18 of the Best Books Set in NYC

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro

I have to admit that I still have not finished this book. It is incredibly long, incredibly dense, and incredibly good. You can read about my experience hearing the author speak here. This book is as NYC as you can get, but it is not for the faint of heart. For a more efficient way to learn about Robert Moses, you can check out these episodes of the Bowery Boys podcast.

The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation by Rich Cohen

This was wild! I didn’t realize it was going to be so graphic right from the beginning (maybe I wouldn’t have recommended it for my book club…). It was a fast paced, well researched story and I enjoyed every moment of it. While murders and crimes are not the subject I am generally drawn to, it was an interesting period to read about in Manhattan and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, compelling read.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

You probably read this novel in school, but I highly recommend picking it up again to enjoy broader New York in the 1920s.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

This novel was even better the second time around. The sumptuous descriptions of food, powerful observations of society, and frustrated love all make this a compelling read. The novel follows Newland, Ellen, and May in a love triangle that never really progressed to what modern readers would see as scandalous. However, for the time it is a commentary on how rules and expectations can influence our lives and how the slightest deviation can be impactful.

Here Is New York by E. B. White

This is not exactly the right category for this book, but I wasn’t sure where else to put it. This short piece is the perfect thing to read on a spring Sunday in Central Park; which is just what I did! It’s a reflection on life in New York and observations about what the city means to those who live here and those who come from afar. A great, enjoyable taste of the New York of time past and the enduring traits that still exist today.

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton never disappoints. This novel follows Lily Bart, a woman in her late 20s trying to make it in Gilded Age New York society. She is beautiful and charming and tragically without money. Despite many opportunities to catapult her way into a comfortable and rich life by marrying, she can never seem to bring herself to act in her own “best” interests.

Wharton explores how the values we’re raised with are not always the ones that we can live with and gives us a look into the harsh society that made up the upper class in New York in the Gilded Age.

New York by Edward Rutherfurd

I am obsessed with Edward Rutherfurd’s beautiful, sweeping, multi-generation novels and this one set in New York is perfection. Read this if you want to be immersed in New York City from before it became New Amsterdam to present day.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I am so in love with Donna Tartt’s novels and this one combines many of my favorite things: artwork, antiques, and the city. There are some detours that lead you out of Manhattan, but you hardly notice because you are already captivated by the characters and story. I highly recommend this one.

The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

This historical fiction work is about the race to capitalize on electricity and centers around a lawyer who interacts with Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla. There are high society parties, and romance, and it brings you back to lost days on New York.

Park Avenue Summer by Renée Rosen

This is a book you can fly through! It chronicles the journey of a young woman who moves to Manhattan to follow her dreams and ends up learning important career and life lessons along the way. She begins working as a secretary for the new head of Cosmo and gets to see first hand a woman pushing for what she believes in in a male dominated environment. This was a palate cleanser of sorts for me coming off of a few heavy books. If you’re looking for an upbeat, independent woman in the big city sort of book, go for this!

My Notorious Life by Kate Manning

Wow, what a wild ride! This novel takes a chapter or two to get the hang of the writing style, but once you’re in it it’s impossible to put down. Axie is an orphaned girl who is separated from her siblings. She ends up working in the house of a midwife and learns skills that lead her to wild financial success and terrifying legal challenges. The book explores the meaning of family, personal mortality, motherhood, and romantic love. I really enjoyed this story.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

This was a highly anticipated novel for me because I loved A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility. The story follows three young adult boys and an 8 year old boy on a journey in the United States over the course of 10 days. I love how Towles explores adult/child relationships and what we learn as we mature.

Emmet, Duchess, and Woolly became friends in a boys reform school. When Emmet gets out, his plan is to pick up his younger brother Billy (as they became orphans while he was away) and head West. However, due to a series of events that Duchess and Woolly largely contribute to, that plan goes out the window. Instead, Emmet and Billy end up making their way to New York City in pursuit of the other boys before they can finally start their originally intended upon journey.

I loved the characters, their interactions, and the continuous switching of points of view (while still keeping the story cohesive). There are numerous side characters and antics that keep the pace enjoyably quick. Getting to revisit the mindset of younger people and appreciate how they solve problems was a highlight for me and I cannot recommend this book enough!

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

This book was picked out for me as part of the New York Public Library’s Shelf Help program. I loved it! The novel is set in the 60s in Brooklyn and follows a cast of characters who are all impacted from a shooting that happens in the first few pages. There are gangsters, church leaders, drunks, drug dealers (some people who fall into multiple categories) who all live in neighboring areas and are impacted by the shooting. I love reading books where characters have accents and where there are multiple stories that overlap with one another. There was intrigue and art theft and somehow it still felt like a light, fast paced read. Highly recommend.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

I first read this book in 2014 when I was 19 years old, and again at 27. While I still give it a 4 star review, it hits differently now.

The story follows one key narrator, Katey, predominantly over the course of one year in the late 30s. I love the setting of NYC and the glamour and romance that the story provides.

There is a love triangle, art and music, and wealthy young things enjoying their lives. There is also tragedy and somber reality, and because it’s an Amor Towles book, many life lessons.

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

I loved this novel! The Nest is the name a set of four siblings assign to the inheritance that they have been banking on their whole lives. They had to wait until their youngest sibling turns forty to receive the inheritance and by the time that happens there is very little money left because of one sibling, Leo.

There is the perfect amount of main and supporting story lines to keep the pace fast and interesting. The fact that it is set in New York City is always a plus for me and I thought the writing was very enjoyable and easy to read.

The Ramblers by Aidan Donnelly Rowley

A book set in Manhattan, and on the Upper West Side no less, had a great chance of capturing my imagination. This novel rotates through the perspective of Smith, Clio, and Tate – alumni of Yale who have all had various experiences in life and love since their graduation a decade ago. Smith and Clio are best friends and roommates who have lived together since freshman year and post graduation. They bonded quickly when they supported each other through challenging times in college and their care and regard for each other continues well into their adult lives. We meet the women while Clio is struggling to develop a relationship with the shadow of her family’s past hanging over her, and Smith is recovering from a devastating breakup. Tate comes on to the scene when he relocates to Manhattan to move on from his divorce.

The beautiful scenes of the city, bright and engaging characters, and focus on forgiveness (of yourself and others) made this novel a highly enjoyable read.

Delicious by Ruth Reichl

This book was a great combination of coming of age, New York City, and historical fiction. I loved the premise of a young woman working at a food magazine and finding that there are stories in the magazine’s history that deserves to be told. The wonderful descriptions of food and wide range of characters made this a fun read.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella

How could I not include this? As the second in the Shopaholic series, you get to enjoy the adventures of Becky in her early days as she tries to make her way in the Big Apple, coming over from England. I always crack up with these books and they are the perfect palate cleanser.