Books set in Missouri
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Books set in Missouri
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 Missouri 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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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
– Rating: 3.92 (862,590 ratings)
– Author: Mark Twain
– Published: June 1, 1876
– Genres: Classics, Fiction, Adventure, Historical Fiction
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
– Rating: 3.83 (1.2 million ratings)
– Author: Mark Twain
– Published: December 1, 1884
– Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literature
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The Glass Menagerie
– Rating: 3.72 (125,002 ratings)
– Author: Tennessee Williams
– Published: January 1, 1945
– Genres: Plays, Classics, Drama, Fiction
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Gone Girl
– Rating: 4.11 (2.7 million ratings)
– Author: Gillian Flynn
– Published: May 14, 2012
– Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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Enemy Women
– Rating: 3.74 (6,878 ratings)
– Author: Paulette Jiles
– Published: January 1, 2002
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Civil War, Historical
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Winter’s Bone
– Rating: 3.87 (34,807 ratings)
– Author: Daniel Woodrell
– Published: January 1, 2006
– Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, Crime
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Life on the Mississippi
– Rating: 3.86 (14,310 ratings)
– Author: Mark Twain
– Published: January 1, 1883
– Genres: Classics, Nonfiction, History, Travel
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Stoner
– Rating: 4.31 (133,288 ratings)
– Author: John Williams
– Published: January 1, 1965
– Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literature, Novels
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Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1)
– Rating: 4.02 (142,249 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: October 1, 1993
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal
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A Good American
– Rating: 3.73 (7,595 ratings)
– Author: Alex George
– Published: January 1, 2012
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adult Fiction
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Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
– Rating: 4.21 (4,549 ratings)
– Author: William Anderson
– Published: January 1, 1992
– Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Historical
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Sharp Objects
– Rating: 4.01 (867,811 ratings)
– Author: Gillian Flynn
– Published: September 26, 2006
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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Pudd’nhead Wilson
– Rating: 3.75 (17,416 ratings)
– Author: Mark Twain
– Published: May 10, 1893
– Genres: Classics, Fiction, Literature, Humor
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Butterfly Weeds (Butterfly Weeds, #1)
– Rating: 3.90 (3,437 ratings)
– Author: Laura Miller
– Published: January 1, 2012
– Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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Show Me the Ashes (Show Me, #4)
– Rating: 4.00 (19 ratings)
– Author: Carolyn Mulford
– Published: December 16, 2015
– Genres: Mystery
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The Borrower
– Rating: 3.50 (11,740 ratings)
– Author: Rebecca Makkai
– Published: June 9, 2011
– Genres: Fiction, Books About Books, Adult Fiction, Adult
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The Weight of Blood
– Rating: 3.75 (21,691 ratings)
– Author: Laura McHugh
– Published: January 1, 2014
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller
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A Veiled Antiquity (Torie O’Shea, #2)
– Rating: 3.88 (442 ratings)
– Author: Rett MacPherson
– Published: May 15, 1998
– Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Own
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The Maid’s Version
– Rating: 3.35 (6,981 ratings)
– Author: Daniel Woodrell
– Published: January 1, 2013
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Literary Fiction
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The Whys Have It
– Rating: 4.30 (279 ratings)
– Author: Amy Matayo
– Published: June 1, 2017
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Christian Fiction, Fiction
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Stone Field
– Rating: 3.24 (304 ratings)
– Author: Christy Lenzi
– Published: March 29, 2016
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Retellings
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Proposing Mischief (The Joplin Chronicles, #2)
– Rating: 4.44 (300 ratings)
– Author: Regina Jennings
– Published: December 7, 2021
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance, Historical
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Elly in Bloom
– Rating: 3.69 (1,360 ratings)
– Author: Colleen Oakes
– Published: September 5, 2012
– Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Fiction
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Bushwhackers and Broken Hearts: Letters from Missouri during the Civil War
– Rating: 3.76 (25 ratings)
– Author: P.J. Sullivan
– Published: April 23, 2010
– Genres: History, Civil War, American History, Historical
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Ulysses S. Grant
– Rating: 3.39 (23 ratings)
– Author: Robert Skimin
– Published: January 1, 1994
– Genres: Historical Fiction
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White Man’s Heaven: The Lynching and Expulsion of Blacks in the Southern Ozarks, 1894-1909
– Rating: 4.44 (27 ratings)
– Author: Kimberly Harper
– Published: October 1, 2010
– Genres: History
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Family Skeletons (Torie O’Shea, #1)
– Rating: 3.79 (657 ratings)
– Author: Rett MacPherson
– Published: January 1, 1997
– Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
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Burnt Offerings (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #7)
– Rating: 4.08 (68,067 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: May 1, 1998
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
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The River Wife
– Rating: 3.41 (2,241 ratings)
– Author: Jonis Agee
– Published: January 1, 2007
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, 19th Century
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Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #11)
– Rating: 3.86 (51,037 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: January 1, 2003
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
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Affliction (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #22)
– Rating: 4.05 (20,772 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: July 2, 2013
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Fantasy
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Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3)
– Rating: 4.16 (92,142 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: January 1, 1995
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal
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Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #19)
– Rating: 3.84 (33,575 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: June 1, 2010
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Fantasy
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Celia, A Slave
– Rating: 3.55 (1,328 ratings)
– Author: Melton A. McLaurin
– Published: November 1, 1991
– Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, American History
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Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #5)
– Rating: 4.11 (72,605 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: October 1, 1996
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal
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Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War
– Rating: 4.14 (77 ratings)
– Author: Michael Fellman
– Published: January 1, 1989
– Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, American History
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Meet Me in St. Louis
– Rating: 3.77 (249 ratings)
– Author: Sally Benson
– Published: January 1, 1942
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Classics
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Killing Cousins (Torie O’Shea, #5)
– Rating: 4.00 (391 ratings)
– Author: Rett MacPherson
– Published: March 7, 2002
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery
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Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri, 1764-1980
– Rating: 3.85 (60 ratings)
– Author: James Neal Primm
– Published: January 1, 1981
– Genres: History, Nonfiction
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Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War
– Rating: 4.09 (1,168 ratings)
– Author: T.J. Stiles
– Published: September 1, 2002
– Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Civil War
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Danse Macabre (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #14)
– Rating: 3.83 (46,143 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: January 1, 2006
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
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The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #15)
– Rating: 3.92 (44,553 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: January 1, 2007
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
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The Blood Ballad (Torie O’Shea, #11)
– Rating: 4.00 (376 ratings)
– Author: Rett MacPherson
– Published: February 19, 2008
– Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction
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Incubus Dreams (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #12)
– Rating: 3.80 (49,138 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: January 1, 2004
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
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The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #6)
– Rating: 4.13 (71,172 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: June 1, 1997
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
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Kiss the Dead (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #21)
– Rating: 3.83 (24,679 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: June 1, 2012
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Fantasy
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The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #2)
– Rating: 4.12 (82,902 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: September 1, 1994
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal
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The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #4)
– Rating: 4.12 (76,634 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: January 1, 1996
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal
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Blue Moon (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #8)
– Rating: 4.05 (64,311 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: November 1, 1998
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
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Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #16)
– Rating: 3.87 (40,857 ratings)
– Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
– Published: May 27, 2008
– Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
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