USA Fiction Challenge State by State 2014

I’m quite excited about my first book reading challenge that I’m taking part in since I’ve started this blog. I’ve been looking forward to get into some reading challenges, however right now it’s not so easy: first because I’m mostly a mystery novel reader/reviewer (which means I’m quite restricted in what I read), and second because we’re almost at the end of 2013, which means that I’m too late for any challenges for this year, and too early for challenges for next year.

However as luck would have it, I did find one 22014 book reading challenge which is … quite challenging for me because it is all about reading one novel from each state in the US either by plot setting or by author (place of birth, residence, etc).

Now some of you might know that I am living in Europe (Cyprus) and I’ve never actually visited the US at all. While I know to recite most states by heart, it’s still not the same as actually living in any of them there, right? I’m actually excited because I’ll get to know these states a bit better and pay attention to my geography more.

So here is me starting this new challenge as originating from USA Fiction Challenge.

My main reads will be some type of mystery/thriller (which narrows the list for me quite a lot) and because the author of the actual challenge starter is also adding books read in 2013, I will add to the list books that I’ve read this year since starting this blog (which is only a few months ago). And I will finish the challenge when I will finish it, making it an ongoing one if I can’t read all by end of next year.

This is the list of states that I’ll be working with and I’ll add book titles and links to book reviews next to them:

ALABAMA – Double Whammy by Gretchen Archer (main character is from Alabama)
ALASKA
ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO – White Fire by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (setting)
CONNECTICUT
DISTRICT of COLUMBIA
DELAWARE
FLORIDA – The Tenth Saint by D. J. Niko (author’s residence)
GEORGIA
HAWAII
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN – Sweet Dreams by Aaron Patterson (one character is from Detroit)
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI – The Last Clinic by Gary Gusick (setting)
MISSOURI – Clinical Trials by Daniel Steven (setting)
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE – The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters (setting)
NEW JERSEY – Deadly Ambition by Laura Bradford (setting)
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK – City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (setting)
NORTH CAROLINA
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
OKLAHOMA
OREGON – The Christmas Carol Murders by Christopher Lord (setting)
PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND – Hidden by Thomas Hall (setting)
SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE – Hostage by Kay Hooper (setting) and Cut to the Bone by Jefferson Bass (setting)
TEXAS
UTAH
VERMONT
VIRGINIA – King and Maxwell by David Baldacci (author born in)
WASHINGTON – The Ark by Boyd Morrison (author’s residence) and Alternate Currents by Arleen Alleman (setting)
WEST VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
WYOMING