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Books about Small Town Life
The Maid's Version
by Daniel Woodrell
A small town is haunted by a deadly explosion that killed 42 people. The maid's version of events reveals secrets and lies.
Alma DeGeer Dunahew, the mother of three young boys, works as the maid for a prominent citizen and his family in West Table, Missouri. Her husband is mostly absent, and, in 1929, her scandalous, ... (Goodreads)
Miss Buncle's Book
by D.E. Stevenson
A middle-aged spinster writes a book under a pseudonym, causing uproar in her small English village.
Barbara Buncle is in a bind. Times are harsh, and Barbara's bank account has seen better days. Stumped for ideas, Barbara draws inspiration from fellow residents of her quaint English village, ... (Goodreads)
Dandelion Wine
by Ray Bradbury
A small town summer filled with magical moments, unfolding the secrets of life.
Chapter 1 — Spending the night in the cupola of his grandfather's house that gives him a panoramic view of the town, Douglas wakes up early on the first day of summer and performs an elaborate series ... (Wikipedia)
Dead as a Doornail
by Charlaine Harris
A supernatural murder mystery, uncovering the dark secrets of a small southern town.
Small-town cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has had more than her share of experience with the supernatural—but now it’s really hitting close to home. When Sookie sees her brother Jason’s eyes ... (Goodreads)
Dead and Gone
by Charlaine Harris
A supernatural murder mystery set in the southern small town of Bon Temps.
In this novel, the weres and shifters make their presence known, following the example of the vampires. At the same time, the King of Nevada, who now leads Louisiana as well, begins consolidating his ... (Wikipedia)
The Nine Tailors
by Dorothy L. Sayers
A murder-mystery set in rural England, featuring an amateur detective and a series of perplexing clues.
Stranded after a car accident in the Fenland village of Fenchurch St. Paul on New Year's Eve, Lord Peter Wimsey helps ring a nine-hour peal on the church bells overnight after William Thoday, one of ... (Wikipedia)
Glass Houses
by Louise Penny
A suspenseful murder mystery set in a remote Quebec village.
An instant, New York Times Bestseller, and August 2017 LibraryReads pick!, “Penny’s absorbing, intricately plotted 13th Gamache novel proves she only gets better at pursuing dark truths with ... (Barnes & Noble)
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
by Fannie Flagg
A nostalgic tale of friendship, courage and resilience set in the American South.
Throughout the novel the narrator and time period change, and the reader relies on the chapters' headings to establish the date and the source of the chapter. Some of the narration comes in the form ... (Wikipedia)
The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden
by Jonas Jonasson
A quirky and humorous tale of a small Swedish town, and the unlikely events that unfold.
In 1961, Nombeko Mayeki is born a poor black girl in Soweto . She leaves the slums and a twist of fate – she is run over but survives – puts her into the employ of the engineer who ran her over, as a ... (Wikipedia)
Big Stone Gap
by Adriana Trigiani
A small-town woman's journey of self-discovery, finding love and purpose in unexpected places.
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed ... (Goodreads)
Anything Is Possible
by Elizabeth Strout
An exploration of the interconnected lives of a small town's inhabitants, and the power of redemption.
Short story collection Anything Is Possible explores the whole range of human emotion through the intimate dramas of people struggling to understand themselves and others. Here are two sisters: one ... (Goodreads)
Winesburg, Ohio
by Sherwood Anderson
Portrayal of small town life, exploring its inhabitants' inner struggles and struggles with conformity.
Winesburg, Ohio depicts the strange, secret lives of the inhabitants of a small town. In "Hands," Wing Biddlebaum tries to hide the tale of his banishment from a Pennsylvania town, a tale represented ... (Goodreads)
Standing in the Rainbow
by Fannie Flagg
A comedic story of a small town in Alabama and its eccentric inhabitants, highlighting the beauty of human relationships.
Along with Neighbor Dorothy, the lady with the smile in her voice, whose daily radio broadcasts keep us delightfully informed on all the local news, we also meet Bobby, her ten-year-old son, destined ... (Goodreads)
I Am Watching You
by Teresa Driscoll
A woman's quest to uncover the truth about a mysterious disappearance in her small town.
When Ella Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a train, she thinks nothing of it—until she realises they are fresh out of prison and her maternal instinct is ... (Goodreads)
A Girl Named Zippy
by Haven Kimmel
A charming account of growing up in rural Indiana, exploring the joys and hardships of life.
When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965 in Mooreland, Indiana, it was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was ... (Goodreads)
The Winter People
by Jennifer McMahon
A mysterious tale of murder, secrets and folklore in a small New England town.
A, Boston Globe, Best Book of the Year , West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
by Katarina Bivald
A young woman's journey of self-discovery and finding her place in the world.
Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen... Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. ... (Goodreads)
Peyton Place
by Grace Metalious
A small-town scandal unravels, exposing secrets of the inhabitants.
First published in 1956, Peyton Place uncovers the passions, lies and cruelties that simmer beneath the surface of a postcard-perfect town. At the centre of the novel are three women, each with a ... (Goodreads)
A Rule Against Murder
by Louise Penny
A murder mystery centered around a small Quebec town, unraveling its secrets along the way.
"What happened here last night isn't allowed," said Madame Dubois. It was such an extraordinary thing to say it stopped the ravenous Inspector Beauvoir from taking another bite of his roast beef on ... (Goodreads)
The Cruelest Month
by Louise Penny
A mystery set in a small town in Quebec, uncovering secrets and solving a murder.
The novel, set in the small Canadian town of Three Pines, takes place around the Easter season. A group of friends visits a haunted house, hoping to rid it of the evil spirits that have haunted it, ... (Wikipedia)
Still Life
by Louise Penny
A murder investigation leads to the discovery of secrets surrounding a small Canadian town.
Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards., Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a ... (Barnes & Noble)
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd
by Alan Bradley
Amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce uses her ingenuity and chemistry skills to solve a murder mystery.
In spite of being ejected from Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy in Canada, twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce is excited to be sailing home to England. But instead of a joyous homecoming, she is greeted on ... (Goodreads)
Swami and Friends
by R.K. Narayan
A group of friends living in a small Indian town experience adventures and growth.
The story revolves around a ten year old school boy named Swaminathan and his friends. Throughout the novel he is called as Swami . All the events take place in Malgudi , A fictional town. Swami ... (Wikipedia)
The Preacher
by Camilla Läckberg
A gripping crime novel about a young detective investigating a series of murders in a small Swedish town.
Almost every subplot focuses on a parent-child relationship: central we have three generations of misogynist father/son in which violations of young girls is almost enshrined; ramifications occur ... (Wikipedia)
The Hidden Child
by Camilla Läckberg
A psychological suspense novel, uncovering secrets and lies of a small rural town.
This is regarded as one of the more plot-driven novels in the series, with more emphasis on the story. , Erika wants to write a 'great book' so Patrik goes on paternity leave to look after their baby ... (Wikipedia)
The Last Picture Show
by Larry McMurtry
A story of a small town in Texas and the inhabitants, capturing a bygone era.
In 1951 Sonny Crawford and Duane Jackson are high-school seniors and friends in Anarene, Texas , a small declining northern Texas town. Duane is dating Jacy Farrow, who Sonny considers the prettiest ... (Wikipedia)
Plainsong
by Kent Haruf
Interconnected stories of rural life in small-town America, and the struggles of the people living there.
A heartstrong story of family and romance, tribulation and tenacity, set on the High Plains east of Denver. In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his ... (Goodreads)
Eventide
by Kent Haruf
An exploration of life in a small rural community, and the struggles of its inhabitants.
Kent Haruf, award-winning, bestselling author of Plainsong returns to the high-plains town of Holt, Colorado, with a novel of masterful authority. The aging McPheron brothers are learning to live ... (Goodreads)
Cranford
by Elizabeth Gaskell
A charming portrait of a rural town and the lives of its eccentric inhabitants.
Mary Smith and her friends live in Cranford, a town predominantly inhabited by women. The return of a long-lost brother named Peter is the most dramatic event to occur over the course of the sixteen ... (Goodreads)
Iron Lake
by William Kent Krueger
A small town detective investigates a mysterious murder, uncovering hidden secrets.
Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor is the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota. Embittered by his "former" status, and the marital meltdown that has separated him from his ... (Goodreads)
The Bookshop on the Corner
by Jenny Colgan
A woman finds solace and purpose in a second-hand bookshop in the Scottish countryside.
Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now ... (Goodreads)
Midnight Crossroad
by Charlaine Harris
A small town in Texas is home to a diverse group of residents, including vampires, witches, and psychics, who must come together to solve a murder mystery.
From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale - populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that’s ... (Goodreads)
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror
by Christopher Moore
A bizarre Christmas tale of an angel's misadventure to save a small town.
An angel named Raziel (previously in Moore's novel, Lamb, ) is sent to Earth to grant the wish of a child; he decides to help a boy who had witnessed the death of a man dressed as Santa Claus . ... (Wikipedia)
The Cold Dish
by Craig Johnson
Small-town sheriff investigates a grizzly murder, uncovering dark secrets in the process.
Walt Longmire, sheriff of Wyoming's Absaroka County, knows he's got trouble when Cody Pritchard is found dead. Two years earlier, Cody and three accomplices had been given suspended sentences for ... (Goodreads)
The Last Juror
by John Grisham
A small-town journalist's journey to uncover the truth of a decades-old murder case.
In 1970, a 23-year-old college dropout named Willie Traynor realizes that his dreams of becoming a Pulitzer -winning journalist will never come true. He moves to Clanton, Mississippi for an ... (Wikipedia)
A Serpent's Tooth
by Craig Johnson
A small-town sheriff investigates a mysterious murder in the Wyoming foothills.
The inspiration for A&E's, Longmire, finds himself in the crosshairs in the ninth book of the, New York Times, bestselling series The success of Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire series that began with ... (Goodreads)
The Colorado Kid
by Stephen King
A mysterious, unsolved crime case explored by two newspaper reporters.
Opening, in medias res, as the news staff of The Weekly Islander pays for lunch at a restaurant, editor Dave Bowie and founder Vince Teague test young intern Stephanie McCann's powers of deduction ... (Wikipedia)
The MacKade Brothers: Devin and Shane
by Nora Roberts
Two brothers, wrestling with their pasts, find redemption and love in a small town.
The sinfully sexy MacKade brothers are back! New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts's reader favorites are once again breaking the hearts of women everywhere. Sheriff Devin MacKade watched – ... (Goodreads)
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America
by Bill Bryson
A humorous journey through rural America, exploring its secrets and idiosyncrasies.
'I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to' And, as soon as Bill Bryson was old enough, he left. Des Moines couldn't hold him, but it did lure him back. After ten years in England, he returned to the ... (Goodreads)
Fool's Puzzle
by Earlene Fowler
A quilter becomes embroiled in a murder mystery when she discovers a hidden message in a quilt.
Leaving behind memories of her late husband, Benni Harper is making a fresh start...Moving to the trendy California town of San Celina, she takes an exciting new job as director of a folk-art museum. ... (Goodreads)
Raven Black
by Ann Cleeves
A murder mystery set on the Shetland Islands, unraveling secrets embedded in the local community.
Winner of Britain’s coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award, Ann Cleeves introduces a dazzling new suspense series to mystery readers.,Raven Black, begins on New Year’s Eve with a lonely outcast named ... (Goodreads)
Main Street
by Sinclair Lewis
A small-town woman's quest for freedom and self-expression in a repressive society.
With Commentary by E. M. Forster, Dorothy Parker, H. L. Mencken, Lewis Mumford, Rebecca West, Sherwood Anderson, Malcolm Cowley, Alfred Kazin, Constance Rourke, and Mark Schorer. Main Street , the ... (Goodreads)
Rocket Boys
by Homer Hickam
A coming-of-age story of a small-town boy and his journey of pursuing his dreams in rocketry.
"Until I began to build and launch rockets, I didn't know my home town was at war with itself over its children, and that my parents were locked in a kind of bloodless combat over how my brother and ... (Goodreads)
An Ice Cold Grave
by Charlaine Harris
A murder investigation leads to dark secrets of a small town, with supernatural forces at play.
Hired to find a boy gone missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there, only to discover that the boy was the only one left of several who had disappeared ... (Goodreads)
A Quiet Life in the Country
by T.E. Kinsey
A detective's investigation into mysterious events that threaten a quiet rural community.
Revised edition: This edition of, A Quiet Life In The Country, includes editorial revisions. Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and ... (Goodreads)
Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town
by Nick Reding
A harrowing account of the devastating impact of methamphetamine on a small Iowa town and its inhabitants.
The dramatic story of the methamphetamine epidemic as it sweeps the American heartland a timely, moving, very human account of one community s attempt to battle its way to a brighter future. Crystal ... (Goodreads)
Independence Day
by Richard Ford
A Midwestern family's struggles to hold on to their values in the face of economic hardship.
The novel follows Frank Bascombe, a New Jersey real estate agent (and ex-sportswriter), through the titular holiday weekend as he visits his ex-wife, his troubled son, his current lover, the tenants ... (Wikipedia)
The Milagro Beanfield War
by John Nichols
A small town's battle against land developers, and their struggle for justice.
Nearly 500 residents of the agricultural community of Milagro in the mountains of northern New Mexico face a crisis when politicians and business interests make a backroom deal to usurp the town's ... (Wikipedia)
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove
by Christopher Moore
A quirky and surreal journey into a small town filled with strange characters.
Pine Cove suffers a major crisis when the town psychiatrist, Val Riordan — who has been haphazardly issuing prescriptions instead of dealing with the real mental problems of her patients — suffers a ... (Wikipedia)
The Wapshot Chronicle
by John Cheever
The Wapshot family's decline from wealth and prestige to dysfunction and despair in a small New England town.
Meet the Wapshots of St Botolphs. There is Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea-dog and would-be suicide; his licentious older son, Moses; and Moses's adoring and errant younger brother, Coverly. ... (Goodreads)
Jasper Jones
by Craig Silvey
An Australian coming-of-age story, exploring racial prejudice and the power of friendship.
The protagonist Charlie Bucktin is a quiet, book loving, 13-year-old boy who lives in the fictitious rural town of Corrigan, Western Australia. On a summer evening in 1965, Charlie receives an ... (Wikipedia)
Bruno, Chief of Police
by Martin Walker
A small-town police chief investigates a murder that leads him to uncover dark secrets of the town's past.
The first installment in a wonderful new series that follows the exploits of Benoît Courrèges, a policeman in a small French village where the rituals of the café still rule. Bruno – as he is ... (Goodreads)
The Two Dead Girls
by Stephen King
A thrilling mystery of two murders, unraveling the secrets of a small town.
Featuring a first-person narrative told by Paul Edgecombe, the novel switches between Paul as an old man in the Georgia Pines nursing home writing down his story in 1996, and his time in 1932 as the ... (Wikipedia)
The Dark Horse
by Craig Johnson
A sheriff investigates a mysterious murder in the small town of Wyoming.
Read Craig Johnson's posts on the Penguin Blog.,, Walt Longmire goes undercover to save a woman in an unfriendly place, Interweaving classic noir sensibilities and humor with contemporary themes of ... (Goodreads)
'Salem's Lot
by Stephen King
A small town's battle against an ancient evil that threatens to consume its inhabitants.
Ben Mears, a writer who spent part of his childhood in Jerusalem's Lot , Maine , has returned after 25 years. He quickly becomes friends with high-school teacher Matt Burke and strikes up a ... (Wikipedia)
The Burgess Boys
by Elizabeth Strout
Siblings reunite to help a small Maine town overcome its dark past.
Haunted by the freak accident that killed their father when they were children, Jim and Bob Burgess escaped from their Maine hometown of Shirley Falls for New York City as soon as they possibly ... (Goodreads)
Anne of Ingleside
by L.M. Montgomery
A charming story of a mother's love, set in a small Canadian town.
Seven years after Anne's House of Dreams , Anne visits Diana Wright and her daughter, Anne Cordelia, in Avonlea following the funeral of Gilbert's father. When she returns home to the old Morgan ... (Wikipedia)
Roses
by Leila Meacham
A multigenerational saga of two families in a small Texas town, their secrets, and the power of love and loyalty.
Two East Texas families must deal with the aftermath of a marriage that never happened leading to deceit, secrets, and tragedies in a sweeping multigenerational Southern saga "with echoes of Gone ... (Barnes & Noble)
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows
by Alan Bradley
A young girl's detective work uncovers a sinister mystery in a small English village.
It's Christmastime, and the precocious Flavia de Luce - an eleven-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for crime-solving - is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a ... (Goodreads)
Homer Price
by Robert McCloskey
An imaginative young boy embarks on a series of comedic adventures.
Welcome to Centerburg! Where you can win a hundred dollars by eating all the doughnuts you want; where houses are built in a day; and where a boy named Homer Price can foil four slick bandits using ... (Goodreads)
Full Scoop
by Janet Evanovich
A humorous romantic mystery, following a small-town ice-cream shop owner as she solves a murder.
Dear Reader: Mercury's in retrograde, and folks in Beaumont, South Carolina, are dealing with gossip, scandal, misunderstandings, and more secrets than ever. Local pediatrician Maggie Farnsworth has ... (Goodreads)
Dead End in Norvelt
by Jack Gantos
A humorous coming-of-age story of a boy helping an elderly neighbor and uncovering the secrets of his hometown.
Dead End in Norvelt takes place during the summer of 1962, after the American schoolboy Jack Gantos fires his father's war trophy, a Japanese sniper rifle , at a war movie playing at a drive-in movie ... (Wikipedia)
Pines
by Blake Crouch
A man's journey to uncover the secrets of a mysterious town, and its inhabitants.
Wayward Pines, Idaho, is quintessential small-town America–or so it seems. Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrives in search of two missing federal agents, yet soon is facing much more than he ... (Goodreads)
The Spinning Heart
by Donal Ryan
After the collapse of a small Irish town's construction company, the lives of its inhabitants unravel. Each chapter is told from a different character's perspective.
In the aftermath of Ireland's financial collapse, dangerous tensions surface in an Irish town. As violence flares, the characters face a battle between public persona and inner desires. Through a ... (Goodreads)
Kindness Goes Unpunished
by Craig Johnson
A sheriff investigates a cold case, uncovering secrets and uncovering justice.
Walt Longmire has been sheriff of Wyoming's Absaroka County for almost a quarter of a century and has meted out justice with charm and a high-powered sense of humor, but when Walt tags along with ... (Goodreads)
At Home in Mitford
by Jan Karon
Small town life in Mitford, filled with spiritual and comedic moments.
Enter the world of Mitford, and you won't want to leave. It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally ... (Goodreads)
Green River, Running Red
by Ann Rule
True story of serial killer, his victims, and the small town they called home.
In this provocative and eye-opening classic of investigative journalism, the #1, New York Times, bestselling author and “America’s best true-crime writer” (,Kirkus Reviews,), Ann Rule, explores the ... (Barnes & Noble)
Malgudi Days
by R.K. Narayan
A captivating collection of stories set in a fictional South Indian town, exploring the lives of its eccentric inhabitants.
Four gems, with new introductions, mark acclaimed Indian writer R. K. Narayan’s centennial Introducing this collection of stories, R. K. Narayan describes how in India “the writer has only to look ... (Goodreads)
Downtown Owl
by Chuck Klosterman
A small town in North Dakota is explored through the lives of its residents, revealing the complexities of human existence in a seemingly simple place.
Somewhere in North Dakota, there is a town called Owl that isn't there. Disco is over, but punk never happened. They don't have cable. They don't really have pop culture, unless you count grain ... (Goodreads)
Come Sundown
by Nora Roberts
A story of family secrets, romance, and survival in a small Montana town.
# 1, New York Times, bestselling author of, The Obsession, Nora Roberts, returns with a stunning tale of how blood ties can save us—or destroy us —in, Come Sundown,. The Bodine ranch and resort in ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Sugar Queen
by Sarah Addison Allen
A young woman's journey of self-discovery as she unlocks the mysteries of her small town.
Twenty-seven-year-old Josey is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season; she's a sorry excuse for a Southern belle; and sweets are best eaten in the privacy ... (Goodreads)
Three Bedrooms, One Corpse
by Charlaine Harris
A comedic murder mystery in a small town, with a determined sleuth seeking the truth.
Author of the books that inspired, True Blood, on HBO and, Midnight, Texas, on NBC After inheriting a modest fortune, Aurora Teagarden decides to try her hand at being a real estate agent, working at ... (Barnes & Noble)
As The Crow Flies
by Craig Johnson
A Wyoming Sheriff investigates a murder amidst a rising tide of violence.
The eighth novel from the, New York Times, bestselling author of the Longmire series, the basis for, LONGMIRE, the hit Netflix original series, Embarking on his eighth adventure, Wyoming Sheriff Walt ... (Goodreads)
Three Times Lucky
by Sheila Turnage
A young girl's adventure to discover the truth of her mysterious past.
Newbery honor winner,, New York Times, bestseller, Edgar Award Finalist, and E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor book. A hilarious Southern debut with the kind of characters you meet once in a lifetime ... (Goodreads)
The Drowning
by Camilla Läckberg
A detective investigates a suspicious death in a small coastal town, uncovering secrets and lies.
Christian Thydell’s dream has come true. His debut novel, The Mermaid , has been published to rave reviews. So why is he as distant and unhappy as ever? When crime writer Erica Falck, who helped ... (Goodreads)
A Country Doctor's Notebook
by Mikhail Bulgakov
A young doctor's struggles to practice medicine in a small rural village.
Brilliant stories that show the growth of a novelist's mind, and the raw material that fed the wild surrealism of Bulgakov's later fiction. With the ink still wet on his diploma, the ... (Goodreads)
Heaven, Texas
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
A former football star returns to his hometown to coach a losing high school team and falls for a sassy, independent woman.
Come heck or high water, Gracie Snow is determined to drag the legendary ex-jock Bobby Tom Denton back home to Heaven, Texas, to begin shooting his first motion picture. Despite his dazzling good ... (Goodreads)
Murder with Peacocks
by Donna Andrews
A comedic mystery novel set in a small town, where a wedding planner becomes embroiled in a murder investigation.
Three Weddings...And a Murder So far Meg Langslow's summer is not going swimmingly. Down in her small Virginia hometown, she's maid of honor at the nuptials of three loved ones–each of whom has ... (Goodreads)
Empire Falls
by Richard Russo
A small town's citizens struggle to find meaning and find their place in a rapidly changing world.
Set in the decaying, nearly bankrupt, small town of Empire Falls, Maine, this is the story of the unassuming manager of the Empire Grill, Miles Roby, who has spent his life in the town. The town, and ... (Wikipedia)
The Risk Pool
by Richard Russo
A coming-of-age story set in a small town in upstate New York, exploring the complex relationship between a father and son.
The Risk Pool is a thirty-year journey through the lives of Sam Hall, a small-town gambling hellraiser, and his watchful, introspective son Ned. When Ned's mother Jenny suffers a breakdown and ... (Goodreads)
Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good
by Jan Karon
A heartwarming story of life in a small town, exploring the joys and struggles of friendship and family.
After five hectic years of retirement from Lord’s Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors. While glad to be at ... (Goodreads)
Cherry Cheesecake Murder
by Joanne Fluke
Amateur sleuth Hannah Swensen solves a murder mystery with the help of her baking skills.
Hannah Swensen and her bakery, The Cookie Jar, bask in the glow of Hollywood glamour when Main Street becomes a movie set. And although tensions simmer as the cameras roll, no one expects the action ... (Barnes & Noble)
Grave Sight
by Charlaine Harris
A young woman uses her supernatural powers to uncover a murderer in a small town.
Grave Sight (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 1) Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share ... (Goodreads)
A Dangerous Place
by Jacqueline Winspear
A woman's investigation into a murder reveals the dark secrets of a small English town.
Four years after she set sail from England, leaving everything she most loved behind, Maisie Dobbs at last returns, only to find herself in a dangerous place . . . In Jacqueline Winspear‘s powerful ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Serpent King
by Jeff Zentner
Three misfit teenagers explore their identities, faith and the power of friendship.
This is an Alternate Cover edition for ASIN B00ZNE17D2 Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous ... (Goodreads)
A Virgin River Christmas
by Robyn Carr
A heartwarming Christmas story set in the small town of Virgin River, where love and miracles happen during the holiday season.
Last Christmas Marcie Sullivan said a final goodbye to her husband, Bobby. This Christmas she's come to Virgin River to find the man who saved his life and gave her three more years to love him. ... (Goodreads)
Lemon Meringue Pie Murder
by Joanne Fluke
A small-town baker gets wrapped up in a murder investigation as she searches for clues to solve the case.
The residents of Lake Eden, Minnesota, are planning to paint the town red, white, and blue to celebrate the Fourth of July—but the fireworks are already going off at Hannah Swensen’s bake shop, The ... (Barnes & Noble)
Sugar Cookie Murder
by Joanne Fluke
Amateur sleuth Hannah Swensen must solve a murder mystery while running her bakery.
The holidays are the icing on the cake for bakery owner Hannah Swensen. Surrounded by her loved ones, she has all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas—until murder is added to the mix . . ., , ... (Barnes & Noble)
Everybody's Fool
by Richard Russo
The inhabitants of a small town in upstate New York come to terms with the consequences of their choices.
Richard Russo, at the very top of his game, now returns to North Bath, in upstate New York, and the characters from Nobody's Fool (1993). The irresistible Sully, who in the intervening years has come ... (Goodreads)
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern
by Lilian Jackson Braun
Jim Qwilleran and his feline companion, Koko, solve a murder mystery involving furniture theft.
Jim Qwilleran is not exactly overwhelmed by his new assignment for the Daily Fluxion. Interior design has never been one of his specialties and now he's supposed to turn out an entire magazine on the ... (Goodreads)
Let it Snow
by John Green
Three interconnected stories of young love and holiday cheer against a backdrop of a snowstorm.
The story follows teenager Jubilee Dougal living in Richmond, Virginia. She has been forced to spend Christmas Eve away from her boyfriend, Noah, and with her grandparents after her parents are ... (Wikipedia)
Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery
by Jenny Colgan
A woman escapes to a remote island to start anew, but finds love and community in unexpected places.
For fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Jojo Moyes, and Jane Green, Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery is an irresistible novel—moving and funny, soulful and sweet—about happiness, heartache, and hope. And ... (Barnes & Noble)
Moonlight Road
by Robyn Carr
A woman moves to a small town to start over and finds love and healing.
With her beloved younger siblings settled and happy, Erin Foley has empty nest syndrome. At age thirty-five.,So she's hitting the pause button on her life and holing up in a secluded (but totally ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing
by Sheila Turnage
Mo and Dale investigate a haunted inn to clear a friend's name. Along the way, they uncover secrets about their town's past.
The eagerly anticipated followup to the Newbery honor winner and, New York Times, bestseller,, Three Times Lucky, Small towns have rules. One is, you got to stay who you are – no matter how many ... (Goodreads)
Where Things Come Back
by John Corey Whaley
A small town in Arkansas is affected by a mysterious disappearance and a miraculous return.
Just when seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter thinks he understands everything about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town, it all disappears. . . . In the summer before Cullen's senior year, a ... (Goodreads)
The Weight of Blood
by Laura McHugh
A young woman searches for the truth about her mother's disappearance in a small Ozark town. Dark secrets and family ties are uncovered.
For fans of Gillian Flynn and Daniel Woodrell, a dark, gripping debut novel of literary suspense about two mysterious disappearances, a generation apart, and the meaning of family-the sacrifices we ... (Goodreads)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
by Joanne Fluke
Amateur sleuth solves a murder in a small town, uncovering secrets hidden in plain sight.
DISCOVER THE DELICIOUS MYSTERY THAT STARTED IT ALL! , , No one cooks up a delectable, suspense-filled mystery quite like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke’s dessert-baking, red-haired heroine whose ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Quiche of Death
by M.C. Beaton
Amateur sleuth navigates a small-town murder mystery, uncovering secrets and solving the crime.
Agatha Raisin retires from her profitable position as a PR agent in London, she moves to the Cotswolds expecting a peaceful country life. She enters a local baking contest with a quiche she bought in ... (Wikipedia)
Shotgun Lovesongs
by Nickolas Butler
Interwoven tales of four lifelong friends in rural Wisconsin, exploring love, loss and loyalty.
Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the same Wisconsin town — Little Wing — and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. One of them never left, still ... (Goodreads)
Firefly Summer
by Maeve Binchy
A small Irish town is turned upside down when an American millionaire arrives to buy the local estate. Secrets and passions are revealed.
Set in the 1960s, the plot revolves around the people of a rural Irish town named Mountfern. Patrick O'Neill, an Irish-American businessman, settles with his children in "the land of his ancestors" ... (Wikipedia)
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