Connecticut has inspired so many stories! It’s fascinating to see how authors use its towns, history, and landscapes. From classic tales to modern mysteries, here’s a look at some novels where Connecticut plays a starring role. You might find your next favorite read right here.
In this book, young Kit Tyler arrives in 17th‑century Wethersfield, Connecticut, straight from sunny Barbados. She finds the Puritan community unwelcoming and rigid.
Kit doesn’t fit in easily and her friendship with Hannah Tupper, an old woman considered an outcast, causes trouble. Soon, people whisper about witchcraft, and Kit faces serious accusations tied to local fears and prejudices.
It’s a powerful story about finding your place and courage.
Mark Twain penned this classic adventure. Hank Morgan is a practical 19th‑century engineer from Hartford, Connecticut, who suddenly finds himself in King Arthur’s Camelot after a blow to the head.
Hank uses his modern know‑how and attempts to introduce telephones, electricity, and even gunpowder to medieval England. The results are often humorous, and the book contrasts old ways with new ideas through satire.
This one sends shivers down your spine. A couple seeks peace and quiet, so they move to the seemingly perfect village of Cornwall Coombe, Connecticut. They soon discover the villagers are deeply connected to ancient farming rituals and traditions.
The town’s harvest celebrations hide dark secrets, and the newcomers realize the community holds a disturbing power over its residents. Things definitely aren’t as idyllic as they seem.
Wally Lamb takes us deep into the lives of twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in Three Rivers, Connecticut. Thomas has schizophrenia, and Dominick carries the heavy weight of caring for him.
The story explores their complicated bond, family history filled with secrets, and Dominick’s own journey to understand himself and their past. You really feel the New England setting and the impact of generations.
Set in Redding, Connecticut, during the American Revolution, this book shows how the war divides a family. Young Tim Meeker watches the conflict unfold. His father wants to remain loyal to England, but his older brother, Sam, eagerly joins the Patriots.
Tim feels caught in the middle as the war disrupts their town and forces him to confront difficult choices about loyalty and loss.
Ira Levin created a truly unsettling suburban nightmare in Stepford, Connecticut. Joanna Eberhart, a photographer, moves to town with her husband and children. She notices something strange about the local wives.
They seem unnaturally perfect, content only with housework and pleasing their husbands. Joanna investigates and uncovers the chilling secret behind Stepford’s flawless facade.
Fans of the Baby‑Sitters Club will enjoy this one. Kristy and her friends live in fictional Stoneybrook, Connecticut. They are busy preparing for a big concert.
The story highlights their teamwork and the small dramas in their lives as they support each other through challenges before the performance. It’s a sweet story about friendship.
This charming story is set in Cranbury, Connecticut (a fictional version of the author’s hometown). The Pye family, especially siblings Jerry and Rachel, adore their smart little dog, Ginger. One day, Ginger disappears.
Jerry and Rachel embark on a quest through their town to find their beloved pet and solve the mystery of who took him. The book paints a lovely picture of small‑town life.
This is the start of the Tillerman Cycle. Four siblings find themselves abandoned by their mother in a shopping mall parking lot in Connecticut. Dicey, the oldest, takes charge.
They begin a long walk, mostly through Connecticut, hoping to find their great‑aunt’s house and a safe place to stay. Dicey faces tough decisions to keep her younger siblings safe on their uncertain journey.
Another gem by Eleanor Estes, this story takes place in a Connecticut town. Wanda Petronski is a poor girl who gets teased by classmates because she wears the same faded blue dress every day. Wanda quietly insists she has one hundred beautiful dresses lined up in her closet.
The story focuses on Maddie, a girl who feels uneasy about the teasing but doesn’t speak up. It’s a moving tale about kindness and regret.
Mildred Savage brings Connecticut’s tobacco‑growing region to life in this novel. Parrish MacLean is a young man who gets involved in the demanding world of tobacco farming after his mother marries into a prominent family.
He learns about the hard work in the fields and gets caught up in the intense rivalries and power struggles between the established growers. You follow his journey with ambition, love, and loyalty.
This delightful book is Tomie dePaola’s own story about his childhood in Meriden, Connecticut, during the 1930s. He shares memories of his family building their new house at 26 Fairmount Avenue.
Little Tomie tells about experiencing a hurricane, his excitement for movies, and everyday moments with family and neighbors. It’s a warm look at growing up during that era.
This story unfolds through the voices of seven fifth‑graders in a Connecticut school. Their teacher, Mr. Terupt, is new and has creative ways of making learning interesting. He connects with each student, even the troublemakers.
Then, a sudden accident involving Mr. Terupt changes everything, and the students must navigate the emotional aftermath together.
Set in a small Connecticut town in the 1930s, this is a truly unsettling story. It centers on identical twin brothers, Niles and Holland Perry. Their family life is marked by tragedy, and a series of disturbing events begin to happen around the boys.
Niles seems like the good twin, but as the summer unfolds, dark secrets about their relationship and a terrifying truth emerge.
This classic children’s book is set in the Connecticut countryside. The animal residents of Rabbit Hill are buzzing with excitement and worry because “New Folks” are moving into the big house.
Little Georgie, a young rabbit, and his neighbors speculate about whether the humans will be kind or cruel. Will they plant a garden? Will they bring a cat? It’s a charming tale about hope and community.
Richard Yates paints a stark picture of suburban life in 1950s Connecticut. Frank and April Wheeler feel trapped in their conventional marriage and lifestyle.
They dream of escaping to Paris for a more meaningful existence, but their plans unravel under the weight of societal pressures and their own flaws. The novel explores their desperation and the emptiness beneath the suburban dream.
This story focuses on the Darling family in a small Connecticut town after the mother walks out. Teenage brothers Joel and Michael try to cope. Joel attempts to hold the family together, while younger Michael gets into trouble.
Their quiet father hires Augusta, a quirky housekeeper, whose presence brings unexpected changes, humor, and a path toward healing.
Zack moves to Connecticut with his father and new stepmother after his mother dies. Their new house is located near an infamous haunted crossroads with a tragic history. Zack soon finds himself involved in solving a ghostly mystery connected to the spirits lingering there.
He faces supernatural dangers while also dealing with his grief and adjusting to his new family.
Peter Straub delivers intense horror in this novel set in Hampstead, Connecticut. The town faces a double nightmare. A toxic chemical leaks into the environment, causing mutations and death, while an ancient evil, the Dragon, returns to terrorize the residents.
A small group of people realizes the connection between the chemical spill and the supernatural horror and must fight back.
Richard Yates returns to Connecticut, this time focusing on a fictional boys’ boarding school in the 1940s. The story follows various students and faculty members. You meet William Grove, a shy boy interested in writing, and see the headmaster struggle with his own demons.
The backdrop of World War II adds tension, and the decaying school itself feels like a character influencing their lives.
Set in a New Britain, Connecticut Red Lobster restaurant, this novel covers the establishment’s final day of business just before Christmas.
Manny, the dedicated manager, tries to keep things running smoothly amidst the impending closure, a snowstorm, his personal worries, and the various dramas among his crew. It captures the quiet struggles and routines of ordinary working lives.
This coming‑of‑age story follows Tim Dunphy, a working‑class kid from Pawtucket, Rhode Island. After getting into trouble, his father sends him to the prestigious Cornwall Academy boarding school in Connecticut in the 1970s.
Tim has to navigate the unfamiliar world of prep school, dealing with snobbery, making friends, and falling in love, all while feeling like an outsider. It mixes humor with poignant moments.
In a small Connecticut town, a father mixes pills and falls into a coma. His teenage children, Chris and Cathy, are left mostly unsupervised. They have to deal with the fallout and the strange dynamics of their family.
The story explores their clumsy attempts to understand their situation, connect with each other, and figure out their lives in the wake of their father’s condition.
This popular children’s series is set in the fictional town of Green Lawn, Connecticut. Young detectives Dink Duncan, Josh Pintoff, and Ruth Rose Hathaway work together to solve all sorts of mysteries that pop up in their town.
From missing persons to stolen jewels, they use their wits and teamwork to crack each case, alphabetically from A to Z.
Popular high school senior Sam Kingston lives in a comfortable Connecticut town. After a party one night, she dies in a car crash. But then she wakes up the next morning forced to relive the last day of her life over and over again.
Each repeat day gives Sam a chance to untangle the events leading to her death, reassess her friendships, and understand the impact her choices have on others.
This novel presents itself as the biography of a fictional child prodigy, Edwin Mullhouse, written by his childhood best friend, Jeffrey Cartwright. Edwin supposedly wrote an epic novel before dying at age eleven.
Jeffrey meticulously documents Edwin’s short, eccentric life in their Connecticut town. It’s a fascinating look at childhood, storytelling, and how memory shapes narrative.
Eric Dunne is a socially awkward but brilliant student who arrives at the elite Aberdeen College in Connecticut. He falls in with a group of eccentric, privileged students obsessed with alchemy and the secret to immortality, supposedly hidden somewhere on campus.
Their quest becomes increasingly dangerous and pushes the boundaries between intellectual curiosity and obsession.
This classic novel captures the atmosphere of 1950s America through the eyes of Tom Rath. He’s a World War II veteran living in Westport, Connecticut, with his family.
Tom commutes to a corporate job in New York City and struggles to reconcile his desire for success with his wartime experiences and a secret from his past. The story examines conformity, ambition, and the search for meaning in post‑war suburban life.
Agnes and Honey are best friends who have grown up together in Mount Blessing, a secluded religious commune in Connecticut run by a charismatic but controlling leader named Emmanuel. Agnes is devout, while Honey starts to doubt their strict life.
When Honey’s grandmother arrives from the outside world, secrets about the commune and Emmanuel surface, forcing the girls to confront harsh truths.
Set during a summer theater program at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, this YA novel introduces Olivia. She’s soured on romance after her parents’ messy split and pours her energy into writing a provocative feminist musical.
Max, a charming fellow student, is determined to break through her defenses. The story blends sharp wit, campus life, and teenage angst.
This novel offers a snapshot of student life at Yale University in the early 1900s. Dink Stover, the protagonist from Johnson’s earlier Lawrenceville stories, arrives in New Haven for his freshman year.
He navigates the complex social hierarchy, intense rivalries between societies, athletic pursuits, and academic pressures. The book explores themes of conformity, ambition, and finding one’s identity within the traditions of an Ivy League institution.