Fargo the television show was inspired by the Coen brothers’ 1996 movie of the same name. The show is an anthology, with a different story and set of characters for each season. It falls into the crime fiction genre, but it is also character-driven, offbeat, intricately plotted, darkly- funny, and has a strong sense of place. The place is the Midwest. The first season is set in Bemidji, Minnesota and the second is set in Luverne, Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota. The scenery is pure Midwest, exteriors and interiors, endless flat snow covered fields and grilled cheese with tomato soup. The characters clothes and hair, temperaments, and colloquial expressions are pitch perfect. The first season of the show is set in 2006. The second is set in 1979. Fans will be pleased to learn season three is scheduled to premiere in spring, 2017. In the meantime, here is a list of offbeat, character-driven, intricately plotted, suspense novels set in the Midwest to hold you over. [NOTE: Fargo creator Noah Hawley has a fantastic new thriller out entitled Before the Fall. Not set in MN.]

Minnesota

Undiscovered Country by Lin Enger

One morning in the snowy Minnesota woods, 17-year-old Jessie finds his father dead, from what looks to be a suicide.

 

 

 

 

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Mia Dennett returns home after her abduction and captivity with very little memory of either. What unfolds in the aftermath is told from the viewpoints of her mother, the detective on the case, and the kidnapper.

 

 

 

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

A college assignment leads Joe Talbert to become entangled in a cold case involving a Vietnam veteran, suppressed memories, and buried secrets.

 

 

 

 

American Boy by Larry Watson

Thanksgiving 1962, in Willow Falls, Minnesota a woman is shot and sets off a chain of events.

 

 

 

 

 

Erstwhere in the Midwest

The Last Fair Deal Going Down by David Rhodes

Set in Des Moines, the first half of the novel follows the Sledge family from one tragedy to the next. The novel’s second half follows Rueben Sledge into the City to save Tabor, his only promise of redemption.   

 

 

 

The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock

Set in the backwoods of Ohio, this is pure grittiness. The cast includes a band of serial killers, a creepy preacher, and a corrupt Sheriff.

 

 

 

 

Eden Springs by Laura Kasischke

Scandal, mystery, and hidden history, set in a religious cult in Michigan.

 

 

 

 

 

The End of Vandalism by Tom Dury

Set in a fictional Midwest town with a truly singular cast of characters. A love triangle is set off by a crime.

 

 

 

Short Story Collections

From the Darkness Right Under Our Feet Patrick Michael Finn

Set in the Rustbelt region of Illinois in the 1980’s, featuring an assembly of haunting characters confronted with impossible choices.

 

 

 

Mothers, Tell Your Daughters: Stories by Bonnie Jo Campbell

Well drawn, strong and flawed women living in rural America.

 

 

 

 

Crimes in Southern Indiana: Stories by Frank Bill

This one is ferocious and unflinching. Think meth addicts, fist fights, and other such depravity.