Novels by County
The characters and the stories in most novels come from the imagination and experiences
of the author, but the settings are often based on real places in North Carolina.
The novels listed below have been identified, either through clues in the text or statements by
the author, as taking place in or near specific counties.
Avery County
Robert Morgan. Gap Creek. Chapel Hill: Algonquin, 2000.
Brunswick County
Doris Betts. The River to Pickle Beach. New York: Harper & Row, 1972.
Robert Inman. Captain Saturday. Boston: Little, Brown, 2002.
Buncombe County
Gail Godwin. Evensong. New York: Ballantine, 1999.
Susan S. Kelly. Even Now. New York: Warner Books, 2001.
Vicki Lane. Art's Blood. New York: Dell, 2006.
David Schulman.The Past is Never Dead: A Gritz Goldberg Mystery. Winston-Salem:
John F. Blair, 2004.
Penelope J. Stokes.Circle of Grace. New York: Doubleday, 2004.
Thomas Wolfe. O Lost. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2000.
Carteret County
Pamela Duncan. The Big Beautiful. New
York: Dial Press, 2007.
Bill Morris. Saltwater Cowboys. Wilmington: Coastal Carolina Press, 2004.
B.J. Mountford. Bloodlines of Shackleford Banks. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair,
2004.
B.J. Mountford Sea-Born Women. Winston-Salem, N.C.: John F. Blair, 2002.
Catawba County
Joyce Moyer Hostetter. Blue. Honesdale, Penn.: Boyds Mills Press, 2006.
Toni L.P. Kelner. The Laura Fleming Mysteries.
Chatham County
Laurence Naumoff. Silk Hope, N.C. New York: Harcourt Brace,1994.
Clay County
Terry Kay. The Valley of Light.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Cleveland County
Pamela Duncan. Moon Women.
New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.
Craven County
Gwynne Forster. Blues from Down Deep.
New York: Kensington, 2004.
Cumberland County
J. D. Rhoades. The Devil's Right Hand. New York: St. Martin's, 2005.
J. D. Rhoades.A Good Day in Hell. St. Martin's, 2006.
Sharon Wildwing. Some Welcome Home. Gale, 2005.
Dare County
Elisa L. Carbone. Storm Warriors. New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.
Deborah Homsher. The Rising Shore -- Roanoke.
Blue Hull Press, 2007.
Durham County
Michele Andrea Bowen.
Holy Ghost Corner. New York: Warner, 2006.
Katy Munger. The Casey Jones Mysteries.
Edgecombe County
Louise Shivers. Here to Get My Baby
Out of Jail. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair, 2003.
Forsyth County
Martin Clark. The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living. New York: Knopf, 2000.
Guilford County
Nancy Bartholomew. Stand By Your
Man. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
Marianne Gingher. Bobby Rex’s
Greatest Hit. New York: Ballantine, 1986.
Lynne Hinton. The Arms of God.
New York: St. Martins, 2005.
Haywood County
Charles Frazier. Cold Mountain. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997.
Henderson County
Ann B. Ross. The Miss Julia Novels.
Hyde County
Blake Crouch. Locked Doors. New
York: St. Martin's, 2005.
Karen Robards. Beachcomber. New
York, Atria Books, 2003.
Iredell County
Judith Minhorn Stacy. Betty Sweet Tells All. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
Judith Minhorn Stacy. Maggie Sweet. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
Madison County
Joan A. Medlicott. The Covington Novels.
Ron Rash.The World Made Straight New York: Holt, 2006.
McDowell County
Julia Nunnally Duncan. Drops
of the Night. Boone, N.C.: Parkway Publishers, 2006.
Mecklenburg County
Patricial Cornwell. Hornet's Nest. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.
Kurt Corriher. Someone to Kill.
New York: St. Martin's, 2002.
Judy Goldman. The Slow Way Back.
New York: William Morrow, 1999.
Judy Goldman. Early Leaving. New York:
HarperCollins, 2004.
Terry Hoover. Double Dead. Waterville,
ME: Five Star, 2007.
Fred Leebron, Six Figures. New
York: Knopf, 2000.
Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene, Pretty Poison.
New York: Penguin, 2005.
Kathy Reichs. The Temperance Brennan Mysteries.
Montgomery County
Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene.
The Sharyn Howard Mysteries.
Moore County
Roberta Isleib. Fairway
to Heaven. New York: Penguin, 2005.
New Hanover County
Ellyn Bache, Riggs Park. New York: Harlequin
Next, 2005.
Wanda Canada. Cape Fear Murders.
Wilmington, N.C.: Coastal Carolina Press, 2003.
Wanda Canada. Island Murders. Wilmington, N.C.: Coastal Carolina Press, 2001.
Philip Gerard. Cape Fear Rising. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair,
1994.
Dewey Lambdin. What Lies
Buried: A Novel of Old Cape Fear. Ithaca, N.Y.: McBooks Press, 2005.
William R. Trotter. The Sands of Pride (New York: Avalon, 2002) and The Fires
of Pride (New York: Carrol & Graf, 2003).
Onslow County
Nicholas Sparks. The Guardian. New York: Warner Books, 2004.
Orange County
Alice Adams. A Southern Exposure. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.
Alice Adams.
After the War. New York: Knopf, 2000.
Daphne Athas. Entering Ephesus.
New York: Viking, 1971.
Ellyn Bache. Activist's Daughter. Duluth, Minn.: Spinsters Ink, 1997.
Doris Betts. Souls Raised From the Dead. New York: Knopf, 1994.
Jimmy Carter. The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Doug Marlette. The Bridge. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
Joanna Catherine Scott. The Road from Chapel Hill. New York: Penguin, 2006.
J. B. Stanley. A Killer Collection. New York: Penguin, 2006
Martha Witt. Broken as Things Are.
New York: Henry Holt, 2004.
Pasquotank County
Bland Simpson. The Mystery of Beautiful
Nell Cropsey. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993.
Richmond County
Lawrence Naumoff. A Southern Tragedy, in Crimson and Yellow. Winston-Salem:
Zuckerman Cannon, 2005.
Robeson County
Josephine Humphreys. Nowhere Else on Earth. New York: Viking,
2000.
Rockingham County
T.R. Pearson. A Short History of a
Small Place. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985.
T.R. Pearson. Glad News of the Natural
World. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
Rowan County
John Hart. The King of Lies. New York: St. Martin's, 2006
Rutherford County
Tony Earley. Jim the Boy. Boston: Little, Brown, 2000.
Scotland County
Howard Owen. Rock of Ages. Sag Harbor, N.Y.: The Permanent Press, 2006.
Surry County
Mark Slouka. God's Fool. New York: Knopf, 2002.
Lynn York. The Piano Teacher. New York: Plume, 2004.
Swain County
Walt Larimore. The Bryson City Series.
Wake County
Robert Inman. Captain Saturday. Boston: Little, Brown, 2002.
Margaret Maron. The Judge Deborah Knott Series.
Karen Rose. Have You Seen Her? New York: Warner Books, 2004.
Sarah Shaber. The Professor Simon Shaw Mysteries.
Warren County
Reynolds Price. A Long and Happy Life. New York: Atheneum, 1962.
Watauga County
Jan Karon. The Mitford Novels.
Sarah Shaber. The Fugitive King. New York: St. Martin's, 2002.
Nicholas Sparks. True Believer. New York: Warner, 2005.
Wilson County
Anderson Ferrell. Have You Heard. New York: Bloomsbury, 2004.
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