* notes a title owned by the Wakefield Library.
Berne, Suzanne. Ghost at the Table*
Thanksgiving at the New England home of the second of three sisters marks a reunion between the three Fiske sisters–including Cynthia, the youngest, an author writing a book about Mark Twain’s daughters–and their long-estranged father, in a portrait of the unraveling of a family, set against the famous nineteenth-century author’s own family dysfunction.

Bittle, Camilla. Dear Family
In this Massachusetts setting, Ed Beane loses his job in 1935, his wife, two children, and widowed mother must go to live with Dorothy’s mother on her farm, where they continue to support each other through a series of family celebrations.

Bowden, Susan. *Bitter Harvest.
An estranged grandmother and granddaughter have a Thanksgiving reunion in this tale of romantic suspense.

Boyle, T. Coraghessan. *The Tortilla Curtain.
Illegal Mexican immigrants clash through a series of coincidences with a wealthy Jewish family in California around the Thanksgiving holiday.

Capote, Truman. *Thanksgiving Visitor
Autobiographical story of a boy who recalls his life with an elderly relative in rural Alabama in the 1930s and the lesson she taught him one Thanksgiving Day about dealing with a bully from school.

Coleman, Terry.*Thanksgiving: A Novel in Celebration of America.

Cross, Amanda. *A Trap for Fools
Kate Fansler Mystery

D’Amato, Barbara. Hard Tack and Hard Christmas
Cat Marsala Mysteries

Dams, Janne M. *Sins Out of School
Dorothy Martin Mystery

Daniels, Claire. *Final Intuition
While working with the widowed Mrs. Snell, alternative healer Cally Lazar senses some dark secrets about her new client’s late husband, a supposed suicide, a situation that becomes complicated by her discovery that the deceased had many enemies and by the murder of a fellow guest at a New Age seminar. First Karma Crime Mystery.

Dobson, Joanne.*Raven and the Nightingale: A Modern Mystery of Edgar Allen Poe

Evanovich, Janet. Thanksgiving*.
When Megan Murphy discovered a floppy-eared rabbit gnawing on the hem of her skirt, she meant to give its careless owner a piece of her mind, but Dr. Patrick Hunter was too attractive to stay mad at for long. Soon the two are making Thanksgiving dinner for their families.

Florey, Kitty Burns. Souvenir of Cold Springs.
The traditional Thanksgiving family reunion at Aunt Nell’s throughout the years tracks the marriages, children, and divorces of a family.

Gaskell, Whitney. *Pushing 30
In this Smart Funny Women tale, watch everything explode in the heroine’s life as she loses both job and boyfriend and experiences a Thanksgiving from the Black Lagoon.

Harris, Lee. *Thanksgiving Day Murder.
Chris Bennett Mystery.

Hassler, Jon. Dear James
At loose ends due to forced retirement from her longtime teaching post, Agatha despairs when she looks at the motley crew of friends gathered at her table for an excruciating Thanksgiving dinner (described in hilarious detail).

Hathaway, Robin. Doctor Makes a Dollhouse Call.
This Dr. Fenimore mystery begins with a murder on Thanksgiving Day.

Hobbie, Douglas. The Day
The play-by-play of this holiday is seen through the eyes of Fletcher, a man who spends the holiday at his sister-in-law and her husband’s “stately white house” in New England. It seems that he is the only one who recollects that the day is the one-year anniversary of the death of his wife’s sister Clare,

Hughes, Kathleen. *Dear Mrs.Lindbergh.
This debut tells of two elderly Iowans who disappear mysteriously on their way home from Thanksgiving, as their adult children find a crate of letters written to Anne Morrow Lindbergh. In the letters the children read of the origins of their parents’ passion for flying.

Huston, Nancy. *Dolce Agonia.
A New England Thanksgiving, a snow storm and friends who know too much about one another form this holiday tale.

Leavitt, David. *The Body of Jonah Boyd.
Secretary Judith “Denny” Denham recounts the events in 1969 of a memorable Thanksgiving spent with her boss/lover’s family in CA.

Maron, Margaret. *Up Jumps the Devil.
Deborah Knott Mystery.

McDonough, Yona Zeldis. *Four Temperaments.
Having concluded an affair with Ginny Valentine, an eager young ballet dancer, violinist Oscar Kornblatt invites Ginny to share Thanksgiving with his family, but when she falls in love with Oscar’s married son, the family begins to crumble.

Meier, Leslie. *Turkey Day Murder: A Lucy Stone Mystery.

Morris, Gilbert. *Honorable Imposter.
This historical novel tells the first Thanksgiving’s tale revolving around the Winslow family.

Musser, Elizabeth. *Searching for Eternity.
The novel spans four decades of the life of Emile de Bonnery, a French born boy who, at age 13, unexpectedly must leave the only home he has ever known for Atlanta in the 1960s. Torn between his belief that his father has abandoned him and his mother for another woman and the idea that his father is a spy, Emile’s anger and grief hinder his transition into American life. Then, he meets the odd and strangely attractive Eternity Jones (hence the word play on the title) and is plunged into issues of poverty, racism, alcoholism, faith and abuse. Emile’s grandmother pays for a room for an African American neighbor of Eternity’s to celebrate the hotel’s desegregation and Eternity’s family to her home for Thanksgiving dinner.

Nagy, Gloria. *Marriage.
It’s Thanksgiving Day and travel writer Annie Wilder’s 45th birthday. Her family is gathering for what she’s certain will degenerate into a celebration worthy of a “Jewish Eugene O’Neill.”

Pelletier, Cathie. *Weight of Winter.
Dreaming of the history of the Maine town of Mattagash, a 110-year-old woman relives her own life and runs through the history of the town’s assorted residents, beginning with the season’s first snowfall and ending at Thanksgiving.

Rice, Luanne. *Cloud Nine
Having reopened her bedding shop, Cloud Nine, after recovering from a serious illness, Sarah Talbot rediscovers love when she meets former navy pilot Will Burke aboard a chartered flight while observing the autumn leaves of upstate New York on her way home for Thanksgiving.

Russo, Richard. *Nobody’s Fool.
An unlucky man in a deadbeat town in upstate New York, Sully must overcome numerous obstacles–a bum knee, terminal underemployment, and a not-too-helpful group of friends–as he copes with a new problem, his long-estranged son.

Shaber, Sarah. *Snipe Hunt.
A Simon Shaw Academic Mystery.

Short, Sharon Gwyn. *Hung Out to Die: a Stain-Busting Mystery.
Invited to crabby old family matriarch “Mamaw” Toadfern’s Thanksgiving celebration Josie is too curious to refuse. When a dead body is tossed into the chaos of bitter feelings, intra-family feuding, and incinerated turkey meat, Josie finds herself in the position of having to prove her disreputable dad innocent of murder.

Simons, Paullina. Red Leaves.
During a cold Thanksgiving weekend and its aftermath, three Dartmouth students find their friend’s nude and frozen body in a snowbank, having been concealed there for some days, and a young small-town detective Spencer O’Malley investigates her death.

Winston, Lolly. *Good Grief.
Grieving over the death of her husband from cancer, thirty-six-year-old Sophie Stanton finds her personal and professional world in a shambles and, in an attempt to reinvent her life, moves to Ashland, Oregon.

If it is all about the food–check out Edible Fiction and/or Culinary Mysteries.

Categories: Book Buzz,Booklists
Tags: Thanksgiving