Books set in North Carolina
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 North Carolina 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.
Where the Crawdads Sing
- Author: Delia Owens
- Published: August 14, 2018
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook
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Cold Mountain
- Author: Charles Frazier
- Published: January 1, 1997
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance
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Nights in Rodanthe
- Author: Nicholas Sparks
- Published: January 1, 2002
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary
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Just Listen
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: April 6, 2006
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Garden Spells (Waverley Family, #1)
- Author: Sarah Addison Allen
- Published: August 28, 2007
- Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Romance
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The Truth About Forever
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: May 11, 2004
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Raney
- Author: Clyde Edgerton
- Published: January 2, 1985
- Genres: Fiction, Humor, Southern, Novels
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Ellen Foster
- Author: Kaye Gibbons
- Published: January 21, 1987
- Genres: Fiction, Southern, Coming Of Age, Young Adult
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The Wish
- Author: Nicholas Sparks
- Published: September 28, 2021
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary
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The Fiery Cross (Outlander, #5)
- Author: Diana Gabaldon
- Published: November 6, 2001
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction
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All the Missing Girls
- Author: Megan Miranda
- Published: June 28, 2016
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
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What Happened to Goodbye
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: May 10, 2011
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Big Lies in a Small Town
- Author: Diane Chamberlain
- Published: January 14, 2020
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook
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First Frost (Waverley Family, #2)
- Author: Sarah Addison Allen
- Published: January 20, 2015
- Genres: Magical Realism, Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
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Where the Lilies Bloom
- Author: Vera Cleaver
- Published: January 1, 1969
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Classics
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At Home in Mitford (Mitford Years, #1)
- Author: Jan Karon
- Published: October 28, 1994
- Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Adult Fiction
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The Sugar Queen
- Author: Sarah Addison Allen
- Published: May 20, 2008
- Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Fantasy
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One Second After
- Author: William R. Forstchen
- Published: March 17, 2009
- Genres: Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic
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The Rest of the Story
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: June 4, 2019
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Bootlegger's Daughter (Deborah Knott Mysteries, #1)
- Author: Margaret Maron
- Published: May 1, 1992
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Southern
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Keeping the Moon
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: September 1, 1999
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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This Lullaby
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: May 27, 2002
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Along for the Ride
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: June 16, 2009
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Serena
- Author: Ron Rash
- Published: October 7, 2008
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Southern
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Lock and Key
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: April 22, 2008
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Look Homeward, Angel
- Author: Thomas Wolfe
- Published: January 1, 1929
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literature, Novels
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The Moon and More
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: June 4, 2013
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
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Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
- Author: Tony Horwitz
- Published: March 3, 1998
- Genres: Civil War, History, Nonfiction, American History
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Someone Like You
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: May 1, 1998
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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That Summer
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: January 1, 1996
- Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction
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Cataloochee
- Author: Wayne Caldwell
- Published: January 1, 2007
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Southern, Historical
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Safe Haven
- Author: Nicholas Sparks
- Published: January 1, 2010
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary
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Book Lovers
- Author: Emily Henry
- Published: May 3, 2022
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance
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The Last Road Home
- Author: Danny Johnson
- Published: July 1, 2016
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction, Literary Fiction
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Smoky Mountain Tracks (Raine Stockton Dog Mysteries, #1)
- Author: Donna Ball
- Published: January 1, 2006
- Genres: Mystery, Dogs, Fiction, Cozy Mystery
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Tell Me No Lies (An Ava Logan Mystery #1)
- Author: Lynn Chandler Willis
- Published: February 7, 2017
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Adult Fiction
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Christmas in Fair Bend
- Author: Angie Ellington
- Published: February 22, 2017
- Genres: Christmas, Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance
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Personal (Jack Reacher, #19)
- Author: Lee Child
- Published: September 2, 2014
- Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime
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Lunch at the Piccadilly
- Author: Clyde Edgerton
- Published: January 1, 2003
- Genres: Fiction, Humor, Southern, Adult Fiction
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A Timely Vision (A Missing Pieces Mystery, #1)
- Author: Joyce Lavene
- Published: May 4, 2010
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Paranormal
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Lookaway, Lookaway
- Author: Wilton Barnhardt
- Published: May 7, 2013
- Genres: Fiction, Southern, Family, Contemporary
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Carolina Harmony
- Author: Marilyn Taylor McDowell
- Published: January 1, 2009
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile, Historical
- Read more on Goodreads
Joyland
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 2013
- Genres: Horror, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
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Road to Tater Hill
- Author: Edith M. Hemingway
- Published: January 1, 2009
- Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult
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Jessie's Mountain
- Author: Kerry Madden
- Published: February 1, 2008
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens
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So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix
- Author: Bethany C. Morrow
- Published: September 7, 2021
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Retellings, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
The Notebook (The Notebook, #1)
- Author: Nicholas Sparks
- Published: October 1, 1996
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads