Novels offer a great escape, but sometimes we want our fiction to hit closer to home. These recent books are set in Milwaukee, but do they paint a recognizable portrait of our beloved city?
1. All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Matthews
MYSTERY | PENGUIN BOOKS, 2022 | $18
Sneha, a queer South Asian college grad moves to Milwaukee in 2013 for a job. She explores identity, romance and friendship, along with our city’s socialist history and alcohol culture.
Is Milwaukee a “character?”
Most definitely. The people whom Sneha meets ring true to our region, including “tony Brookfield,” Bay View and beyond.
Does it feel like Milwaukee?
Certainly. Sprinkled throughout are local history lessons and discussions of our prodigious alcohol consumption, not to mention a little day-drinking on Brady Street.
Name-drops:
Bay View Massacre, North Division and Rufus King high schools.
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2. At the End of the World, Turn Left by Zhanna Slor
COMING OF AGE | POLIS BOOKS, 2021 | $19
Ukraine-born Masha must return from a new life in Israel to her childhood home in Milwaukee, where her sister has mysteriously gone missing.
Is Milwaukee a “character?”
Mostly. Masha frequents the “eclectic but semi-dangerous neighborhood” of Riverwest, described as “full of artists and musicians.” Despite frequent allusions to Masha’s youth in Ukraine, Milwaukee’s cafes and clubs provide the main setting for Masha’s adventures.
Does it feel like Milwaukee?
Indeed. Slor has clearly done her Riverwest research: Masha spends plenty of time sipping at Fuel Cafe (RIP) and checking out music at Bremen Cafe.
Name-drops:
Foundation, Uptowner
3. Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon
POSTMODERN | PENGUIN PRESS, 2025 | $30
In speakeasy Depression-era Milwaukee, a softening former cop deals with organized and not-so-organized crime as he follows the trail of a wayward cheese heiress.
Is Milwaukee a “character?”
Yes, early on. It’s left behind as a concrete setting for the second half of the book, but Cream City remains the spiritual home for our main character.
Does it feel like Milwaukee?
The details are rich and almost always amusing. Characters gab around bubblers, drink old fashioneds, play sheepshead and talk more cheese than you can believe.
Name-drops:
Paramount Records (a defunct blues label in Grafton), Holton Street Bridge, Oriental Drugs
4. Beneath the Flames by Gregory Lee Renz
SUSPENSE | THREE TOWERS PRESS, 2019 | $27
Mitch is a firefighter looking to escape a tragedy in rural Wisconsin. He relocates to Milwaukee to join a busy firehouse, leading to many adventures.
Is Milwaukee a “character?”
As a former pro, Renz knows his firefighting, and he knows Milwaukee well enough to strike a clear contrast between the quiet, manure-air of Mitch’s farm home and the frenetic energy of the North Side.
Does it feel like Milwaukee?
The neighborhoods are richly drawn, and Renz includes the violence, conflict and racial tensions all too familiar in our unequal city.
Name-drops:
Teutonia Avenue, a character called the “Jawbreaker of South Milwaukee”
5. We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
THRILLER | BALLANTINE BOOKS, 2021 | $19
Following a traumatic episode in Chile, Emily tries to recover with a new job in Milwaukee. A friend from the past arrives, and their violent history comes slowly to the surface.
Is Milwaukee a “character?”
Not really. Local author Bartz places the main characters here, but the setting isn’t the biggest factor in their character development.
Does it feel like Milwaukee?
The plot mostly shines on the internal life of Emily, but there’s local insight: She’s “over Milwaukee – her hometown – with its smallish size and polarized communities.”
Name-drops:
Brady Street and the “slightly creepy Streets of Old Milwaukee exhibit at the public museum”
Correction: An earlier version of the story stated that Masha’s father lived in Riverwest in At the End of the World, Turn Left.
