Books set in Michigan
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 Michigan 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.
Middlesex
- Author: Jeffrey Eugenides
- Published: September 4, 2002
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, LGBT
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This I Know
- Author: Eldonna Edwards
- Published: April 24, 2018
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Fantasy
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A Cold Day in Paradise (Alex McKnight, #1)
- Author: Steve Hamilton
- Published: August 15, 1998
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
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Station Eleven
- Author: Emily St. John Mandel
- Published: September 9, 2014
- Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic
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A Superior Death (Anna Pigeon, #2)
- Author: Nevada Barr
- Published: January 1, 1994
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime
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South of Superior
- Author: Ellen Airgood
- Published: January 1, 2011
- Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary
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Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye (Psychic Eye Mystery, #1)
- Author: Victoria Laurie
- Published: December 7, 2004
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Fiction
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The Virgin Suicides
- Author: Jeffrey Eugenides
- Published: January 1, 1993
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Contemporary, Young Adult
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Better Read Than Dead (Psychic Eye Mystery, #2)
- Author: Victoria Laurie
- Published: June 7, 2005
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Fiction
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The Dollmaker
- Author: Harriette Simpson Arnow
- Published: January 1, 1954
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Literary Fiction
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The Time Traveler's Wife
- Author: Audrey Niffenegger
- Published: January 1, 2004
- Genres: Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Time Travel
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My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude's Mooring
- Author: Carrie Fancett Pagels
- Published: July 1, 2017
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical, Christian Fiction
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Ice Hunter (Woods Cop, #1)
- Author: Joseph Heywood
- Published: January 1, 2001
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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Winter Study (Anna Pigeon, #14)
- Author: Nevada Barr
- Published: January 1, 2008
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller
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Lilacs for Juliana (The Christy Lumber Camp, #3)
- Author: Carrie Fancett Pagels
- Published: January 1, 2015
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance, Historical
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Song of Solomon
- Author: Toni Morrison
- Published: January 1, 1977
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, African American
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The Blue Ribbon Brides Collection
- Author: Cynthia Hickey
- Published: January 1, 2016
- Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical
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The Lumberjacks' Ball (Christy Lumber Camp, #2)
- Author: Carrie Fancett Pagels
- Published: April 4, 2015
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance
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The Marsh King's Daughter
- Author: Karen Dionne
- Published: June 13, 2017
- Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
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Tea Shop Folly
- Author: Carrie Fancett Pagels
- Published: July 1, 2016
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Christian Fiction, Fiction
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The Substitute Bride
- Author: Carrie Fancett Pagels
- Published: October 11, 2015
- Genres: Christmas, Novella, Historical Fiction, Christian
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The Road to Wellville
- Author: T. Coraghessan Boyle
- Published: January 1, 1993
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Historical
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A Vision of Murder (Psychic Eye Mystery, #3)
- Author: Victoria Laurie
- Published: December 6, 2005
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Fiction
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Made in Detroit: A Memoir
- Author: Paul Clemens
- Published: September 13, 2005
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, History
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Winter of the Wolf Moon (Alex McKnight, #2)
- Author: Steve Hamilton
- Published: January 1, 2000
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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Killer Insight (Psychic Eye Mystery, #4)
- Author: Victoria Laurie
- Published: September 5, 2006
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Fiction
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The Chocolate Cat Caper (A Chocoholic Mystery, #1)
- Author: JoAnna Carl
- Published: January 1, 2002
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary
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True North
- Author: Jim Harrison
- Published: January 1, 2004
- Genres: Fiction, Novels, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
- Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
- Published: January 1, 1995
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction
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A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach: One Woman's Trek of the Perimeter of Lake Michigan (A 1,000 MILE ADVENTURE #1)
- Author: Loreen Niewenhuis
- Published: December 20, 2010
- Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Nature, Memoir
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Anatomy of a Murder
- Author: Robert Traver
- Published: December 1, 1958
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Classics
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The Loon Feather
- Author: Iola Fuller
- Published: February 1, 1940
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Historical
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Once Upon a River
- Author: Bonnie Jo Campbell
- Published: July 5, 2011
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming Of Age, Adult Fiction
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Once on This Island (Mackinac Island Trilogy, #1)
- Author: Gloria Whelan
- Published: September 30, 1995
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Young Adult
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Bud, Not Buddy
- Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
- Published: January 1, 1999
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade
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The Feast of Love
- Author: Charles Baxter
- Published: April 25, 2000
- Genres: Fiction, Novels, Contemporary, Romance
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Death Perception (Psychic Eye Mystery, #6)
- Author: Victoria Laurie
- Published: September 2, 2008
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Mystery
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Doom with a View (Psychic Eye Mystery, #7)
- Author: Victoria Laurie
- Published: September 1, 2009
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Romance
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Misery Bay (Alex McKnight, #8)
- Author: Steve Hamilton
- Published: June 7, 2011
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
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A Glimpse of Evil (Psychic Eye Mystery, #8)
- Author: Victoria Laurie
- Published: July 6, 2010
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Mystery
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Vision Impossible (Psychic Eye Mystery, #9)
- Author: Victoria Laurie
- Published: July 1, 2011
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Mystery
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The Chocolate Bear Burglary (A Chocoholic Mystery, #2)
- Author: JoAnna Carl
- Published: November 5, 2002
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Adult
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A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Volumes 1-2
- Author: Susan Page Davis
- Published: October 1, 2013
- Genres: Christmas
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Motor City Blue (Amos Walker, #1)
- Author: Loren D. Estleman
- Published: January 1, 1980
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Noir, Crime
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Evening in the Yellow Wood
- Author: Laura Kemp
- Published: December 12, 2018
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Fiction, Romance
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Killshot
- Author: Elmore Leonard
- Published: January 1, 1989
- Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
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Gifts and Consequences
- Author: Daniel Coleman
- Published: July 2, 2011
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Suspense, Drama
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The Women of the Copper Country
- Author: Mary Doria Russell
- Published: August 6, 2019
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adult
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Ursula, Under
- Author: Ingrid Hill
- Published: January 1, 2004
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Contemporary
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Michigan Murders
- Author: Edward Keyes
- Published: January 1, 1976
- Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, History
- Read more on Goodreads