Connecticut Books: Novels Set in the Constitution State

Book Summary

Starr’s Fall is a town in need of a fresh start, and Laurie is a woman who needs the same. She and her dog, Max, are new in town, and she hopes that reopening one of the empty shops on the main street will give her a fresh start.

The grumpy bookstore owner across the street, Joshua, should be happy that another shop is opening, but he thinks Laurie’s idea of a dog bakery and pet shop is ridiculous. But Laurie is undeterred. She also has a secret mission in town that involves a tragedy in her past.

Book Summary

Philanthropist Daphne and her real-estate mogul husband seem like the perfect popular couple in their exclusive Connecticut town. Amber feels like the opposite – plain and invisible. She’s deeply envious of Daphne, but she has a plan.

As she puts her plan into place, she works her way into being Daphne’s closet confidante and then gets closer to Jackson during a trip to Europe. But, can she make it to the end goal of her scheme before a skeleton from her past undermines everything?

Book Summary

Evelyn has just made a big move from Texas to Connecticut after the end of her marriage. She’s following her lifelong dream of opening a quilt shop, but she has no idea that the new friends she will make will become even more important to her than the shop itself.

Troubled and angry after her mother’s death, Liza threatens to embarrass her Aunt Abigail all over town unless she joins her for quilting classes. Margot hopes an event hosted by the quilt shop could be a great chance to network after she was downsized from her job. As they quilt together, Evelyn, Abigail, Liza, and Margot form an unexpected sisterhood as strong as their stitches.

Book Summary

Corby loves his wife Emily dearly, but new fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction all put a strain on their relationship. And that’s before he causes a tragedy that tears his family apart.

Corby is sentenced to prison, and life on the inside is brutal. But he also witnesses small acts of kindness and finds kinship with a prison librarian who is able to see the best in him and some of his fellow inmates, including his big-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen in need of a role model.

Are mercy and reconciliation possible, and can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?

Book Summary

It’s 1982, and thirty-something Mimi is still single despite longing to be in a relationship. But things are looking up, as her psychic predicts something good is coming her way. When Ren, a divorced dad, falls in love with her and proposes, she believes that it must be what the psychic was talking about!

But then Ren’s ex-wife is in a serious accident, and he must return to Connecticut to help care for her and their daughters. Mimi decides to pack up her NYC life and head to New Haven, Connecticut, to be with him. Her new job at a quirky local daycare provides her with a community of support, which she needs, as it seems Ren and his estranged family may be reuniting. But, she still wonders if life’s twists, turns, and disasters just might lead her to unexpected happiness.

Book Summary

Molly Clarke abandoned her car miles from home and walked away from her life—or at least, that’s the story authorities told her family, including her twenty-one-year-old daughter, Nicole. But nothing about her mom’s disappearance makes sense. Nicole returns to the small town in Connecticut where her mother was last seen to investigate on her own. Everyone seems eager to help, until secrets begin to come into the light, and then she doesn’t know who to trust.

On the night Molly disappeared, she ran out of gas during a storm. When a man offers her a ride to town, his little girl reminds her of another daughter she lost five years earlier, which feels like a sign. She’s suddenly eager to be back with her family, so she accepts the ride. But soon, Molly wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake.

As you read, you’ll get the perspectives of both Molly and Nicole, which are both compelling.

Book Summary

It’s just past midnight when Link saves a woman from being attacked on the street. After chasing off the perpetrator, they enter a bar to help the woman, Camilo, calm her nerves. Despite Link’s background as a brilliant Dartmouth graduate, former athlete, and soldier, it’s scandalous that he, as a Black man, is entering the Connecticut bar with Camilo, a wealthy White woman, by his side.

After their chance encounter, Link and Camilo continue to secretly cross the town’s racial divide, defying the social prejudices of their times.

Book Summary

Charlie is smart, funny, artistic, and ambitious, which are all perfect attributes to have in her Connecticut suburb. However, she also stands out because she’s brown and bigger than the other girls. She really wants to have a positive image of her body, but it’s hard when her fitness-obsessed mom constantly leaves weight loss shakes on her dresser. In fact, it feels like everyone wants her to be smaller and whiter.

Thankfully, her best friend Amelia always has her back, even though she’s slim and popular. Things look even better when she starts a tentative relationship with her handsome classmate Brian. But then she finds out that he asked Amelia out first. Is she the second choice?

Book Summary

Josie is back in her Connecticut hometown after 12 years in New York. She was recently fired by her temperamental clothing designer boss, so she was the perfect candidate to take care of her grumpy great-uncle Eb after he was injured in a car accident.

Unfortunately, Aunt Cora didn’t survive the crash, so Josie also needs to sell the contents of Cora’s yarn shop, Miss Marple Knits. She enjoys spending time in the cozy shop more than she expected, but then one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere. Josie needs to add detective to her ever-growing resume before there is another victim.

Book Summary

This heartwarming and witty novel begins with Bridget and Will, two best friends and professional musicians. Bridget had been looking forward to a quiet summer at a rustic Connecticut home with her boyfriend, Sterling. However, when Sterling suddenly calls it quits, her adult children, Nick and Emily, decide to move back in. To further complicate matters, Will is dealing with a loss of his own.

Bridget and Will attempt to regain stability by reuniting their once-famous piano trio. But their efforts lead to various misadventures, including an unlikely love triangle.

Book Summary

This captivating YA mystery novel reimagines the iconic detective duo Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as teenagers in modern-day America. The story follows Charlotte Holmes, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes, and Jamie Watson, a descendant of Sherlock’s famous sidekick.

When Charlotte and Jamie find themselves framed for murder at their elite boarding school in Sherringford, CT, they must set aside their rivalry and join forces to clear their names. They begin to unravel a twisted plot that goes beyond the school’s walls. This thrilling adventure, infused with wit and clever references to the original Holmes canon, explores friendship, trust, and the burdens of a legendary legacy.

Book Summary

The narrator of this book is Little Dog, a son born to Vietnamese immigrants in the USA. He is in his late 20s and writing a letter to his mother. The letter starts with the family history rooted in Vietnam before he was born. His letter (and the novel) explores the fraught, yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, but it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, masculinity, and of those caught between disparate worlds.

Book Summary

Harper is a young author with one major best-seller under her belt, but now she’s in need of a career comeback. At the suggestion of her agent, she rents a house in New Canaan, Connecticut. Hiding her author identity from everyone she meets, Harper seeks to draw inspiration for a new novel about women in the suburbs.

Soon, Harper befriends her empty-nester neighbor. It’s October, and Wendy’s son just moved away for college. She’s struggling with being all alone, but not just because she misses her son. Wendy is keeping a secret of her own—her struggle with kleptomania.

Book Summary

Artist Claire Beaudry Chase was attacked and left for dead in her home on the coast of Connecticut. Her well-connected husband, Griffin, is both a gubernatorial candidate and the prime suspect.

Prior to her attack, Claire was working on an exhibit featuring shadow boxes. One of the shadow boxes she created clearly accuses Griffin of a violent crime committed twenty-five years ago. If word got out, Griffin’s political career would be toast. When another woman ends up dead, the time is ticking for Claire to take down her husband and the group of elites that seek to protect him at all costs.

Book Summary

If you read the Devil Wears Prada, or watched the movie, then you probably remember Emily as Miranda Priestly’s glamorous and judgmental first assistant – her “keeper,” if you will. She was the one charged with mentoring Andrea as Miranda’s newest personal assistant.

Now 36 years old, Emily has built a successful career as an image consultant in Hollywood. But having recently lost some clients, she needs her next big opportunity. That opportunity comes in the form of Karolina Hartwell, a mega-supermodel and the wife of a newly elected senator with presidential aspirations. Emily is introduced to Karolina by her longtime friend, Miriam. Miriam is a former partner at a prestigious NY law firm who has recently decided to become a stay-at-home mom. 

These three women come together in the posh Connecticut suburb of Greenwich. You’ll laugh out loud as they attempt to navigate the social landmines of this over-the-top suburbia, revealing the truths—and the lies—simmering just below the glittering surface.

Book Summary

Fans of Sex and the City may enjoy this YA novel (the first in a series) that takes us back to Carrie Bradshaw’s senior year of high school, where she was just a regular girl growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut. But as the end of high school draws near, and on the heels of a friend’s betrayal, Carrie will realize it’s time to go after what she really wants.