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
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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...
Palisades Park
Brennert, Alan.
Paper Book
Bestseller Alan Brennert's spellbinding story about a family of dreamers and their lives within the legendary Palisades Amusement Park Growing up in the 1930s, there is no more magical place than Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey--especially for seven-year-old Antoinette, who...
The bay at midnight /
Chamberlain, Diane,
Audiobook
Her family's cottage on the New Jersey shore was a place of freedom and innocence for Julie Bauer-until her seventeen-year-old sister, Isabel, was murdered.It's been more than forty years since that August night, but Julie's memories of her sister's death still shape her world. Now someone from her...
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
NOW THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES EL INOCENTE! The bestselling author and creator of the hit Netflix drama The Stranger takes readers on an electrifying ride in this thriller that peeks behind the white picket fences of suburbia--where one mistake can change your life forever....
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...
All the summer girls /
Donohue, Meg
Paper Book
All the Summer Girls by Meg Donohue is a riveting coming-of-age tale set on the New Jersey shore. Donohue, the author of the bestselling novel How to Eat a Cupcake, is a master of literary fiction; her skill is demonstrated in this charming and moving second novel. Set among the sunsets...
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
The dynamite blockbusterfrom Janet Evanovichthat started it all--now a major motion picture starring Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum! ONE FINE MESS Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big...
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...
The glow :
Gaynor, Jessie,
Paper Book
A desperate young publicist tries to save her career by turning the charismatic leader of a grungy retreat center into the hot new self-care brand in this "wryly funny [and] fabulous debut novel" (The New York Times Book Review). "A satire both cutting and careful in...
Death of a dancing queen /
Giarratano, Kimberly G.,
Paper Book
Veronica Mars meets Serial in this detective novel, where a female Jewish P.I finds herself involved in a deadly gang war while looking for a murder suspect... Crimereads Most Anticipated Crime Fiction 2023, Hey Alma's 23 Jewish Books in 23 Selection,...
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...
Within arm's reach :
Napolitano, Ann.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The tender and perceptive debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful, about three generations of a large Catholic family jarred into crisis by an unexpected pregnancy "This stunning . . . exquisite, skillfully...
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...
Trouble in Queenstown /
Pitts, Delia C.,
Paper Book
The Shamus Award Winner for Best Hardcover PI Novel A Nero Award Finalist for Best American Mystery With Trouble in Queenstown, Delia Pitts introduces private investigator Vandy Myrick in a powerful mystery that blends grief, class, race, and...
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...
Wish you were gone
Scott, Kieran
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Lisa Jewell, this "captivating thriller full of twists and surprises" (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author)--about what happens when the death of a husband and father isn't the tragedy everyone believes--is perfect for fans...
Midnight on Beacon Street :
Verona, Emily Ruth,
Paper Book
"Midnight on Beacon Street is a lot of things. It's a taut thriller about a babysitter and two kids surviving one weird night. It's a celebration of classic horror movies. It's a creepy narrative that involves a ghost and late night home break-ins. And, most important, it's a lot of fun. . ....
Our little world : a novel
Winn, Karen
Paper Book
July, 1985. It's a normal, sweltering New Jersey summer for soon-to-be seventh grader Bee Kocsis. Her thoughts center only on sunny days spent at Deer Chase Lake, evenings chasing fireflies around her cul-de-sac with the neighborhood kids. But when Max's little sister Sally goes missing at the lake,...
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...
Open and shut
Rosenfelt, David.
Paper Book
Edgar-award nominated author David Rosenfelt's hilarious hero, Andy Carpenter, takes on a high-profile murder case, with his favorite golden retriever, Tara, by his side--now with a new cover look. Whether dueling with new forensics or the local old boys' network, irreverent...
I heard that song before
Clark, Mary Higgins.
Paper Book
In a riveting psychological thriller, Mary Higgins Clark takes the reader deep into the mysteries of the human mind, where memories may be the most dangerous things of all. Kay Lansing, who has grown up in Englewood, New Jersey, is the daughter of the landscaper to the wealthy...
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
Late September 1957. Henry and Effie, very young newlyweds from Georgia, arrive in Cape May, New Jersey, for their honeymoon and find the town deserted. Feeling shy and isolated, they decide to cut the trip short. But before they leave, they meet a glamorous set of people who sweep them up into...
Line of sight /
Queally, James
Paper Book
"AN AMAZING FIRST NOVEL." --MICHAEL CONNELLYThe debut novel from award-winning crime reporter James QueallyAll 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...
Fly by night
O'Connor, Tara,
Paper Book
In this enviromental thriller graphic novel with a supernatural twist, Dee must find out what happened to her missing twin. An amazing mystery filled with strange creatures, high school drama, and family, this darkly illustrated book shows us that monsters are all around us. ...
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
Rosenfelt, David
CD
In Dogged Pursuit, David Rosenfelt takes listeners 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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