and pioneer life, Colorado settings and widows among the subjects. Rekindled (2006) opens the Fountain Creek Chronicles, and Timber Ridge Reflections follows. The Belmont Mansion, Belle Meade Plantation and Carnton series come later. Nineteen titles are catalogued, reaching In These Hills in 2026.

Donna VanLiere writes Christian fiction, the Christmas Hope series among it: The Christmas Shoes (2001), The Christmas Blessing (2003), The Christmas Hope (2005) and The Christmas Promise (2007). Nineteen titles are catalogued from Sheltering Trees (2001) to Daniel's Final Week (2022), with an End Times series also on the list. Tennessee, married people, friendship and family secrets fill the subject tags. No newer title is dated.

Craft shops and bookshops supply the settings for Molly MacRae's mysteries. MacRae's 17 catalogued books run from Wilder Rumors (2007) to All Shell Breaks Loose (2026) across four series: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery, Highland Bookshop Mystery, A Haunted Shell Shop Mystery and Margaret & Bitsy. Knitters, booksellers and women sleuths investigate murders, with Tennessee among the settings. MacRae continues to publish.

James Sallis, who lived from 1944 to 2026, was an American crime writer, poet, science fiction writer and biographer. The Lew Griffin novels, set in New Orleans, follow a detective through a series that opens with The Long-Legged Fly (1992); Drive, published in 2005, became a film of the same name in 2011. Sallis also wrote about music, starting the catalogue with The Guitar Players: One Instrument and Its Masters in American Music (1982). Thirty-eight titles are catalogued in all.

Joanne Rock writes contemporary and historical romance, with billionaires, knights and the Middle Ages among the subjects. The 98 catalogued books span 2002 to 2026, from Learning Curves, In Hot Pursuit and Wild and Willing in 2002 to The Last Book Club. Joanne Rock's series include Murphy Brothers, McNeill Magnates, Dynasties: Mesa Falls, Single in South Beach, Kingsland Ranch and Brooklyn Nights.

Lena Diaz writes romantic suspense, with police procedurals, SWAT units, private investigators and Tennessee among the subjects. The catalogue lists 38 books from He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not (2011) to The Lawman's Deadly Bargain (2026). Series include Tennessee Cold Case, Tennessee SWAT, Deadly Games, Marshland Justice, Mighty McKenzies, EXIT Inc. and Mystic Lake Mystery. Simon Says Die (2012) and Tennessee Takedown (2014) are among the earlier titles.

Pamela Morsi (1951-2024) wrote romance, historical and contemporary. The catalogue lists 31 books dated 1990 to 2020, at a median of 378 pages, with the 1990s the heaviest decade: Courting Miss Hattie (1991), Garters (1992), Wild Oats (1993), Marrying Stone (1994) and Simple Jess (1996). Six series are named, among them Small Town Swains, Marrying Stone, Territory Trysts and That Business Between Us. Texas settings, married women, widows and mothers and daughters recur as subjects.

David Johnson has 29 books in this catalogue, published between 2012 and 2026. Navigating the Passages of Marriage (2012) and Where Is God When I Can't Find Him? (2013) open the listing, and the fiction that follows takes in An Unexpected Frost (2014), April's Rain (2014), Tucker's Way (2014), Toby (2016), The Woodcutter's Wife (2017) and Ransom's Law (2018), through to Ransomed Heart (2026). Tucker, Ransom and Wit and Wisdom are the three series recorded. Subjects cover Tennessee, missing persons, and women, abuse and breast cancer.

Sword and sorcery and urban fantasy with hard-boiled leads and noir themes are Alex Bledsoe's trademark. Bledsoe, an American writer born on February 3, 1963, writes 5 series: Eddie LaCrosse, Tufa, Rudolfo Zginski, Red Reaper and Witch Tales. The Sword-Edged Blonde (2007) is the earliest title, followed by Blood Groove and Burn Me Deadly (2009) and The Hum and the Shiver (2011). Subjects across the catalogue include private investigators, magic, vampires, musicians and Tennessee. Bledsoe's catalogue holds 21 books up to Dandelion (2022).

De'nesha Diamond writes urban fiction, with African American women and street lit among the subjects, and has 12 books from 2010 to 2021. The series are Divas and Parker Crime. Heist (2010) is the first title, and Hustlin' Divas (2010), Street Divas (2011) and Gangsta Divas (2012) follow. Subjects also include sisters, female gang members, revenge, political corruption and Tennessee. Justified (2021) is the newest book.