Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in a Spanish-speaking household, there was a saying: “Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.” That is, the company you keep says a lot about you. The sense of belonging that comes from being a part of a group is something we have chased since we were kids. I remember the close-knit friends’ group I joined in the eighth grade, and the core four of us are still best friends to this day (just about 25 years later!). I’m fascinated by what those strong bonds can make you do–including leading you to bend or break your moral compass. 


I wrote

One In The Chamber

By Robin Peguero,

Book cover of One In The Chamber

What is my book about?

On Capitol Hill, they work you to death. Cameron Leann is new to Washington, D.C. An Iowa farm boy without…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Secret History

Robin Peguero Why did I love this book?

We’ve all been there: trying to impress a group of haughty, self-involved people because, deep down, we care oh so much about what they think.

That’s what I love about this book and, in particular, these characters. You hate them. You love to hate them. You find them off-putting and noxious. But you can’t stop reading about them. Because you, too, like our main character Richard, want a peek into their exclusive, wealthy world and to imagine what it would be like to be a part of it. 

By Donna Tartt,

Why should I read it?

20 authors picked The Secret History as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE BESTSELLER THAT DEFINED AN AGE

'Everything, somehow, fit together; some sly and benevolent Providence was revealing itself by degrees and I felt myself trembling on the brink of a fabulous discovery, as though any morning it was all going to come together---my future, my past, the whole of my life---and I was going to sit up in bed like a thunderbolt and say oh! oh! oh!'

Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries.…


Book cover of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

Robin Peguero Why did I love this book?

At heart, I might still be five years old because I love a good puzzle. This book features dual timelines that–piece by piece–build for you a portrait you don’t see coming.

Do you remember how satisfying it feels to snap a puzzle piece into its proper place? That’s how I felt discovering the web these friends were weaving–bit by bit, page by page–and when I got to the “big picture,” the ending, I was stunned, entertained, and ultimately gratified.

By Ashley Winstead,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked In My Dreams I Hold a Knife as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"[A] mordant debut novel....examines what it means to covet the lives of others, no matter the cost."-The New York Times

"Tense, twisty, and packed with shocks."-Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Survive The Night

Six friends.
One college reunion.
One unsolved murder.

Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to her southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she wants them to see-confident, beautiful, indifferent. Not the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather…


Book cover of It

Robin Peguero Why did I love this book?

I love this book for three reasons: nostalgia, nostalgia, nostalgia. As a child, I read this coming-of-age story, which really spoke to me.

I don’t know what that says about me since it features a killer clown and a little boy getting snatched down a sewer drain (looking back, it was hardly age-appropriate). But I loved seeing how the characters changed from kids to adults–and what stayed exactly the same. It inspired me to imagine how I might turn out in adulthood, and that blissful, childlike wonder is something hard to recreate as we get older.

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked It as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This tie-in edition will be available from 16 July

TIE IN TO A NEW MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, IT: CHAPTER 2, ADAPTED FROM KING'S TERRIFYING CLASSIC

27 years later, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back...

Derry, Maine was just an ordinary town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part, a good place to live.

It was a group of children who saw- and felt- what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes…


Book cover of I Know What You Did Last Summer

Robin Peguero Why did I love this book?

Everyone needs a little camp in their lives. This book is about the “OG” group of friends who get entangled in a hush-hush death and are hunted and haunted (literally!) by the secret. It even inspired an equally campy and fun-filled movie starring young Hollywood stars from the ’90s!

We literary types often forget that books are meant to entertain. I love being transported to an absurd world with high drama, rollercoaster twists and turns, and a central mystery so far out there that you’ll roll your eyes, laugh, and keep turning those pages with abandon.

By Lois Duncan-Arquette,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked I Know What You Did Last Summer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

It was only an accident but it would change their lives forever.

Last summer, four terrified friends made a desperate pact to conceal a shocking secret. But now, someone has learned the truth, and the horror is starting again. There is an unknown avenger out there who is stalking them in a deadly game. Will he stop at terror--or is he out for revenge?

This summer, four friends are going to learn that some secrets just won't stay buried.


Book cover of Big Little Lies

Robin Peguero Why did I love this book?

Don’t mess with mamas and their babies. I loved how this group of women were flawed, petty, and mean but protective over their children and even each other.

It’s set amid beauty and wealth, but the baseness of human nature still manages to tarnish what is otherwise a picturesque life. I am a fan of that juxtaposition, lest we covet and pine for those same trappings, only to realize we all fall short of the glory.

By Liane Moriarty,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked Big Little Lies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*Published as BIG LITTLE LIES in Australia and the United States*

Liane Moriarty, million copy selling author of The Husband's Secret brings us another addictive story of secrets and scandal.

Jane hasn't lived anywhere longer than six months since her son was born five years ago. She keeps moving in an attempt to escape her past. Now the idyllic seaside town of Pirriwee has pulled her to its shores and Jane finally feels like she belongs. She has friends in the feisty Madeline and the incredibly beautiful Celeste - two women with seemingly perfect lives . . . and their…


Explore my book 😀

One In The Chamber

By Robin Peguero,

Book cover of One In The Chamber

What is my book about?

On Capitol Hill, they work you to death. Cameron Leann is new to Washington, D.C. An Iowa farm boy without a penny to his name; Cam has joined a group of affluent staffers working for a powerful cohort of U.S. Senators. All of these junior aides–overworked, underpaid, and maltreated–have one thing in common: They hate their bosses. And they want them dead.

But in the game of politics, one’s motivations are never as they seem. When a bombshell revelation threatens to sink the President's Supreme Court pick, senators are pitted against senators in a confirmation battle for the ages. Alliances shift with the wind. Everyone lies to everyone. And on Election Night, one senator will end up dead.

You might also like...

Black Crow Cabin

By Peggy Webb,

Book cover of Black Crow Cabin

Peggy Webb Author Of Without a Trace

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Bookworm Pianist Master Gardener Gigi to 4 grands Lover of porches and hot tea

Peggy's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

A small town in the grips of evil... a single mom with nowhere to turn... and a madman who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

He is the Collector, and he's taking prized possessions, pets, and children, keeping what he wants, and burying his rejects in shallow graves. When he comes after Rachel Logan, an ordinary schoolteacher living on a ranch with her grandmother and her two children, she has no weapon except her wits.

But how can she stop a monster who outdoes Hannibal Lecter in cunning and depravity?

Black Crow Cabin

By Peggy Webb,

What is this book about?

A small town in the grips of evil... a single mom with nowhere to turn... and a madman who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

He is the Collector, and he's taking prized possessions, pets, and children, keeping what he wants, and burying his rejects in shallow graves. When he comes after Rachel Logan, an ordinary schoolteacher living on a ranch with her grandmother and her two children, she has no weapon except her wits.

But how can she stop a monster who outdoes Hannibal Lecter in cunning and depravity?


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in murder, murder mystery, and teenagers?

Murder 1,059 books
Murder Mystery 557 books
Teenagers 132 books