Here are 100 books that A Study in Charlotte fans have personally recommended if you like
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My passion for the mystery genre began when I read Nancy Drew back in second grade. I chain read the series. I think it’s a natural impulse to want to understand mysteries and the one thing we can solve is a mystery on paper since so many things don’t lend themselves easily to explanations. The first incarnation of my writing career was as an M/M romance author and one of my romantic suspense novels, Acts of Passion, featured Dr. Michael DiSanto, a genius, quirky, and handsome profiler with a fascinating past. I grew to love that character so much that his backstory was born in The Boy on the Lawn.
I love mysteries with a sensitive protagonist who sees what no one else sees and cares enough to get at the truth when everyone else has dismissed it. Penelope Marin is dealing with grief by collecting trinkets. When she recognizes a trinket in a market stall that had belonged to a murdered young woman, she becomes obsessed with finding out the truth of what happened to her, even though it means putting herself into dangerous situations. Penelope (“Lo”) is brave and determined and doesn’t let anyone else’s disbelief stop her from caring about a murdered woman whom no one else cares about and has written off as unsolved. This is the kind of story that always has me riveted.
Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place - possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.
But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognises it as having been stolen from…
Before I was published, I played Dungeons and Dragons for years. I grew up on games involving fantasy, and though my career took me into government, it stayed my passion. I’m well on my way to publishing the last two books in my four-part saga as well as venturing into Kindle Vella, and I can’t wait to see what is next for me in the realm of fantasy. When writing in the genre, it’s easy to fall into the same old tropes and utilize the same creatures. These five books are atypical in this age of overdone plots and monsters. I hope you find your next read among them.
I have always been interested in the Jack the Ripper lore. If you feel the same,Stalking Jack the Ripperdoes not disappoint. The book follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth in Victorian-era England as she hunts Jack the Ripper. Audrey is not the typical Victorian lady. She has a passion for forensic medicine and doesn’t mind the sight of corpses. Maniscalco does a fantastic job of presenting the widely known case details while putting her own spin on it and even adding a few details.
A deliciously creepy horror novel with a story line inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion...
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
This #1 New York Times bestseller and deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion.
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between…
My passion for the mystery genre began when I read Nancy Drew back in second grade. I chain read the series. I think it’s a natural impulse to want to understand mysteries and the one thing we can solve is a mystery on paper since so many things don’t lend themselves easily to explanations. The first incarnation of my writing career was as an M/M romance author and one of my romantic suspense novels, Acts of Passion, featured Dr. Michael DiSanto, a genius, quirky, and handsome profiler with a fascinating past. I grew to love that character so much that his backstory was born in The Boy on the Lawn.
The blurb from this novel is what pulled me in initially and the story and writing kept me riveted. Flynn’s girlfriend disappears. It appears she may have been murdered and Flynn is the main person of interest. It rests on Flynn to find out what’s happened to her, both because he cares about her and also because he is innocent. He bravely must plunge ahead and figure out who would want to harm January. What he uncovers endangers his own life yet also forces him to contend with a secret he has been keeping from himself. Another story with a sensitive, brave teen sleuth who puts caring and truth ahead of everything else and finds what no one else could see. I need to read more from this author.
Flynn's girlfriend, January, is missing. All eyes are on Flynn—he must know something. After all, he was—is—her boyfriend. They were together the night before she disappeared.
But Flynn has a secret of his own. As he struggles to uncover the truth about January's disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.
I’m a BIG reader of mysteries and thrillers, but I hate it when you read a thriller and guess who did it on page 20, or it turns out it’s a character so obscure you could never have guessed it! But it’s easy to criticize! I’ve wanted to write a young adult thriller since I was young, and over the last few years, I found myself more able to try. For me, writing my book was like running a marathon…I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but now I’m really happy that I did!
This book by Barry Lyga absolutely captivated me with its intense, dark narrative.
The story centers around Jasper "Jazz" Dent, who grew up as the son of the country’s most notorious serial killer. (Talk about a family tree!) Having been exposed to gruesome lessons in murder from a very young age, Jazz is haunted by the fear that he might follow in his father’s footsteps.
It helps explore the terrifying notion of nature versus nurture. Jazz’s battle with his own potential for evil is chilling, and it makes the read not just a thriller but a deep dive into his fight for a normal life. As bodies start appearing in Jazz's small town, he recognizes patterns that match his father’s killings, and so he starts to help the police. The pacing is superb, intertwining Jazz’s personal demons with a gripping murder investigation.
What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad? Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say. But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could - from the criminal's point of view. And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod. In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer but Jazz has a secret--could he be more…
I was in fifth grade when I brought home my first paranormal thriller from the library. It was love at first read. Since then, I’ve broadened my reading horizons to many fiction genres, but fast-paced stories grounded in our world with a dash of magic continue to be my favorite. The same can be said of my viewing habits—give me shows like Severance or Black Mirror, and I’ll be glued to the screen all day long. It probably doesn’t surprise anyone that it is my favorite entertainment genre and writing genre. Many of the books on this list have served as inspiration—I hope you love them too!
Jack the Ripper? Check. Girl who sees dead people? Check. Boarding school? Check, check, check. I feel like Bill Hadar’s SNL character Stefon when I say that this book has everything, but I can’t help it.
As someone who loves books with ghosts, murder, and page-turning thrills, this book does indeed have everything.
Thrilling ghost-hunting teen mystery as modern-day London is plagued by a sudden outbreak of brutal murders that mimic the horrific crimes of Jack the Ripper.
"A gorgeously written, chilling, atmospheric thriller. The streets of London have never been so sinister or so romantic." Cassandra Clare, author of THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS
Sixteen-year-old American girl Rory has just arrived at boarding school in London when a Jack the Ripper copycat-killer begins terrorising the city. All the hallmarks of his infamous murders are frighteningly present, but there are few clues to the killer's identity.
"Rippermania" grabs hold of modern-day London, and the police…
As a kid, I used to pretend I had unique powers, and I always wished it was real. So, stories including magic/powers give me a little taste of that. When the main character is in a learning setting, I get to see that magic is used more often, and I learn about the magic system and the world alongside the MC. Plus, I am a teacher by day, and it is cool to see how the education differs in those stories. Lastly, I have always been fascinated by mythical creatures and the cultures they come from, and I enjoy any story with them included.
This was the first book series I read with an academy that included magic and mythology, and it sparked my interest in those kinds of books. I also love learning about Nike, the goddess of Victory, and psychometry magic, which I have never read about anywhere else. I wish I could touch something and learn its history as the MC does.
I like the romance in the story and how the main character, who is an outcast, slowly starts to find long-lasting friends. I also like how she learns about and develops her unique power and becomes a goddess’ champion. I have read the series about three times.
When Jasmine Ashton is murdered in the Library of Antiquities, Gwen Frost is determined to find out who killed the girl after she realizes she should have been the one that died.
I love exploring old homes. Whether I’m on a historic house tour, an estate sale, or a real estate open house, I love seeing the glimpses of the people who once occupied the home. When my mom passed away, I hired an estate sale organizer to help me clear out her house and became fascinated with the estate sale business. What a great way to peek into other people’s houses and lives and perhaps discover their darkest secrets! That’s how I started writing my Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series.
In an old mansion that has become a school for wayward girls, a series of troublesome deaths occur. The school is reminiscent of the horrible Lowood School in Jane Eyre, one of my all-time favorite books. The story unfolds across multiple timelines—I enjoyed the 1950s story the most. The crimes are solved in the present day by a determined heroine, and the supernatural element is well integrated into the plot.
'Clever and wonderfully chilling. It held me hostage' - Fiona Barton, Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Widow and The Child
'A brilliant page-turner' Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl
1950 - At the crumbling Idlewild Hall school for unwanted girls, four room-mates begin to bond over dark secrets and whispered fears - until one of them mysteriously disappears . . .
2014 - Journalist Fiona Sheridan can't get over the murder of her sister twenty years ago, near the ruins of Idlewild. And when another body is found during renovations of the school,…
I’m the author of the novel The Good Ones, published by Harper Books earlier this year. I grew up in a beautiful and somewhat isolated part of the country, the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and it’s still my favorite place to set my fiction. When I began writing crime fiction, I knew I wanted to balance telling compelling stories with creating a sense of place and interesting characters to inhabit it, and I’ve learned so much from these writers about how to do that.
I love all of Rebecca Makkai’s work, but this novel, published earlier this year, absolutely blew me away.
Makkai is adept at keeping the pages turning, but it wasn’t just the story of podcaster Bodie Kane and the murder of her high school classmate that drew me in as much as the atmosphere. The novel is set in a New England winter, and Makkai does a fantastic job of using the darkness and isolation of the season to create thematic resonance.
I’ve only been to New England a few times and don’t know it well at all, but this novel makes me feel like I’ve been there.
**A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK FOR OPRAH DAILY, TIME, NPR, USA TODAY, BUSTLE, STAR TRIBUNE, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING AND MORE**
'Whip-smart and uncompromising' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
'Quietly riveting' IRISH TIMES
'It's the perfect crime' NEW YORKER
'Impressive and complex' GUARDIAN
'Addictive' OPRAH DAILY
The riveting new novel from the author of The Great Believers, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award
A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past: the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the 1995 murder…
I’ve always loved reading young adult fantasy books with forbidden romance and lush worldbuilding and classic fairytale elements like princesses, dancing, pretty clothes, and delicious food spreads. All these books offer fresh takes and twists, and tug at your heartstrings with the angst, the betrayals, the secrets, and the love. These are all immersive stories that transport you far away, to a different time, to a different land, which is exactly what you need sometimes to get away from this world and its craziness.
Shazi is a headstrong, stubborn girl who marries the ruthless caliph of her kingdom with the intention of killing him. She doesn’t expect to fall in love with him, which thwarts all of her plans. This book easily transports you to an Arabian caliphate with the gorgeous descriptions of setting, food, and clothes, and the relationship between Shazi and Khalid is wonderful to witness blossoming. This book keeps you at the edge of your seat and gives you an ending that is bound to break your heart.
One of TIME magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
A #1 New York Times bestseller and a sumptuous, epic tale inspired by A Thousand and One Nights.
'A riveting Game of Thrones meets Arabian Nights love story' US Weekly
Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a terrible surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and…
I’ve been fascinated by Marie Antoinette since I watched Sofia Coppola’s film about her as a teenager. Pair that with a Les Miserables musical obsession and a Francophile dad that loved history, and I became fascinated with the French Revolution. My interest was re-ignited years later after I visited Versailles and wandered the foggy gardens where I must have gotten haunted by a French ghost because the idea for Cake Eater struck me after I returned home. I was in a bit of a writing slump at the time, but the idea took hold of me and wouldn’t let go. I drafted Cake Eater for Nanowrimo and it became my debut novel.
Ballgowns, swords, and secrets abound in One for All, a fresh retelling of The Three Musketeers. As the daughter of one of the original Musketeers, the main character Tania is an expert sword fighter who also struggles will the chronic illness, POTS.
There is so much action, intrigue, and mystery in this book while adding fresh and needed representation to the genre. Even though this isn’t strictly a historical event, a lot of us associate The Three Musketeers with the time of Louis XIV, and it’s fantastic to see that time period in a new light from a fresh perspective.
"There are no limits to the will-and the strength-of this unique female hero." -Tamora Pierce, writer of the Song of the Lioness and the Protector of the Small quartets
One for All is a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.
Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but "a sick girl." But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father-a former Musketeer and her greatest…
