There’s a common setting in many of our field trips: The Great Lakes. If there’s a way I can swim in, wade through, hike near, drive along, or do any activity near a Great Lake, I’m in.
There is unnameable energy and power that calls me to them. Once I’m in the presence of a Great Lake, the siren song sucks me in and it’s impossible to get me to leave.
It follows that I’m also drawn to books set near the Great Lakes.
Last weekend I turned page after page of A Death in Door County by Anneliese Ryan. I’ve read and enjoyed her other books, but this one is different. It’s set in Door County and Lake Michigan is a main part of the mystery.
It was a light, fun, read filled with cryptids, shipwrecks, adventure, a little romance, some Door County geology, and natural history, and of course, plenty of time on Lake Michigan. This is a perfect read if you love Door County, are heading to Door County, or just love a good midwest mystery.
It got me thinking, about the other Great Lakes books I’ve read and enjoyed over the years. Here are a few of them.
South of Superior and Tin Camp Road by Ellen Airgood are both set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. South of Superior has the heartwarming feel of a Hallmark movie. The main character moves from Chicago to a quirky small town in the UP. It was a feel-good read.
Tin Camp was a harder read, but just as good. The main characters are a single mother and her daughter trying to make it in a small town on Lake Superior that survives (just barely) on tourism. The author shows just how hard life can be when the tourist season is over and the visitors go home.
All of Wendy Webb’s books are filled with suspense and set on the shores of Lake Superior. Her latest freaked me the heck out but I could not stop reading. My favorite is The Vanishing, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. These make great creepy fall reads.
The Woods Cop mystery series by Joseph Heywood is set in the Upper Peninsula. Grady is a conservation officer and his work takes him from one end of the peninsula to the other, often near the lakes.
Patricia Skalka’s mystery series is set in Door County. These excellent short mysteries feature Sheriff Dave Cubiak. Cubiak leaves tough circumstances behind in Chicago to start a new life up north. His cases take him all over the peninsula.
Night Swimmers by Peter Rock is also set in Door County – an older woman and a younger man connect while swimming in Lake Michigan at night. Falls under the psychological fiction heading, but is also inspired by the author’s life. It’s hard to categorize this beautiful piece of literature, but really do we need to know anything other than it’s set near Lake Michigan?
Light Keeper’s Legacy by Kathleen Ernst is the third book in her historical mystery series. The main character Chloe is a historian and museum curator and is working on research on Rock Island. One the island, a State Park in Lake Michigan at the tip of Door County, there are no motorized vehicles, no electricity, and no running water. The story alternates between Chloe in the 1980s and a woman lighthouse assistant in the 1800s.
The Cherry Harvest by Lucy Sanna is set in Door County during World War II. It’s a historical romance with a bit of suspense, set on a Cherry farm. German war prisoners come to a family farm to work harvesting the fruit. When one of the prisoners and a member of the family form a connection, the family’s secrets start to unravel.
The Bone House by Brian Freeman – This thriller begins in Florida but moves north to Door County where the plot twists just keep coming. If you like James Patterson’s thrillers, this is for you.
Superior Death and Winter Study by Nevada Barr are installments of her well-known Anna Pigeon mystery series. Anna is a National Park Ranger and each book takes place in different parks. Both books of these are set in Isle Royal National Park, a remote, primitive island in Lake Superior.
In Superior Death, Anna is drawn into a mystery when scuba divers discover a body in a shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Superior. In Winter Study, a team of scientists is doing long-term wolf research when things start to go wrong and they’re stalked by someone or something.
Stuck in Manistique by Dennis Cuesta takes place on the shore of Lake Michigan. A Chicagoan heads north to the UP to wrap up his aunt’s affairs after her death. Instead, he meets a quirky set of characters and gets drawn into small-town life while deciding what to do with his aunt’s bed and breakfast.
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach is a coming-of-age story set on the shores of Lake Michigan – Henry is a college baseball star headed for the big leagues, but a chance event changes everything. I don’t, as a rule, enjoy sports fiction, but this one was different. I thoroughly enjoyed the college setting and the intertwined stories of the characters.
Have you read any of these? What books would you add to the list? I’d love to read books set on the other Great Lakes: Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and Lake Huron. Drop me a recommendation!
Thanks for the recommendations. The only ones I’ve read that you listed were by Patricia Skalka, and I really enjoyed those. I’ll add the rest of your suggestions to my reading list.