Hi! I’m looking to read something that takes place on coastal New England, since I’ll be traveling there soon. Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Maine, etc. Fiction preferred but very absorbing, well-told nonfiction would be okay too. I’m open to a mix of frothy but not mindless romance, literary fiction but nothing really sad, something where the setting is described really richly, family dramas, lightly scary, and mysteries/crime stories.
Books/authors I like include: The Secret History, The Nix, Crossroads, Tana French, Less.
by ParkingAntelope2
3 Comments
A lot of Beatriz Williams books take place on New England beaches, like:
A Hundred Summers
Husbands & Lovers
The Lost Summers of Newport
The Summer Wives
Tiny Little Thing
The Beach at Summerly
I like Francine Mathews’ murder mystery series about Nantucket, beginning with Death in the Off-Season. These involve great characters, complicated families, and a real New England feeling (not just the fluffy tourist stuff).
I also enjoyed a number of books about Maine (I’ve spent a lot of time there) and there are a lot of wonderful writers. Here’s a good guide: https://downeast.com/arts-leisure/100-maine-books/
If you haven’t read Olive Kitteredge, by Elizabeth Strout, that’s quite a book and quite a character.
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo, is also set in Maine.
Of course, Stephen King is from Maine and many of his books have deep resonance there.
A couple of recent and lighter (frothy, as you put it) takes on Maine I enjoyed:
Vacationland, by Meg Mitchell Moore (takes place in Rockland, ME)
Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes (and her other book, Flying Solo, both of which take place in Maine)
Elin Hildebrand’s Nantucket Series.