1614 ratings | 42 reviews | avg rating:3.69

Denise’s Year In Books

Denise’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Denise’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Denise Swanson’s Followers (1,129)

Denise’s Bookshelves

to-read (324)
currently-reading (28)
read (1704)
apocolyptic (17)
books-i-ve-written (27)
contemporary-romance (97)
cozy-mystery (6)
erotic-romance (22)
light-paranormal (19)
romantic-suspense (10)
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Denise’s Friends (71)

Jenny Allan

1,376 books | 148 friends

Linda

3,235 books | 250 friends

Bam cooks the books

5,319 books | 1,034 friends

Vicky Beltz

6,934 books | 64 friends

Nicole

3,848 books | 12 friends

Sue Mitchell

31,713 books | 785 friends

Rebecca

1,546 books | 246 friends

Dawn

8,545 books | 278 friends

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Denise Swanson

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.deniseswanson.com/

Twitter

DeniseSwansonAu

Genre

Mystery, Romance

Member Since

December 2013

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Denise Swanson lives in rural Illinois with her husband, classical composer David Stybr.

After 22 years as a practicing school psychologist, she's happiest sitting in her scree porch reading. However, when the weather turns too cold, she's willing to leave the Midwest to cruise the sunny Caribbean.

Denise is an animal lover, but her home is currently furless, since her kitty of 20 years passed away in August of 2016. Instead, she enjoys watching the wildlife out her office window. ...more

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Combine Editions
Denise Swanson’s books

Average rating: 3.9 · 44,577 ratings · 4,275 reviews · 74 distinct works • Similar authors

	Murder of a Small-Town Honey (A Scumble River Mystery, #1) 3.78 avg rating — 3,479 ratings — published 2000 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tart of Darkness (Chef-to-Go Mystery, #1) 3.63 avg rating — 2,993 ratings — published 2018	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead in the Water (Welcome Back to Scumble River, #1) 3.82 avg rating — 1,963 ratings — published 2017 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder of a Sweet Old Lady (A Scumble River Mystery, #2) 3.94 avg rating — 1,849 ratings — published 2001 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder of a Sleeping Beauty (A Scumble River Mystery, #3) 3.96 avg rating — 1,839 ratings — published 2002 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Leave No Scone Unturned (Chef-to-Go Mystery, #2) 3.90 avg rating — 1,800 ratings — published 2019 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Little Shop of Homicide (Devereaux Dime Store, #1) 3.75 avg rating — 1,599 ratings — published 2012 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder of a Barbie and Ken (A Scumble River Mystery, #5) 3.90 avg rating — 1,507 ratings — published 2003 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder of a Bookstore Babe (Scumble River Mystery, #13) 3.90 avg rating — 1,439 ratings — published 2011 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder of a Snake in the Grass (A Scumble River Mystery, #4) 3.92 avg rating — 1,413 ratings — published 2003 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Denise Swanson…

3 posts
Denise Swanson's Blog: Denise's Details

Fear

I'm afraid of a lot of things. Big cities, doctors, and the DMV all make me nervous. But I don't like feeling weak so I make myself do things that I fear. Goodreads is one of those things.

The talk among authors is that Goodreads can be a mean place for writers to hang out and I don't do mean very well. But as I said, I dislike feeling weak so here I am.

I've been sticking to my own page, but yeste Read more of this blog post »

8 likes · Like • 3 comments • flag

Published on April 28, 2015 05:59 • Tags: fear, goodreads, listopia

View all 3 posts »

Series by Denise Swanson

A Scumble River Mystery (19 books)
by

Denise Swanson (Goodreads Author)

3.91 avg rating — 27,393 ratings

Chef-to-Go Mystery (4 books)
by

Denise Swanson (Goodreads Author)

3.79 avg rating — 5,982 ratings

Devereaux's Dime Store (7 books)
by

Denise Swanson (Goodreads Author)

3.91 avg rating — 5,445 ratings

Welcome Back to Scumble River (4 books)
by

Denise Swanson (Goodreads Author)

3.96 avg rating — 4,723 ratings

Forever Charmed Mysteries (2 books)
by

Denise Swanson (Goodreads Author)

3.92 avg rating — 561 ratings

More series by Denise Swanson…

Denise is Currently Reading

Denise Swanson is currently reading

This Rotten World

by Jacy Morris (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Feb 28, 2026 07:16PM

Denise Swanson is currently reading

American Quarantine- Super Boxset

by James Hunt

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jan 26, 2026 01:47PM

Denise Swanson is currently reading

A Little Band of Red (The Red Series, #1)

by Lily Freeman

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Dec 05, 2025 08:09PM

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Denise’s Recent Updates

Denise Swanson and 1 other person liked Rita Pierrottie's review of Wedding Jitters and Stormy Rivers: A Scumble River Mystery (Welcome Back to Scumble River Book 5): "Good Read I love this series. The characters along with the author's writing style keeps me reading straight through to the end. "
16 hours, 21 min ago · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Wedding Jitters and Stormy Rivers by Denise Swanson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Wedding Jitters and Stormy Rivers by Denise Swanson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Denise Swanson is currently reading This Rotten World by Jacy Morris (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 28, 2026 07:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of This Rotten World by Jacy Morris. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — This Rotten World by Jacy Morris <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Denise Swanson rated a book liked it Standing at the Gate (Seasons of Man #3) by S.M. Anderson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 28, 2026 07:15PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Standing at the Gate by S.M. Anderson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Standing at the Gate by S.M. Anderson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Denise Swanson rated a book liked it Reap What You Sow (Seasons of Man #2) by S.M. Anderson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 27, 2026 05:08PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Reap What You Sow by S.M. Anderson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Reap What You Sow by S.M. Anderson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Denise Swanson rated a book liked it End of Summer (Seasons of Man #1) by S.M. Anderson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 25, 2026 07:04PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of End of Summer by S.M. Anderson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — End of Summer by S.M. Anderson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Denise Swanson asked a question about DRYP: What happened to book three? Book two was published 4 years ago and this is billed as a trilogy.
Feb 23, 2026 06:37AM · like · answer this question
Denise Swanson is currently reading End of Summer (Seasons of Man #1) by S.M. Anderson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 22, 2026 05:00PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of End of Summer by S.M. Anderson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — End of Summer by S.M. Anderson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Denise Swanson rated a book liked it DRYP: Revelation (DRYP Trilogy Book 2) by R.A. Scheuring (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 22, 2026 04:55PM · 2 likes · like
Denise Swanson rated a book really liked it DRYP: The Final Pandemic (DRYP Trilogy #1) by R.A. Scheuring (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 20, 2026 06:04PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of DRYP by R.A. Scheuring. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — DRYP by R.A. Scheuring <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Denise Swanson rated a book it was amazing Old Bones (Dead Quiet Book 1) by Brad Knight	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 16, 2026 05:47PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Old Bones by Brad Knight. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Old Bones by Brad Knight <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Denise Swanson (?)

“If you don't see it with your own eyes or hear it with your own ears, don't invent it with your small mind and share it with your big mouth.”
― Denise Swanson

9 likes

“Men are like horoscopes,” Trixie cut Skye off. “They always tell you what to do and are usually wrong.”
― Denise Swanson, Murder of a Royal Pain

tags: relationships

4 likes

“Try not to let your mind wander ... it's too small and fragile to be out by itself.”
― Denise Swanson, Murder of a Pink Elephant

3 likes

See all Denise Swanson's quotes »

Polls

2020 Series Read-Along

I placed all of the suggestions into a randomizer and have listed the top five series. Please vote on a series you would like for the group to read this year.

Denise Swanson Scumble River series

10 votes, 35.7%

Laura Childs Tea Shop series

7 votes, 25.0%

Victoria Laurie Abby Cooper series

5 votes, 17.9%

Joanne Fluke Hannah Swensen series

3 votes, 10.7%

Susan Wittig Albert China Bayles series

3 votes, 10.7%

28 total votes

11 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Cozy Mysteries : Theme Read - July 2010	109	210	Jul 28, 2010 10:11AM
Cover to Cover Ch...: CindyAnn's 2010 List	12	40	Dec 05, 2010 04:44PM

Denise’s Friend Comments

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message 1: by Donna

Sep 02, 2017 07:31PM

Denise, I am happy to be your friend of Good Reads. I have entered the giveaway for your new book.
I love cozy books.
Donna

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Denise Swanson’s Followers (1,129)

Denise Swanson

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