1. A Door Behind a Door
BY YELENA MOSKOVICH
This novel follows a Russian immigrant to Milwaukee and manages to incorporate the mafia, a one-eyed man and a supernatural stray dog all into one story.
READ IF: You like a little experimental fiction.
2. The Comfort of Monsters
BY WILLA C. RICHARDS
Peg McBride’s sister went missing in Milwaukee during the Dahmer-era ’90s. Thirty years later, Peg is trying to piece together what happened.
READ IF: You prefer a more straightforward plot.
3. Godspeed
BY NICKOLAS BUTLER
This bestselling Wisconsin author just released his first novel set outside our state. The literary thriller follows three Wyoming construction workers building a mountain home for a mysterious, and dangerous, millionaire.
READ IF: You’re looking for a change of scenery.
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4. Voices of Milwaukee Bronzeville
BY DR. SANDRA E. JONES
Jones, a UW-Milwaukee professor, explores this vibrant neighborhood’s rich past through in-depth interviews with residents during its establishment as a tight-knit Black community in the 1950s and ’60s.
READ IF: Your love for Milwaukee history rivals John Gurda’s.
5. Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP
BY MIRIN FADER
A fresh, humanistic telling of the Antetokounmpo story: born to Nigerian parents in Greece, facing hunger and discrimination on his path to NBA glory.
READ IF: You haven’t stopped chanting “Bucks in Six!”
6. The Birdman of Koshkonong: The Life of Naturalist Thure Kumlien
BY MARTHA BERGLAND
Kumlien, a Swedish settler who came to Wisconsin in 1843, documented Wisconsin’s avian life and eventually become the Milwaukee Public Museum’s first curator.
READ IF: You have a passion for the great outdoors.
7. Send for Me
BY LAUREN FOX
Incorporating unedited real-life letters from Fox’s grandmother, this novel explores four generations of a family, from Klara, a Jewish woman living in Nazi Germany, to her great- granddaughter Clare in present-day Milwaukee.
READ IF: You like a blend of fiction and non-fiction.
This story is part of Milwaukee Magazine‘s November issue.
Find it on newsstands or buy a copy at milwaukeemag.com/shop
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