Books set in Nevada

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September 27, 2022
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Books set in Nevada

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 Nevada 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.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

- Rating: 4.07 (327,194 ratings)
- Author: Hunter S. Thompson
- Published: July 7, 1971
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Humor, Journalism
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The Goldfinch

- Rating: 3.93 (832,624 ratings)
- Author: Donna Tartt
- Published: September 23, 2013
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Audiobook
- Read more on Goodreads

Leaving Las Vegas

- Rating: 3.99 (4,650 ratings)
- Author: John O'Brien
- Published: January 1, 1990
- Genres: Fiction, Novels, Romance, Literary Fiction
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The Desert Rose

- Rating: 3.50 (1,291 ratings)
- Author: Larry McMurtry
- Published: January 1, 1983
- Genres: Fiction, Westerns, Contemporary, Humor
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The Distant Dead

- Rating: 3.96 (2,553 ratings)
- Author: Heather Young
- Published: June 9, 2020
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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To the Nines (Stephanie Plum, #9)

- Rating: 4.15 (115,947 ratings)
- Author: Janet Evanovich
- Published: July 15, 2003
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Chick Lit
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The Stand

- Rating: 4.34 (701,666 ratings)
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1978
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction
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The Ox-Bow Incident

- Rating: 3.86 (5,687 ratings)
- Author: Walter Van Tilburg Clark
- Published: January 1, 1940
- Genres: Fiction, Westerns, Classics, Historical Fiction
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Diamonds are Forever (James Bond, #4)

- Rating: 3.64 (20,949 ratings)
- Author: Ian Fleming
- Published: March 26, 1956
- Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Mystery
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Burned (Burned, #1)

- Rating: 4.25 (61,943 ratings)
- Author: Ellen Hopkins
- Published: March 28, 2006
- Genres: Young Adult, Poetry, Fiction, Contemporary
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Jake (The Seven Brothers of Elko, #1)

- Rating: 4.20 (208 ratings)
- Author: Raeann Blake
- Published: October 5, 2012
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Westerns, Suspense
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Harley in the Sky

- Rating: 3.99 (1,488 ratings)
- Author: Akemi Dawn Bowman
- Published: March 10, 2020
- Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Mental Health
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Lords of St. Thomas

- Rating: 4.49 (87 ratings)
- Author: Jackson Ellis
- Published: April 10, 2018
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

Desperation

- Rating: 3.84 (131,990 ratings)
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1996
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy
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96 Miles

- Rating: 4.11 (1,459 ratings)
- Author: J.L. Esplin
- Published: February 11, 2020
- Genres: Middle Grade, Adventure, Survival, Realistic Fiction
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All the Beautiful Girls

- Rating: 3.78 (2,595 ratings)
- Author: Elizabeth J. Church
- Published: March 6, 2018
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance
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Retribution (Dark-Hunter, #19)

- Rating: 4.12 (21,092 ratings)
- Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
- Published: August 2, 2011
- Genres: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy
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Diva Las Vegas (Raven McShane #1)

- Rating: 3.73 (810 ratings)
- Author: Caroline Dries
- Published: November 21, 2011
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Romance
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Girlchild

- Rating: 3.53 (5,898 ratings)
- Author: Tupelo Hassman
- Published: February 14, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Adult, Coming Of Age
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Where We Live: Las Vegas Shooting Benefit Anthology

- Rating: 4.03 (230 ratings)
- Author: Mike Allred
- Published: May 1, 2018
- Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Nonfiction, Anthologies
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So B. It (So B. It, #1)

- Rating: 4.11 (33,743 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Weeks
- Published: January 1, 2000
- Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade
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Elvis in Vegas: How the King Reinvented the Las Vegas Show

- Rating: 3.82 (379 ratings)
- Author: Richard Zoglin
- Published: July 23, 2019
- Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, Biography
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Curious Minds (Knight and Moon, #1)

- Rating: 3.70 (23,454 ratings)
- Author: Janet Evanovich
- Published: August 16, 2016
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Audiobook
- Read more on Goodreads

Wrecked (IQ #3)

- Rating: 3.91 (4,590 ratings)
- Author: Joe Ide
- Published: October 9, 2018
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
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Paradise, Nevada

- Rating: 3.47 (211 ratings)
- Author: Dario Diofebi
- Published: April 1, 2021
- Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Literary Fiction, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads

Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base

- Rating: 3.81 (7,520 ratings)
- Author: Annie Jacobsen
- Published: May 17, 2011
- Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Military Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

X-Factor, Vol. 11: Happenings in Vegas

- Rating: 3.98 (484 ratings)
- Author: Peter David
- Published: February 23, 2011
- Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men
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Nevada

- Rating: 3.35 (79 ratings)
- Author: Steve Gerber
- Published: March 26, 1999
- Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comic Book
- Read more on Goodreads

Travis & Freddy's Adventures in Vegas

- Rating: 3.69 (16 ratings)
- Author: Henry Johnson
- Published: April 6, 2006
- Genres: Adventure, Juvenile
- Read more on Goodreads

Weird Las Vegas and Nevada: Your Alternative Travel Guide to Sin City and the Silver State

- Rating: 3.71 (86 ratings)
- Author: Joe Oesterle
- Published: October 1, 2007
- Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History
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As You Wish

- Rating: 3.56 (3,920 ratings)
- Author: Chelsea Sedoti
- Published: January 2, 2018
- Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary, Magical Realism
- Read more on Goodreads

Exit Strategy (Nadia Stafford #1)

- Rating: 3.91 (7,829 ratings)
- Author: Kelley Armstrong
- Published: June 26, 2007
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime
- Read more on Goodreads

Ruby Tuesday

- Rating: 3.40 (89 ratings)
- Author: Jennifer Anne Kogler
- Published: April 1, 2005
- Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Humor, Adventure
- Read more on Goodreads

Camo Girl

- Rating: 3.79 (996 ratings)
- Author: Kekla Magoon
- Published: January 4, 2011
- Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Mental Illness
- Read more on Goodreads

Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)

- Rating: 4.23 (14,779 ratings)
- Author: Kelley Armstrong
- Published: January 1, 2011
- Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy, Witches
- Read more on Goodreads

Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #17)

- Rating: 3.92 (37,811 ratings)
- Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
- Published: June 2, 2009
- Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Fantasy
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Overdrive

- Rating: 3.84 (370 ratings)
- Author: Dawn Ius
- Published: September 13, 2016
- Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads

No Place Like Home

- Rating: 4.53 (101 ratings)
- Author: Dee Romito
- Published: September 19, 2017
- Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads

12th of Never (Women's Murder Club, #12)

- Rating: 4.06 (41,338 ratings)
- Author: James Patterson
- Published: April 29, 2013
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads

Still Life Las Vegas

- Rating: 3.65 (195 ratings)
- Author: James Sie
- Published: August 11, 2015
- Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novels, LGBT, Young Adult
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Mountain City

- Rating: 4.10 (152 ratings)
- Author: Gregory Martin
- Published: June 2, 2000
- Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, History
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Grind

- Rating: 3.62 (60 ratings)
- Author: Mark Maynard
- Published: January 1, 2012
- Genres: Short Stories, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

Wanna Get Lucky? (Lucky O'Toole, #1)

- Rating: 3.92 (3,879 ratings)
- Author: Deborah Coonts
- Published: May 1, 2010
- Genres: Mystery, Romance, Cozy Mystery, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

Happy Birthday to Me (Birthday Trilogy, #1)

- Rating: 3.48 (523 ratings)
- Author: Brian Rowe
- Published: April 5, 2011
- Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
- Read more on Goodreads

Neon Prey (Lucas Davenport, #29)

- Rating: 4.18 (19,918 ratings)
- Author: John Sandford
- Published: April 23, 2019
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
- Read more on Goodreads

Void Moon

- Rating: 3.99 (27,208 ratings)
- Author: Michael Connelly
- Published: December 7, 1999
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads

Nightwalker (Harrison Investigation, #8)

- Rating: 3.94 (3,078 ratings)
- Author: Heather Graham
- Published: March 31, 2009
- Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense
- Read more on Goodreads

The Wild One (Phantom Stallion, #1)

- Rating: 4.14 (4,140 ratings)
- Author: Terri Farley
- Published: January 1, 2002
- Genres: Horses, Animals, Childrens, Young Adult
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We Are Called to Rise

- Rating: 3.94 (13,195 ratings)
- Author: Laura McBride
- Published: June 3, 2014
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Adult, Book Club
- Read more on Goodreads

The Chapel Wars

- Rating: 3.52 (1,577 ratings)
- Author: Lindsey Leavitt
- Published: May 6, 2014
- Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

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