SL Smith is a Minnesota mystery author and the writer of the Pete Culnane Mysteries, a series of police procedurals set in Saint Paul. A lifelong Minnesotan born in Saint Cloud, she spent 32 years with the state department of public safety, working alongside law enforcement and fire officials — experience that grounds the procedural detail in her novels. She is a member of Sisters in Crime. Her debut, Blinded by the Sight, was published in 2011.

The Pete Culnane Mysteries are a series of character-driven police procedurals set in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They follow two Saint Paul investigators, Pete Culnane and Martin Tierney, as they work cases that grow out of ordinary people pushed too far rather than serial killers or graphic violence. Many of the books fold in a real-world social issue — homelessness, the impact of a failing marriage on children, the struggles of the elderly — alongside the mystery.

The series reads in this order:

1. Blinded by the Sight

2. Running Scared

3. Murder on a Stick

4. Mistletoe and Murder

5. Murder on Cathedral Hill

6. Last Breath

7. Dead Reckoning

8. A Party to Murder

9. The Trigger

10. Malice

11. Revenge

12. Liar, Liar

Each mystery resolves its own case, so you can pick up most books on their own. That said, the relationships between the recurring characters — especially Pete and Martin, and Pete's personal life — develop across the series, so reading in order gives you the fuller payoff. New readers are usually best served starting with Blinded by the Sight.

The series is set in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Real Twin Cities geography and institutions — including the Minnesota State Fair, which anchors Murder on a Stick — feature throughout, and the author researches locations and procedures firsthand.

Pete Culnane and Martin Tierney are two Saint Paul investigators and close friends whose contrasting personalities drive much of the humor in the books. Pete is a widower; Martin is married with two children. Their banter and partnership run as a through-line across the series.

No. The Pete Culnane Mysteries are deliberately non-violent and character-focused — closer to a clean or "cozy-adjacent" police procedural than a gory thriller. Readers who want a suspenseful, well-plotted mystery without graphic content are the core audience.

They sit between the two. They're written as authentic police procedurals — vetted for law-enforcement accuracy by a retired officer — but with the low-gore, community-rooted, character-driven feel that cozy mystery readers look for.

There are twelve books in the series. The most recent is Liar, Liar.

Likely yes. Reviewers have pointed readers of Roger Stelljes toward Pete Culnane, and SL Smith's work has been praised by Minnesota crime writers including Jessie Chandler (the Shady O'Hanlon Caper series) and Mary Logue (the Claire Watkins series). If you enjoy Twin Cities–set mysteries with strong procedure and real characters, this series fits.

The Pete Culnane Mysteries are available in paperback and ebook. See the Books page for each title and its retailer links.

Yes — upcoming and past appearances are listed on the Events page. For book club visits or speaking inquiries, use the Contact page.

Reach out through the Contact page on this site.