at the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, he was a member of two teams that won the Pulitzer Prize. He worked in the Maine woods in his youth and trapped lobsters when living on an island in Penobscot Bay. He now divides his time between Texas and Maine.
Ricks's debut crime novel is Everyone Knows But You: A Tale of Murder on the Maine Coast.
At CrimeReads the author tagged "five books that helped me understand [Maine,] this beautiful and unique part of the country." One title on the list:
Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout (2006)Read about another entry on the list.
Strout is one of my favorite writers. Her works feel a bit to me like “Ann Patchett goes to Maine.” Strout is best known for Olive Kitteridge, which itself captures a rich slice of life in Maine. (Hint: Mainers don’t think that wildly pessimistic title character is crazy, but they think her ever-optimistic husband is.) This earlier novel of Strout’s makes the wan winter light of Maine almost a character, and it works wonderfully. Reading it during Maine’s five-month-long winter was a little spooky.
Also see ten top mysteries set in Maine.
--Marshal Zeringue