Why am I passionate about this?

I am fascinated by the supernatural and love to link it with a particular setting. The books listed all inspired my writing from their pace, elegant prose, and especially, descriptive settings and atmosphere evoked from those settings (something I strive to do as an author, using places I know really well). I was lucky enough to spend my early years in southwest Wirral, with its red sandstone hills, heathland, and views across the Dee estuary to Wales. This was a perfect setting for The Face Stone, with the atmosphere of the local woodlands, especially at dusk, making it easy to imagine that ancient spirits still guarded rock and tree.


I wrote

The Face Stone

By Lewis Hinton,

Book cover of The Face Stone

What is my book about?

Do ancient rocks and woodlands really harbour a secret that could bring about worldwide catastrophe? And can saving the health,…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Essex Serpent

Lewis Hinton Why did I love this book?

In The Essex Serpent, Perry’s prose marvelously evokes both the prejudices and ignorance of the times (late 19th century), and the settings (the bleak estuarine marshes of east Essex, as well as Victorian London). Her characterisation is also excellent (you don’t always like the main protagonist, but you relate to her and feel her pain, as you do with many of the more peripheral characters). Plus, the storyline includes fossils (I like fossils, but that’s just me!). Perry also successfully applies modern ideas to the Victorian world, something to be avoided by all but the most skilled writers. Then there’s the plot, always making you wonder—is it supernatural, is it not?  

By Sarah Perry,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Essex Serpent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now a major Apple TV series starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

'A blissful novel of unapologetic appetites ... here is a writer who understands life' JESSIE BURTON, author of THE MINIATURIST

London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne's controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. Along with her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, in the hope that fresh air and open space will provide refuge.

On arrival, rumours reach them that the mythical Essex Serpent, once…


Book cover of The Man in the Picture

Lewis Hinton Why did I love this book?

Hill’s minimalist style, ability to evoke despair, and superb descriptions, combined with the most vivid of imaginations, make her a compelling writer of ghost stories. Hill generally includes all my favourite elements in her ghost stories, starting in familiar surroundings, then moving to more exotic locations, often delivering a shocking twist at the end. In The Man in the Picture, a story set in Venice during Carnival is told to the narrator by an aging professor in his Cambridge rooms on a winter’s night. You don’t read a Susan Hill book to come out feeling better afterwards, but… if you like to be left with a feeling of disquiet, even though you know it’s only a story you just read, The Man in the Picture’s definitely for you.

By Susan Hill,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Man in the Picture as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A mysterious depiction of masked revellers at the Venice carnival hangs in the college rooms of Oliver's old professor in Cambridge. On this cold winter's night, its eerie secret is revealed by the ageing don. The dark art of the Venetian scene, instead of imitating life, has the power to entrap it. To stare into the painting is to play dangerously with the unseen demons it hides, and become the victim of its macabre beauty ...


Book cover of Frenchman's Creek

Lewis Hinton Why did I love this book?

No writer evokes atmosphere better than Daphne Du Maurier. Whilst some of her other works are better known and possess more gravitas, Frenchman’s Creek, set largely around the Helford River, captures the essence of this beautiful corner of Britain perfectly. Add to that Du Maurier’s ability to transport us back to Restoration England without it feeling like a history lesson, so we can identify with the characters despite them living hundreds of years ago, and you get a great read. There is a small tinge of the supernatural in Frenchman’s Creek, and an interesting love story, but it is the atmospheric prose and fast-paced plot that makes it stand out (both provided some inspiration for the sequel to my book which is set in the same location).

By Daphne du Maurier,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Frenchman's Creek as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the author of Rebecca comes the story of a woman who craves love, freedom, and adventure-but it might cost her everything.
"Highly personalized adventure, ultra-romantic mood, and skillful storytelling." -New York Times
A lost classic from master of gothic romance and author of Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier, Frenchman's Creek is an electrifying tale of love and scandal on the high seas.
Jaded by the numbing politeness of London in the late 1600s, Lady Dona St. Columb revolts against high society. She rides into the countryside, guided only by her restlessness and her longing to escape.
But when chance leads…


Book cover of In the Teeth of the Evidence

Lewis Hinton Why did I love this book?

This collection of short detective stories features Sayers’ most famous sleuth Lord Peter Whimsey, but also the lesser-known Montague Egg. Sayers was a marketing professional, and this comes out in the Egg stories, about a travelling salesman who gets involved in mysteries, the police allowing him to do so partly because of his quirky and unassuming personality. Egg frequently quotes useful maxims from his favourite book The Salesman’s Handbook, thinking laterally to solve puzzles that elude formal detectives. This book has no supernatural aspect but is included here as the idea of a ‘detective that is not a detective’ always intrigued me. I chose this device for my (very different to Egg) detective protagonist Jack Sangster, partly as a result of reading In the Teeth of the Evidence.  

By Dorothy L. Sayers,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In the Teeth of the Evidence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dorothy L Sayers' amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey returns in this collection of mysteries, introduced by crime writer Elizabeth George. A must-read for fans of Agatha Christie's Poirot and Margery Allingham's Campion Mysteries.

All that was left of the garage was a heap of charred and smouldering beams. In the driving seat of the burnt-out car were the remains of a body . . .

An accident, said the police.

An accident, said the widow. She had been warning her husband about the danger of the car for months.

Murder, said the famous detective Lord Peter Wimsey - and proceeded…


Book cover of The Devil Rides Out

Lewis Hinton Why did I love this book?

The undisputed master of the Occult thriller, Wheatley sold over 50 million books, regularly topping bestseller lists in the mid-20th Century. His ability to maintain a frantic pace without compromising meticulously researched detail is second to none, his dialogue is believable and snappy, and his characters vivid and interesting, never more so than in The Devil Rides Out. When reading it, bear in mind Wheatley was a man of his time, as many of his views do not date well. I was massively flattered recently when a reader of my book said my style (not my views!) reminded him of Wheatley’s. 

By Dennis Wheatley,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Devil Rides Out as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The aristocratic Duke de Richleau faces new, sinister challenges in this macabre tale of the dark arts. When his good friend Simon Aron's naive curiosity is tested, the Duke, along with his ever-patient friends Rex Van Ryn, and Richard Eaton, must intricately plot a means of both physical and spiritual rescue. But with Van Ryn's affections for a beautiful woman caught in the web of Satanists, and Eaton's ongoing scepticism, they all risk being brought to the verge of madness through dabbling with the powers of evil.

From London to the West Country, the slums of Paris to a Christian…


Explore my book 😀

The Face Stone

By Lewis Hinton,

Book cover of The Face Stone

What is my book about?

Do ancient rocks and woodlands really harbour a secret that could bring about worldwide catastrophe? And can saving the health, life, and even mortal soul of one missing boy avert that catastrophe?

It is 1969. Special investigator Jack Sangster is sent to an elite school, where the son of a wealthy local family has disappeared. Follow as he navigates clues and red herrings, learning at every turn that if his eyes and ears are to be believed, the stakes linked to this case are rising at an alarming rate. Sangster tries to do the right thing even as his uncertainty rises; all the while a seemingly well-ordered and rational world is slowly revealed to perhaps be older, darker, and more chaotic than he ever imagined…

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Lethal Impulse

By Steve Rush,

Book cover of Lethal Impulse

Steve Rush Author Of Lethal Impulse

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Investigator Instructor Outdoors lover Book enthusiast Researcher

Steve's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

He’s riddled with guilt. She’s annoyed with the status quo.

The death of a crime boss’s daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl’s murder. Tess Fleishman’s pale skin and extreme weight loss portrays a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him.

Lethal Impulse

By Steve Rush,

What is this book about?

He's riddled with guilt. She's annoyed with the status quo. The death of a crime boss's daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl's murder. Tess Fleishman's pale skin and extreme weight loss portrays a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him. As Neil delves into the heart of the town's secrets, will truth deliver solace? Or will Tess prevail?


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the supernatural, Pirates, and good and evil?

The Supernatural 363 books
Pirates 90 books
Good And Evil 140 books