Books set in New Mexico

NEW MEXICO  (Stacker) — Every state has its hallmark writers.

Mississippi has William Faulkner and his incomparable (fictional) Yoknapatawpha County and Missouri can lay claim to Mark Twain. The state of Maine is gifted with Pulitzer winner Richard Russo and horror icon Stephen King. Rural Pennsylvania is the playground of the much-heralded (and occasionally maligned) John Updike, and when many bibliophiles think of New Jersey, they also think of Richard Ford’s series of novels featuring recurring Everyman character Frank Bascombe. Illinois can lay claim to William Maxwell, Sandra Cisneros, and Adam Langer, among numerous others. And what reader can think of Washington State without contending with the sparkle-vampire yarns of Stephanie Meyer?

What makes authors like these inextricably associated with a particular state is not simply the matter of their having been born there or choosing to live there. The connection, from a writerly standpoint, is deeper than that—their work, nearly all of it, is set in “their” state. Of course, there are certainly exceptions.

Whether a writer sets a tale in the town where they went to college or spent part of their childhood—like Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History” and its New England arts school setting and the almost-factual small town of Jo Ann Beard’s “In Zanesville,” respectively—or crafts a story that follows a social or political theme to a location they know little about but lay narrative claim to anyway, the world is rife with books known, loved, and respected that also capture the essence of place—books where setting itself is one of the strongest characters.

Stacker compiled a list of books set in New Mexico from Goodreads. Whether you’re looking for a good read set in the state you call home, or you’re looking to expand your curiosity with a writer you’re already familiar with, we’ve got you covered.

The Blessing Way (Leaphorn & Chee, #1)
Rating: 4.03 (23,512 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: January 1, 1970
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller

Death Comes for the Archbishop
Rating: 3.94 (33,241 ratings)
Author: Willa Cather
Published: January 1, 1927
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Literature

Hearts of the Missing
Rating: 3.76 (687 ratings)
Author: Carol Potenza
Published: December 4, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

Bless Me, Ultima
Rating: 3.81 (32,325 ratings)
Author: Rudolfo Anaya
Published: January 1, 1972
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Magical Realism, Young Adult

The Milagro Beanfield War
Rating: 4.09 (10,204 ratings)
Author: John Nichols
Published: January 1, 1974
Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Humor

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Rating: 4.22 (83,700 ratings)
Author: Dee Brown
Published: April 1, 1970
Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Classics

The Monkey Wrench Gang (Monkey Wrench Gang, #1)
Rating: 4.08 (24,019 ratings)
Author: Edward Abbey
Published: January 1, 1975
Genres: Fiction, Nature, Environment, Classics

Brave New World
Rating: 3.99 (1.7 million ratings)
Author: Aldous Huxley
Published: January 1, 1932
Genres: Classics, Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)
Rating: 4.02 (83,708 ratings)
Author: Darynda Jones
Published: February 1, 2011
Genres: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Romance

Skinwalkers (Leaphorn & Chee, #7)
Rating: 4.07 (12,509 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: December 1, 1986
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime

Georgia O’Keeffe: One Hundred Flowers
Rating: 4.33 (714 ratings)
Author: Georgia O’Keeffe
Published: January 1, 1987
Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Biography

Hillerman Country: A Journey Through the Southwest with Tony Hillerman
Rating: 4.21 (315 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: October 1, 1991
Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Geography, Mystery

The Green Glass Sea (Green Glass, #1)
Rating: 4.03 (7,132 ratings)
Author: Ellen Klages
Published: October 19, 2006
Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade

Where They Bury You
Rating: 3.32 (91 ratings)
Author: Steven W. Kohlhagen
Published: February 1, 2013
Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns, Fiction, Mystery

Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West
Rating: 4.24 (14,630 ratings)
Author: Hampton Sides
Published: October 3, 2006
Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Biography

The Wives of Los Alamos
Rating: 3.26 (6,815 ratings)
Author: TaraShea Nesbit
Published: April 24, 2014
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Historical

Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout
Rating: 3.95 (3,981 ratings)
Author: Philip Connors
Published: March 10, 2011
Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Memoir, Environment

Sacred Clowns (Leaphorn & Chee, #11)
Rating: 4.04 (8,387 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: October 1, 1993
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime

The Sinister Pig (Leaphorn & Chee, #16)
Rating: 3.91 (6,576 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: May 6, 2003
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller

The Great Taos Bank Robbery and other True Stories of the Southwest
Rating: 3.83 (922 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: January 1, 1973
Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mystery, Short Stories

The Shape Shifter (Leaphorn & Chee, #18)
Rating: 4.02 (8,540 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: November 21, 2006
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime

Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson, #2)
Rating: 4.24 (49,896 ratings)
Author: Darynda Jones
Published: August 16, 2011
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance

Rosary Without Beads
Rating: 4.13 (23 ratings)
Author: Diana Holguin-Balogh
Published: October 1, 2018
Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns

Meet Josefina: An American Girl (American Girls: Josefina, #1)
Rating: 3.94 (5,039 ratings)
Author: Valerie Tripp
Published: January 1, 1997
Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Historical

Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)
Rating: 3.96 (22,647 ratings)
Author: Rebecca Roanhorse
Published: June 26, 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Dystopia

Tularosa (Kevin Kerney, #1)
Rating: 3.99 (2,703 ratings)
Author: Michael McGarrity
Published: April 17, 1996
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime

Alburquerque
Rating: 3.79 (1,089 ratings)
Author: Rudolfo Anaya
Published: August 1, 1992
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Magical Realism, Classics

Red Sky at Morning
Rating: 4.09 (2,747 ratings)
Author: Richard Bradford
Published: January 1, 1968
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Coming Of Age

Tiger Eyes
Rating: 3.90 (16,384 ratings)
Author: Judy Blume
Published: January 1, 1981
Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction

Rock with Wings (Leaphorn & Chee, #20)
Rating: 3.90 (8,783 ratings)
Author: Anne Hillerman
Published: May 5, 2015
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Westerns

You Brought Me the Ocean
Rating: 3.81 (2,378 ratings)
Author: Alex Sanchez
Published: June 9, 2020
Genres: Graphic Novels, LGBT, Young Adult, Comics

Chaco Canyon: Archaeologists Explore the Lives of an Ancient Society
Rating: 3.60 (77 ratings)
Author: Brian M. Fagan
Published: April 15, 2005
Genres: History, Archaeology, Nonfiction, Anthropology

The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore
Rating: 3.85 (75 ratings)
Author: David Dary
Published: November 1, 2000
Genres: History, American History, Westerns, Nonfiction

The Joe Leaphorn Mysteries: The Blessing Way / Dance Hall of the Dead / Listening Woman (Leaphorn & Chee, #1-3)
Rating: 4.26 (687 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: January 1, 1989
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Westerns

Tony Hillerman: The Leaphorn Chee Novels: Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Coyote Waits
Rating: 4.40 (619 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: May 3, 2005
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime

Los Alamos
Rating: 3.82 (3,058 ratings)
Author: Joseph Kanon
Published: May 5, 1997
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

The Last Beautiful Days of Autumn
Rating: 4.03 (33 ratings)
Author: John Nichols
Published: May 31, 1982
Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir

Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson, #3)
Rating: 4.35 (43,499 ratings)
Author: Darynda Jones
Published: January 31, 2012
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance

The Pueblo Revolt: The Secret Rebellion that Drove the Spaniards Out of the Southwest
Rating: 3.87 (336 ratings)
Author: David Roberts
Published: January 1, 2004
Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns, War

The Staircase
Rating: 3.74 (1,333 ratings)
Author: Ann Rinaldi
Published: January 1, 2000
Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical

The Fallen Man (Navajo Mysteries, #12)
Rating: 4.12 (7,656 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: November 19, 1996
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Westerns

Dance Hall of the Dead (Leaphorn & Chee, #2)
Rating: 4.02 (13,732 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: January 1, 1973
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller

Hunting Badger (Navajo Mysteries, #14)
Rating: 4.06 (8,207 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: November 9, 1999
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime

Hermit’s Peak (Kevin Kerney, #4)
Rating: 4.12 (1,288 ratings)
Author: Michael McGarrity
Published: June 1, 1999
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Westerns

Hannah’s War
Rating: 3.81 (2,522 ratings)
Author: Jan Eliasberg
Published: March 3, 2020
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Historical

The Maverick Cookbook: Iconic Recipes & Tales from New Mexico
Rating: 4.30 (37 ratings)
Author: Lynn Cline
Published: September 1, 2015
Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos
Rating: 4.06 (1,773 ratings)
Author: Jennet Conant
Published: January 1, 2005
Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Biography

Listening Woman (Leaphorn & Chee, #3)
Rating: 4.14 (13,330 ratings)
Author: Tony Hillerman
Published: April 1, 1978
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller

The Plumed Serpent
Rating: 3.30 (1,562 ratings)
Author: D.H. Lawrence
Published: January 1, 1926
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literature, Novels