Books set in Delaware

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September 27, 2022
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Books set in Delaware

Every state has its hallmark writers. Mississippi has William Faulkner and his incomparable (fictional) Yoknapatawpha County and Missouri can lay claim to Mark Twain. The state of Maine is gifted with Pulitzer winner Richard Russo and horror icon Stephen King. Rural Pennsylvania is the playground of the much-heralded (and occasionally maligned) John Updike, and when many bibliophiles think of New Jersey, they also think of Richard Ford's series of novels featuring recurring Everyman character Frank Bascombe. Illinois can lay claim to William Maxwell, Sandra Cisneros, and Adam Langer, among numerous others. And what reader can think of Washington State without contending with the sparkle-vampire yarns of Stephanie Meyer?

What makes authors like these inextricably associated with a particular state is not simply the matter of their having been born there or choosing to live there. The connection, from a writerly standpoint, is deeper than that—their work, nearly all of it, is set in "their" state.

Of course, there are certainly exceptions. Whether a writer sets a tale in the town where they went to college or spent part of their childhood—like Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" and its New England arts school setting and the almost-factual small town of Jo Ann Beard's "In Zanesville," respectively—or crafts a story that follows a social or political theme to a location they know little about but lay narrative claim to anyway, the world is rife with books known, loved, and respected that also capture the essence of place—books where setting itself is one of the strongest characters.

Stacker compiled a list of books set in Delaware from Goodreads. Whether you're looking for a good read set in the state you call home, or you're looking to expand your curiosity with a writer you're already familiar with, we've got you covered.

And Never Let Her Go: Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer

- Rating: 4.12 (8,041 ratings)
- Author: Ann Rule
- Published: January 1, 1999
- Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Mystery
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Hawkes Harbor

- Rating: 3.12 (2,842 ratings)
- Author: S.E. Hinton
- Published: September 1, 2004
- Genres: Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Vampires
- Read more on Goodreads

Sunburn

- Rating: 3.47 (21,366 ratings)
- Author: Laura Lippman
- Published: February 20, 2018
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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We Dream of Space

- Rating: 4.14 (5,620 ratings)
- Author: Erin Entrada Kelly
- Published: May 5, 2020
- Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical
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A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861

- Rating: 3.69 (3,553 ratings)
- Author: Karen Hesse
- Published: September 1, 1999
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical
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The Book of Unknown Americans

- Rating: 3.89 (40,062 ratings)
- Author: Cristina Henríquez
- Published: June 3, 2014
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Adult Fiction
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Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics

- Rating: 3.98 (1,832 ratings)
- Author: Joe Biden
- Published: July 31, 2007
- Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir
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West of Rehoboth

- Rating: 3.44 (140 ratings)
- Author: Alexs D. Pate
- Published: September 1, 2001
- Genres: Fiction, African American, Historical Fiction, Novels
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The Saint of Lost Things

- Rating: 3.49 (802 ratings)
- Author: Christopher Castellani
- Published: January 1, 2005
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Italy, Contemporary
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The Discreet Charms of a Bourgeois Beach Town: Rehoboth Beach Stories

- Rating: 3.88 (24 ratings)
- Author: Rich Barnett
- Published: June 12, 2012
- Genres: Humor, Memoir, Nonfiction
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A Gentleman's Game

- Rating: 3.76 (80 ratings)
- Author: Tom Coyne
- Published: May 1, 2001
- Genres: Sports
- Read more on Goodreads

Fight Club

- Rating: 4.19 (547,572 ratings)
- Author: Chuck Palahniuk
- Published: August 1, 1996
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Contemporary, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads

New Uses for Old Boyfriends (Black Dog Bay, #2)

- Rating: 3.68 (2,060 ratings)
- Author: Beth Kendrick
- Published: January 1, 2015
- Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Adult
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Cure for the Common Breakup (Black Dog Bay, #1)

- Rating: 3.75 (2,653 ratings)
- Author: Beth Kendrick
- Published: May 6, 2014
- Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary
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The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls

- Rating: 3.20 (1,368 ratings)
- Author: Julie Schumacher
- Published: May 8, 2012
- Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary
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Final Price (Paul Chang Mystery, #1)

- Rating: 3.37 (460 ratings)
- Author: J. Gregory Smith
- Published: January 1, 2009
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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Unspoken Fear

- Rating: 3.98 (110 ratings)
- Author: Hunter Morgan
- Published: May 1, 2006
- Genres: Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Romantic Suspense
- Read more on Goodreads

She'll Never Know (Albany Beach Trilogy #2)

- Rating: 3.99 (150 ratings)
- Author: Hunter Morgan
- Published: August 1, 2004
- Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime
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She'll Never Live (Albany Beach Trilogy #3)

- Rating: 4.04 (124 ratings)
- Author: Hunter Morgan
- Published: September 1, 2004
- Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense
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Dangerous Dolls of Delaware (American Chillers, #12)

- Rating: 4.12 (618 ratings)
- Author: Johnathan Rand
- Published: January 1, 2003
- Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Childrens, Mystery
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As I Lay Frying: A Rehoboth Beach Memoir

- Rating: 3.80 (46 ratings)
- Author: Fay Jacobs
- Published: May 20, 2004
- Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor
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Smokey O

- Rating: 3.33 (52 ratings)
- Author: Celia Cohen
- Published: March 1, 1994
- Genres: Lesbian, Fiction, Lesbian Romance, Sports
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Port Mortuary (Kay Scarpetta, #18)

- Rating: 3.61 (22,520 ratings)
- Author: Patricia Cornwell
- Published: November 30, 2010
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
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One Small Thing (One Thing, #1)

- Rating: 4.00 (4,847 ratings)
- Author: Piper Vaughn
- Published: May 3, 2012
- Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT
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All Those Secrets of the World

- Rating: 4.09 (116 ratings)
- Author: Jane Yolen
- Published: January 1, 1991
- Genres: Picture Books, War, Childrens, Family
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George and Gracie, Just in Time: The Rescue Begins in Delaware

- Rating: 3.82 (49 ratings)
- Author: Cheri Pray Earl
- Published: April 1, 2009
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens
- Read more on Goodreads

The Wolf in Winter (Charlie Parker, #12)

- Rating: 4.22 (7,036 ratings)
- Author: John Connolly
- Published: October 28, 2014
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Horror
- Read more on Goodreads

Hope Never Dies (Obama Biden Mysteries, #1)

- Rating: 3.50 (12,889 ratings)
- Author: Andrew Shaffer
- Published: July 10, 2018
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Politics
- Read more on Goodreads

The Cellist (Gabriel Allon, #21)

- Rating: 3.99 (25,252 ratings)
- Author: Daniel Silva
- Published: July 13, 2021
- Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Espionage
- Read more on Goodreads

No Such Thing (Belonging #1)

- Rating: 3.80 (1,424 ratings)
- Author: A.M. Arthur
- Published: February 17, 2014
- Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT
- Read more on Goodreads

All This Talk of Love

- Rating: 3.75 (785 ratings)
- Author: Christopher Castellani
- Published: February 5, 2013
- Genres: Fiction, Italy, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

Haunted Delaware: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the First State

- Rating: 3.42 (24 ratings)
- Author: Patricia A. Martinelli
- Published: June 1, 2006
- Genres: Paranormal, History, Ghosts, Nonfiction
- Read more on Goodreads

No Good Deeds (Tess Monaghan #9)

- Rating: 3.71 (3,659 ratings)
- Author: Laura Lippman
- Published: January 1, 2006
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Mystery Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads

Maybe This Time (Belonging #2)

- Rating: 4.02 (985 ratings)
- Author: A.M. Arthur
- Published: May 19, 2014
- Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Abuse
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The Heights, the Depths, and Everything in Between

- Rating: 3.95 (40 ratings)
- Author: Sally Nemeth
- Published: January 1, 2006
- Genres: Young Adult
- Read more on Goodreads

Stand By You (Belonging, #3)

- Rating: 4.02 (966 ratings)
- Author: A.M. Arthur
- Published: October 20, 2014
- Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Abuse
- Read more on Goodreads

Contents Under Pressure

- Rating: 3.72 (283 ratings)
- Author: Lara Deloza
- Published: April 13, 2004
- Genres: Young Adult, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

Canines, Crosshairs And Corpses (Brandywine Investigations, #1)

- Rating: 3.87 (402 ratings)
- Author: Angel Martinez
- Published: May 19, 2013
- Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Fantasy, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads

Elle of the Ball (Hoops, #1)

- Rating: 4.00 (118 ratings)
- Author: Elena Delle Donne
- Published: March 13, 2018
- Genres: Sports, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction
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Author's Choice

- Rating: 3.29 (31 ratings)
- Author: Elizabeth August
- Published: January 1, 1988
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance
- Read more on Goodreads

For Frying Out Loud: Rehoboth Beach Diaries

- Rating: 4.42 (26 ratings)
- Author: Fay Jacobs
- Published: November 3, 2010
- Genres: Nonfiction, Essays
- Read more on Goodreads

No Enemy But Time (Brandywine Investigations #2)

- Rating: 3.59 (254 ratings)
- Author: Angel Martinez
- Published: July 20, 2014
- Genres: M M Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads

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