Set in a Small Town

Participating in Spring Books & Bites Bingo? Try these books that feature road trips!

Updated April 14, 2026
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Beartown /
Backman, Fredrik,
Paper Book
"You'll love this engrossing novel." --People From the bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Anxious People, Fredrik Backman captivates readers with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream--and the price required to make it come...
The murders in Great Diddling : a novel
Bivald, Katarina
Paper Book
2024 Lillian Jackson Braun Edgar Award Nominee The best stories are the ones we didn't know needed to be told The small, rundown village of Great Diddling is full of stories--author Berit Gardner can feel it. The way the villagers avoid outsiders, the furtive stares and whispers in...
The care and feeding of ravenously hungry girls /
Gray, Anissa.
Paper Book
The Butler family has had their share of trials - as sisters Althea, Viola, and Lillian can attest - but nothing prepared them for the literal trial that will upend their lives.Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a force to be reckoned with and her younger sisters have alternately...
Promise : a novel
Griffiths, Rachel Eliza
Paper Book
Two Black sisters growing up in small-town New England fight to protect their home, their bodies, and their dreams as the Civil Rights Movement sweeps the nation in Promise, a "magical, magnificent novel" (Marlon James) from "a startlingly fresh voice" (Jacqueline Woodson). ...
We lie here /
Hall, Rachel Howzell.
Paper Book
A woman's trip home reveals frightening truths in a twisty novel of murder and family secrets by the New York Times bestselling author of And Now She's Gone and These Toxic Things. TV writer Yara Gibson's hometown of Palmdale, California, isn't her first choice...
Love and hot chicken : a delicious Southern novel
Hartong, Mary Liza
Paper Book
"Delightful! This novel will open your heart and preach to your funny bone."--Jill Conner Browne, New York Times bestselling author of the Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love The debut of a dynamite new voice from the South, Love and Hot Chicken is a spicy and hilarious...
My heart is a chainsaw
Jones, Stephen Graham
Paper Book
Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel Named a Best Book of 2021 by NPR In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her for in this latest novel from the Jordan...
Miracle Creek
Kim, Angie
Paper Book
Winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel A Time Best Mystery and Thriller Book of All Time The "gripping... page-turner" (Time) hitting all the best of summer reading lists, Miracle Creek is perfect for book clubs and fans of Liane...
'Salem's Lot
King, Stephen
Paper Book
NOW A NEW FILM STREAMING ON MAX * #1 BESTSELLER * Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem's Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book.
It /
King, Stephen
Paper Book
Welcome to Derry, Maine. It's a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real. They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain...
To kill a mockingbird
Lee, Harper.
Paper Book
Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American Read Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South--and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred. One of the most cherished stories of...
Every Tom, Dick & Harry : a novel
Lipman, Elinor
Paper Book
From the author of Ms. Demeanor--one of the most beloved comedic writers of our time--comes a charming, laugh-out-loud tale of love and criminality, a pitch-perfect romantic comedy. "Over the course of more than thirty years and at least fifteen books, Elinor Lipman has been creating a...
Very cold people : a novel
Manguso, Sarah
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE * The masterly debut novel from "an exquisitely astute writer" (The Boston Globe), about growing up in--and out of--the suffocating constraints of small-town America. LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD * "Compact and beautiful ....
Lula Dean's little library of banned books : a novel
Miller, Kirsten
Paper Book
"Kirsten Miller has that rare ability to take a serious subject and make it very, very funny. I enjoyed this novel and you will too."--James Patterson The provocative and hilarious summer read that will have book lovers cheering and everyone talking! Kirsten Miller, author of The Change...
Daughter of mine : a novel
Miranda, Megan
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A USA TODAY BESTSELLER Her father was the town detective. Her mother its most notorious criminal. Now the secrets of Mirror Lake are coming to the surface...and changing everything. "[A] stunning...
The moorings of Mackerel Sky
MZ (Choreographer)
Paper Book
They say Mackerel Sky was founded when Captain Burrbank first saw Nimue the Mermaid and forgot the sea. Stricken by love, he moored his tall ship and made camp on the highest cliff, hoping to forever gaze upon her beauty. That camp became a settlement, the settlement a town, the town a community...
Small Town Girls: A Writer's Memoir
Phillips, Jayne Anne
Paper Book
OPRAH'S #1 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 * A luminous memoir in essays from the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, who reflects on her origins and the mysteries of memory. "A brilliant, wide-ranging book, nostalgic and tough-minded at the same time. Like Willa Cather and Stephen Crane,...
Edenville : a novel
Rebelein, Sam
Paper Book
"[A]n essential read for horror enthusiasts." --Booklist An unsettling, immersive, and wildly entertaining debut novel from "a major new talent!" (R.L. Stine). "[A] delightfully gooey blend of gothic, cosmic, folk and body horror churned by a sharp-bladed critique of academia."--...
Buckeye : a novel
Ryan, Patrick
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY * "A glorious sweep of a novel" (Ann Patchett) that weaves the intimate lives of two midwestern families across generations, from World War II to the late twentieth century. "Mesmerizing."--...
Mother-daughter murder night : a novel
Simon, Nina
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK  Nothing brings a family together like a murder next door. "I just loved how intriguing the mystery is but also the dynamics between a grandmother, a mother, and a teenage daughter." --Reese Witherspoon Think: Gilmore...
Tell me everything : a novel
Strout, Elizabeth
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout comes a "stunner" (People) of a novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world. "Tell Me Everything...
Listen for the lie
Tintera, Amy
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller * A Good Morning America Book Club Pick * An NPR Best Book of the Year * A Washington Post Best Thriller of 2024 "I read this in one sitting! Such a fun and engaging read, with an ending that blew my mind!" --<...
Now is not the time to panic : a novel
Wilson, Kevin
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Named a Best Book of the Year by: Time * Kirkus Reviews * USA Today * Entertainment Weekly * Garden & Gun * Vox * Atlanta Journal-Constitution A Most Anticipated Book of Fall from: Associated Press * Atlanta Journal-Constitution * BookPage * Book...

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