With giant mountains, dry deserts, and long rivers, the American West has captivated readers for generations.
These novels set in the West will captivate your imagination as well. Whether you’re looking for historical novels or contemporary stories, you’ll find the perfect fit to transport you to the land of big skies.
If you’re participating in the Crazy4Fiction Reading Challenge, pick a book to fulfill the set in a state you haven’t lived in prompt!
Matthew Redd series
By Ryan Steck
Montana
Matthew Redd is a former Marine Raider who, after being discharged from the military and receiving a cryptic call from his adoptive father, turned his truck home to rural Montana. As he tries to settle down in his hometown, Redd uncovers a global conspiracy, faces biker gangs, is hunted in a blizzard, fights in a wildfire, tracks bad guys in Yellowstone, and much more.
Annalee Spain series
By Patricia Raybon
Colorado
In the winter of 1923, Professor Annalee Spain—a daring but overworked theologian at a small Chicago Bible college—receives a cryptic telegram calling her home to Denver to solve the mystery of the murder of her beloved but estranged father. As she stays in Denver, Annalee becomes an amateur detective and begins to investigate murders throughout the Black community.
Come Down Somewhere
By Jennifer L. Wright
New Mexico
Two teenagers meet in Alamogordo, where Olive has lived her entire life and where Jo and her father have just taken over Olive’s beloved home. As increasingly unsettling hints about what’s happening at the ranch abound, Olive slowly warms to Jo’s winsome faith and steady attempts at friendship . . . until one devastating day when the sky explodes around them and their lives are torn apart. Seven years later, Jo returns to Alamogordo to hunt for answers and begins to realize the truth may be far more complicated than she believed.
Borders of the Heart
By Chris Fabry
Arizona
As J. D. tries to have a fresh start in Tucson, he finds a young woman near death close to the organic farm where he works. Longing to atone for the choices that drove him to Tucson, J. D. hides her and unleashes a chain of deadly events he could never have imagined. Soon they are running from a killer and fighting for their lives. As secrets of their pasts emerge, J. D. realizes that saving this woman may be the only way to save himself.
Blown Coverage
By Jason Elam and Steve Yohn
Colorado
Written by a former member of the NFL, Blown Coverage is the second in the Riley Covington series. Linebacker and former special ops team member Riley is at a mini-camp for the Colorado Mustangs just as a wave of terrorist attacks begin to occur across the country. As sleeper cells are being awakened, Riley must reconnect with the Counterterrorism Division to draw out the attackers.
Brides of the West series
By Catherine Palmer
Colorado, Wyoming
A newspaper ad goes out across the country in the 1800s, encouraging young women to travel west and marry men looking for wives in the new frontier. For the women in the Brides of the West series, the journey doesn’t always go to plan. While some women land in Texas or Washington State, Glory and Patience travel to Colorado and Ruth settles in Wyoming. Ruth finds an unwilling protector in Dylan, as they try to make it to Wyoming before winter sets in. Glory joins a wagon train headed up by Jackson, who feels a responsibility to make sure everyone makes it safely to Denver. And Patience is mistakenly kidnapped and sheriff Jay is on her trail.
