It (Didn't) Happen In New Jersey: Fiction Featuring the Garden State

For those who love to read about their home state! Here is a list of fiction books at SCLS set in New Jersey.

Updated April 21, 2026
S
Sussex County Library System (NJ) Sussex County Library System (NJ)
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It (Didn't) Happen In New Jersey: Fiction Featuring the Garden State

For those who love to read about their home state! Here is a list of fiction books at SCLS set in New Jersey.

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In the unlikely event
Blume, Judy.
Paper Book
In her highly anticipated new novel, Judy Blume, the New York Times # 1 best-selling author of Summer Sisters and of young adult classics such as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, creates a richly textured and moving story of three generations of families, friends and...
The bay at midnight /
Chamberlain, Diane,
Paper Book
The Bay at Midnight by Diane Chamberlain released on Jan 25, 2005 is available now for purchase.
Caught
Coben, Harlan
Paper Book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense comes a fast-paced, emotion-packed novel about guilt, grief, and our capacity to forgive 17-year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to...
The innocent /
Coben, Harlan,
Paper Book
An electrifying thrill-ride of a novel that peeks behind the white picket fences of suburbia, The Innocent is at once a twisting, turning, emotionally-charged story, and a compelling tale of the choices people make and the repercussions that remain.
The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey
Dahl, Astrid
Paper Book
A propulsive page-turning thriller following the hit reality TV show Garden State Goddesses where secrets are uncovered, intense rivalries surface, and a startling murder propels a producer on a riveting quest for the truth. On this season of Garden State Goddesses<...
Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian love story :
DeFino, Terri-Lynne
Paper Book
"Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story is fun and funny, wonderfully exuberant, and incredibly wise. These endearing characters--their voices and stories-- will be with me for a long time to come. I didn't want to say good-bye." -Jill McCorkle, New York Times bestselling author...
Rock the boat :
Dorey-Stein, Beck,
Paper Book
"[A] witty, heartfelt debut novel about a belated coming-of-age."--The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) Old friends discover how much has changed (and how much has stayed the same) when they reunite in their seaside hometown for one unforgettable summer--from the...
One for the money
Evanovich, Janet.
Paper Book
Trenton native Stephanie Plum is out of work, out of money, and out of luck. So she blackmails her bail bondsman cousin, Vinnie, into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. He's also the...
Let me be Frank with you /
Ford, Richard,
Paper Book
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize A brilliant new work that returns Richard Ford to the hallowed territory that sealed his reputation as an American master: the world of Frank Bascombe, and the landscape of his celebrated novels The Sportswriter, the Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner winning...
Murder at St. Winifred's Academy
Griffo, J. D.
Paper Book
Tranquility, New Jersey's amateur drama troupe is staging a murder mystery at St. Winifred's Academy and Alberta Scaglione couldn't be more thrilled. Even her Italian-American famiglia are getting in on the act. But someone's making deadly revisions to the script... Alberta can hardly...
Our narrow hiding places :
Jansma, Kristopher.
Paper Book
An elderly woman recounts her Dutch family's survival during the final years of Nazi occupation, shedding new light on old secrets that rippled through subsequent generations.  Eighty-year-old Mieke Geborn's life is one of quiet routine. Widowed for many years, she enjoys the view...
The cemetery keeper's wife /
McFadden, Maryann.
Paper Book
What happens when the line between the past and the present begins to blur... Rachel Miller is on the cusp of a new life when she moves to Union Cemetery after marrying Adam, the 7th generation cemetery keeper. Though she's known him only twelve weeks, his tender love seems like a miracle...
Tracy Flick can't win
Perrotta, Tom
Paper Book
Tracy Flick is back and, once again, the iconic protagonist of Tom Perrotta's Election--and Reese Witherspoon's character from the classic movie adaptation--is determined to take high school politics by storm. Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school...
Middle of the night :
Sager, Riley,
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend--and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines...
Dog day afternoon /
Rosenfelt, David.
Paper Book
Paterson, New Jersey's favorite reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter returns in Dog Day Afternoon, the next mystery in this fan favorite series from National Bestselling Author David Rosenfelt. Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter has run the Tara Foundation--the dog rescue...
I heard that song before
Clark, Mary Higgins.
Paper Book
This #1 New York Times bestseller by America's Queen of Suspense is a riveting thriller about a young woman whose wealthy, sleepwalking husband may have murdered his first wife--and could be planning to murder her.
Unsheltered :
Kingsolver, Barbara
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, O: The Oprah Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek "Kingsolver brilliantly captures both the price of profound change and how it can pave the way not only for future...
Cape May
Cheek, Chip
Paper Book
"Inside this mesmerizing tale of sexual desire and discovery, naive newlyweds Henry and Effie are honeymooning in Cape May, N.J., in 1957, tentatively navigating intimacy. Then they meet Clara and Max, hard-partying lovers who dazzle the innocent pair until they've lost more than their...
Line of Sight [Large Print]
Queally, James
Paper Book
All favors come with a cost, and after using what little favors he has in the Newark PD to get his private investigators license, former crime reporter Russell Avery finds himself paying.
The shore :
Runde, Katie,
Paper Book
A mother and her two daughters spend a summer grappling with heartbreak, young love, and the weight of secrets in this "deeply felt family saga" (Entertainment Weekly) hailed as "one of the best beach reads of all time" (Today). Brian and Margot Dunne live year...
The night shift /
Finlay, Alex,
Paper Book
" From the author of the breakout thriller Every Last Fear, comes Alex Finlay's electrifying next novel The Night Shift, about a pair of small-town murders fifteen years apart--and the ties that bind them. "The night was expected to bring...
Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian love story : a novel
DeFino, Terri-Lynne
Paper Book
"Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story is fun and funny, wonderfully exuberant, and incredibly wise. These endearing characters--their voices and stories-- will be with me for a long time to come. I didn't want to say good-bye." -Jill McCorkle, New York Times bestselling author...
Hidden pictures
Rekulak, Jason
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · OPTIONED FOR NETFLIX BY A PRODUCER OF THE BATMAN GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER "I loved it." --Stephen King From Edgar Award-finalist Jason Rekulak comes a wildly inventive spin on the...
Dogged Pursuit: An Andy Carpenter Mystery
Rosenfelt, David
Paper Book
In Dogged Pursuit, David Rosenfelt takes readers back to the start of this beloved series as Andy Carpenter begins his career as a defense attorney in Paterson, New Jersey. Andy Carpenter has spent the three years since graduating law school working as a prosecutor in...
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