71 books like Date with Evil

By Julia Chapman,

Here are 71 books that Date with Evil fans have personally recommended if you like Date with Evil. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of A Murder of Crows

Jane McParkes Author Of A Deadly Inheritance

From my list on UK mysteries that make you think outside the plot.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love mystery novels that both entertain and inform the reader. These books usually conform to the expected tropes of the mystery genre, but have that extra something that makes the reader carry on thinking long after they have finished reading. In my own novels I enjoy including positive eco-friendly role-models, ideas, and solutions all embedded within a traditional mystery, that readers can think about, and then perhaps adopt, in their own lives. I am always delighted when readers tell me that my story has made them look at their own lives and businesses to see what they can do to make them more sustainable

Jane's book list on UK mysteries that make you think outside the plot

Jane McParkes Why did Jane love this book?

This is the first in the Nell Ward Mystery Series where, unusually, the main character and amateur sleuth is an ecologist.

What I enjoy about this book is how the author cleverly uses the skills of an ecologist to solve the mystery and thereby draws a parallel with CSI techniques. We also learn a great deal of fascinating ecological detail (particularly about bats and badgers) and environmentalism tangentially to the storyline, which certainly adds another layer to the reading experience and this is what has stayed with me.

By Sarah Yarwood-Lovett,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Murder of Crows as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dr Nell Ward is an ecologist, not a detective. But when she's the prime suspect in a murder, only her unique set of skills could help to clear her name...

In the sleepy village of Cookingdean, Dr Nell Ward is busy working in the grounds of a local manor house. Whilst inspecting an old tunnel, she did not expect to overhear a murder. As the only person with any clues as to what happened, Nell soon finds herself in the middle of the investigation.

Desperate to clear her name Nell, along with her colleague Adam, set out solving the murder…


Book cover of The Wrecker's Curse

Jane McParkes Author Of A Deadly Inheritance

From my list on UK mysteries that make you think outside the plot.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love mystery novels that both entertain and inform the reader. These books usually conform to the expected tropes of the mystery genre, but have that extra something that makes the reader carry on thinking long after they have finished reading. In my own novels I enjoy including positive eco-friendly role-models, ideas, and solutions all embedded within a traditional mystery, that readers can think about, and then perhaps adopt, in their own lives. I am always delighted when readers tell me that my story has made them look at their own lives and businesses to see what they can do to make them more sustainable

Jane's book list on UK mysteries that make you think outside the plot

Jane McParkes Why did Jane love this book?

This is the first of the Edge Of the World Detective Agency series and is a quirky, unusual, and curiously addictive read which breaks new ground in the mystery genre. 

What I enjoyed about this book is that while the vivid descriptions of familiar Cornish settings keep it within the realms of reality, the slightly eccentric, but believable characters, with their knowledge of herbalism and ancient Cornish customs give it a definite hint of magic and folklore that runs throughout.

This is what stayed with me and made me think that there is very likely another side to Cornwall that tourists are simply unaware of.

By Jo Silva,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'The sleeper book of the year... so much fun to read that you forget to even try and solve the case. And good luck solving it anyway, with twists within twists within twists'

Donna Nightshade's first rule of composting: shred.
Things rot quicker that way - cabbages, flowers, dead bodies...

When Donna branches out from floristry to private investigation and opens The Edge of the World Detective Agency, the last thing she expects is to have a murder fall into her lap almost immediately. Now, normally she wouldn't be one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but there's…


Book cover of Sea Haven

Jane McParkes Author Of A Deadly Inheritance

From my list on UK mysteries that make you think outside the plot.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love mystery novels that both entertain and inform the reader. These books usually conform to the expected tropes of the mystery genre, but have that extra something that makes the reader carry on thinking long after they have finished reading. In my own novels I enjoy including positive eco-friendly role-models, ideas, and solutions all embedded within a traditional mystery, that readers can think about, and then perhaps adopt, in their own lives. I am always delighted when readers tell me that my story has made them look at their own lives and businesses to see what they can do to make them more sustainable

Jane's book list on UK mysteries that make you think outside the plot

Jane McParkes Why did Jane love this book?

This is the first of the Castleby series which are thrilling reads filled with action, mystery, suspense, alongside a touch of humour and romance.

What I love about this book is that the author chose the unusual setting of a RNLI station on the Welsh coast for this series, which brings a unique slant to the story. The well-drawn characters and vivid descriptions quickly draw you into a thrilling and fast-paced read.

I will never walk past a RNLI station again without thinking about the lives of the people who volunteer there.

By J. M. Simpson,

Why should I read it?

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


Book cover of Hell Bay

Jane McParkes Author Of A Deadly Inheritance

From my list on UK mysteries that make you think outside the plot.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love mystery novels that both entertain and inform the reader. These books usually conform to the expected tropes of the mystery genre, but have that extra something that makes the reader carry on thinking long after they have finished reading. In my own novels I enjoy including positive eco-friendly role-models, ideas, and solutions all embedded within a traditional mystery, that readers can think about, and then perhaps adopt, in their own lives. I am always delighted when readers tell me that my story has made them look at their own lives and businesses to see what they can do to make them more sustainable

Jane's book list on UK mysteries that make you think outside the plot

Jane McParkes Why did Jane love this book?

In this excellently researched DI Ben Kitto series the author does not shy away from the fact that bad things happen in beautiful places.

I particularly love this first book because it sympathetically captures the essence of living in a small, remote island community, where drugs, violence, and alcohol are not far beneath the surface and the economic hardships these places endure are a daily concern.

The islands in this book are a far cry from the summer Isles of Scilly that many of us know and love and it is a realistic reminder that life anywhere is not always as idyllic and simple as it appears from the outside.

By Kate Rhodes,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

THE ISLES OF SCILLY MYSTERIES # 1

'Gripping, clever and impossible to put down' ERIN KELLY

DI Ben Kitto needs a second chance. After ten years working for the murder squad in London, a traumatic event has left him grief-stricken. He's tried to resign from his job, but his boss has persuaded him to take three months to reconsider.

Ben plans to work in his uncle's boatyard on the tiny Scilly island of Bryher where he was born, hoping to mend his shattered nerves. His plans go awry when the body of a sixteen-year-old girl is found on the beach…


Book cover of Before the Poison

Rosemary Kubli Author Of Gullible

From my list on crime novels about good people who do bad things.

Why am I passionate about this?

Mystery and crime novels have always been my favorite genre. I love the suspense and intrigue, the intricate storylines, and the clever plot twists. In middle school, while my friends were reading more age-appropriate books, I was reading The Godfather and The Spy Who Came In from the Cold. Is it any wonder then that Siena Ricci, the main character of my debut novel Gullible, is a shrewd and cunning female con artist? I had so much fun developing Siena’s story arc and creating the criminal world she inhabits that I decided to continue her narrative in a sequel, with plans for a third novel to round out the trilogy. 

Rosemary's book list on crime novels about good people who do bad things

Rosemary Kubli Why did Rosemary love this book?

Having recently lost his wife to cancer, Chris Lowndes purchases a county home in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales and returns to his native England. Although the home is charming, it comes with a disturbing history. The previous owner died in the home during a winter blizzard more than fifty years earlier, and his beautiful and much younger wife was hanged after being found guilty of poisoning her husband.

Lowndes becomes obsessed with their story and his determination to uncover the truthWas the poisoning accidental or done on purpose?–kept me wondering why he felt such a strong connection with this condemned woman.

This story is a beautifully told, enthralling page-turner. Be prepared for a revelation that will bring tears to your eyes.

By Peter Robinson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Through years of success in Hollywood composing music for Oscar-winning films, Chris Lowndes always imagined he would come full circle, home to Yorkshire with his beloved wife Laura. Now he's back in the Yorkshire Dales, but Laura is dead, and Chris needs to make a new life for himself. The isolated house he buys sight unseen should give him the space to come to terms with his grief and the quiet to allow him to work. Kilnsgate House turns out to be rather more than he expected, however. A man died there, sixty years ago. His wife was convicted of…


Book cover of Gallows View

John Barlow Author Of Right to Kill: A gripping Yorkshire murder mystery for 2022 (DS Joe Romano crime thriller series book 1)

From my list on regional crime fiction in Britain.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write crime fiction set in the north of England. It’s where I was born and grew up, although for the last 20 years I’ve lived in Spain. I really love novels with a local or regional flavour. The kind of writing that takes you to a specific place, and draws on that place in the action itself. The writers that I chose for this list all do this extremely well. And although their books are set in different locations, they share the sense of the setting almost becoming a character in the story.

John's book list on regional crime fiction in Britain

John Barlow Why did John love this book?

When Peter Robinson passed away in 2022, he had written 28 novels in the Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks series.

Robinson needs no introduction here, but I have included him on this list because he sets these novels in a fictional town in the Yorkshire Dales, close to where I grew up, and also because he was very encouraging to me personally when I wrote my first Joe Romano novel.

Whereas the books are very much mainstream crime novels, they also have a literary quality to them. He manages to achieve a fine balance between genre fiction and a more literary style. You often forget that you’re reading crime at all.

The series was also made into TV series (DCI Banks) starring Stephen Tompkinson, which ran for five series, and really captures the essence of the books.

By Peter Robinson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A Peeping Tom is frightening the women of Eastvale; two glue-sniffing young thugs are breaking into homes and robbing people; an old woman may or may not have been murdered. Investigating these cases is Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, a perceptive, curious and compassionate policeman recently moved to the Yorkshire Dales from London to escape the stress of city life. In addition to all this, Banks has to deal with the local feminists and his attraction to a young psychologist, Jenny Fuller. As the tension mounts, both Jenny and Banks' wife, Sandra, are drawn deeper into the events. The cases…


Book cover of All Creatures Great and Small

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer Author Of Hayley and the Hot Flashes

From my list on entertaining stories about relationships.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a small town, with wonderful librarians who introduced me to books I remember fondly to this day. The Flicka, Ricka, Dicka series, the Bobbsey Twins, Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew, and, of course, Little Women shaped my love for stories about relationships and the simple pleasures of daily life. Whether it’s a mystery or a memoir, I want interesting interactions between the main characters, meaty descriptions of daily activities and affairs, and, of course, a happy ending. As I’ve gotten older, I like books with older protagonists; those are hard to come by—one reason I wrote a novel about the adventures of five middle-aged girlfriends!

Jayne's book list on entertaining stories about relationships

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer Why did Jayne love this book?

As entertaining as the PBS series about Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriott (pseudonym for author James Alfred Wight) is, the book is even better.

A blend of memoir, travelogue, and journal, Herriott’s tales of life among the farmers of England’s Yorkshire Dales are heartwarming, hilarious, and riveting. From his familial relationships with the Farnon brothers, with whom he lives, to the sometimes endearing, sometimes mercurial encounters with his patients—both the 2-legged and 4-legged variety—reading the adventures of this country vet is both informative and engaging.

You’ll go places you never imagined, want to watch the series—original and remake—all over again, and will, if you’re like me, make a solemn pledge to visit the Dales before you die! 

By James Herriot,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked All Creatures Great and Small as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

A tie-in to the PBS Masterpiece series and Christmas special, available on streaming and home video.

All Creatures Great and Small is first volume in the multimillion copy bestselling series. Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.

For fifty years, generations of readers have flocked to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike…


Book cover of Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Jennifer Saint Author Of Elektra

From my list on grief and complicated family dynamics.

Why am I passionate about this?

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with the unbroken chain of storytelling that stretches from the ancient world to the present day, which is why I write mythological retellings. So many myths tackle grief and families in all their myriad forms and shapes, and their continued existence shows us how storytelling is a healing process and always has been. We can see our own complicated family relationships and the profound impact of love and loss reflecting back to us across the centuries. Fiction continues to do this for us today too and I’ve chosen the modern books which I think do this the best. 

Jennifer's book list on grief and complicated family dynamics

Jennifer Saint Why did Jennifer love this book?

My copy of this book is battered, dog-eared, and creased from the sheer number of times I’ve read and re-read it. It’s an absolutely glorious family saga, recounted by Ruby who narrates her own conception in the first chapter and takes us back through generations weaving together all the different stories that lead up to the events of her own life. It’s brilliantly funny and heartbreaking and it skewers the oddities and dysfunction of family relationships so perfectly. Characters wrestle with their grief, they deny it and suppress it and it rears up to overwhelm them but ultimately they find their way through. I’m with them every step of the way, unable to put the book down whenever I pick it up again…and again! 

By Kate Atkinson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Behind the Scenes at the Museum as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Whitbread Book of the Year, 1995. Ruby was born while her father was in the pub. Her mother, Bunty, had never wanted to marry him, and dreamt of being swept off to America by a romantic hero, but instead, was stuck in a flat with her three children. This is the family's story.


Book cover of The Coffin Path

S.P. Oldham Author Of Wakeful Children: A Collection of Horror and Supernatural Tales

From my list on creepy British ghost stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in South Wales, where ghost stories are cherished. As a child, I spent many a winter evening telling spooky tales with my mum and my sisters, sitting before the fire. We would record them on tape (I am that old) complete with homemade sound effects, then play them back to listen to. I loved the combined fear and excitement these stories instilled in me. My father also loved to read horror and scary fiction, which had some influence on what I chose to read as I grew older. For someone who always loved to write, I think publishing in this genre is simply a natural extension of all that.

S.P.'s book list on creepy British ghost stories

S.P. Oldham Why did S.P. love this book?

First of all, the title. Intriguing, original, enigmatic. That is what first drew me to this book. I had to find out more about it.

This book is much more in the style of traditional ghost stories, which I love. A spooky, desolate setting in an old house with a long history. I love the build-up of suspense, the remote location adding to the sense of isolation and helplessness, everything cold, chilly. 

The ghostly happenings, whilst perhaps not original, are very well done, which is just fine with me. Traditional ghost stories are meant to have certain elements that are standard, just as fantasy stories must have certain magical aspects. As far as ghost stories are concerned, as long as they make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, I’m happy. This book does that extremely well, I thought. Absolutely dripping with spooky atmosphere.

By Katherine Clements,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

**Longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown**

An eerie and compelling ghost story set on the dark wilds of the Yorkshire moors. For fans of The Witchfinder's Sister and The Silent Companions, this gothic tale will weave its way into your imagination and chill you to the bone.

'Spine-tingling... the scariest ghost story I have read in a long time' Barbara Erskine

'A wonderful, macabre evocation of a lost way of life' The Times

'Like something from Emily Bronte's nightmares' Andrew Taylor, author of The Ashes of London

Maybe you've heard tales about Scarcross Hall, the house on the old coffin…


Book cover of Ill Will

Claire O'Callaghan Author Of Emily Brontë Reappraised

From my list on Brontë sequels, prequels, spin-offs and biographies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer and academic based at Loughborough University specialising in the lives, works, and afterlives of the Brontës. As a Lecturer in English, I teach and research different aspects of the Brontës writings. Alongside my own biography of Emily, I have published widely on the Brontës, including material on Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Emily Brontë’s poetry, and Charlotte's letters. I have also written about how the Brontës inspire contemporary authors, poets, and screenwriters. As well as rereading the siblings’ novels (I love Charlotte’s Shirley!), I’m fascinated by the many biographies and bio-fictions generated about this great Yorkshire family. I hope you enjoy these recommendations!

Claire's book list on Brontë sequels, prequels, spin-offs and biographies

Claire O'Callaghan Why did Claire love this book?

Another incredible rewriting of Wuthering Heights and one that’s as dark and Gothic as Emily’s momentous original. In Ill Will, Michael Stewart picks up Emily’s narrative at the point when Heathcliff, having heard Cathy declare that it would degrade her to marry him, departs the Heights. Stewart unravels the tale of where Heathcliff went during the three years that he was missing from Cathy’s world and imagines what happened to him to make him return in such a vengeful guise. Ill Will is also a rewriting that takes up the issue of race, for here, Heathcliff is a young black man and his departure from the Heights prompts him to trace Mr. Earnshaw’s walk to Liverpool in the hope of finding out who he is. 

By Michael Stewart,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'An astonishing novel' The Independent

I am William Lee: brute; liar, and graveside thief.

But you will know me by another name.

Heathcliff has left Wuthering Heights, and is travelling across the moors to Liverpool in search of his past.

Along the way, he saves Emily, the foul-mouthed daughter of a Highwayman, from a whipping, and the pair journey on together.

Roaming from graveyard to graveyard, making a living from Emily's apparent ability to commune with the dead, the pair lie, cheat and scheme their way across the North of England.

And towards the terrible misdeeds - and untold riches…


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