Here are some fun North Carolina facts:
The state capital is Raleigh.
The largest city is Charlotte.
State motto is “To Be Rather than to Seem”
State nickname is the Tar Heel State.
State flower is the Flowering Dogwood.
State bird is the Cardinal.
State animal is the Gray Squirrel.
The oldest state university in the USA is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Mystery authors who are found on the Cozy Mystery Site who feature North Carolina locations in their books:
Ellery Adams: Books by the Bay Mystery Series: Olivia Limoges and her Standard Poodle Capt. Haviland are joined by the Bayside Book Writers Club sleuths.
Ellery Adams (aka J.B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & early Lucy Arlington): Secret, Book & Scone Society Mystery Series – Nora Pennington owns the Miracle Books shop and is able to pick out just the right books for her clients who are in pain. This series is set in Miracle Springs, North Carolina.
Lucy Arlington (co-written by Jennifer Stanley & Sylvia May) (Jennifer Stanley aka J. B. Stanley & Ellery Adams): Novel Idea Mystery Series: Lila Wilkins is a middle-age journalist who has been let go from her job, who then goes to work as an intern at a literary agency.
Donna Ball: Raine Stockton Mystery Series: Raines is an ex-tracker and Cisco is her Golden Retriever.
Sandra Balzo: Main Street Mystery Series: AnnaLise is a reporter who moves to a resort town in North Carolina.
Jessica Beck: Donut Shop Mystery Series: Suzanne Hart owns the Donut Hearts Coffee Shop.
Maggie Bishop: The Appalachian Mystery Series features the daughter of the owners of a guest ranch house.
Chris Cavender (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, & Tim Myers): Pizza Mystery Series: Eleanor Swift owns the Slice of Delight Pizzeria.
Elizabeth Craig (aka Riley Adams & Elizabeth Spann Craig) writes the Southern Quilting Mystery Series, which is set in North Carolina.
Chris Forman: Ian Wallace Mystery Series: Ian is a food writer and photographer.
Eva Gates: The Lighthouse Library Mystery Series: Lucy Richardson is a librarian on an Outer Banks island.
Victoria Gilbert: Book Lover’s B&B Mystery Series: starring Charlotte Reed, the owner of a B&B in Beaufort, North Carolina.
Ellen Elizabeth Hunter: Magnolia Mystery Series: Ashley Wilkes preserves historic homes and her sister, Melanie Wilkes, is a realtor.
Toni L.P. Kelner: Laura Fleming Mystery Series: Laura is a computer programmer who solves crimes whenever she visits her home town.
Vicki Lane: Elizabeth Goodweather Mystery Series: Elizabeth owns a farm and solves crimes while seeding her crops.
Joyce and Jim Lavene: Missing Pieces Mystery Series: Dae O’Donnell is the mayor/sleuth AND Sheriff Sharyn Howard Mystery Series AND Peggy Lee Garden Mystery Series: Peggy Lee owns the Potting Shed Garden Shop.
Kathryn Lilley: FAT City Mystery Series: Kate Gallagher is a little overweight, and a TV journalist/sleuth.
T.C. LoTempio: Cat Rescue Mystery Series – Sydney McCall returns to Deer Park, North Carolina to help her sister, Kat, run the local animal shelter.
Margaret Maron: Deborah Knott Mystery Series: Deborah is a judge, with a penchant for the truth.
Carol Ann Martin: Weaving Mystery Series: Della Wright is the owner of a weaving shop where she teaches weaving (and sleuths!)
Casey Mayes: (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Chris Cavender, & Tim Myers): Math Puzzle Mystery Series
Donna McLean: Sparrow Falls Mystery Series
Ruth Moose: Beth McKenzie Mystery Series: Beth McKenzie is the owner of Dixie Dew Bed and Breakfast in Littleboro, North Carolina.
Katy Munger (aka Gallagher Gray): Casey Jones Mystery Series: Casey is a private eye.
Tamar Myers: Den of Antiquity Mystery Series: Abigail Timberlake owns an antique shop and sleuths for bargains and crimes.
Tim Myers (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Casey Mayes, & Chris Cavender): Lighthouse Inn Mystery Series: Alex Winston owns the Lighthouse Inn.
Barbara Neely: Blanche White Mystery Series: Blanche is a housekeeper in North Carolina.
Chessen Parker: Crystal Coast Mystery Series: Clara Dare Ivankova is a lawyer/sleuth who lives in a coastal village in North Carolina.
Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia Mystery Series: Miss Julia may be “of a certain age” but she lives and sleuths like she is a whole lot younger.
Mark Schweizer: Liturgical Mystery Series: Hayden Konig wears a lot of hats: he’s a small town police chief who has to keep the peace while playing the organ and directing the choir at his Episcopal church.
Sarah R. Shaber: Professor Simon Shaw Mystery Series: Simon is a history professor/sleuth.
Elizabeth Daniels Squire: Peaches Dann Mystery Series: Peaches is a quinquagenarian/sleuth.
J. B. Stanley (aka Jennifer Stanley, Lucy Arlington, & Ellery Adams): Collectibles Mystery Series: Molly Appleby is a reporter for an antique/collectibles magazine.
Sharon Wildwind: Pepperhawk/Avivah Rosen Mystery Series: Elizabeth “Pepper” Pepperhawk is an Army nurse who returns from Vietnam.
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.♦
Edie says
I’m surprised at the number of cozies with North Carolina as a backdrop. Many years ago I used to vacation around the Raleigh/New Bern area when my sister lived there and I lived in Virginia. Beautiful state and loved the plentiful seafood on the east coast. Thank you for compiling this list – I’m sure my sister will enjoy checking it out as well.
Mariandy says
Thanks for this! I’m a North Carolina native, but my career moved me to the Midwest almost a quarter century ago. Until life makes it possible to move back to the Tar Heel state, I’ll keep living vicariously through these authors. 🙂
Madelaine says
I’d like to add another mystery book that takes place in Charlotte, NC., A Hypnotic Suggestion by Allison Jones. Ms Jones’ main character is a forensic hypnotherapist who solves crimes from details she helps clients see when in hypnosis! Good reviews on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Madelaine, for telling us about Allison Jones!
Shirley says
Hi Danna………….want to thank you for cluing me in to PBS Mystery Night……..Last I enjoyed a Sherlock Holmes mystery, just saw about the middle…..because darn it I forgot…..haha………Then another mystery was on with I think the British detective, last night was Lewis……he is so good……alas my sister called and by the time I got off….it was off……..But the moral is I’ll remember next week………grin.
Also wanted to ask you if you have BEVERLY CONNOR on your list for mysteries………..she is fantastic in her writing…….she has two series………………that you will read, than find out YOU CAN”T STOP!!!!!!! bear hugs……………
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Shirley, for telling us about Beverly Connor. She is not on the Cozy Mystery site.
I hope you don’t miss the next British mystery… It’s on this Sunday night.
Juanita says
Mark de Castrique is an North Carolina author who is excellent. He has two series both set in this state: Buryin’ Barry and the Sam Blackman. I have not read Sam Blackman yet, but really enjoyed Buryin’ Barry. Barry comes home when his dad becomes sick to run the family funeral home and often helps out his friend the sheriff with his cases. His books strike a cord with me. In fact, I would say that if you like Margaret Maron, then you would enjoy this series also.
Jo R says
Danna,
The LITURGICAL MYSTERY Series by Mark Schweizer
also takes place in North Carolina.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Jo, for telling me about Mark Schweizer’s Liturgical mystery series taking place in North Carolina. When I added him to the site recently, I forgot to add him to the North Carolina theme page…
Mary H says
There is nothing quite like finding a good friend in a book and I have found a friend in Lonnie who is the main character in Digging up Bones. It is based in North Carolina
and the author is Marianna Rich. After thoroughly enjoying the first book I was excited to see a second book with Lonnie back again. I am keeping my fingers crossed that another in the series will follow. It is fun read and I think you will definitely enjoy this.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks for telling us about her, Mary H. Are her books Cozy Mysteries?
Mary H says
I would definitely consider the books “cozies”. They are (a little) funny, very Southern (in a NC kind of way) and interesting with mostly normal, every-day people and a few odd characters thrown in just to keep things really flavorful. They are easy reads with interesting characters and no overt violence or adult situations (although there’s an implication that the characters do lead normal, physical lives). There’s also a very emotionally satisfying solution in both books. They are set in fictitious Royston, NC, a small, rural town. The main character, Lonnie Briggs, is the GG-grand daughter of a legendary fire and brimstone evangelist. She lives with 5 dogs and 2 cats (at least that’s how the books start out) and earns (most of) her living as a genealogist. The first book is Digging Up Bones and the second is Crossing the Straight and Narrow. The third one just must put in an appearance soon!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks again, Mary, for telling us about Marianna Rich!
Connie says
Casey Mayes’ Math Puzzle Mystery series takes place in North Carolina.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you for the reminder, Connie!
Tammy says
I recently finished a series by Elizabeth Spann Craig. Her series has 3 books so far and are based in Bradley, NC. Myrtle Clover is retired, octogenarian Engish teacher and her son, Red, is the Police Chief in Bradley.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tammy, thanks for telling us about your enjoyment of Elizabeth Spann Craig‘s Myrtle Clover Mystery Series.
Betsy Bean says
Does anyone know of a series set in Asheville, NC or the western side of NC?
Mary N says
Betsy,
I began a series this afternoon by Mark deCastrique set in western NC. There are currently four in the series about a former police officer from Charlotte who must return to a fictional mountain town to take over the family business – a funeral home. So far, so good. Hope this is helpful.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Mary N, I sure hope Mark de Castrique is who Betsy is looking for.
If not, Betsy, you might want to take a look at this list of Mystery Books that Take Place in North Carolina.
Betsy Bean says
Thanks so much!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
You’re welcome, Betsy!
Donna says
A Distant Murder is a modern day cozy linked to the Scottish history of NC. It is clean, funny and takes place in an old fashioned small town where nobody ever meets a stranger. Available on Amazon as a good quality softcover and also on Kindle!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Donna, for telling us about A Distant Murder!
Barbara says
Another series is the Magnolia Mysteries by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter. The main character, Ashley Wilkes, restores historic homes in Wilmington. Each book centers around a well known Wilmington landmark or even – the Azalea Festival, the Holiday Flotilla, the Bellamy Mansion, etc. I have really enjoyed these and enjoy recognizing the names of places in them. Also the Donut Shop mysteries by Jessica Beck take place in a fictitious town in the foothills.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Barbara, for adding Ellen Elizabeth Hunter’s Magnolia Mystery Series to my Mystery Books that Take Place in North Carolina theme.
(I don’t know how I forgot to add her to the list when I added her to the website. I appreciate your help!)
Lora says
Grace Among Thieves, the third in A Manor House Mystery, mentions that the manor house is “tucked into the North Carolina mountains”.
Mary B. says
Without sounding self-serving, my Mattie Mitchell mysteries take place in the Asheville (western) NC area, specifically Hendersonville, just south of Asheville.
Kay says
I love the Miss Julia (Ann B. Ross), but just curious as to why these books are listed a cozy mysteries.
I really am thankful for your lists. It helps so much when I am going to the library. Otherwise I go and stand and look at the shelves hoping a good book will jump off the shelf and into my hands. : )
Richard says
Can mysteries written for kids be cozies? I’ve really enjoyed the “Tupelo Landing” series for kids by Sheila Turnage. It’s set in fictional Tupelo Landing, North Carolina. The sleuths are 6th Graders and the author mixes in elements of the coming-of-age story. But the books are firstly mysteries. “Desperados Detective Agency – “Murders solved cheap, lost pets found for free.”
Abby Denton says
A Spell For Trouble by Esme Addison is set on the beach in NC
Vicki L. Weavil says
Victoria Gilbert’s Booklover’s B&B series (Booked for Death released in 2020, and Reserved for Murder will release in 2021) take place in Beaufort, North Carolina.
Donna says
Vetted for Murder: A Tori Mulligan Mystery, takes place in the fictional town of Craven Mountain, NC. It’s closer to Asheville than Boone. 🙂
Mrs. Ainee C. Beland says
Ellery Adams and the storied: Secret, Book & Scone Society Mystery Series; is another author that I found through this newsletter and I enjoyed learning about Miracle Cove and Miracle Books.
It is quite a contrast to read that books are cures for what ails you and that books have all the answers if one knows where to look and Nora has the gift for selecting just the right book for her patrons. While reading the story, I could not help to think of the time when some books were burned and not allowed to be read and perhaps why the scars on Nora are to be a reminder indirectly or not for readers. In the end, Ms. Pennington opted to leave the scars on her arm and hands as a reminder of her reckless day of driving drunk and in a fit of jealous rage and nearly killing a person, or did she?
———
Ms. Pennington is humble by the book’s end and is happy with the friends she’s made and likes her small nest of a home.
Thank you for sharing.
Laura Gail Black says
My Antique Bookshop Mysteries are set in NC, not too far from Asheville.