Fans pick 100 books like A Wicked Snow

By Gregg Olsen,

Here are 100 books that A Wicked Snow fans have personally recommended if you like A Wicked Snow. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Twenty Years Later

Steve Rush Author Of Blood Red Deceit

From my list on crime thrillers I've read as a chief forensic investigator.

Why am I passionate about this?

My career path led through tenure as a police detective working multiple death investigations and into forensic medicine, where I worked with the late Dr. Joseph Burton (a person I sensed was the smartest I had ever met) and Dr. Jan Garavaglia of “Dr. G: Medical Examiner” fame. A case of a homeless person’s murder triggered my interest in writing crime thrillers. I was hooked. To date, I have three published novels, received a contract for one, due for release in early 2025, and other manuscripts ready for submission likened to the five novels on my list.

Steve's book list on crime thrillers I've read as a chief forensic investigator

Steve Rush Why did Steve love this book?

"Wow!" becomes an understatement in this story. I enjoyed the challenge this author issued to the investigators called to a murder scene where more than enough DNA evidence to convict the suspect shouts, “Collect me and solve the case.” Not so fast. Twenty years later, the case remains unsolved.

I liked this story’s multiple secrets, but how might Avery Mason, a TV show host in search of a ratings boost, find the killer when the person of interest died in one of the Twin Towers on 9/11? The answer: a twist of fate.

By Charlie Donlea,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Twenty Years Later as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Excellent…Donlea tells a propulsive tale.” – The New York Times

The New York Times Best Thrillers This Season | E! NewsRecommended Books | OverdriveBiggest Books of the Month

Fans of Verity by Colleen Hoover won’t want to miss this thrilling new suspense novel from the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Girl Who Was Taken! Hiding her own dark past in plain sight, a TV reporter is determined to uncover the truth behind a gruesome murder decades after the investigation was abandoned. But TWENTY YEARS LATER, to understand the present, you need to listen to the past…

Avery Mason, host…


Book cover of Last One Alive

Steve Rush Author Of Blood Red Deceit

From my list on crime thrillers I've read as a chief forensic investigator.

Why am I passionate about this?

My career path led through tenure as a police detective working multiple death investigations and into forensic medicine, where I worked with the late Dr. Joseph Burton (a person I sensed was the smartest I had ever met) and Dr. Jan Garavaglia of “Dr. G: Medical Examiner” fame. A case of a homeless person’s murder triggered my interest in writing crime thrillers. I was hooked. To date, I have three published novels, received a contract for one, due for release in early 2025, and other manuscripts ready for submission likened to the five novels on my list.

Steve's book list on crime thrillers I've read as a chief forensic investigator

Steve Rush Why did Steve love this book?

The way Author Dornbush shares authenticity through her reflection-of-life characters and premise based on her background in the world of forensic science and medicine resonated with me.

I appreciated the way she portrayed Dr. Emily Hartford’s background (similar to the author’s), the character’s resolve for answers, and how life turned for the lone survivor of a murdered family. This one kept me involved and turning pages.

By Jennifer Graeser Dornbush,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Last One Alive as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dr. Emily Hartford is back in Chicago, ready to move forward and leave the past behind, until an unexpected request for help sends her deep into an investigation—and into the path of a killer.

Seventeen months after the Parkman case, Dr. Hartford has returned to Chicago to finish her surgical residency. But when she is contacted out of the blue by Solange McClelland, the only survivor of a decade-old triple homicide, Emily is compelled to dig deeper. She doesn’t know the details of the event but remembers it as one of the few cases her deceased father never solved.

On…


Book cover of Broker of Lies

Steve Rush Author Of Blood Red Deceit

From my list on crime thrillers I've read as a chief forensic investigator.

Why am I passionate about this?

My career path led through tenure as a police detective working multiple death investigations and into forensic medicine, where I worked with the late Dr. Joseph Burton (a person I sensed was the smartest I had ever met) and Dr. Jan Garavaglia of “Dr. G: Medical Examiner” fame. A case of a homeless person’s murder triggered my interest in writing crime thrillers. I was hooked. To date, I have three published novels, received a contract for one, due for release in early 2025, and other manuscripts ready for submission likened to the five novels on my list.

Steve's book list on crime thrillers I've read as a chief forensic investigator

Steve Rush Why did Steve love this book?

Steven James is one of my favorite authors, and this novel is one of his best works. I connected with the main character, Travis Brock, a person blessed with an eidetic memory. Travis remembers everything he sees, but like an eyewitness to a crime, some things seen prove haunting afterward.

Threats, trouble, and conflict kept me turning pages. This story's ending, with one of the best twists I have ever read or heard of, left me with a sense of urgency to read the sequel as soon as it is published.

By Steven James,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Broker of Lies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The man who knows all our secrets has a secret of his own.

When Travis Brock, a high-level Pentagon redactor with an eidetic memory, finds a clue to solving the tragic arson that took his wife from him, he risks everything to find the truth—and chances losing himself in the process.

With a terror attack looming on the horizon and a pair of assassins on his tail, Brock drops off the grid and joins forces with a disavowed Homeland Security operative. Together they race to stop the attack before Brock is neutralized by the people he trusts the most.

From…


Black Crow Cabin

By Peggy Webb,

Book cover of Black Crow Cabin

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Peggy Webb Author Of Without a Trace

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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?


Book cover of Dangerous Places

Steve Rush Author Of Blood Red Deceit

From my list on crime thrillers I've read as a chief forensic investigator.

Why am I passionate about this?

My career path led through tenure as a police detective working multiple death investigations and into forensic medicine, where I worked with the late Dr. Joseph Burton (a person I sensed was the smartest I had ever met) and Dr. Jan Garavaglia of “Dr. G: Medical Examiner” fame. A case of a homeless person’s murder triggered my interest in writing crime thrillers. I was hooked. To date, I have three published novels, received a contract for one, due for release in early 2025, and other manuscripts ready for submission likened to the five novels on my list.

Steve's book list on crime thrillers I've read as a chief forensic investigator

Steve Rush Why did Steve love this book?

Although I had not read anything written by Susan Hunter, I’m glad I bought this one. I liked this story based on the mindset the author gave Leah Nash. I sensed Leah’s hesitancy in the beginning (a well-thought-out reason), but her determination to help a friend get answers in an old death case drove her onward and led her to places of best-kept secrets.

The case resonated with me because, like Leah, once I sense the truth within reach and find it, I hold on and never let go. The evidence shouted at me (my background helped me see it). I became concerned Leah might not ever see it until she did.

By Susan Hunter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dangerous Places as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE

Teenager Heather Young disappears from the small town of Himmel, Wisconsin. Everyone believes her boyfriend killed her, but no one can prove it.

Twenty years later, Leah Nash is pulled into the cold case by an old friend.

She finds the answer—and the shocking truth shatters her world.

DANGEROUS PLACES is the third standalone book in the Leah Nash series of complex, fast-paced murder mysteries featuring quick-witted dialogue, daring female characters, and plots with lots of twists and turns.

___________________________

What readers are saying about Susan Hunter and DANGEROUS PLACES:

★★★★★ "Fast paced and hard to…


Book cover of The Postman Always Rings Twice

G.E. Nordell Author Of Backlot Requiem: A Rick Walker Mystery

From my list on hardboiled noir detective mystery stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

Among other things, I'm an existentialist. A well-constructed mystery novel is an existential puzzle given to the reader to solve at his/her leisure, and the noir sub-genre has the further subtext that the protagonistand the reader—are doomed in some way even if the solution is nailed. Romance novels are drivel and have no basis in reality, but noir and other types of mystery fiction reflect the way that the world works: you may solve this puzzle problem, but then you are left to a vast world that is rife with puzzles but without a coherent plot. The detective trudges on, achieves a kind of satisfaction, and then is thrust into the next crisis.

G.E.'s book list on hardboiled noir detective mystery stories

G.E. Nordell Why did G.E. love this book?

Watching bad people self-destruct is hard work, but author Cain makes sure that the bad people get what they deserve. A drifter takes a job at a roadside diner that is run by an old man and his beautiful and unhappy wife; the two youngsters begin a dangerous affair and then plot to kill the husband so that the girl inherits the property. But matters do not turn out as they planned. The novel has been adapted for film at least seven times, with the favorite being the 1946 movie starring Lana Turner.

By James M. Cain,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Postman Always Rings Twice as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Nobody has ever quite pulled it off the way Cain does, not Hemingway, and not even Raymond Chandler' Tom Wolfe

'It is no accident that movies based on three [of Cain's novels] helped to define the genre known as film noir' NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS

'The most starkly elemental thing that has been written for years' EVENING STANDARD

The torrid story of Frank Chambers, the amoral drifter, Cora, the sullen and brooding wife, and Nick Papadakis, the amiable but inconvenient husband, has become a classic of its kind, and established Cain as a major novelist with a spare and…


Book cover of The Crying of Lot 49

Aaron Poochigian Author Of Mr. Either/Or: All the Rage

From my list on get you out of the box.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was eighteen, I had an experience I call religious: I was sitting outside of an ivy-covered building at my undergraduate school and reading the opening words of Vergil’s Roman epic, The Aeneid (in Latin, but I didn’t know Latin yet). The sky became clearer; it shone with different light. It became clear to me at that moment that I was supposed to be a poet. So, yeah, I went on to learn lots of stuff, including languages, so that I could read poetry in them. I did all that to serve the greater goal of being a poet.

Aaron's book list on get you out of the box

Aaron Poochigian Why did Aaron love this book?

This book taught me that you can surf the line between realism and the incredible (even the ridiculous). The main character, Oedipa Maas, is my favorite heroine because of her openness to every tantalizing possibility (and the possibilities keep ramifying infinitely).

Everything in this book is both fully a symbol and fully itself.

By Thomas Pynchon,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Crying of Lot 49 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

By far the shortest of Pynchon's great, dazzling novels - and one of the best.

Suffused with rich satire, chaotic brilliance, verbal turbulence and wild humour, The Crying of Lot 49 opens as Oedipa Maas discovers that she has been made executrix of a former lover's estate. The performance of her duties sets her on a strange trail of detection, in which bizarre characters crowd in to help or confuse her. But gradually, death, drugs, madness and marriage combine to leave Oepida in isolation on the threshold of revelation, awaiting The Crying of Lot 49.

'Engineered like a rocket' Ned…


Book cover of Mrs. Kimble

Tanya E. Williams Author Of A Man Called Smith

From my list on emotional reads to leave you with a book hangover.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by people’s behavior since I was a child. I was the kid who asked too many impertinent questions, never satisfied with the short answer. When I fell in love with historical fiction, the history mingled with my interest in human psychology. I soon discovered that despite advancements throughout civilization, people’s wants, needs, and fears remain fairly consistent. The exploration of life experiences that are not our own through the power of a book is pure magic. I hope these recommendations will allow you to put another’s life on like you would your winter parka and just for a moment, gain an understanding of another’s trials and tribulations. 

Tanya's book list on emotional reads to leave you with a book hangover

Tanya E. Williams Why did Tanya love this book?

I will admit it, I am a sucker for a compelling book cover. The cover of Mrs. Kimble completely drew me in and it didn’t take long for me to be so immersed that I wanted to grab the characters by their shoulders and shake some sense into them. I was intrigued by the idea of a “serial husband” but honestly, I wanted to know more about this narcissistic man who could simply change who he was at any given moment all the while changing careers, hometowns, and wives without nary a backwards glance. Self-centered doesn’t even begin to describe Ken Kimble but he sure does make the novel an intriguing story about love, loss, betrayal, and human nature in all of its glory.

By Jennifer Haigh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mrs. Kimble as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Covering a span of twenty five years, Mrs Kimble tells the story of three women married in succession to the same man - a charismatic opportunist named Ken Kimble. Told from the perspective of each Mrs Kimble, it offers a mesmerising look at how three very different women become accomplices in their own deception.

We see Ken Kimble through the eyes of the women he seduces: his first wife, Birdie, who struggles to hold herself together in the months following his desertion; his second wife, Joan, a lonely heiress recovering from personal tragedy, who sees in Kimble her last chance…


Book cover of Death Comes to Pemberley

Karen J. Hasley Author Of Claire, After All

From my list on women who have more on their minds than romance.

Why am I passionate about this?

The 17th and 18th- century female poets who were the focus of my master’s degree thesis in English inspired me to write several true-to-life historical novels with strong, intelligent, and engaging heroines. When I wrote Claire, After All, however, I needed and thought readers might welcome something more light-hearted. Life can be grim and the nightly news distressing. How about a break from all that drama? So as a longtime Georgette Heyer fan and as homage to her delightful romantic heroines, I created Claire Penwarren, a woman who loves her family, makes mistakes but fixes them, and eventually lives happily ever after. No soap boxes. No surprise endings. Just fun. 

Karen's book list on women who have more on their minds than romance

Karen J. Hasley Why did Karen love this book?

What do you get when you combine the great 20th-century mystery writer P. D. James and the great 18th-century social commentator Jane Austen? You get Death Comes to Pemberley, that’s what. Austen’s beloved Darcy and Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice are happily married living at Pemberley with their children until along comes that dastardly George Wickham (also from P & P) who has the nerve to get murdered, leaving it up to Lizzy to figure out the culprit! A Regency whodunit is the best of both worlds.  

By P. D. James,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death Comes to Pemberley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A rare meeting of literary genius: P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.
 
It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic…


Book cover of Wifey

Debby Dodds Author Of Amish Guys Don't Call

From my list on serious subjects that are also hilariously funny.

Why am I passionate about this?

In my first career as an actress, I often got cast as the “comic relief” in more serious films and plays. I cut my acting chops on improv comedy before getting my BFA in drama from NYU and performing in everything from Shakespeare to Seinfeld. I wrote and performed in stage shows at Disneyland and Disney World and screamed myself hoarse in B-horror films. As an author, I like to write about serious topics but I just can’t help being funny. I received my MFA from Antioch University and have had over 30 short stories and essays published. While I read voraciously (and genre-indiscriminately), my favorite books are often “darkly comedic” or “funny yet poignant.”

Debby's book list on serious subjects that are also hilariously funny

Debby Dodds Why did Debby love this book?

I first came across this book when babysitting at a neighbor’s house as a young teen. I was a giant Judy Blume fangirl and I was confused. I thought I’d read all of her novels. When I picked this one up, I managed to find a “dirty part” quite quickly while flipping through it and I stole the book to show that passage to all my friends. Scandalous! When I was out of college, I actually read the whole book and found it a poignant, but still funny, look at dreams deferred, marriage, motherhood, and sex.

By Judy Blume,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wifey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With more than four million copies sold, Wifey is Judy Blume's hilarious, moving tale of a woman who trades in her conventional wifely duties for her wildest fantasies-and learns a lot about life along the way.

Sandy Pressman is a nice suburban wife whose boredom is getting the best of her. She could be making friends at the club, like her husband keeps encouraging her to do. Or working on her golf game. Or getting her hair done.

But for some reason, these things don't interest her as much as the naked man on the motorcycle...


Book cover of In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith

Alex Beam Author Of American Crucifixion: The Murder of Joseph Smith and the Fate of the Mormon Church

From my list on Mormon history.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2012, a publisher asked me if I wanted to write a book about Joseph Smith's assassination. I leapt at the chance, in part because I was fascinated by Smith and the Latter-day Saints, and in part because I appreciated how many of the important contributions to Mormon history --- including Fawn Brodie’s famous biography of Joseph Smith, or the first honest and comprehensive account of the Mountain Meadows Massacre -- sprang from the pens of women and men with no formal academic training. By contrast, many “scholars” have disgraced themselves with prevaricating or pusillanimous accounts of the religion’s raucous and fascinating 190-year history. So jump in! Never a dull moment with the Latter-day Saints! 

Alex's book list on Mormon history

Alex Beam Why did Alex love this book?

These heart-wrenching biographies of 33 of Joseph Smith’s wives were the first, in-depth exploration of the social and emotional costs of Mormon polygamy. Loneliness appeared in 1997. The church waited until November 2014, six months after the publication of American Crucifixion, to officially acknowledge that Joseph had up to 40 wives.

By Todd Compton,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Beginning in the 1830s, at least thirty-three women married Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. These were passionate relationships which also had some longevity, except in cases such as that of two young sisters, one of whom was discovered by Joseph’s first wife, Emma, in a locked bedroom with the prophet. Emma remained a steadfast opponent of polygamy throughout her life. 

The majority of Smith’s wives were younger than he, and one-third were between fourteen and twenty years of age. Another third were already married, and some of the husbands served as witnesses at their own wife’s polyandrous wedding. In…


Book cover of Twenty Years Later
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