CITY · UNITED STATESBooks set in Washington, D.C.
38.907, -77.037
50 books · 41 authors · 1923–2025
50 books here
Most-set authors
Tom Clancy (5) · John Grisham (4) · Jason Reynolds (2) · George Pelecanos (2) · Barack Obama (1) · Allen Drury (1)
Genres
thriller & suspense (12) · literary fiction (10) · mystery & crime (3) · romance (2) · young adult (1) · science fiction (1)
Books set here
Set in Washington, D.C. (36)
24 Seconds From Now
Jason Reynolds
Contemporary urban setting — Neon and Aria's neighborhood, church parking lot, school
A Promised Land
Barack Obama
The White House, Oval Office, and Situation Room; Obama's first term in power
Advise and Consent
Allen Drury
Cold War Senate confirmation drama
American Fiction
Percival Everett
Monk Ellison visits family and presents at an academic conference; key scenes of the satire on race and publishing
Best Offer Wins
Marisa Kashino
DC real-estate love letter
Bright Red Fruit
Safia Elhillo
Slam poetry scene, coming-of-age summer
Debt of Honor
Tom Clancy
Capitol and White House hub
Dream Count
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nigerian diaspora America
Echo House
Ward Just
political dynasty home
Executive Orders
Tom Clancy
White House and seat of power
Four Blind Mice
James Patterson
Alex Cross home base
G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century
Beverly Gage
Hoover's birthplace and lifelong home — FBI headquarters and the corridors of American power
Lincoln
Gore Vidal
Civil War presidential drama
Red, White & Royal Blue
Casey McQuiston
White House, First Son of the United States, political romance
The Big Blowdown
George Pelecanos
1930s-40s immigrant noir
The Dark Maestro
Brendan Slocumb
protagonist childhood, Southeast projects
The First Counsel
Brad Meltzer
White House political thriller
The Hopefuls
Jennifer Close
political DC setting
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown
Capitol Masonic thriller
The Night Agent
Matthew Quirk
FBI agent Peter Sutherland works in the White House Situation Room and races across D.C. uncovering a Russian mole consp
The Night Gardener
George Pelecanos
crime thriller set here
The Pelican Brief
John Grisham
Supreme Court assassination plot
The Rooster Bar
John Grisham
Foggy Bottom Law School and the bar above it in The Rooster Bar
The Scammer
Tiffany D. Jackson
HBCU campus city
The Snares
Rav Grewal-Kök
Federal intelligence agency
The Street Lawyer
John Grisham
legal drama city setting
The Testament
John Grisham
Phelan estate legal proceedings
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now
Jason Reynolds
teens neighborhood coming-of-age
Without Fail
Lee Child
Secret Service protection plot
Yellowface
R. F. Kuang
publishing industry setting
River, Cross My Heart
Breena Clarke
1920s Black community
Cutting for Stone
Abraham Verghese
immigrant grocery store setting
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders
Civil War cemetery bardo
Decision Points
George W. Bush
Oval Office and Situation Room decisions
Fire and Fury
Michael Wolff
Trump White House interior, primary setting of Fire and Fury
The President Is Missing
Bill Clinton & James Patterson
Fictional President Duncan's situation room and disappearance
Also featuring Washington, D.C. (14)
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate
Al Franken
US Senate where Franken served 2009-2018
Cane
Jean Toomer
northern urban setting
Clear and Present Danger
Tom Clancy
CIA and political scenes
Cry Havoc
Jack Carr
White House, CIA command
Grant
Ron Chernow
Grant's White House during his two-term presidency 1869-1877
Horse
Geraldine Brooks
2019 timeline; Theo and Jess uncover Lexington's bones at the Smithsonian
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
Tom Clancy
CIA Langley operations
The Love Song of W.E.B. Du Bois
Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
Present-day DC — protagonist Ailey's adult life
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
protagonist's urban home
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
Honore Fanonne Jeffers
Contemporary setting for Ailey's adult life and education, parallel to the Georgia ancestral storyline
The Sum of All Fears
Tom Clancy
political crisis response
Kill Your Darlings
Peter Swanson
Exorcist steps murder scene
Becoming
Michelle Obama
Eight years as First Lady in Washington DC
When the Moon Hits Your Eye
John Scalzi
the president addresses the public
Notable locations in Washington, D.C.
The White House5Georgetown, Washington D.C.2Logan Circle1Oak Hill Cemetery1Shaw, Washington, D.C.1
Nearby books
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Cutting for Stone
Abraham Verghese
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