Books Set in Nebraska
Our journey through the 50 states continues with a stop in Nebraska!
Book Club Pick – Nebraska
Death by Dissertation by Kelly Brakenhoff
What is Death by Dissertation about?
Goodbye Hawai’i, hello dream job . . . in Nebraska??
Ambitious Cassandra Sato traded her life in Hawai’i for a dream position at Morton College in rural Nebraska. She expected the Midwestern church casseroles, land-locked cornfields, and face-freezing winters would be her biggest challenges, but it’s her job that’s rapidly becoming a nightmare.
A deaf student is dead and the investigation reveals a complicated trail of connections between campus food service, a local farmer’s beef, and the science lab’s cancer research.
Dealing with homesickness, vandalism, and a stalker, Cassandra is trapped in a public relations disaster that could cost her job, or more. No one said college was easy.
Kelly Brakenhoff on Literary Escapes Podcast
Want to know more about Meghann and her books? Listen to this conversation on the Literary Escapes Podcast!
More Sweet Reads Set in Nebraska
Enjoy this additional selection of books set in Nebraska, spanning cozy mystery and romance. Perfect for easy reading, these delightful tales promise happy, hopeful endings.
Which one will you choose for a literary escape to Nebraska?
The Love Wager by Lynn Painter
Genre: Romance (spice level: multiple open door scenes but nothing explicit)
Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of.
After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.
Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.
Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Genre: YA Romance
Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under.
Stupid Cupid by Ellie Hall
Genre: Sweet Romance
Does Cupid have a nice list? Never mind. Forget it. I’m breaking up with Valentine’s Day.
It started innocently enough with a harmless inquiry about a cute guy at a coffee shop. The goal was to get back in the romance game. The search turned into a social media frenzy. #DesperatelySeekingDane was not available. Talk about a buzzkill.
Just when I thought things couldn’t become more dramatic, because of my five minutes of online fame, a TV production company reached out to me as a last-minute contestant in a dating contest. It was an instant yes because one of the three bachelors is a major movie star and my lifelong crush.
Here’s the twist: I’m matched with the third-place prize, a daredevil hockey player I can’t stand. Let’s just say we have a brief but storied history involving shrill whistles, spilled coffee, and a bloody incident in an elevator.However, turns out the date is only the opening act. We end up in each other’s debt, resulting in a meet-the-parents situation. But we kind of hit it off. As things heat up between us, sparks fly and the ice begins to melt.
Can I be falling for the guy I loathe?
Gone Astray by Terry Korth Fischer
Genre: Cozy Mystery
A heart attack sends detective Rory Naysmith reeling. Too young to retire, he accepts a position in small-town Winterset, Nebraska. Handed an unsolved truck hijacking case, with the assistance of a rookie, Rory sets out to prove he is still able to go toe-to-toe with younger men. When the body of a Vietnam veteran turns up, he dons his fedora and spit-shines his shoes. But before he can solve the murder, an older woman disappears, followed closely by a second hijacking. He doggedly works the cases, following a thread that ties the two crimes together. But can Rory find the mental and physical strength to up his game and bring the criminals to justice before disaster strikes and he loses his job?
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