Books set in Maine
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 Maine 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.
Carrie
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1974
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy
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The Cider House Rules
- Author: John Irving
- Published: May 10, 1985
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Literature
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'Salem's Lot
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: October 17, 1975
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Vampires, Fantasy
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The Country of the Pointed Firs
- Author: Sarah Orne Jewett
- Published: January 1, 1896
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, 19th Century
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Empire Falls
- Author: Richard Russo
- Published: May 8, 2001
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Literature
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Pet Sematary
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: November 14, 1983
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy
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It
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1986
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy
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Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, #1)
- Author: Elizabeth Strout
- Published: March 25, 2008
- Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Contemporary
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On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 2000
- Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Memoir, Biography
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The Beans of Egypt, Maine
- Author: Carolyn Chute
- Published: October 1, 1985
- Genres: Fiction, Poverty, Literature, Adult Fiction
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Silent Spring
- Author: Rachel Carson
- Published: September 27, 1962
- Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Environment, Classics
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Dolores Claiborne
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: November 1, 1992
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
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One Morning in Maine
- Author: Robert McCloskey
- Published: January 1, 1952
- Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Classics
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Different Seasons
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1982
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories, Thriller
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Cujo
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1981
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
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The Maine Woods
- Author: Henry David Thoreau
- Published: January 1, 1864
- Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Classics, Philosophy
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23337
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: November 8, 2011
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Time Travel
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Blueberries for Sal
- Author: Robert McCloskey
- Published: September 17, 1948
- Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Classics, Fiction
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The Poacher's Son (Mike Bowditch, #1)
- Author: Paul Doiron
- Published: May 6, 2010
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
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Delirium (Delirium, #1)
- Author: Lauren Oliver
- Published: February 3, 2011
- Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance, Science Fiction
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The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1999
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
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Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1)
- Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
- Published: October 13, 2009
- Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
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The Tenth Circle
- Author: Jodi Picoult
- Published: March 7, 2006
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Adult Fiction
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Hearts in Atlantis
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: September 14, 1999
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories
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Bag of Bones
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: September 22, 1998
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
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Orphan Train
- Author: Christina Baker Kline
- Published: April 2, 2013
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Book Club
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Cordelia Underwood: Or, the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League
- Author: Van Reid
- Published: January 1, 1998
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical
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Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
- Author: Kate Douglas Wiggin
- Published: January 1, 1903
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens, Historical Fiction
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Dreamcatcher
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 2001
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller
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Massacre Pond (Mike Bowditch, #4)
- Author: Paul Doiron
- Published: July 16, 2013
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
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The Keeper and the Rune Stone (The Black Ledge Series, #1)
- Author: Paige W. Pendleton
- Published: January 1, 2012
- Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Fiction
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Miss Portland
- Author: David Ebenbach
- Published: June 5, 2017
- Genres: Fiction
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The Dead Cat Bounce (Home Repair is Homicide, #1)
- Author: Sarah Graves
- Published: January 1, 1997
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
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Need (Need, #1)
- Author: Carrie Jones
- Published: December 23, 2008
- Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
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Harlot's Ghost
- Author: Norman Mailer
- Published: October 2, 1991
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Espionage, Literature
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A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812
- Author: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
- Published: January 1, 1990
- Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, American History
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Clammed Up (A Maine Clambake Mystery, #1)
- Author: Barbara Ross
- Published: January 1, 2013
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary
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Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man
- Author: Robert McCloskey
- Published: January 1, 1963
- Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure
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The Pearl of Orr's Island: A Story of the Coast of Maine
- Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Published: January 1, 1896
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, American, Historical Fiction
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The Body
- Author: Robin Waterfield
- Published: January 1, 1982
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories, Coming Of Age
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Mistletoe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #1)
- Author: Leslie Meier
- Published: January 1, 1991
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Christmas, Fiction
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Bad Little Falls (Mike Bowditch, #3)
- Author: Paul Doiron
- Published: August 7, 2012
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
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Trespasser (Mike Bowditch, #2)
- Author: Paul Doiron
- Published: June 21, 2011
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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The Maine Mutiny (Murder, She Wrote, #23)
- Author: Jessica Fletcher
- Published: April 5, 2005
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook
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Evvie Drake Starts Over
- Author: Linda Holmes
- Published: June 25, 2019
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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Margreete's Harbor
- Author: Eleanor Morse
- Published: April 20, 2021
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Family
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Wilder Girls
- Author: Rory Power
- Published: July 9, 2019
- Genres: Horror, Young Adult, LGBT, Mystery
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Kilt Dead (Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries, #1)
- Author: Kaitlyn Dunnett
- Published: August 1, 2007
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
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A Lifetime of Men
- Author: Ciahnan Darrell
- Published: August 26, 2020
- Genres: Fiction, Historical
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The Funeral Makers (Mattagash, #1)
- Author: Cathie Pelletier
- Published: January 1, 1986
- Genres: Fiction, Humor, Contemporary, Adult
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