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...
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
The new bestseller from one of the world’s greatest thriller writers. Innocent starts in the green suburbs of New Jersey and takes us off into the dark heart of the secrets and lies that often hide at the centre of American life. Matt has rebuilt his life after a brawl that left him serving...
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 her car's in repo-hell.So how does a hardly working girl turn to when the going gets tough? Meet cousin Vinnie, bail bondsman. Stephanie figures it's nice work if you can get it -- shagging bail jumpers for $10,000 a pop. So she joins...
Let me be frank with you
Ford, Richard
Paper Book
A quartet of masterful novellas that returns Richard Ford to the territory that sealed his reputation as an American master: the life of Frank Bascombe, hero of his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Independence Day. Richard Ford introduced the world to his protean literary everyman,...
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
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon "Tom Perrotta is...one of the great writers that we have today. I love this book." --Harlan Coben An "engrossing and mordantly funny" (People) novel about ambition, coming-of-age in...
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. . ....
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
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. At the center of her novel is Kay Lansing, who has grown up in Englewood, New Jersey, daughter of the landscaper to the...
Unsheltered
Kingsolver, Barbara.
Paper Book
New York Times bestseller An NPR pick for Best Books of 2018 An O, The Oprah Magazine's Best Book of 2018 A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2018 One of Christian Science Monitor's best fiction reads of 2018 One of Newsweek's Best Books of the year ...
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...
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. One of the Best or Most Anticipated Books of 2022:...
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...
Suburbanistas
Satran, Pamela Redmond.
Paper Book
From the acclaimed author of Younger and Babes in Captivity, a funny and moving novel about friendship, fame, and the fight for one suburb's future! Greetings from New Jersey Stella Powers is an A-list movie star who has just landed an...
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
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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