15 books like Cul de Sac

Stephen King has been the biggest inspiration for my writing over the years. While many horror and supernatural elements exist in many of his books, there’s no denying that identity and thriller play pivotal roles in this book. Aside from the terror of Pennywise the Clown, a significant portion of this story involves how this group of kids is forced to grow up and discover their own identities in the face of this great evil.

The unfolding mystery of Pennywise and its origins across the decades gave me that thriller vibe I am always looking for. The author's horror forces the kids to confront their fears and discover who they are in the face of those dangers, creating an emotional pull that a good thriller needs with its audience.

The author of this book did an incredible job of using a horrifying villain and shocking moments to showcase the power of identity and the struggles that can come from not knowing your own identity. I feel the power of the mind and how the manipulations of others cause these moments of self-doubt and mistrust are crucially tied to the theme of identity.

I loved the exploration of mental health and how those who suffer from it are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators. It is a big theme in this book, which plays well with the themes of my novel greatly. The idea that identity can be changed or played with by others is one of the more chilling themes that makes this novel stand out so much.

I love to read international thrillers, especially murder-mystery thrillers. Part of the fun of investigating identity as a theme is challenging the identity of the characters surrounding the protagonist of a story. Author Val Collins did just that in this book. 

I loved that the author created a protagonist who felt both vulnerable and relatable. The issues she faces at home help balance out the murder mystery element, allowing me, as a reader, to question each character that comes into her life.

I love any genre that incorporates noir thrillers, bringing that iconic 40’s era detective mystery that showcases the mysterious figures and identities that the detective has to uncover. That was the promising theme that brought me to this book by Alan McGill. The author greatly impressed me with this story, as the futuristic, sci-fi setting only helped elevate the noir storytelling style.

The clown killers in this story haunted me as they came up against the protagonist, and the identity of the mysterious woman hanging on the edge of the main character’s periphery will add a depth of personal conflict that I, as a reader, found so engaging.

Talk about dark academia—what about a lecturer at Harvard Medical College murdering a Harvard graduate? Dr. George Parkman disappeared one day and was only found later, in pieces, and some of those pieces were in the medical school furnace. This book follows the case before CSI could help identify a man’s remains. It explores why, exactly, a man with such a promising future would decide to throw it all away—and how a janitor unlocked the solution made more complex by questions of class and new vs. old money.

Branded is one of my favorite dystopian novels and really inspired how I write my own dystopian because it explores the dystopian realm beyond chosen ones and government overthrows. This book gave me permission to make my fans cry because I put their hearts in a blender and laughed just like these authors did to me. Branded is about a girl thrown in prison, branded with the sin of lust, and forced to rely on her gorgeous guard…who puts us through a whirlwind of emotions as we see his hatred…and not-hatred…expressed throughout the story. Tissues are required for several different exciting and heartbreaking reasons.

I've just discovered Fae Urban Fantasy and I'm absolutely hooked. I love this world and this writing partnership sparkles like endless glitter showers of fairy dust. I connected with student Noelle like a sister, and – you guessed it – by a quirk of fate, she finds herself in the land of the fae, and they are Bad People. Well, they're not all bad, but they can be every bit as mean and spiteful as mortals, even though they look pretty. I've read both books and I believe there's a third one coming out. Again, it's about being brave, confronting your problems, and holding on to people you love. I can't wait to see how the story turns out. 

Demitria Lunetta is a wonder. Her debut novel, In the After, has been described as a postapocalyptic thriller, but it’s the inclusion of sci-fi and horror elements that really makes this book unputdownable. The novel’s teen protagonist, Amy, is a fierce, plucky, and formidable heroine who literally faces what looks like the end of the world before living to fight, be rescued, and fight some more for herself and the person she cares about most. It’s the perfect read for anyone who loves speculative fiction with grit and adrenaline thrown in.

Stretching the geographical boundary a little, Dolan’s police series takes us to Peterborough, another location scared by political and financial neglect. It’s the terrain I tread in the Joe Geraghty series, our cities are not too different. Beyond that, Dolan also makes giving the police series a fresh shot of adrenaline looks easy. Based in the Hate Crimes Units, DI Zigic and DS Ferreira, give voice to those who are marginalised and without voice, a welcome rebalancing and one that questions the power and position of the police.

Beyond the occasional adrenaline rush, one of the chief attractions of risky travel is that it enables us to see how we and others behave under challenging circumstances. For readers whose exposure typically comes from UNILAD Adventure posts or edgy Bruce Chatwin travelogues, this book is refreshingly unself-conscious and uniquely terrifying.

In his quest to locate the legendary Niger River as a potential trade route during the late 18th century, when most of Africa was still unmapped, Park, at 24, set off with two days’ worth of provisions and a few strategic supplies (including an umbrella – he was Scottish), relying upon his wits and native guides to complete an epic journey in which he suffered bouts of malaria, nearly starved, was held captive by Moors, got repeatedly robbed and at one point had to bang on a village gate to escape being eaten by lions.

Given modern sensibilities,… show more.