Travel is on everyone’s mind as the summer is upon us. So, we thought we’d fuel that zest to escape; this time around, we bring you 5 books based on a location instead of a movie, so you can travel without really travelling. I picked North Carolina to begin with because I feel like I’ve seen the ins and outs of the state through Nicholas Sparks’ novels.

Below are some novels of various genres that have all been set in North Carolina [Happy mind travelling]:

Safe Haven, Nicholas Sparks (Drama)

This novel revolves around Katie, a woman in her late twenties who flees to Southport, North Carolina, to escape the wrenches of her abusive husband, Kevin, a cop with a temper. In Southport, she meets Alex, a widower and father of Kristen and Josh. Being an ex-detective, Alex figures out that Katie’s identity is fake, that her real name is Erin Tierney and how she ended up in North Carolina. The novel is ideal for avid readers looking for a romantic drama that is a guaranteed page-turner.

Beachcomber, Karen Robards (Romance)

Set in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, this novel revolves around Christy Petrino. Christy quit her job and broken off her engagement with her fiancé and arrived at Ocracoke Island for a vacation, only to realise that mortal danger was not far behind. Upon arrival, she learns that a serial killer by the name of Beachcomber trails the beaches, abducting and killing beautiful women – women who, in fact, have a common appearance that match hers.

Bare Bones, Kathy Reichs (Thriller)

Tempe Brennan is about to go on a holiday when a series of strange incidents put her vacation plans on hold. Instead, she is called in to work to study the burnt remains of a suspicious fire in the locality, and a strange black residue that she can’t seem to track the source of. When invited by her daughter’s boyfriend for a picnic in the North Carolina countryside, Tempe stumbles across a hoard of bones. Determined to find out the truth about them, Tempe realizes that the harder she tried to reach the truth, the more an unknown force was fighting to keep her from it.

Babylon Rising: The Secret on Ararat, Tim LaHaye and Bob Phillips (Fiction)

The second installment of the Babylon Rising series of novels, The Secret of Ararat unravels Michael Murphy’s mission to find the ultimate Biblical artifact – Noah’s Ark. Michael Murphy is a remarkable scholar, archaeologist, professor, and hero in the contemporary times who undertakes the perilous task of ascending Mount Ararat to find stunning revelations of centuries old Biblical prophecies – and the threat they pose to mankind.

The Awakening, Donna Boyd (Mystery)

The story revolves around Mary, an insomniac who wakes up in an asylum with only a vague memory of a tragedy that took lives of her husband and daughter. However, at the asylum, her psychotherapist convinces her that her family is still alive and that her house is located at a lakeside house near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After moving in there, she resides with a frustrated writer and a rebellious teenage daughter, Else. However, as the book unravels, Mary actually being a ghost is only one of the few thrilling revelations that the reader comes across.