100 books like The Whisper Man

One of my favorite things in the world is listening to a good audiobook, start to finish, on a long road trip. Having moved back and forth across the country more times than I care to count, I’ve done this a fair number of times, and my favorite memory by far is the experience I had when listening to this book for the first time.

I’ve enjoyed most of Blake Crouch’s books for their tight pacing and titillating, mind-candy premises (in Dark Matter, it’s a neat mechanic for hopping alternate realities), but what really hit me with this one in particular was how monumentally hard this book drove home this feeling of losing (like literally losing) the one you love the most, and what you might do, what life you might choose, to find them again. It’s hardly ground that no one’s covered before, but without spoiling anything, I’ll just… show more.

I can never understand why so many critics and readers are snooty about Dan Brown. For me, he does what every good storyteller should do: takes you on a page-turning journey. And his style is both readable and erudite, whatever the snobs might say.

Although this could technically be described as a crime thriller, it remains perhaps Brown’s best action-adventure so far, and regardless of whether Tom Hanks is your idea of Professor Robert Langdon or not, the thrills just keep on coming as you follow breathlessly through the streets and landmarks of Paris, London and beyond. Stylish and swaggering.

On one hand, this sequel to the amazing The Silence of the Lambs might have been doomed from the start, given the pedigree it was expected to live up to. On the other hand, taken as its own work, Hannibal is an interesting, disturbing, and highly engrossing horror thriller.

The ending was extremely controversial, so much so that it was changed for the 2001 movie adaptation. Regardless of how one feels about each ending, however, one thing is certain: the book was the superior version of the tale.

Ridley Scott is an amazing director, but he was the wrong choice for this story, and it led to the overall feel of the movie, as well as the altered ending, not living up to the feel of other entries in the series. Keep an open mind, and the book will please.

I love a great tale with so many twists and turns, that it keeps you guessing from chapter to chapter, and this book by Harlan Coben is the best example of this.

Coben has the uncanny ability to create plots with so many moving parts, that you’ll feel as if you’re riding the literary equivalent of a roller-coaster. I love a FAST read, and with so many twists and turns, you just HAVE to keep on reading. I love a lot of Coben’s work, but this one is a standout.

I love the supernatural, and the premise for this book is amazing: cold cases and a wall of photos that speak.

I enjoyed the psychological angle: a cop with more than the average baggage coming off bereavement leave and a woman who suffers from seizures and is medicated. I found myself questioning how reliable either was and whether either of them could solve the crime. Or was it a crime?

I loved the detective assigned to this “easy” case and the vulnerable Cassandra. When these two damaged characters teamed up, I was cheering them on. I read this in about 24 hours because I couldn’t put it down.

I loved this book because of the relationship of the villain to the protagonist. In fact, as I was writing my own novel, I used Connolly’s as a model. Oh, that I could write like John Connolly. The twists and turns, the little truths about life revealed.

I like layers in my mysteries and writing that is more lyrical. Flawed protagonists appeal to me, and Charlie Parker with his wife and daughter haunting him fit that need. And then there are Angel and Louis, the bad-good guys and loyal friends of Charlie. Every detective needs loyal friends who look out for them.

Connolly’s mysteries are dark, and the level of evil disturbing, but I like that.

This book had a very dramatic “reveal” that would make HGTV jealous.

I liked not immediately guessing the doer of bad things and blaming others only to learn I was wrong and also when Mother Nature threw obstacles. I could identify with the husband and wife who are building a new future and a new house for themselves after teaching. I also liked the interplay between the locals and the land and the use of research to get to the heart of the problem.

Most of all, I loved the ending with a twist, and I vowed to read more books by McMahon. 

I love a book with a damaged narrator who grows stronger while solving the mystery. And what a great idea—a comedian as the narrator. Raely’s life has been a trainwreck and what happens next? A real trainwreck. Suddenly she has a new friend of the invisible variety, a not-so-welcome sidekick.

Lyons builds her ghosts, extending their capabilities to include telekinesis, which to me is the scariest of capabilities. Raely attracted some really nasty spirits who attached to her. Just when I was afraid she’d be consumed by the ghostly evil, a twist. I actually shed tears while reading this one, which is not at all what I expected.

No matter how much you may love a certain genre, you can inevitably fall into a reading slump. Too much of a good thing, right?

I will begrudgingly admit, the “missing” or “murdered girl” trope can sometimes get a bit dull without a new touch. Which is why when I came across Megan Miranda’s adult debut told entirely in reverse (from Day 15 to Day 1) was I ever floored with delight!

How absolute genius is it to take a twisty, shocking story about the disappearance of two girls, decades apart but give it to reader backwards? I found myself deeply engrossed not only in the propulsive story but intrigued by the unique way I had to process the timeline.

With a creepy cover and an endorsement from Stephen King, this novel immediately grabbed my attention.

I’d say this was a psychological thriller with a crime element and a dose of horror and that mix really drew me into this book and kept me trapped within its pages. Together with the nostalgic 80s thread, this read is down as one of my all-time favourites.

The seemingly innocent chalk stick figures the kids leave for each other like a secret game only they can decode, begin to appear on their own with a more sinister message. A bone-chilling read!