10 Highly-Rated Books Set on the Outer Banks

Book Summary

We all know the names Wilbur and Orville Wright, but what about Katharine? She may just be one of the most important and overlooked women in history, and this historical fiction novel finally gives voice to her story.

Before becoming obsessed with flying, the Wright brothers jumped on the popular new fad of bicycle riding, opening a bike shop in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio. Repairing bikes led to tinkering and building, and eventually a new dream took shape. But their younger sister knew they couldn’t do it without her.

As the brothers began obsessing over blueprints and testing models on the beaches of North Carolina, Katharine became the mastermind behind the scenes. She sourced materials, managed communications, and kept the brothers focused on their goal even when it seemed that hope was lost.

When they finally achieved the first controlled, sustained flight, it resulted in both fame and fortune. The siblings traveled the world demonstrating their invention, training pilots, and building new models that could fly higher and further. But then, a tragedy tore the family apart and forced Katharine to make an impossible choice that would haunt her for the rest of her days.

Book Summary

Lucy enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but when her 10-year relationship comes to an end, she decides to rewrite the plot of her life.

She plans a getaway to the Outer Banks in search of the sun, but she ends up taking a job as a librarian at the lighthouse library on Bodie Island.

In the most recent book, The Stranger in the Library, Lucy is working on an art show at the library when paintings – and people – start to go missing.

Book Summary

Cary and Adam are best friends despite coming from opposite sides of the tracks. Then Jane comes into their lives like a whirlwind. Cary falls in love with her, and just like that, their twosome is a tight-knit group of three.

In the summer after high school graduation, Cary must remain in Killdeer, but Adam and Jane are heading to the Outer Banks. There, they fall under the spell of the Lost Colony Hotel and its charming but mysterious proprietors. Before summer is over, Adam’s feelings for Jane will force him to make a difficult choice.

Book Summary

When her husband leaves her for a younger woman, 45-year-old Adrienne is forced to rethink everything. In need of a getaway, she escapes to the small coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina, to tend to a friend’s inn for the weekend.

When a major storm begins rolling in, hope seems lost for a quiet and peaceful weekend. That is until a guest named Paul arrives. At fifty-four, Paul has just sold his medical practice and fled to Rodanthe to escape his own shattered past.

With the storm closing in on them, Adrienne and Paul turn to one another for comfort. This one weekend away will set in motion feelings that will leave ripple effects for the rest of their lives.

Book Summary

This beachside cozy mystery series is set in the town of Charm, North Carolina, on the Outer Banks. Everly Swan has recently returned to her hometown following a breakup and opened a sweet tea shop and cafe on the beach.

In the first book in the series, Live and Let Chai, a grumpy customer is found dead on the boardwalk with one of her tea jars lying nearby. When the autopsy says he was poisoned, Everly fights to prove that she didn’t do it, but the townspeople turn their backs on her. Between attacks on her and her business and a too-handsome detective, Everly is in trouble.

Book Summary

With the wounds of the Civil War just beginning to heal, the once-wealthy Sinclair family moves to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the summer. They take up residence at one of the first cottages on the ocean side of the resort village of Nags Head.

Seventeen-year-old Abigail is beautiful and book-smart, but she’s been sheltered by plantation life. To make use of her time on the quiet island, her family encourages her to teach her father’s fishing guide, Benjamin Whimble, how to read and write. There, on the porch of the cottage, Abby and Ben fall deeply in love.

But when, in direct opposition to everything he claims to represent, Ben becomes entangled with Abby’s father’s Ku Klux Klan work. A terrible tragedy and surprising revelations threaten to tear them apart for good.

Book Summary

After being laid off from her reporting job, Callie returns to her hometown of Cattail Island to take a job at the local bookstore. The store has always been a safe place for her to turn when facing hard times. In fact, it’s also where she found comfort after her mom died.

Years ago, Callie’s mom, Teri, fell from the top of the lighthouse. The anniversary of her death is approaching, and townspeople are gossiping about it again. Then comes the devastating news that the lighthouse has claimed another victim. The police rule it suicide, but Callie thinks it was murder. And she thinks the same about her mom’s death.

Callie is determined to find answers with help from new friends and beloved books. But she’s making enemies along the way, and when another death shocks the island, she’s afraid she could be next.