Books set in Washington

Written by:
September 27, 2022
Goodreads

Books set in Washington

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 Washington 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.

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Goodreads

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

- Rating: 4.03 (284,872 ratings)
- Author: Jamie Ford
- Published: January 27, 2009
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance
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2 / 50
Goodreads

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1)

- Rating: 3.63 (5.9 million ratings)
- Author: Stephenie Meyer
- Published: October 5, 2005
- Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction
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3 / 50
Goodreads

Snow Falling on Cedars

- Rating: 3.85 (179,211 ratings)
- Author: David Guterson
- Published: September 12, 1994
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical
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4 / 50
Goodreads

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

- Rating: 4.08 (252,190 ratings)
- Author: Sherman Alexie
- Published: September 12, 2007
- Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
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5 / 50
Goodreads

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

- Rating: 4.36 (264,820 ratings)
- Author: Daniel James Brown
- Published: June 4, 2013
- Genres: Nonfiction, History, Sports, Biography
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6 / 50
Goodreads

Simply Irresistible (Lucky Harbor, #1)

- Rating: 3.91 (33,947 ratings)
- Author: Jill Shalvis
- Published: October 1, 2010
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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7 / 50
Goodreads

Freaks I've Met

- Rating: 3.53 (1,058 ratings)
- Author: Donald Jans
- Published: May 1, 2015
- Genres: Humor, Drama, Contemporary, Fiction
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8 / 50
Goodreads

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

- Rating: 3.88 (539,396 ratings)
- Author: Maria Semple
- Published: August 14, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Humor, Mystery
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9 / 50
Goodreads

New Moon (The Twilight Saga, #2)

- Rating: 3.57 (1.7 million ratings)
- Author: Stephenie Meyer
- Published: September 6, 2006
- Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Vampires
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10 / 50
Goodreads

Puget Sound Whales for Sale: The Fight to End Orca Hunting

- Rating: 4.36 (91 ratings)
- Author: Sandra Pollard
- Published: June 15, 2014
- Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Animals
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Goodreads

The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

- Rating: 4.31 (324 ratings)
- Author: Mark Leiren-Young
- Published: January 1, 2016
- Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Animals
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12 / 50
Goodreads

Geoducks Are for Lovers (Modern Love Story, #2)

- Rating: 3.67 (2,993 ratings)
- Author: Daisy Prescott
- Published: May 13, 2013
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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13 / 50
Goodreads

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, #4)

- Rating: 3.72 (1.5 million ratings)
- Author: Stephenie Meyer
- Published: August 2, 2008
- Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Vampires
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14 / 50
Goodreads

Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, #3)

- Rating: 3.71 (1.6 million ratings)
- Author: Stephenie Meyer
- Published: August 7, 2007
- Genres: Teen, Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
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15 / 50
Goodreads

The Egg and I (Betty MacDonald Memoirs, #1)

- Rating: 3.90 (8,898 ratings)
- Author: Betty MacDonald
- Published: October 3, 1945
- Genres: Humor, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography
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16 / 50
Goodreads

Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge

- Rating: 4.25 (3,371 ratings)
- Author: Mark Yarm
- Published: September 6, 2011
- Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Biography
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17 / 50
Goodreads

Endangered Orcas: The Story of the Southern Residents

- Rating: 4.75 (81 ratings)
- Author: Monika Wieland Shields
- Published: January 1, 2019
- Genres: Animals, Nonfiction, Natural History
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18 / 50
Goodreads

The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story

- Rating: 4.13 (90,234 ratings)
- Author: Ann Rule
- Published: August 1, 1980
- Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook
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19 / 50
Goodreads

The Good Rain: Across Time & Terrain in the Pacific Northwest

- Rating: 4.19 (2,206 ratings)
- Author: Timothy Egan
- Published: January 1, 1990
- Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel, Nature
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20 / 50
Goodreads

The Orchardist

- Rating: 3.79 (44,655 ratings)
- Author: Amanda Coplin
- Published: August 21, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Literary Fiction
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21 / 50
Goodreads

Green River, Running Red

- Rating: 3.98 (15,965 ratings)
- Author: Ann Rule
- Published: January 1, 2004
- Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook
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22 / 50
Goodreads

It Had to Be You (Lucky Harbor, #7)

- Rating: 4.12 (10,808 ratings)
- Author: Jill Shalvis
- Published: May 28, 2013
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
- Read more on Goodreads
23 / 50
Goodreads

Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us

- Rating: 4.50 (832 ratings)
- Author: Alexandra Morton
- Published: January 1, 2002
- Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Nature
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24 / 50
Goodreads

Into Great Silence: A Memoir of Discovery and Loss among Vanishing Orcas

- Rating: 4.34 (421 ratings)
- Author: Eva Saulitis
- Published: January 1, 2013
- Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Memoir, Science
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25 / 50
Goodreads

The Obsession

- Rating: 4.21 (71,700 ratings)
- Author: Nora Roberts
- Published: April 12, 2016
- Genres: Romance, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Fiction
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Goodreads

I Love Led Zeppelin

- Rating: 3.88 (483 ratings)
- Author: Ellen Forney
- Published: July 17, 2006
- Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Queer
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27 / 50
Goodreads

Sizzle and Burn (Arcane Society, #3)

- Rating: 4.09 (9,929 ratings)
- Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
- Published: January 3, 2008
- Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Mystery
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28 / 50
Goodreads

Aliens on Vacation (Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast, #1)

- Rating: 3.94 (2,857 ratings)
- Author: Clete Barrett Smith
- Published: May 3, 2011
- Genres: Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Humor
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29 / 50
Goodreads

Collecting the Dead (Special Tracking Unit #1)

- Rating: 3.93 (1,707 ratings)
- Author: Spencer Kope
- Published: June 28, 2016
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense
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30 / 50
Goodreads

Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1)

- Rating: 3.52 (33,013 ratings)
- Author: Cherie Priest
- Published: June 1, 2009
- Genres: Steampunk, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis

- Rating: 4.03 (8,979 ratings)
- Author: Timothy Egan
- Published: September 1, 2011
- Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Photography
- Read more on Goodreads
32 / 50
Goodreads

Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, #5)

- Rating: 4.38 (102,341 ratings)
- Author: Patricia Briggs
- Published: March 30, 2010
- Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
33 / 50
Goodreads

A Lie for a Lie (All In, #1)

- Rating: 3.97 (31,686 ratings)
- Author: Helena Hunting
- Published: October 15, 2019
- Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Sports, Contemporary Romance
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34 / 50
Goodreads

The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941

- Rating: 4.07 (1,926 ratings)
- Author: Kirby Larson
- Published: January 1, 2010
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical
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35 / 50
Goodreads

Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens

- Rating: 3.98 (2,902 ratings)
- Author: Steve Olson
- Published: March 7, 2016
- Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Nature
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, #2)

- Rating: 4.30 (121,627 ratings)
- Author: Patricia Briggs
- Published: January 30, 2007
- Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires
- Read more on Goodreads
37 / 50
Goodreads

River Marked (Mercy Thompson, #6)

- Rating: 4.28 (84,388 ratings)
- Author: Patricia Briggs
- Published: March 1, 2011
- Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
38 / 50
Goodreads

Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson, #7)

- Rating: 4.35 (70,076 ratings)
- Author: Patricia Briggs
- Published: March 5, 2013
- Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires
- Read more on Goodreads
39 / 50
Goodreads

Katie Gale: A Coast Salish Woman's Life on Oyster Bay

- Rating: 3.42 (36 ratings)
- Author: LLyn De Danaan
- Published: January 1, 2013
- Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography
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40 / 50
Goodreads

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

- Rating: 3.92 (36,623 ratings)
- Author: Max Brooks
- Published: June 16, 2020
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

The Search

- Rating: 4.16 (55,205 ratings)
- Author: Nora Roberts
- Published: July 6, 2010
- Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
42 / 50
Goodreads

The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche

- Rating: 3.97 (1,809 ratings)
- Author: Gary Krist
- Published: March 6, 2007
- Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Survival
- Read more on Goodreads
43 / 50
Goodreads

Blackberry Winter

- Rating: 3.99 (17,687 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Jio
- Published: September 1, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Chick Lit
- Read more on Goodreads
44 / 50
Goodreads

Skid Road: An Informal Portrait of Seattle

- Rating: 3.80 (504 ratings)
- Author: Murray Morgan
- Published: January 1, 1951
- Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Historical
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45 / 50
Goodreads

Deep Waters

- Rating: 3.92 (4,001 ratings)
- Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
- Published: January 1, 1997
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (Necromancer, #1)

- Rating: 3.89 (17,762 ratings)
- Author: Lish McBride
- Published: October 12, 2010
- Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
- Read more on Goodreads
47 / 50
Goodreads

If You Tell: a True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood

- Rating: 4.00 (161,913 ratings)
- Author: Gregg Olsen
- Published: December 1, 2019
- Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook
- Read more on Goodreads
48 / 50
Goodreads

The Dark Place (Gideon Oliver, #2)

- Rating: 3.86 (1,987 ratings)
- Author: Aaron Elkins
- Published: January 1, 1983
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Anthropology, Contemporary
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49 / 50
Goodreads

Absolutely, Positively

- Rating: 3.98 (5,187 ratings)
- Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
- Published: January 1, 1996
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
- Read more on Goodreads
50 / 50
Goodreads

One in a Million (Lucky Harbor, #12)

- Rating: 4.16 (6,331 ratings)
- Author: Jill Shalvis
- Published: October 14, 2014
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
- Read more on Goodreads

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