Chicago Literature Index — Historical Fiction

 Story of the rise and fall of speculator Curtis Jadwin in the volatile wheat market.

Driven by an insatiable need for power and wealth, Frank Cowperwood attempts to dominate the city’s street-railway system through manipulation and political alliance.

Inspired by the real-life Leopold and Loeb trial. 

This story is told partly in "newsreels" that feature headlines and article bits taken from the Chicago Tribune. One of the main characters, Eleanor, is a Chicago lacemaker. Another character, Eric Egstrom, gets a job in the interior decorating department at Marshall Field's department store. 

In one section of this long coming-of-age novel, Augie flirts with academic life in a university much like the University of Chicago.

Dream of Kings, Harry Mark Petrakis, 1966

The eighth novel in the Travis McGee series. McGee, the narrator in all 21 novels, including this one, is a "savage consultant." That means, essentially, that he recovers property in exchange for half of the value. McGee lives in a houseboat usually docked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He travels to Chicago to help an old friend, Glory, who married and moved to Chicago after McGee helped her recover from a traumatic experience in Florida. The action takes place in Evanston, though it's a rather generic North Shore depiction. This is the only Chicago-set novel in the series. 

The 87th volume of the Nancy Drew mystery series. 

(Chicago Stars #1)

(Michael Kelly #1)

The 3rd novel of Artemis Fowl series. 

Opening novel in Joseph's Chicago trilogy. 

(Michael Kelly #2)

The second in the Michael Kelley series, in which the private detective’s investigation into a domestic abuse case surprisingly leads him to a political scandal involving the Great Chicago Fire. Kelley discovers that a hobbyist historian might have a first-edition history of the fire that many, most importantly Chicago’s mayor (a Richard M. Daley clone), badly want. In this fictional account, there is proof that O’Leary’s cow did not start the fire and evidence to indicate that a Daley ancestor did.

Inspired by the real-life Leopold and Loeb trial. 

(Michael Kelly #3)

(Michael Kelly #4)

Liam Taggart & Catherine Lockhart Series (#1)

Liam Taggart & Catherine Lockhart Series (#2)

(Michael Kelly #4)

Liam Taggart & Catherine Lockhart Series (#3)

(Cass Raines #1)

(Cass Raines #2)

(The Speakeasy Murders #2)

(The Speakeasy Murders #1)

(Cass Raines #3)

Liam Taggart & Catherine Lockhart Series (#6)

(Cass Raines #4)

Mostly set in Philadelphia, but the protaganist is from Evanston. 

Third part of Joseph's Chicago trilogy. 

Part II of Joseph's Chicago trilogy.