Let's Talk Bookish; Books Set in Real Places

It's Friday again and time for a new Let's Talk Bookish post courtesy of Book Nook Bits. The theme of the week was books set in real places and here's the further prompts.

Do you like books set in real places? How accurate should an author be when writing about a real place? Have you read a book set in your town or city that was depicted in a way you liked or didn’t like? Do you think an author should have firsthand experience of a particular place in order to write about it?

I can't deny I do enjoy books set in real places, but I prefer when authors have done their research about that place, or lived there long enough, so it's basically blooper-free accurate. It would after all be a bit humiliating stating Buckingham Palace is located in Stoke-on-Trent, just saying.

I once read the crime novel I Will Miss You Tomorrow by Heine Bakkeid, who described Pedersgata in Stavanger (Norway), and as I'm rather familiar with that street, I got a good laugh over his descriptions, as it was rather accurate. The Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries by Helen Cox is also really good at describing various places in Yorkshire, York included.

So books in real places can be done well, if the author know the area well enough.