Overusing Localities in Recent Titles

There has been a trend to overuse local references when writing about a story or incident in a particular place. Examples of such phenomenon are too abundant to list them all.

Courtesy of https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Cannabis-author/dp/1954118627

Recently I have read two books in a row that demonstrate this tendancy, i.e., Meg Waite Clayton's Typewriter Beach (2025), and Scott Eden's A Killing in Cannabis (2026). The former has literally exhausted place names like Carmel, while the latter, has exploited to the last drop place names like 38th Avenue (Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, California). The writer's reference to 212 Fern Street, the late Tushar Atre's cannabis business site, is truly unprecedented. A palm-sized building renovated from an automotive shop has suddenly been elevated to an enormous business empire building. The author mentions the street number numerous times in a 370-page book. I would totally surrender myself to the description, if Paul did not have his studio right across the street for more than 20 years, or if we did not shop at Santa Cruz Costco and pass it by it weekly. 

Courtesy of https://www.amazon.com/Typewriter-Beach-Meg-Waite-Clayton/dp/006342214X

 Meg's Typewriter Beach followed suit. The mentioning of Carmel and its cottages with quaint name conventions are similarly countless. Such a fondness for overusing local references might be characteristic of any out-of stater or transplanted authors. Another shining example is Nina Simon's Mother-daughter Murder Night (2023). Its use of Elkhorn Slough and neighboring community is equally rich, endearing the writer to both local readers and publishers. 

Courtesy of https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65646968-mother-daughter-murder-night

There is a commonality to all those titles with distinctive real places: powerful Silicon Valley tycoons, LA high-powered real estate moguls, or reclusive Oscar-winners descending upon, residing at, or immortalizing humble places like Fern Street. While in awe of recent titles for local authenticity and colors, we are wondering if there is an underlying insecurity or lack of deeper knowledge of local history. Heavy makeup is always a tell-tale sign of the desire to hide. More often than not, over reliance on limited named places narrows the universe of a character or story.