Books set in Idaho
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Books set in Idaho
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 Idaho 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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Educated
– Rating: 4.47 (1.2 million ratings)
– Author: Tara Westover
– Published: February 20, 2018
– Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Audiobook
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Idaho
– Rating: 3.51 (21,835 ratings)
– Author: Emily Ruskovich
– Published: January 3, 2017
– Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Literary Fiction, Contemporary
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Thousand Pieces of Gold
– Rating: 3.80 (1,901 ratings)
– Author: Ruthanne Lum McCunn
– Published: January 1, 1981
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, China, Historical
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Angle of Repose
– Rating: 4.24 (57,316 ratings)
– Author: Wallace Stegner
– Published: March 1, 1971
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Westerns
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Pines (Wayward Pines, #1)
– Rating: 3.93 (104,883 ratings)
– Author: Blake Crouch
– Published: August 21, 2012
– Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fiction
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Housekeeping
– Rating: 3.81 (49,508 ratings)
– Author: Marilynne Robinson
– Published: March 1, 1980
– Genres: Fiction, Novels, Classics, Literary Fiction
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Killer Weekend (Walt Fleming, #1)
– Rating: 3.67 (2,285 ratings)
– Author: Ridley Pearson
– Published: January 1, 2007
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
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Echoes from the Hills of Idaho
– Rating: 3.88 (24 ratings)
– Author: Ruth Butler
– Published: March 28, 2014
– Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Historical
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The How and the Why
– Rating: 4.23 (3,388 ratings)
– Author: Cynthia Hand
– Published: November 5, 2019
– Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction
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Ice Cold (Rizzoli & Isles, #8)
– Rating: 4.16 (44,971 ratings)
– Author: Tess Gerritsen
– Published: January 1, 2010
– Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Fiction
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All Over Creation
– Rating: 3.81 (6,246 ratings)
– Author: Ruth Ozeki
– Published: January 1, 2003
– Genres: Fiction, Food, Contemporary, Audiobook
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Thomas and Niko in the City of Trees
– Rating: 4.31 (32 ratings)
– Author: Kid Boise
– Published: September 12, 2019
– Genres: LGBT
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Blue Heaven
– Rating: 4.08 (14,786 ratings)
– Author: C.J. Box
– Published: January 8, 2008
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
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The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America
– Rating: 4.11 (14,914 ratings)
– Author: Timothy Egan
– Published: October 19, 2009
– Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Nature
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Borrowed Horses
– Rating: 4.10 (122 ratings)
– Author: Sian Griffiths
– Published: October 15, 2013
– Genres: Horses, Novels, Fiction
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Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America’s First Nuclear Accident
– Rating: 3.92 (544 ratings)
– Author: William McKeown
– Published: April 1, 2003
– Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Environment
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Coeur d’Alene Waters
– Rating: 3.51 (85 ratings)
– Author: Ned Hayes
– Published: January 1, 2013
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
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The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon
– Rating: 4.20 (3,163 ratings)
– Author: Tom Spanbauer
– Published: January 1, 1991
– Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Historical Fiction, Queer
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Tangled Up In You (Truly Idaho, #2)
– Rating: 3.94 (11,532 ratings)
– Author: RachelGibson
– Published: July 31, 2007
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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A Country Called Home
– Rating: 3.45 (500 ratings)
– Author: Kim Barnes
– Published: January 1, 2008
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Family, 20th Century
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Killer View (Walt Fleming, #2)
– Rating: 3.76 (1,813 ratings)
– Author: Ridley Pearson
– Published: January 1, 2008
– Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Fiction
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In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country
– Rating: 3.87 (547 ratings)
– Author: Kim Barnes
– Published: January 1, 1992
– Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir
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Indian Creek Chronicles: A Winter Alone in the Wilderness
– Rating: 4.21 (3,477 ratings)
– Author: Pete Fromm
– Published: January 1, 1993
– Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Memoir, Adventure
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Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2)
– Rating: 4.26 (338,177 ratings)
– Author: Richelle Mead
– Published: April 1, 2008
– Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal
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The Sheep Queen
– Rating: 3.97 (683 ratings)
– Author: Thomas Savage
– Published: October 3, 1977
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Westerns, Americana
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Truly Madly Yours (Truly, Idaho, #1)
– Rating: 3.93 (13,583 ratings)
– Author: Rachel Gibson
– Published: January 1, 1999
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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Walk Two Moons
– Rating: 3.98 (162,503 ratings)
– Author: Sharon Creech
– Published: January 1, 1994
– Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction
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A Chain of Hands
– Rating: 3.95 (19 ratings)
– Author: Carol Ryrie Brink
– Published: September 1, 1993
– Genres: Nonfiction
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A Home of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho, #4)
– Rating: 4.20 (1,450 ratings)
– Author: Brenda Novak
– Published: November 24, 2004
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Harlequin
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Cover of Night
– Rating: 3.81 (8,721 ratings)
– Author: Linda Howard
– Published: January 1, 2006
– Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Suspense
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Up Close and Dangerous
– Rating: 3.89 (10,350 ratings)
– Author: Linda Howard
– Published: July 17, 2007
– Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Contemporary
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A Family of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho, #3)
– Rating: 4.10 (1,786 ratings)
– Author: Brenda Novak
– Published: April 1, 2004
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Harlequin
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A Dundee Christmas (Dundee, Idaho #8.5)
– Rating: 4.05 (289 ratings)
– Author: Brenda Novak
– Published: January 1, 2010
– Genres: Christmas, Contemporary, Romance, Contemporary Romance
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Nemesis (Project Nemesis, #1)
– Rating: 3.71 (7,900 ratings)
– Author: Brendan Reichs
– Published: March 21, 2017
– Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy
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A Baby of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho, #1)
– Rating: 3.86 (2,873 ratings)
– Author: Brenda Novak
– Published: August 23, 2002
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Baptism for the Dead
– Rating: 3.91 (117 ratings)
– Author: Libbie Hawker
– Published: September 28, 2012
– Genres: Religion, Literary Fiction
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The Marble Queen
– Rating: 3.79 (228 ratings)
– Author: Stephanie J. Blake
– Published: November 1, 2012
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Historical
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Chasing Fire
– Rating: 4.13 (38,108 ratings)
– Author: Nora Roberts
– Published: April 12, 2011
– Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Fiction
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The Ranch at the Wolverine: Classic Western Fiction
– Rating: 4.14 (42 ratings)
– Author: B.M. Bower
– Published: January 1, 1914
– Genres: Westerns
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Iona Moon
– Rating: 3.89 (150 ratings)
– Author: Melanie Rae Thon
– Published: January 1, 1993
– Genres: Fiction, Novels, Adult Fiction
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Force Of Nature (Joe Pickett, #12)
– Rating: 4.33 (15,052 ratings)
– Author: C.J. Box
– Published: March 20, 2012
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Groom Wanted (Bowen, #3)
– Rating: 4.03 (184 ratings)
– Author: Debra Ullrick
– Published: August 1, 2012
– Genres: Romance, Christian Fiction, Christian, Love Inspired Historical
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My Darlin’ Clementine
– Rating: 3.49 (37 ratings)
– Author: Kristiana Gregory
– Published: January 1, 2009
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Juvenile, Death
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In Harm’s Way (Walt Fleming, #4)
– Rating: 3.67 (1,562 ratings)
– Author: Ridley Pearson
– Published: August 1, 2010
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
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Baby, I’m Yours
– Rating: 3.72 (5,884 ratings)
– Author: Susan Andersen
– Published: May 1, 1998
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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The Longest Night
– Rating: 3.67 (3,061 ratings)
– Author: Andria Williams
– Published: January 12, 2016
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction
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Daredevils
– Rating: 3.50 (735 ratings)
– Author: Shawn Vestal
– Published: April 12, 2016
– Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
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