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Series by State

Cozy Mystery Series that Take Place In: CA


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A Quilting Mystery Series

Mary Marks writes the A Quilting Mystery series which started in January 2014 and is set in San Fernando Valley, California. It features Martha Rose, a sassy, sarcastic woman of a certain age and her two quilting friends Lucy and Birdie. In the…

Accessories Mystery Series

This series started in 2011 and is set in San Francisco. It features Rita Jewel who works at her dream job of selling fabulous clothes and accessories to the socialites at Dolce's Boutique.


Amanda Thorne Mystery Series

This series started in 2012 and takes place in Palm Springs, California. It features Amanda Thorne who is recently divorced from her husband and ex business partner. Despite the heat, scorpians and all things desert Amanda is determined to make…

Angelina Amalfi Mystery Series

Joanne Pence writes the Angelina Amalfi Mystery series which started in 1993 and is set in San Francisco, CA. It features Angelina Amalfi, a gourmet chef and food writer with enough sass and spunk for two. Angelina always finds a murder or two to…

Angie & Friends Food & Spirits Series

Joanne Pence writes the Angie & Friends Food & Spirits Series which is set in San Francisco, CA. It features Angelina Amalfi, a gourmet chef and food writer with enough sass and spunk for two. The books also feature story lines with…

Art Lover's Mystery Series

Art-forger-Gone-good Annie Kincaid is an amateur sleuth in San Francisco CA.


Aurora Anderson Mystery Series

Sybil Johnson writes the Aurora Anderson Mystery Series which started in 2014 and is set in California.  It features computer programmer and tole painting enthusiast Aurora (Rory) Anderson.  It also features her adoptive mother, who…

Azalea March Mystery Series

Award winning author Beth Yarnall writes the Azalea March Mystery series which started in March 2014 and is set in Southern California. It features Hairstylist Azalea March and amateur sleuth who finds herself mixed up in more than just a murder…

Benni Harper Mystery Series

Earlene Fowler writes the series Benni Harper Mystery series which started in 1994 and is set in California. It features museum curator and ex-rancher Albenia (Benni) Harper. Young, recently widowed Benni Harper, the foolhardy heroine leaves her…

Bibliophile Mystery Series

This series takes place in San Francisco and started in 2009. It features Brooklyn Wainwright who is a San Francisco bookbinder specializing in rare book restoration.


Blossom Valley Mystery Series

This series started in 2012 and is set in California. It features Dana Lewis who is in charge of marketing at the O'Connell Organic Farm and Spa.


Bread Shop Mystery Series

Winnie Archer (aka Misa Ramirez & Melissa Bourbon) writes the Bread Shop Mystery Series which started in February 2017 and is set in California. It features struggling photographer Ivy Culpepper. She has lots of soul-searching to do since…

California Bookshop Mystery Series

Samara Yew writes the California Bookshop Mystery Series which started in October 2023 and is set in California.  It features Scarlett Gardner who moved to southern CA to be close to her boyfriend where she opened the Palm…

Carpenter & Quincannon Mystery Series

Marcia Muller writes the Carpenter & Quincannon Mystery Series which started in January 2013 and takes place in San Francisco. It is a lighthearted historical mysteries set in 1890s San Francisco. It features former Pinkerton operative Sabina…

Cats and Curios Mystery Series

This series takes place in San Francisco and started in 2008. It features Rebecca. Her Uncle Oscar is found dead and she inherits his antique shop. Along with her two cats she solves murders.


Cece Barton Mystery Series

Maddie Day writes the Cece Barton Mystery Series which started in October 2023 and is set in California.  It features Cece Barton who is the manager of Vino y Vida Wine Bar.  She is recently widowed and a single mom who solves…

Chocolate Whisperer Mystery Series

Colette London writes the Chocolate Whisperer Mystery series which started in January 2015 and is set in California. It features Chocolate Whisperer Hayden Mundy Moore. Hayden Mundy Moore has bushwhacked through African jungles and haggled in…

Cookbook Nook Mystery Series

Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Ames writes the Cookbook Nook Mystery series which started in July 2013 and takes place in California. It features Jenna Hart who is an avid reader, admitted foodie, and owner of a cookbook store in picturesque coastal…

Crochet Mystery Series

Betty writes the Crochet Mystery started in 2008 and is set in California. It features Molly Pink. Her husband recently died from a heart attack and she is forced to sell her half of the business. She now works as an events coordinator for Shedd…

Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery Series

Lauren Elliott writes the Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery Series which started in November 2022 and is set in California.  Even with her life in ruins in New Mexico, Shay feels uneasy about settling into the small seaside town where she…

Cypress Cove Mystery Series

Carlene O'Neil writes the Cypress Cove Mystery series which started in May 2015 and is set in California. It features ex-photojournalist Penny Lively. Penny leaves big city life and returns to her hometown after inheriting the family winery from…

Desert Cities Mystery Series

Anna Celeste Burke writes the Desert Cities Mystery series which started in December 2013 and is set in Palm Springs, California. It features recently divorced Jessica Huntington. Jessica is hiding out from her own well-planned life, now in…

Desert Flowers Mystery Series

Lee Hollis writes the Desert Flowers Mystery Series which is set in Palm Springs, California. It features Poppy Harmon who goes from complacent retiree to penniless widow in a matter of weeks. The idea of spending her golden years as the biggest…

Destination Wedding Mystery Series

Marla Cooper writes the Destination Wedding Mystery series which is set in California but each book travels to a special destination. This series starts in March 2016. It features wedding planner Kelsey McKenna. In the first book she has planned…

Destiny Bay Mystery Series

J.D. Winters writes the Destiny Bay Mystery series which started in 2014 and is set in California. It features Hawaiian girl Mele Keahi who moves from Los Angeles to Destiny Bay, CA after she loses her job and her boyfriend. Mele and her aunt can…

Ellen Sparks Mystery Series

Karen Fields writes the Ellen Sparks Mystery series which started in 2014 and is set in California. It features thirty-five year Ellen Sparks. She is the Director of Employee Relations at a Carlsbad, California bio-genetics firm, and is…

Enchanted Garden Mystery Series

Bailey Cattrell (aka Bailey Cates and Cricket McRae) writes the Enchanted Garden Mystery series which started in January 2016 and is set in California. It features custom perfume maker Elliana Allbright... The Enchanted Garden behind Elliana…

Fairy Garden Mystery Series

Daryl Wood Gerber  writes the Fairy Garden Mystery Series which is set in California and started in June 2020. Since childhood, Courtney has loved fairies. After her mother died when Courtney was ten, she lost touch with that feeling of magic. A…

Faith Chapel Mystery Series

Laura Jensen Walker writes the Faith Chapel Mystery series which started in June 2021 and is set in California.  Hope Taylor arrives in Apple Springs to start her new life as the first female pastor of Faith Chapel Episcopal Church.…

Finn Family Farm Mystery Series

Elle Brooke White writes the Finn Family Farm Mystery Series which started in April 2020.  It features Reluctant farmer Charlotte Finn. Charlotte Finn never wanted to inherit the…