Standalone books and series listed below are set in the Mitten State. This list is a work in progress and will probably always be a work in progress! Visit often – or whenever – for updates. The list is sectioned by genre. Links are to reviews written on this site, its sister site Your Book Group, or external locations such as author sites, Wikipedia, or Goodreads.
Fantasy and Sci Fi
| Book/Series Title | Author | More Info |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost Roads Series – 2014-2021 | Seanan McGuire | 3-book series based on hitchiker urban legends. Book 1, Sparrow Hill Road, got five stars from this reviewer. |
Memoir and Biography
| Book/Series Title | Author | More Info |
|---|---|---|
| Travels with Charley-1962 | John Steinbeck | Only a small part of this travel memoir takes place in rural northern Michigan. |
Mystery/Thriller
| Book/Series | Author | More info |
|---|---|---|
| Chocoholic Mysteries | Joanna Carl | Entertaining 18-book cozy mystery series set in the fictional town of Warner Pier MI, closely modeled after the Lake Michigan beach town of Saugatuck. |
| Scarlet in Blue – 2022 | Jennifer Murphy | Riveting thriller that takes place along Lake Michigan beach towns from South Haven to points north. |
| A Superior Death – 1994 | Nevada Barr | Book 2 of the Anna Pigeon mystery series which takes place in national parks throughout the US. This book is set in Isle Royale National park in Lake Superior. |
| Wheels – 1971 | Arthur Hailey | NYT bestselling thriller based in the Detroit auto industry in its heyday. Adapted into a 1978 miniseries. |
| Winter Study-2008 | Nevada Barr | Book 14 of the Anna Pigeon series, which also takes place at Isle Royale. |
| Woods Cop Mysteries – 2001-2011 | Joseph Heywood | Upper Peninsula DNR Conservation Officer Grady Service solves crime. |
General Fiction and Literature
| Title | Author | More Info |
|---|---|---|
| Gone Before Spring and No Doubt in My Mind | Sheila Solomon Shotwell | Coming of age story in two volumes, set in the late 1960’s, mostly in Grand Rapids with a little bit of Saginaw and Grand Haven. Better classified as ficionalized memoir. |
| Middlesex – 2002 | Jeffrey Eugenides | Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize, set mainly in Grosse Pointe. |
| The Virgin Suicides – 1993 | Jeffrey Eugenides | Set in Grosse Pointe. Trigger: suicide and lots of it. |
Bookish in the Mitten 