Geocaching Novels - Mysteries To Read When Not Out Caching

Geocaching Themed Novels & Audio Books

Updated for 2025

As we start to plan our road trip to Geowoodstock in 2025, I went looking for an audiobook or two, to listen to on the trip.  This original post was written in 2017, and long overdue for an update...  there have been a lot of books written since then, and some of the originals on the list are now out of print.  

I know I'll be buying Cached Out as an audiobook for our trip, and maybe Why Casey Had to Die, too.  The series I am most interested in are The Geocaching Mysteries 

By Dan Dekoning.  Those are not yet available on audiobook, but I'll download the first one as an ebook to read on my phone.

Although not a geocaching series, our favorite audiobooks for past  road/caching trips have been the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt.  Light, funny, great characters, and good mysteries.  

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Available As Audiobooks

[And as Epubs & Paperbacks too]

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Cached Out By Russell Atkinson Book 2 in the Knowles series is the first to feature geocaching, and is the only one in the series available as an Audiobook.  https://amzn.to/3FbunRA The rest of the series can be downloaded for FREE as pdf files - here's how to convert them to epub	Non Fiction The Caravan Chronicles by Matthew Klem 4 friends 48 States 2 Weeks https://amzn.to/43e9T2V Read the first chapter FREE here  [Reviews mention that there is not much mention of actual geocaching in the book]	Five  By Ursula Archer [Dark Theme - Serial Killer] An Amazon Editors Pick For Best Mystery in 2014 https://amzn.to/42PjnCD
Why Casey Had To Die Harry Bronson Book 1 By L.C. Hayden Available On Audible	Cozy Mystery To Cache A Killer Book 5  In  Shoemaker Camping Series By Karen Nortman Available on Audible	Cozy Mystery Murder On Wheels Tourist Trap Book 6 By Lynn Cahoon Available on Audible
Maphead By Kyle Jennings [Of Jeopardy] Has a chapter on geocaching that I'm told is quite good. https://amzn.to/4k5EPce	Unspeakable By Laura Griffin

YA

YA Moxie & the Art of Rule Breaking By Erin Dionne This is book 1 - book 2 is also about Ollie the Geocacher, but book 2 is not available as an audiobook. https://amzn.to/4iVKWyK	The Box That Watch Found A Boxcar Children Book https://amzn.to/42QRn1v	YA North Of Beautiful by Headly With a  "geocaching sub-plot" https://amzn.to/4iSXHu4
YA Geocache Surprise By Jake Maddox	YA Code by Kathy Reichs https://amzn.to/4mecfYg

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Available as Ebooks  [Kindle, Epub]

These are also almost always available in paperback as well.

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Here's how to download them and convert the pdf's to epub:

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2019/04/free-geocaching-novels-cliff-knowles.html

The Lost Frenchman  by Cully Long Available as ebook or paperback Published in 2016,  Reviews Well	The Geocaching Mysteries  By Dan Dekoning There are 4 books in the series so far, and more expected soon.  Available for Kindle, and in Paperback.  The first 3 books can be purchased as an omnibus for just $10. While many geocaching books make just a brief mention of a geocache, THIS series is about active geocachers.	A very puzzle cache based, and the ending is a VERY nice touch for puzzle cachers. A 99 cent Novella The Heist By  Shaun Jeffrey [Kindle only]
Geocache  By Errol Bader	Romance Geogirl By Kelly Rysten	Hope You Guess My Name Heather Harlan A thriller with a geocaching event along the Susquehanna River in Northeastern PA
Romance Caching In  By Tracy Krimmer a 99 cent read https://amzn.to/3F7bKOI Kindle only.	Hello Traveler,  a short story  by Steve Armstrong Only 99 cents on Amazon Kindle Only	Thriller/Serial Killer Serial Finder By David Klug Reviews Well  https://amzn.to/43nX4UI Kindle Only - $3

Coordinates for Murder  by Darren Kirby	Murder Mystery Caching In By Deb Jacobson

YA

YA Ollie & the Science Of Treasure Hunting  By Erin Dionne Book 2 in the series.  Book 1 is also about Ollie [a geocacher], and is available as an audiobook.	YA The Birthday Cache By Amanda Zieba	YA Hide & Seek By Katy Grant
YA Hidden Away By Phyllis Perry	YA Waypoint Series By Shauna Schober

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Series Books 

That have ONE book mentioning Geocaching

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Murder At the Geocache Citrus Beach Mystery Book3 By Victoria Williams	To Cache A Killer Book 5  In  Shoemaker Camping Series By Karen Nortman	The Dead Place Cooper & Fry Book 6 By Stephen Booth
Crack the Code Glock Grannies Bk5 By Shannon Vanbergen	Cache 72 – A Jaxon Jennings Thriller Book 2 in the Series https://amzn.to/3Yzfhw0	Cache Of Corpses  by Henry Kisor Book 3 in the Steve Martinez Series

Virginia K. Bennett is a cozy mystery author.  She's also a geocacher - but I don't know if she mentions it in her books

https://amzn.to/4deGSIQ

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Physical Books 

[No Ebook Option]

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	The Greatest Treasure A Geocaching Comic By the Geocaching Vlogger
Rainbow's End  by Valerie Comer et al.	Abomination  by Colleen Coble

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OUT OF PRINT

& Difficult To find

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First To Find by Morgan Talbot Morgan Talbot has written a series of geocaching mysteries. These are mostly out of print now.  Book 1 is still available: https://amzn.to/3ENQ8XM	Well Oiled By Rubin Johnson	First To Find  by Mark Gessner Reviews VERY well in geocaching forums, but is out of print and difficult to find.  Single copies run around $30 on Amazon. https://amzn.to/44yJYFq

 

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I read this while at the ASPGB 2017. I would not recommend this if you are looking for a geocaching mystery.  It's actually about a town where almost everyone is a registered sex offender, or a victim of an offender.  One of the victims is cutting of the, uhm, "male parts" of registered sex offenders, and hiding those parts in geocaches.  It's much more about sex offenders than about geocaching, the geocaching is just kind of awkwardly thrown in there and doesn't make much sense.

Cache a Predator by Michelle Weidenbenner  

Geocaching mystery. (Note: This novel is hidden in cache sites around the US and Canada.) Officer Brett Reed will do anything to gain custody of his five-year-old daughter, Quinn. But when a judge grants Brett’s drug-addicted ex-wife custody and slaps him with a protective order for losing his temper, he fears for Quinn’s safety. Who will protect her now?

When Quinn is found abandoned on the streets, the child is placed in a temporary foster home until Child Protective Services can complete an assessment. It should only take a few days. But a lot can happen in a few days.Especially when there’s a deranged psychopath on the loose, someone who’s attacking pedophiles, someone who wants to protect children like Quinn, and someone who’s planting body parts in geocaching sites. M. Weidenbenner plants the emotion of one vigilante's mission into the cache boxes of a gripping tale that will leave readers locking their doors and pedophiles sleeping with their eyes open.

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More Books That Mention Geocaching:

The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer

The Gorry Brothers: First Leap by Eve McGuire

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Read More About Our Geocaching Adventures & Tips Here
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/geocaching.html

Raspberry Vinegar

While looking at recipes on Newspapers.com, I came across this 1862 recipe, recommended for the aid of sick and wounded civil war soldiers.

  "It makes an agreeable and refreshing beverage and those who desire to do something for the aid of the sick and wounded soldiers, cannot prepare anything more acceptable than a quantity of this Raspberry vinegar."

It's not quite raspberry season here in Pa, but we may attempt a batch once it is.  

The Shippensburg News 

(Shippensburg, Pennsylvania)

05 Jul 1862, Sat  • Page 3

Farmers Almanac Dandelion Jelly

First Batch, April 2017

"Jelly made from dandelions is similar in taste to spring honey. Try making some of your own with this recipe!" I was skeptical - but it truly does taste like honey!  Just...  not as healthy, with a lot more processed sugar used.  :-)  

Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral Degrees in Geocaching

I'll be using this post to check our requirements and see what we qualify for.  The Bachelors Degree is 7 hours from home from us... but since we are at least a couple of years away from earning the degrees, travel to the graduation ceremonies is the least of our concerns. 

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5CRR1_bachelors-degree-in-geocaching-challenge-cache

This is a really interesting geocaching challenge cache series.  There may be other versions, the series I refer to here is located in Ohio.  Each of the three degrees has a cache page with the "course requirements" to earn the degree.  Once completed, you receive a certificate with your geocaching name.  "Each degree recipient is eligible to receive an e-mailed diploma certifying his/her accomplishment. The President of the University will contact you for an e-mail address to which the diploma may be mailed."

This cache owner not only put in some serious thought, and work, to create this series, but what dedication to maintain it at this level!  These are challenge caches, all located at the posted coordinates, but you cannot log them until you complete all of the requirements.  The final caches appear to be pretty easy terrain rather quick finds.  The work is in earning the right to find them.

"You have hard work ahead of you to graduate, but you will learn about geocaching by following our curriculum, have a lot of fun, and meet many other students who will become lifelong friends. When you finish and become an alum, you will hopefully look back fondly on your time at good old "U of G"!

Listed in the "Bachelor's Degree Course Catalog" below are the courses offered by the University of Geocaching. For each course, you will find the number of credits earned by completing that course and the requirements for completing the course.

In order to earn your bachelor's degree, you must earn at least 50 credits. When you have completed at least 50 credits, you may attend graduation (sign the log and claim your find). As part of your graduation requirements, you must fill out your final transcript. Please list in your cache log: your total credits earned, the courses you completed (including credits for each course), your qualification for each course, and how your qualification may be verified for each course (please see my "Note" logs on 9/13/2014 for an example of how to log this challenge cache). Your geocaching profile at geocaching.com and either the output from the GSAK macro "FindStatsGen" or your Project Geocaching profile contain enough pieces of information to verify all of the course requirements. You may also verify your requirements in another manner if you like."

Bachelors Degree
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5CRR1_bachelors-degree-in-geocaching-challenge-cache

Bachelor's Degree Course Catalog (Course - Credits - Requirements)

Chronos I.B - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 100 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos II.B - 2 credits - Find geocaches that were placed on at least 100 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos III.B - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 31 consecutive days
Chronos IV.B - 2 credits - Find at least 50 geocaches during one calendar day
Chronos V.B - 3 credits - Find at least 500 geocaches during one calendar year

General Geocaching I.B - 5 credits - Find at least 1,000 geocaches
General Geocaching II.B - 5 credits - Find at least 10 geocaches of each size (micro, small, regular, large, not chosen, virtual, and other)
General Geocaching III.B - 2 credits - Earn at least 10 geocaching souvenirs
General Geocaching IV.B - 2 credits - Move or discover at least 50 trackables

Geography I.B - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 2 countries
Geography II.B - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 5 U.S. states
Geography III.B - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 1 Canadian province
Geography IV.B - 3 credits - Find a geocache in at least 50 U.S. counties
Geography V.B - 2 credits - Find a geocache at least 100 miles from home
Geography VI.B - 2 credits - Find a geocache at an elevation of at least 1,000 feet

History I.B - 3 credits - Find at least 1 geocache that was placed in the year 2000
History II.B - 5 credits - Find at least 1 geocache that was placed in every month of every year starting with January of 2002

Matrix I.B - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 41 spots in the difficulty/terrain matrix
Matrix II.B - 4 credits - Find at least 10 high-difficulty geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star difficulty ratings)
Matrix III.B - 4 credits - Find at least 10 high-terrain geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star terrain ratings)

Non-Traditional Geocaching I.B - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Mystery/Puzzle/Unknown geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching II.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Multi-caches
Non-Traditional Geocaching III.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Letterbox Hybrid geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching IV.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Earthcaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching V.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Virtual geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching VI.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 NGS Benchmarks
Non-Traditional Geocaching VII.B - 1 credit - Attend at least 10 Events (does not include CITO, Mega-Events, or Giga-Events)
Non-Traditional Geocaching VIII.B - 1 credit - Attend at least 1 CITO (Cache In Trash Out) event
Non-Traditional Geocaching IX.B - 1 credit - Find at least 1 Webcam geocache
Non-Traditional Geocaching X.B - 1 credit - Find at least 1 Wherigo geocache
Non-Traditional Geocaching XI.B - 4 credits - Find/Attend at least 1 "unusual" geocache/event (Mega-Event, Giga-Event, Project A.P.E, GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit, Geocaching Block Party, or Geocaching HQ)

Masters Degree
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5CRR2_masters-degree-in-geocaching-challenge-cache

Like the Bachelors Degree, The Masters requires you to earn 50 credits

Master's Degree Course Catalog (Course - Credits - Requirements)

Chronos I.M - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 365 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos II.M - 2 credits - Find geocaches that were placed on at least 365 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos III.M - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 100 consecutive days
Chronos IV.M - 2 credits - Find at least 100 geocaches during one calendar day
Chronos V.M - 3 credits - Find at least 1,000 geocaches during one calendar year

General Geocaching I.M - 5 credits - Find at least 5,000 geocaches
General Geocaching II.M - 5 credits - Find at least 50 geocaches of each size (micro, small, regular, large, not chosen, virtual, and other)
General Geocaching III.M - 2 credits - Earn at least 50 geocaching souvenirs
General Geocaching IV.M - 2 credits - Move or discover at least 500 trackables

Geography I.M - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 5 countries
Geography II.M - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 20 U.S. states
Geography III.M - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 5 Canadian provinces
Geography IV.M - 3 credits - Find a geocache in at least 200 U.S. counties
Geography V.M - 2 credits - Find a geocache at least 500 miles from home
Geography VI.M - 2 credits - Find a geocache at an elevation of at least 5,000 feet

History I.M - 3 credits - Find at least 5 geocaches that were placed in the year 2000
History II.M - 5 credits - Find at least 1 geocache that was placed in every month of every year starting with January of 2001

Matrix I.M - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 61 spots in the difficulty/terrain matrix
Matrix II.M - 4 credits - Find at least 50 high-difficulty geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star difficulty ratings)
Matrix III.M - 4 credits - Find at least 50 high-terrain geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star terrain ratings)

Non-Traditional Geocaching I.M - 1 credit - Find at least 500 Mystery/Puzzle/Unknown geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching II.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 Multi-caches
Non-Traditional Geocaching III.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 Letterbox Hybrid geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching IV.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 Earthcaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching V.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 Virtual geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching VI.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 NGS Benchmarks
Non-Traditional Geocaching VII.M - 1 credit - Attend at least 50 Events (does not include CITO, Mega-Events, or Giga-Events)
Non-Traditional Geocaching VIII.M - 1 credit - Attend at least 5 CITO (Cache In Trash Out) events
Non-Traditional Geocaching IX.M - 1 credit - Find at least 5 Webcam geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching X.M - 1 credit - Find at least 5 Wherigo geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching XI.M - 4 credits - Find/Attend at least 5 "unusual" geocaches/events (Mega-Event, Giga-Event, Project A.P.E, GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit, Geocaching Block Party, or Geocaching HQ)

Doctoral Degree In Geocaching
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5CRR3_doctoral-degree-in-geocaching-challenge-cache

Doctoral Degree Course Catalog (Course - Credits - Requirements)

Chronos I.D - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 366 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos II.D - 2 credits - Find geocaches that were placed on at least 366 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos III.D - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 365 consecutive days
Chronos IV.D - 2 credits - Find at least 200 geocaches during one calendar day
Chronos V.D - 3 credits - Find at least 2,000 geocaches during one calendar year

General Geocaching I.D - 5 credits - Find at least 10,000 geocaches
General Geocaching II.D - 5 credits - Find at least 100 geocaches of each size (micro, small, regular, large, not chosen, virtual, and other)
General Geocaching III.D - 2 credits - Earn at least 100 geocaching souvenirs
General Geocaching IV.D - 2 credits - Move or discover at least 1,000 trackables

Geography I.D - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 10 countries
Geography II.D - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 40 U.S. states
Geography III.D - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 10 Canadian provinces
Geography IV.D - 3 credits - Find a geocache in at least 400 U.S. counties
Geography V.D - 2 credits - Find a geocache at least 1,000 miles from home
Geography VI.D - 2 credits - Find a geocache at an elevation of at least 10,000 feet

History I.D - 3 credits - Find at least 10 geocaches that were placed in the year 2000
History II.D - 5 credits - Find at least 1 geocache that was placed in every month of every year starting with May of 2000

Matrix I.D - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 81 spots in the difficulty/terrain matrix
Matrix II.D - 4 credits - Find at least 100 high-difficulty geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star difficulty ratings)
Matrix III.D - 4 credits - Find at least 100 high-terrain geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star terrain ratings)

Non-Traditional Geocaching I.D - 1 credit - Find at least 1,000 Mystery/Puzzle/Unknown geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching II.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Multi-caches
Non-Traditional Geocaching III.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Letterbox Hybrid geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching IV.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Earthcaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching V.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Virtual geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching VI.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 NGS Benchmarks
Non-Traditional Geocaching VII.D - 1 credit - Attend at least 100 Events (does not include CITO, Mega-Events, or Giga-Events)
Non-Traditional Geocaching VIII.D - 1 credit - Attend at least 10 CITO (Cache In Trash Out) events
Non-Traditional Geocaching IX.D - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Webcam geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching X.D - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Wherigo geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching XI.D - 4 credits - Find/Attend at least 10 "unusual" geocaches/events (Mega-Event, Giga-Event, Project A.P.E, GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit, Geocaching Block Party, or Geocaching HQ)


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Other Geocaching Degrees:

PHD In Geocaching (Kansas USA)
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC441J5_p-h-d-in-geocaching-degree-challenge?guid=d4e49575-6c91-4419-8f04-c3504ccafc47

PHD In Geocaching - (Maryland USA)
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4XZ7N_p-h-d-degree-in-geocaching-challenge?guid=23f74164-7c3a-4d07-b755-a5caf7b4c58d

PHD In Geocaching (New Jersey USA)
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC44Y02_p-h-d-in-geocaching-degree-challenge-nj-edition?guid=9ead11d4-e4a3-465c-98f7-5bf86626f1bc