August 2021 ReadUps: Set in Missouri

[Heather]

Hi everyone,

Our ReadUps topic in August is: BOOKS SET IN MISSOURI!

Here's a list to get you started if you need ideas for a book to read this month: Set in Missouri list from Goodreads' Listopia.

First question: What are your all-time favorite books set in our beautiful state?

[Heather]

Laura McHugh writes some of my favorite books set in Missouri. They're thrillers that really capture the environment of the rural Ozarks. I think her most recent title, What's Done in Darkness, is my favorite so far. It takes place in both Missouri and Arkansas and is about a young woman, Sarabeth, who was kidnapped as a teenager and kept in a dark basement for several days, then suddenly released. She was blindfolded and never saw her captors, and the case was not solved. Five years later, after she's grown up and left her family's strict religious community, a detective contacts her because he thinks some recent abductions are connected to hers. The chapters alternate between the present and the past, and I think McHugh did a great job building suspense in each timeline. I flew through the whole thing in just a couple of days. A warning: there is some very dark material; fortunately, I was in a good place mentally when I read it, and had a fluffy romance to read afterward as a palate cleanser.

Some other set-in-Missouri titles I've enjoyed are The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell and A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield. Warning: both titles include a lot of violence, including domestic violence in "Bad Day for Sorry."

[Miranda]

Oh man, the new Laura McHugh sounds great! It's been fun to watch her grow as an author. I've enjoyed all of the Daniel Woodrell that I've read too. He hosted a reading at MSU around 2005 that I attended and it was wonderful. He read a story that was later published in The Outlaw Album.

Adding Bad Day for Sorry to my list! I had no idea it was set in Missouri. I've also just become aware that Paulette Jiles, who wrote News of the World, grew up in Seymour, MO. One of her books, Enemy Women, is set in Missouri. If her other books are as good as News of the World, I'll read anything she writes!

[Sushie]

Not to carry over from August, but the last book I read set in Missouri was Clown in Cornfield by Adam Cesare. It’s a teen slasher set in the fictional town of Kettle Springs were there’s a bizarre tension between the grownups and teenagers after a tragic accident and the closure of the local corn syrup factory. It’s one of those books that reads exactly like the kind of intense gory thrillers I cannot stand to watch but I had a great time reading it.

[Janice]

I love having this list of books written in or about Missouri. And
I loved The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton about a family living in rural west central Missouri.
I have read two of Nancy Allen's series that is set in the Ozarks. Springfield is not mentioned by name, but certainly is part of the story. The first in the series is The Code of the Hills: An Ozarks Mystery. The author is a former federal prosecutor in Springfield, and also a law professor at MSU. Her series has authenticity, I found. Ms. Allen has been a speaker at some events at The Library Center, and she is a very entertaining lady!
A couple of years ago I read A Living Grave by Robert E. Dunn. The central character is a woman who is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and now a detective in the sheriff's office in Taney Co, Mo. I thought it was a good story, held together well too. This one is the first in a series, so I need to get back to the second book soon.

[Heather]

Whoa, I'm from Seymour (MO), and I had no idea that Paulette Jiles grew up there! That's so cool! I'll have to ask around and see if anyone remembers her. I, too, loved "News of the World," but I haven't read any of her other books yet. I didn't realize that "Enemy Women" is set in Missouri. That might have to be my read for this month.

I had never heard of "Clown in the Cornfield" but it sounds interesting...is it kind of tongue-in-cheek? Or just straight up scary? Though I get scared easily, I often think it's funny when there's an over-the-top premise. That one sounds like fun.

Thank you for your suggestions, too, Janice! I have always wanted to read Nancy Allen's books, since she spoke at the Library, but haven't gotten to any of them yet. I wish I'd been able to make it to her author event.

[Miranda]

Whoops my bad, I was mistaken about Seymour. SALEM, Missouri is the town.

[Heather]

No worries, Miranda! I am relieved that I didn't have a big author from my hometown and not know about it :)

Is anyone reading a set-in-Missouri title right now? What do you think so far?

[Miranda]

I read the new Laura McHugh. I agree with everything you said about the book earlier this month, Heather! Some seriously heavy subject matter, but very well written and super suspenseful. Her best book yet!

[Nancy]

Love this thread! Janice, I’m delighted to hear that you liked my Elsie Arnold books (Ozark Mystery series)—thanks for the praise! Heather, I think you won’t be disappointed if you give them a read. My books with James Patterson are set in states to the south of Missouri, but I like to think our female protagonists have Show-Me State determination.

I echo this group’s admiration of Woodrell and McHugh. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting both of them. Nice folks!

I’ll be present at the Spf/Greene County library in 2021 with Pulitzer winner Tony Messenger. I’m looking forward to visiting with readers in person again. (God willing and the crick don’t rise—in this covid era, I keep my fingers crossed that live events will occur as planned!)

[Heather]

Nancy, thank you so much for commenting! The Elsie Arnold books have moved up my to-read list. If you have time (and we understand if you don't!) we'd love to hear about any additional Elsie Arnold books you're writing, or anything else you are working on! And we're looking forward to seeing you at the Library this fall! Nancy and Tony will be at the Schweitzer Brentwood Branch Library on the evening of Tuesday, December 7. You will find more details at thelibrary.org/programs as we get closer to that date!

[Heather]

I'm about halfway through Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles, and I am really enjoying it so far. It's about a family that lives in southeastern Missouri during the Civil War. They try to remain neutral, but the Union suspects the father of sympathizing with the Confederacy and arrests him. The daughters, led by 18-year-old Adair, try to make their way north, but Adair is arrested as well and detained in a women's prison in St. Louis. I am not enjoying it quite as much as Jiles' book News of the World, as this one is slower and takes a while to get going. But I enjoy Jiles' simple prose, and she paints a vivid and interesting picture of the Ozarks during the Civil War.