Fans pick 53 books like Happy Neighborhood

To outsiders, Florida seems baffling. It's a state where the voters went for Barack Obama twice, yet elected a Tea Party candidate as governor. Florida is touted as a carefree paradise, yet it's also known for its perils—alligators, sinkholes, pythons, hurricanes, and sharks, to name a few.  It attracts 90 million visitors a year, some drawn by its impressive natural beauty, others bewitched by its man-made fantasies. Oh, Florida!, by award-winning journalist Craig Pittman, explores those contradictions and shows how they fit together to make this the most interesting state.

Noll and Tegeder wrote the most comprehensive book about the history of the Ocklawaha River and the Cross Florida Barge Canal ever written.

Documenting the story of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, the authors provide the inside story about the longest environmental conflict in Florida history, those who wanted to dig a ditch across the peninsula to connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and Marjorie Harris Carr, the mastermind and "housewife from Micanopy," who founded the Florida Defenders of the Environment.

In this holiday romance presented by Georgia Beers, Mackenzie Campbell is planning the perfect holiday wedding. Everything is on track until her fiancé dumps her. Shattered and confused she decides to go on her honeymoon. She enlists her best friend Allison to go along with her. Shedding the cold weather, they head to Florida. Kenzie doesn’t realize that the adventure is about to begin.

I re-read this early McGuane as I was researching my book, looking for details of South Florida life during the 1972 football season.

The protagonist, Thomas Skelton, comes home to Key West from Gainesville and sets out to become a fishing guide. It was written during, and takes place during, the fall of 1972, and Skelton’s dad even watches football in one scene.

But this Key West native isn’t interested in the perfect Dolphins—he’s a Packers fan! (This anomaly is explained, though not excused, by the fact that the author hailed from northern Michigan.)

I was enthralled, though, by some of McGuane’s best writing, and got this gem about the lure of South Florida: “…American bad actors who, when the chips are down, go to Florida with all the gothics and grotesqueries of chrome and poured-to-form concrete that that implies.” 

This quintessential historical fiction book on Old Florida was both a nominee of the Pulitzer, and the Nobel Prize in Literature. Rich in history and unforgettable characters, the story follows the MacIveys, as they scrap out a living as dirt farmers, beginning in the mid-1800s, through the 1960s. Not hurricanes, the Civil War, freezes, or near-starvation can staunch the family’s resilience, ultimately allowing them to build a great fortune. This novel truly touches my heart as my family came from Georgia, with little in their pockets, in the early 20th century, seeking to fulfill their own dreams. This is writing at its best, steeped in rich and authentic detail, making this a novel that will live on through the ages.

I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum, so naturally, a fish-out-of-water coming-of-age laugh-out-loud comedy replete with a zany cast, spot-on dialog, and an unlikely hero had me from page one.

People go to Key West for different reasons…magnificent sunsets, key lime pie, to commune with the ghost of Hemingway…The unlikely hero of this cleverly plotted book went to Key West to become a gangster. I led the cheers and gave him a zillion attaboys for standing up for himself and not allowing anyone to rain on his parade. 

I loved Martin’s style of slowly unfolding Murphy Shepherd. Up to the last page, I was learning something new about him. There were a couple of great twists I didn’t see immediately. I found his fight scenes fascinating. No detail at all. I also love the insights that Murphy has on the world. 

The most important thing for me is the subject matter–human trafficking. I believe it’s one of the most overlooked and gravest issues we have. I found the specific method of trafficking in a specific geographical area fascinating. This book dealt with a nasty subject in a tasteful way that impacted me enough that I read the other two books in the Murphy Shepherd series. 

Carl Hiaasen’s Florida-set books are dark, clever, and ever so funny, with his perfectly drawn characters being eccentric, shady as hell, or just plain whack-a-doodle.

Sometimes all three at the same time. Most of his books are standalones but his one recurring character, the sidekick to lots of the books’ protagonists, is Clinton Tyree, the ex-governor of Florida. Tyree was one of the few honest men to hold that office, until one day, sick of the corruption, he simply vanished into the Everglades.

He appeared later as Skink, a one-eyed man at one with nature who dined on roadkill and engaged in the occasional act of ecoterrorism. He’s frequently the protector of Florida’s downtrodden. In Stormy Weather, he befriends Bonnie Lamb, an unhappy honeymooner, and kidnaps her new husband. 

Stetson Kennedy, an environmental activist who extolled the beauty of Florida's reputation preceded him in this important book.

An influence on other writers of natural history, including Bill Belleville and Kennedy’s fourth wife Sandra Parks, the naturalist icon writes with humor and affection about his native state. Also, I love that he worked with Zora Neale Hurston on the Florida Writer’s project.

Set in the emerald cove of Florida’s Panhandle, Three Shots to the Wind by Sherry Harris is the third book in the cozy Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery series.

The characters in this series are realistic and likable and embody that sense of community that cozy mystery readers long for. A fun premise with an ex-fiancé winding up dead and her current love interest a prime suspect.