I am going to be living in Arizona for at least a month this coming year and find unspeakable delight in the idea of reading books set in this place. I would love any and all recommendations from the community here. 🙂
Barbara Kingsolver has one with a sequel that is excellent! Starts in Oklahoma but takes place mostly in AZ if I remember correctly. First one is The Bean Trees and second is Pigs in Heaven. Michael Chrichton’s The Andromeda Strain takes place in Az but so does his other one, Airframe, and while it sounds like Andromeda Strain would be the better read I much preferred Airframe and found Andromeda to get really slow. Have a good trip!
-rba- on
{{These is my Words}} is a good Western set primarily in AZ
Sergeant-Snorty-Cake on
The Lena Jones mystery series by Betty Webb starting with Desert Noir.
The Wood Wife by Teri Windling
Blurb for Wood Wife: “Leaving behind her fashionable West Coast life, Maggie Black comes to the Southwestern desert to pursue her passion and he dreams. Her mentor, the acclaimed poet Davis Cooper, has mysteriously died in the canyons east of Tucson, bequeathing her his estate and the mystery of his life–and death.
Maggie is astonished by the power of this harsh but beautiful land and captivated by the uncommon people who call it home–especially Fox, a man unlike any she has ever known, who understands the desert’s special power.
As she reads Cooper’s letters and learns the secrets of his life, Maggie comes face-to-face with the wild, ancient spirits of the desert–and discovers the hidden power at its heart, a power that will take her on a journey like no other.”
Dense-Amphibian6536 on
Anything Ed Abbey. Desert Solitaire, Monkey Wrench Gang, Fools Progress.
mintbrownie on
A little old, but Tony Hillerman’s Jim Chee/Joe Leaphorn mystery series has an incredible sense of place (the Navajo Nation). What you really need to do is read the books and then visit the Navajo Nation – especially Monument Valley. Mind-blowing!
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Barbara Kingsolver has one with a sequel that is excellent! Starts in Oklahoma but takes place mostly in AZ if I remember correctly. First one is The Bean Trees and second is Pigs in Heaven. Michael Chrichton’s The Andromeda Strain takes place in Az but so does his other one, Airframe, and while it sounds like Andromeda Strain would be the better read I much preferred Airframe and found Andromeda to get really slow. Have a good trip!
{{These is my Words}} is a good Western set primarily in AZ
The Lena Jones mystery series by Betty Webb starting with Desert Noir.
The Wood Wife by Teri Windling
Blurb for Wood Wife: “Leaving behind her fashionable West Coast life, Maggie Black comes to the Southwestern desert to pursue her passion and he dreams. Her mentor, the acclaimed poet Davis Cooper, has mysteriously died in the canyons east of Tucson, bequeathing her his estate and the mystery of his life–and death.
Maggie is astonished by the power of this harsh but beautiful land and captivated by the uncommon people who call it home–especially Fox, a man unlike any she has ever known, who understands the desert’s special power.
As she reads Cooper’s letters and learns the secrets of his life, Maggie comes face-to-face with the wild, ancient spirits of the desert–and discovers the hidden power at its heart, a power that will take her on a journey like no other.”
Anything Ed Abbey. Desert Solitaire, Monkey Wrench Gang, Fools Progress.
A little old, but Tony Hillerman’s Jim Chee/Joe Leaphorn mystery series has an incredible sense of place (the Navajo Nation). What you really need to do is read the books and then visit the Navajo Nation – especially Monument Valley. Mind-blowing!