CITY · UNITED STATESBooks set in New York City
40.713, -74.006
78 books · 72 authors · 1872–2026
78 books here
Most-set authors
Stephen King (4) · Jennifer Egan (2) · Ayn Rand (2) · Kiran Desai (2) · Mahogany L. Browne (1) · Mary Higgins Clark (1)
Genres
literary fiction (19) · thriller & suspense (11) · mystery & crime (5) · romance (2) · science fiction (2) · children's (1)
Books set here
Set in New York City (56)
A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe
Mahogany L. Browne
NYC teens in pandemic lockdown
A Visit from the Goon Squad
Jennifer Egan
primary music industry setting
All Around the Town
Mary Higgins Clark
Main setting, trial and law practice
Amerika
Franz Kafka
Karl Rossmann arrival port
Around the World in Eighty Days
Jules Verne
Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand
Taggart railroad headquarters
Darkfall
Dean Koontz
Voodoo murder investigation
Famous
Blake Crouch
off-Broadway scene
Foundation and Earth
Isaac Asimov
domed city of the future
Goaltender Interference
Ari Baran
Aiden retires, exes reunite
Julie Chan Is Dead
Liann Zhang
primary setting, Chloe penthouse, runway show
My Name Is Lucy Barton
Elizabeth Strout
Hospital stay, 1980s NYC
Nobody's Fool
Harlan Coben
present-day Kierce, PI and night-school teacher
Notes from a Regicide
Isaac Fellman
far-future canal city
Play Nice
Rachel Harrison
protagonist home base
Stolen in Death
J. D. Robb
New York City (In Death, near-future)
The Alienist
Caleb Carr
1896 murder investigation
The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath
Primary setting - summer hospital and mental breakdown
The Bone Collector
Jeffery Deaver
Lincoln Rhyme crime scenes
The Cobra Event
Richard Preston
bioterrorism attack setting
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
Stephen King
Roland's portal destinations
The Drawing of the Three
Stephen King
1980s NYC portal entry
The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand
architecture career setting
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Kiran Desai
immigrant alienation at the millennium
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
Oscar Hijuelos
Cuban musicians in 1950s NYC
The Tenant
Freida McFadden
the Manhattan brownstone
The Understudy
Morgan Richter
opera world setting
The Wilderness
Angela Flournoy
the friends's NYC years
You
Caroline Kepnes
Guinevere Becks apartment address in the novel
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
The shabby first apartment shared by Jude and Willem
The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton
Where Newland Archer first sees Countess Olenska
Open City
Teju Cole
Pivotal site where Julius reflects on slavery
When No One Is Watching
Alyssa Cole
Historic Brooklyn neighborhood setting for the thriller
(S)Kin
Ibi Zoboi
Marisol's Brooklyn apartment
Dept. of Speculation
Jenny Offill
Brooklyn domestic life
Manhattan Beach
Jennifer Egan
WWII naval shipyard, Anna dives
Luster
Raven Leilani
Edies subpar apartment and artistic struggle hub
Count My Lies
Sophie Stava
neighborhood where Sloane and mother move
Netherland
Joseph O'Neill
Where Hans moves after his marriage fails
Girl in Translation
Jean Kwok
Garment district sweatshop where Kimberly works
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng
Kylie Lee Baker
NYC Chinatown during COVID-19 pandemic
Modern Lovers
Emma Straub
The main drag of Ditmas Park neighborhood
Lush Life
Richard Price
Site of the pivotal shooting of Ike Marcus
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Hank Green
Where April May discovers the first Carl sculpture
Brooklyn
Colm Tóibín
Bartoccis Department Store
The Last Days of Night
Graham Moore
Site of high-society mansions and The Players club
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer
Where Oskars father died on 9/11
The Submission
Amy Waldman
Site of the proposed 9/11 memorial Garden
When the Tides Held the Moon
Venessa Vida Kelley
1911 Coney Island sideshow
Inherent Vice
Thomas Pynchon
fictional beach town, Doc Sportello home
Tabloid City
Pete Hamill
Cynthia Hardings distinguished address
Pineapple Street
Jenny Jackson
The Stockton family mansion on a historic Brooklyn Heights street
The Plot
Jean Hanff Korelitz
Key cultural landmark associated with the literary jetstream
The Thieves of Manhattan
Adam Langer
Central landmark for the book-obsessed characters
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Mohsin Hamid
Underwood Samson Offices
Let the Great World Spin
Colum McCann
Site of the pivotal tightrope walk
Also featuring New York City (22)
Clive Cussler The Iron Storm
Jack Du Brul
Bell must stop anarchist attack
Crazy Rich Asians
Kevin Kwan
Rachel and Nick's home base
Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie
James Lee Burke
Bessie flees here after Texas incident
Firestarter
Stephen King
opening chase scene
Heart So White
Javier Marías
UN interpreter postings
Homeseeking
Karissa Chen
divergent paths in America
Lost Children Archive
Valeria Luiselli
journey start point
The Corrections
Jonathan Franzen
Chip Lambert New York scenes
The Hungry Tide
Amitav Ghosh
future-set frame narrative
The Inheritance of Loss
Kiran Desai
Biju undocumented immigrant kitchens
The Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri
Gogol adult life New York
The Note
Alafair Burke
May's home
The Prince of Tides
Pat Conroy
therapy sessions with psychiatrist
The Wandering
Intan Paramaditha
one of the wandering destinations
The Woman in Suite 11
Ruth Ware
Lo's home
Wolves of the Calla
Stephen King
1977 vacant lot rose subplot
Fleishman Is in Trouble
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Primary inspiration for the diner in the book
Angela's Ashes
Frank McCourt
Early childhood, Depression-era
Dreaming in Cuban
Cristina García
Lourdes and Pilar exile home
The City We Became
N.K. Jemisin
Location where the avatars gather after the final battle
So Happy Together
Olivia Worley
date venue bar
City on Fire
Garth Risk Hallberg
Heart of the punk scene and Alphabet City plotline
Nearby books
Free Food for Millionaires
Min Jin Lee
0 km · New York
Great Black Hope
Rob Franklin
0 km · New York
The Dark Maestro
Brendan Slocumb
0 km · New York City, New York
The Sisters
Jonas Hassen Khemiri
0 km · New York
Open City
Teju Cole
0 km · African Burial Ground National Monument
Let the Great World Spin
Colum McCann
1 km · World Trade Center
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer
1 km · Ground Zero
The Submission
Amy Waldman
1 km · Ground Zero