100 books like By the Pricking of My Thumbs

By Agatha Christie,

Here are 100 books that By the Pricking of My Thumbs fans have personally recommended if you like By the Pricking of My Thumbs. 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 Rebecca

Julia Buckley Author Of A Dark and Stormy Murder

From my list on cozy funny mysteries that are also spooky gothic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m Julia Buckley, a passionate lifelong reader, English teacher, and mystery writer. I gravitated toward mystery as a child when my mom read all the greats of 20th Century Mystery and Romantic Suspense and then passed them on to me. When I became an English teacher, I had the privilege of teaching some of the great Gothic classics like Jane Eyre, Rebecca, and The Castle of Otranto. Teaching these great works and researching the way that all Gothic literature stemmed from Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe, I realized that MANY of the books I read are tinged with the Gothic. 

Julia's book list on cozy funny mysteries that are also spooky gothic

Julia Buckley Why did Julia love this book?

This is a Gothic suspense classic, but the suspense is gradual in the most delicious way. The book begins with a 1930s meet-cute in which a young paid companion to a rich and unpleasant woman meets a wealthy, unhappy widower at a resort. The young woman befriends the man while her employer is bedridden with a cold, and the two share some funny and touching moments.

The Gothic part comes when he unexpectedly proposes marriage, and they return to his gargantuan family estate, Manderley, which was formerly run by his late wife, Rebecca. Now, the spookiness permeates the story, from the shadowy corners of the mansion to the constant watchfulness of the very creepy housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. Rebecca has been in print for almost a hundred years, and that alone is evidence of its awesomeness.

In this modern feminist era, Maxim DeWinter might seem horribly patriarchal, but it’s utterly believable…

By Daphne du Maurier,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

* 'The greatest psychological thriller of all time' ERIN KELLY
* 'One of the most influential novels of the twentieth century' SARAH WATERS
* 'It's the book every writer wishes they'd written' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .'

Working as a lady's companion, our heroine's outlook is bleak until, on a trip to the south of France, she meets a handsome widower whose proposal takes her by surprise. She accepts but, whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory…


Book cover of The Haunting of Hill House

Paula Cappa Author Of Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

From my list on Horror for the supernatural mystery magick lover.

Why am I passionate about this?

An avid reader, I began a project in 2012 to read one short story a week in supernatural mysteries, ghost stories, and quiet horror genres. I began with the classic authors: Poe, MR James, Lovecraft, Shelley, Stoker, du Maurier, etc. I began a blog, Reading Fiction Blog, and posted these free stories with my reviews (I’m still posting today). Over the years, it turned into a compendium of fiction. Today, I have nearly 400 short stories by over 150 classic and now contemporary authors in the blog Index. I did this because I wanted to learn more about writing dark fiction and who better to learn from than the masters?

Paula's book list on Horror for the supernatural mystery magick lover

Paula Cappa Why did Paula love this book?

Jackson’s Gothic horror flows like black chiffon over a yawing window. That’s how I felt reading about Hill House. I loved the way the house sneaks up with its psychological weights swinging and jarring. Eleanor possesses a dark ambiance. She desperately needed to belong to something or someone, and I couldn’t let go of that.

Her emotions and fears were right there with me. But it was the romantic underbelly that got me: Eleanor’s romance with Hill House. The statuesque gardens, the light, and shadows, all tempted her into its sinister realm. As it tempted me. I felt deeply for Eleanor, wanting to belong to something extraordinary to replace her dull life. Shirley Jackson is quoted as saying, “I delight in what I fear.” This book proves it.

By Shirley Jackson,

Why should I read it?

36 authors picked The Haunting of Hill House as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Part of a new six-volume series of the best in classic horror, selected by Academy Award-winning director of The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro

Filmmaker and longtime horror literature fan Guillermo del Toro serves as the curator for the Penguin Horror series, a new collection of classic tales and poems by masters of the genre. Included here are some of del Toro's favorites, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Ray Russell's short story "Sardonicus," considered by Stephen King to be "perhaps the finest example of the modern Gothic ever written," to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and stories…


Book cover of Hunter's Green

Heather Day Gilbert Author Of No Filter

From my list on spooky mysteries that'll stick with you for years.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been a mystery lover all my life, reading through all the Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie books I could get my hands on in my small-town West Virginia library. Although I enjoy watching TV mysteries, it takes a lot to trick me, and when I find shows or books that surprise me, they quickly become my favorites. As a cozy mystery author, I love bringing clean mysteries with unexpected twists (even to me as I write them!) to my readers. Writing mysteries is my happy place, and when I get reviews saying readers find my books surprising yet satisfying, I know I'm following in the steps of Agatha, at least to some small degree.

Heather's book list on spooky mysteries that'll stick with you for years

Heather Day Gilbert Why did Heather love this book?

No list of spooky yet non-graphic/gory mysteries would be complete without a Phyllis Whitney novel, and although this one feels a little slow compared to the pace of contemporary mysteries, it packed a memorable punch for me—mostly because of the setting (Whitney does Gothic like no one else). I can still close my eyes and visualize the great estate. Whitney's reads are perfect to escape with on a misty rainy day or a dark and stormy night.

By Phyllis A. Whitney,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hunter's Green as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A suspense novel from “The Queen of the American Gothics” (The New York Times).
 
The nightmare was one from which I could not waken. I was caught upon a chessboard, a helpless pawn in a game of life and death, and the green rook was hunting me. That tall rook of green-black yew who had it in his power to destroy the king and end the game . . .
 
When Eve North returns to Athmore after three years' separation from her husband, Justin, she finds the great estate—and Justin himself—vastly changed. Eve, too, has changed. She knows now the…


Love Love TV

By Gabriel Ruesso,

Book cover of Love Love TV

Gabriel Ruesso

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Christopher Jope was supposed to be the next great celebrity heartthrob. But then he was demoted to third wheel in the supernatural throuple romance he starred in years ago. Now, he’s a B-list celebrity at best, struggling to find success in his work or love in his personal life. 

Things are looking up, though, when Christopher is tapped to be next season's star of the best trashy reality show on television. In Star x Lovers, ten bachelors and ten bachelorettes compete to try and win Christopher's heart and mind. The show is run by the charming yet jaded host Ted…

Love Love TV

By Gabriel Ruesso,

What is this book about?

Love Love TV is a 1st person bisexual romance novel that quickly morphs into a 'whodunnit' murder mystery. Fans of Agatha Christie meets Black Mirror will love this modern story about love, loss, reality TV, and being so famous it hurts.

Star x Lovers is the best trash reality show on TV. Twenty bachelors and bachelorettes on a gorgeous island try to win the heart of Christopher Jope, the B-list celebrity from an old, popular supernatural teenage series. Love Love TV, the secretive television network behind Star x Lovers, does a masterful job at getting as much drama out of…


Book cover of The House Next Door

Charlotte Greene Author Of Gnarled Hollow

From my list on haunted houses to scare the bejesus out of you.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer of sapphic horror and romance fiction, and a professor of nineteenth and twentieth literature and Women’s and Gender Studies. I’ve been an avid reader of ghost-focused fiction since I was a little kid. This fascination was, in part, encouraged by my horror-loving parents, but I think I’ve just always loved being scared, and for me, the scariest thing imaginable is a haunted house. I’ve read widely in the genre, by turns spooked, thrilled, and baffled, and this reading eventually encouraged me to write my own haunted house novels. If you love a chilling tale, you’re going to love the books on this list.

Charlotte's book list on haunted houses to scare the bejesus out of you

Charlotte Greene Why did Charlotte love this book?

This is a significant departure from the notion of a “haunted house” most of us are familiar with. We expect an old house, haunted by the past, far from humankind, and left to rot and fester in isolation somewhere remote. The haunted house in Siddons’s novel, however, is right in the middle of an upper-class neighborhood in Atlanta, and it’s a brand-new build. Rather than being haunted by the ghosts of the past inhabitants, the house itself is a force of evil, corrupting all who cross its threshold in terrible, terrifying, and often deadly ways.

By Anne Rivers Siddons,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The House Next Door as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An unparalleled picture of that vibrant but dark intersection where the Old and the New South collide.

Thirtysomething Colquitt and Walter Kennedy live in a charming, peaceful suburb of newly bustling Atlanta, Georgia. Life is made up of enjoyable work, long, lazy weekends, and the company of good neighbors. Then, to their shock, construction starts on the vacant lot next door, a wooded hillside they'd believed would always remain undeveloped. Disappointed by their diminished privacy, Colquitt and Walter soon realize something more is wrong with the house next door. Surely the house can’t be haunted, yet it seems to destroy…


Book cover of Partners in Crime

Betty Adams Author Of I Have the Data

From my list on to laugh at the absurdity of human nature.

Why am I passionate about this?

Humans are absurd. We are. Short stories that present this in a true and honest fashion, without being cruel or vulgar are a rare and delicious gem. In all of these books there is not a single ounce of malice or bitterness. Humans are born, we live, we suffer, and then we die. These books don’t deny this, or ignore it, instead they choose to focus on the funny, the fun, the absurd lives that we live. 

Betty's book list on to laugh at the absurdity of human nature

Betty Adams Why did Betty love this book?

Murder, espionage, and weight loss clinics make up the challenges faced by Tommy and Tuppence in what I consider to be Christie’s most engaging book. The concept of a loving pair getting bored and deciding to use their energy to solve crimes was delightful. Christie takes a long honest look at human nature, and despite the murder and betrayal, laughs, for we are absurd. 

By Agatha Christie,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Six short stories from the Queen of Crime, featuring our favourite young detectives, Tommy and Tuppence.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt's International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance.

After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on coming their way: a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates.


Book cover of The Thin Man

Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn Author Of Strange Markings: A Skylar Drake Mystery

From my list on golden age detective stories.

Why are we passionate about this?

Janet and I have traveled extensively and found inspiration and story ideas at every destination. As writers for more than 10 years and as fans of classic detective stories, we feel qualified to tackle this genre.

Will's book list on golden age detective stories

Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn Why did Will love this book?

This is a classic detective story with his wife and dog as sidekicks. The mystery is great and a little levity in the form of banter between Nick and Nora are superb. That is why this book is considered a classic. Being from the upper crust of their time, Nick and Nora Charles invite the reader into their world. Their dog, Asta, adds a touch of “humanity” to an otherwise morbid subject.

By Dashiell Hammett,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'When I opened my eyes and sat up in bed Nora was shaking me and a man with a gun in his hand was standing in the bedroom doorway.'

Ex-detective Nick Charles attracts trouble like a magnet. He thinks his sleuthing days are over, but when Julia Wolf, a former acquaintance, is found dead, her body riddled with bullets, Nick - along with his glamorous wife, Nora - can't resist making a few enquiries. Clyde Miller Wynant, Julia's lover and boss, has disappeared. Everyone is after him, but Nick is not convinced Wynant is the murderer - and when he…


Book cover of Live Wire

John L. DeBoer Author Of The Girl from Belgrade

From my list on thrillers that don’t skimp on character development.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a retired surgeon and have no expertise in espionage, law enforcement, or the legal system. But I enjoy thriller novels that feature these things, and I follow the adage, “Write what you like to read.” But I do have medical/surgical expertise and have followed another adage: “Write what you know,” so I have inserted medical situations into many of my stories and one of my published books is a medical thriller. What I like about thrillers is the ability to show each side of the conflict. The good guys against the bad guys, neither side knowing what the other is doing. But the reader knows, and this adds to the suspense.

John's book list on thrillers that don’t skimp on character development

John L. DeBoer Why did John love this book?

Like with Robert Crais’s Cole/Pike buddy novels, Coben has a number of books featuring the teamwork of two “good” guys—Myron Bolitar, former pro-basketball candidate and now a literary/sports agent who somehow gets involved in solving mysteries; Win Lockwood, a business tycoon you don’t want to mess with physically. What makes this book stand out is that a line is crossed in the adventure, one that had not occurred in their previous collaborations and one that could affect their lifelong friendship.

By Harlan Coben,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Sometimes the ugliest truth is better than the prettiest of lies... From the SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of SIX YEARS.

A beautiful woman walking into Myron Bolitar's office asking for help should have been a dream come true. Only this woman, Suzze T, is in tears - and eight months pregnant...

Suzze's rock star husband has disappeared, and she fears the rumours questioning her baby's paternity have driven him away. For Myron, questions of fatherhood couldn't hit closer to home. His own father is clinging precariously to life, and the brother who abandoned the family years ago has resurfaced -…


Book cover of Mai Tais for the Lost

M. Darusha Wehm Author Of Self Made

From my list on science fiction detectives.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m primarily a science fiction writer and reader, but mystery is my first literary love, and I was the editor-in-chief of the mystery magazine, Plan B. So, I doubly love it when a mystery story takes place in a science fictional world. In my own work, certain themes keep showing up even when I don’t intend them to because I love them as much as I love a juicy mystery: using technology to change our bodies and environments, the struggle that wealth and corporate greed create, how we can learn to understand someone who is radically different from ourselves. These five books hit all those marks for me. 

M. Darusha's book list on science fiction detectives

M. Darusha Wehm Why did M. Darusha love this book?

I was hooked from the start by the notion that when the Earth has been ravaged by climate change, the rich descend under the sea to lush habitats, complete with staff. The tension between those who pay to live in luxury and those who make their lives luxurious is at the heart of this contemporary cyberpunk murder mystery—and there’s a sapient octopus stripper to boot! I loved the snarky main character—Marrow Nightingale, private eye—and her investigation of her murdered sibling Rocket sets the stage for a fast-paced, fun, and flirty story. I inhaled this book in an afternoon. The characters are great, the atmosphere is fantastic, and the mystery goes to all kinds of science-fictional places. 

By Mia V. Moss,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mai Tais for the Lost as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Marrow Nightingale is a professional pain in the ass. As Electric Blue Moon's only licensed private investigator, she's the one who snoops the closets of the elite who think the laws don't apply to them. But when the son of a wealthy family turns up dead, it's Marrow's closet that everyone is suddenly interested in. That dead playboy in the foyer? It's her adoptive sibling, Rocket Nightingale.

Now, Marrow's dodging gossip columnists who smell blood in the water, renegade corporate IP with minds of their own, and badge-wearing bone-breakers who would love nothing more than to ship her back to…


Book cover of A Suitable Job for a Woman: Inside the World of Private Eyes

Ellen McGarrahan Author Of Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search for Justice

From my list on what it’s like to be a real-life private eye.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a private eye. No, I don’t carry a gun. Or trail around after cheating spouses. In fact, the job is way more interesting than that, in a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction way. So it’s a pleasure to recommend these books that tell private eye life as it really is. One is written by a private eye, three others are written about us, and one more is a remarkable investigation itself, but they all ring true about the mystery that is private detective work. On days when even I can’t believe my job, I turn to these books for inspiration, information, and reality checks too. I hope you enjoy them as I do.

Ellen's book list on what it’s like to be a real-life private eye

Ellen McGarrahan Why did Ellen love this book?

Fictional lady detectives are sexy and fascinating, we can all agree. But what about real life? That’s the question asked and answered in this non-fiction book by brilliant crime writer Val McDermid, who lavishes her attention and experience over nearly 300 interview-packed pages to explore all the ways in which private investigation is – thank you – a very suitable job for a woman indeed. “Smart, strong and sure of themselves, they walk the mean streets to their own beat,” Val concludes. When I think of my friends who, like me, are real-life women PIs, I have to say Val McDermid has done her detective work because that sounds exactly right.

By Val McDermid,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Suitable Job for a Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

""But down these mean streets must go a man who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished or afraid."" When Raymond Chandler wrote these words in his classic The Simple Art of Murder, he drew a blueprint for the male private eyes who descend from Philip Marlowe to populate the world of crime fiction.
But what if the private eye is a woman? And what if she is not a character in a novel but a real, working investigator testing not only the meanness but the absurdity of life on seamy streets? Who will tell her story?


Enter Manchester's…


Book cover of Saint with a Gun: The Unlawful American Private Eye

Ellen McGarrahan Author Of Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search for Justice

From my list on what it’s like to be a real-life private eye.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a private eye. No, I don’t carry a gun. Or trail around after cheating spouses. In fact, the job is way more interesting than that, in a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction way. So it’s a pleasure to recommend these books that tell private eye life as it really is. One is written by a private eye, three others are written about us, and one more is a remarkable investigation itself, but they all ring true about the mystery that is private detective work. On days when even I can’t believe my job, I turn to these books for inspiration, information, and reality checks too. I hope you enjoy them as I do.

Ellen's book list on what it’s like to be a real-life private eye

Ellen McGarrahan Why did Ellen love this book?

This provocative work of investigatory scholarship takes a dim view of private eyes, but that’s fair enough – as a detective (definitely not a saint) who has never carried a gun myself, I share the author’s dismay at the violent anti-heroes of mythic American lore. Ruehlmann’s question in this book is also my own: why are people so interested in private eyes? Answering it, he traces the idea of an omniscient private eye back to the outlaw vigilantes of the Old West, draws a distinction between intellectual English detectives and the musclemen of American noir, and includes an overview of modern masters of detective fiction along with a history of the profession starting in 18th-century France. Who knew? None of it is flattering, which makes it even more fun to read. 

By William Ruehlmann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Saint with a Gun as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Examines the history and works representative of American detective fiction, providing psychological insight into popular opinions on violence, crime, revenge, and justice. Bibliogs


Book cover of Rebecca
Book cover of The Haunting of Hill House
Book cover of Hunter's Green

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