Recommendations based on Montana 1948by Larry Watson

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Peace Like a River

    by Leif Enger
    A young boy's journey of faith, hope, and courage in the midst of tragedy.

    Once in a great while, we encounter a novel in our voluminous reading that begs to be read aloud. Leif Enger's debut, Peace Like a River , is one such work. His richly evocative novel, narrated by an ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Whistling Season

    by Ivan Doig
    A coming-of-age story set in rural Montana in 1909, following a family's struggles and triumphs during the homesteading era.

    "Can't cook but doesn't bite." So begins the newspaper ad offering the services of an "A-1 housekeeper, sound morals, exceptional disposition" that draws the hungry attention of widower Oliver ... (Goodreads)

  3. Deliverance

    by James Dickey
    Four friends embark on a dangerous river rafting journey, facing unexpected perils.

    Narrated in the first person by Ed Gentry, a graphic artist and one of the four main characters, the novel opens with him and three friends, all middle-aged men who live in a large city in Georgia, ... (Wikipedia)

  4. 11/22/63

    by Stephen King
    A time-traveler attempts to prevent the assassination of JFK.

    Jake Epping is a recently divorced high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine , earning extra money teaching a GED class. Epping gives an assignment to his adult students, asking them to ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The Dark Half

    by Stephen King
    A writer's dark doppelganger takes over his life and wreaks deadly chaos.

    Thad Beaumont is an author and recovering alcoholic who lives in the town of Ludlow , Maine . Thad's own books – cerebral literary fiction – are not very successful. However, under the pen name ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Cutting for Stone

    by Abraham Verghese
    A sweeping journey of two twin brothers and their search for identity, belonging and family.

    The story is told by the protagonist, Marion Stone. He and his conjoined twin Shiva are born at Mission Hospital (called "Missing" in accordance with the local pronunciation), Addis Ababa , in ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

    by Helen Simonson
    A widower finds love and acceptance in an unlikely place, challenging social conventions.

    You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as ... (Goodreads)

  8. Tallgrass

    by Sandra Dallas
    During WWII, a small Colorado town is forced to house Japanese-Americans in an internment camp, causing tension and revealing secrets.

    An essential American novel from Sandra Dallas, an unparalleled writer of our history, and our deepest emotions... During World War II, a family finds life turned upside down when the government ... (Goodreads)

  9. State of Wonder

    by Ann Patchett
    A journey in the Amazon rainforest to find a missing colleague and unlock the secrets of a mysterious drug.

    In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, "State of Wonder" presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional ... (Goodreads)

  10. Full Dark, No Stars

    by Stephen King
    Four suspenseful stories of retribution, exploring the depths of human darkness.

    "I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger..." writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up "1922." the first in this pitch-black quartet ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Reader

    by Bernhard Schlink
    A man's journey of understanding, uncovering a dark secret from his past.

    Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of ... (Goodreads)

  12. Back Roads

    by Tawni O'Dell
    After his mother's imprisonment, a young man struggles to care for his three younger sisters in a small Pennsylvania town.

    Harley Altmyer should be in college drinking beer and chasing girls. He should be freed from his stifling coal town with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead he's marooned in the ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Angle of Repose

    by Wallace Stegner
    A man's search for his ancestors and their stories, leading to a journey of self-discovery.

    Lyman Ward narrates a century after the fact. Lyman interprets the story at times and leaves gaps that he points out at other times. Some of the disappointments of his life, including his divorce, ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Small Great Things

    by Jodi Picoult
    A gripping story of racism and justice, exploring the intersections of power and privilege.

    #1, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER • With richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead readers to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race,, Small Great ... (Barnes & Noble)

  15. Beartown

    by Fredrik Backman
    A small-town hockey team and its community grapple with the consequences of a traumatic event.

    Peter Andersson, in his forties, is the general manager of the ice hockey club in Beartown, a small town located somewhere in Sweden. Peter grew up in Beartown and was a junior hockey star. He went ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Girl Waits with Gun

    by Amy Stewart
    A young woman's quest for justice, and her unexpected journey of bravery and empowerment.

    A novel based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs. Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Coroner's Lunch

    by Colin Cotterill
    A grizzled coroner investigates a suspicious death in a small Laotian village.

    Despite a total lack of training, an utter dearth of experience and a complete absence of inclination, Dr. Siri Paiboun has just been appointed state coroner for the Lao People's Democratic Republic. ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Boundary Waters

    by William Kent Krueger
    A gripping wilderness adventure exploring the depths of a man's courage and the power of friendship.

    The Quetico-Superior Wilderness: more than two million acres of forest, white-water rapids, and uncharted islands on the Canadian/American border. Somewhere in the heart of this unforgiving ... (Goodreads)

  19. Kitchens of the Great Midwest

    by J. Ryan Stradal
    A heartwarming tale of interconnected lives, all connected by their shared love of food.

    The novel centers around Eva, a culinary prodigy born with a “once-in-a-generation palate” to a chef father and a sommelier mother. Though growing up in poverty and facing numerous challenges, by age ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Storyteller's Secret

    by Sejal Badani
    A woman travels to India to uncover her family's past and discovers a hidden story of love, sacrifice, and tragedy.

    An Amazon Charts,, USA Today, and, Washington Post, bestseller.,, From the bestselling author of, Trail of Broken Wings, comes an epic story of the unrelenting force of love, the power of healing, ... (Barnes & Noble)

  21. Y is for Yesterday

    by Sue Grafton
    Private investigator searches for a missing teenage girl while uncovering the secrets of her past.

    On August 30, 2017, "Y" Is for Yesterday topped, USA Today, 's best-seller list. , On September 1, 2017, it topped, The New York Times, Best Seller list and was later placed on its Fiction Best ... (Wikipedia)

  22. X

    by Sue Grafton
    Private detective unravels a web of secrets to solve a mysterious case.

    The book starts off in third-person narrative by a woman called Teddy Xanakis. Teddy is in the throes of a bitter divorce and trying to ruin her ex-husband Ari, who had an affair with her best ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Last Sin Eater

    by Francine Rivers
    A young girl's journey to discover the truth behind an ancient Appalachian ritual.

    The Last Sin Eater revolves around Cadi Forbes, ten-year-old girl who lives in a settlement community of Welsh Americans in the mid-1850s. Cadi carries a heavy burden of guilt and grief because of ... (Wikipedia)

  24. A Week in Winter

    by Maeve Binchy
    A tale of friendship, love, and unexpected connections in a small Irish village.

    Stoneybridge is a small town on the west coast of Ireland where all the families know one another. When Chicky Starr decides to take an old, decaying mansion set high on the cliffs overlooking the ... (Goodreads)

  25. Middlemarch

    by George Eliot
    A grand narrative of life in a small English town, exploring the lives of its inhabitants.

    Middlemarch centres on the lives of residents of Middlemarch, a fictitious Midlands town, from 1829 onwards – the years up to the 1832 Reform Act . The narrative is variably considered to consist of ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Orphan Train

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A story of two women's intertwined lives, spanning generations and crossing continents.

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller “A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer Moving ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. Necessary Lies

    by Diane Chamberlain
    A young social worker in 1960s rural North Carolina uncovers a dark secret that threatens to upend the lives of those around her.

    It is 1960 in North Carolina and the lives of Ivy Hart and Jane Forrester couldn't be more different. Fifteen-year-old Ivy lives with her family as tenants on a small tobacco farm, but when her ... (Barnes & Noble)

  28. Tricky Twenty-Two

    by Janet Evanovich
    A crime-fighting team must work together to solve a series of baffling cases.

    Something big is brewing in Trenton, N.J., and it could blow at any minute. Stephanie Plum might not be the world's greatest bounty hunter, but she knows when she's being played. Ken Globovic (aka ... (Goodreads)

  29. East of Eden

    by John Steinbeck
    Exploration of the timeless struggle between good and evil, set against a backdrop of a family saga.

    In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Tale of Three Trees

    by Angela Elwell Hunt
    A parable of three trees' journey of faith and ultimate sacrifice.

    Featuring the wonderful illustrations of Tim Jonke, this best-selling children's book tells the Easter story from a new and unusual point of view. Three trees on a mountain dream of what they wanted ... (Barnes & Noble)