Here are some fun New Jersey facts:
The capital is Trenton.
The largest city is Newark.
State motto is “Liberty and Prosperity”
State nickname is Garden State.
State flower is the Violet.
State bird is the Eastern Goldfinch.
State animal is the horse.
Mystery authors who are found on the Cozy Mystery Site who feature New Jersey locations/settings in their books:
Joani Ascher: Wally Ascher Mystery Series
Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey): Jenkins & Burns Mystery Series
Mary Jane Clark : Piper Donovan Wedding Cake Mystery Series
Jeffrey Cohen (ask E. J. Copperman): Double Feature Mystery Series AND Aaron Tucker Mystery Series
E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series
E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Asperberger’s Mystery Series
Peggy Ehrhart: Knit & Nibble Mystery Series AND Maxx Maxwell Mystery Series
Janet Evanovich: Stephanie Plum Mystery Series
Shelley Freydont: Lindy Haggerty Mystery Series
Rosie Genova : Italian Kitchen Mystery Series
Dorothy Gilman: Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series
Robin Hathaway: Dr. Jo Bank Mystery Series
Jane Isenberg: Bel Barrett Mystery Series
Tina Kashian: Kebab Kitchen Mystery Series
Evan Marshall: Jane Stuart & Winky Mystery Series
Jane Rubino: Cat Austen Mystery Series
Beth Sherman: Jersey Shore Mystery Series
Ann Waldron: Princeton Murders Mystery Series
Valerie Wilson Wesley: Tamara Hayle Mystery Series
Lois Winston:Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series
Please feel free to comment if you see an author from the Cozy Mystery Site who belongs on this list, or if you have any corrections.
♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.♦
Misty says
Thanks for the wonderful site! I just wanted to ask if Louisiana had been highlighted yet. It may have been covered before I found this site. Thanks a bunch!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Hi Misty,
I’m glad you enjoy the site. As for Louisiana, I haven’t posted it yet. Here is the page with all of the different state themes that have been posted… (I have bumped Louisiana up the list to follow the other states which have been personally requested…)
Margaret says
Hi Danna, as I keep digging into the site, I get more and more information. I would like to add to the New Jersey list Jane Kelly. I stumbled on her books used. Being on the East Coast I like to stick with books set on the East Coast, esp. places I am familiar with. She has three titles “Killing Time in Ocean City”. “Cape Mayhem” and “Wrong Beach Island”. They are actually very easy reads and quite funny. There is alot of humor in her Books. I believe these are her only three books. When searching for her other works I noticed other Jane Kellys but I believe they are not one in the same.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Margaret, for telling us about Jane Kelly.
Beverly says
Though you are correct that Newark is the largest city in population, Vineland is the largest city in square miles with 69 sq miles.
Judy L. says
I didn’t see Kate Gallison listed. She is from New Jersey and has two series under her name and one as Irene Fleming. I have enjoyed the Nick Margaracz series and Mother Lavinia Grey series very much. They both have many inside insights to life in NJ, so I don’t know whether people outside the state will find them as amusing as people who do. I haven’t come across the Irene Fleming’s yet, so I don’t know what they are like.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Judy L, for telling us about Kate Gallison’s mystery books that are set in New Jersey.
Barbara says
(hate when I start to post and I get dropped off by my server!)
My favorite mystery series was set in NJ, the Cat Austen-Victor Cardenas mysteries by Jane Rubino, set in the Atlantic City, NJ and Ocean City NJ area. Also Bill Kent, Jane Kelly, Chris Grabenstein and Patricia MacDonald set their books down the shore. And of course there is the nonfiction book Boardwalk Empire by Nelson Johnson that is a successful TV series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Barbara, for all of the New Jersey mystery authors.
(I can relate to being dropped every once in a while by my server!)
Bert Kugar says
John Dandola writes a series which takes place during the 1940’s using West Orange, New Jersey, as its home base. Each of the stories takes place in that town or begins and ends in that town. Recurring characters include Thomas Edison’s youngest son, Theodore; New Jersey gangster “Longy” Zwillman; and movie actresses Marjorie Reynolds, Ann Rutherford, and Jeff Donnell since the series protagonist has Hollywood ties. According to the author’s biography, Dandola’s family has lived in West Orange since before the Revolutionary War (before there was an actual town) and during the 1910’s, his grandfather was a personal messenger boy to Thomas Edison, whose home and laboratory are in West Orange.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Bert, thanks for the suggestion, I’ll have to take a look at that one some time.
Cyrus says
Awesome post, thank you for sharing!