Fans pick 26 books like Don't Lie to Me

By Willow Rose,

Here are 26 books that Don't Lie to Me fans have personally recommended if you like Don't Lie to Me. 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 We Need to Talk about Kevin

Kate Robards Author Of Only The Guilty Survive

From my list on thrillers inspired by real events.

Why am I passionate about this?

My new thriller centers around a small, mysterious cult and their shocking demise. For years, I’ve read true crime books on the subject, and I wanted to infuse the reality and truth of real-life events into my fictional novel. In a similar vein, these books represent a range of thrillers inspired by true events, ranging from cults to serial killers to teenage criminals. I hope you find these books as gripping and haunting as I do.

Kate's book list on thrillers inspired by real events

Kate Robards Why did Kate love this book?

I find this book to be an unsettling but impactful read, both thought-provoking and complex. We Need to Talk about Kevin follows the mother of a troubled teenager responsible for a school shooting.

It’s about nature versus nurture, the relationship between mother and child, and deeply seated guilt. It draws inspiration from real events, including the 1999 shooting at Columbine, which wasn’t the U.S.’s first mass shooting at a school, but it would become one of the most infamous.

Shriver’s novel raises unsettling questions about a mother’s guilt and self-justification and a community’s heartache and blame. I consider it to be a captivating and moving book.

By Lionel Shriver,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked We Need to Talk about Kevin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2010

ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD

Eva never really wanted to be a mother; certainly not the mother of a boy named Kevin who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker and a teacher who had tried to befriend him. Now, two years after her son's horrific rampage, Eva comes to terms with her role as Kevin's mother in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her absent husband Franklyn about their son's upbringing. Fearing that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son has become, she confesses to…


Book cover of Your Son is Alive

Sharon A. Mitchell Author Of Gone

From my list on psychological thrillers to stimulate your mind and heart.

Why am I passionate about this?

The human mind fascinates me. Perhaps that’s why I got a PhD in Psychology, and have spent decades in the counseling field. That, of course, brought me in touch with all kinds of minds. Why do people do the things they do, make the choices they live with? We learn patterns in childhood that keep us safe. What if those patterns no longer work in adulthood, or worse, were built on false beliefs? Do life’s events shape us or do they merely show who we were all along? In my psychological thrillers, I explore such things. Even the bad guys have their stories.

Sharon's book list on psychological thrillers to stimulate your mind and heart

Sharon A. Mitchell Why did Sharon love this book?

You know those books that stick with you years after you read them? Well, this is one. Rich characters that feel so real. The anguish of losing a child and the hope that even fifteen years down the road, you might be reunited. Parents who act as I would. A situation so plausible, you are right there with them. Love it when I can’t put a book down.

By James Scott Bell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Fifteen years ago their son was taken.
Now somebody says they can have him back.



Dylan and Erin Reeve have lived with a gaping emotional wound ever since their five-year-old son, Kyle, was kidnapped in broad daylight.


And never found.


Though the shadow of their loss hangs heavy, Dylan and Erin have managed to get on with their lives, even finding bits of happiness along the way.


Until one night when a crayon-scrawled note is slipped under Dylan Reeve's door.


All it says is, Your son is alive.


Could it be true?


Or is it a sick game played by…


Book cover of The Couple in The Cabin

Sharon A. Mitchell Author Of Gone

From my list on psychological thrillers to stimulate your mind and heart.

Why am I passionate about this?

The human mind fascinates me. Perhaps that’s why I got a PhD in Psychology, and have spent decades in the counseling field. That, of course, brought me in touch with all kinds of minds. Why do people do the things they do, make the choices they live with? We learn patterns in childhood that keep us safe. What if those patterns no longer work in adulthood, or worse, were built on false beliefs? Do life’s events shape us or do they merely show who we were all along? In my psychological thrillers, I explore such things. Even the bad guys have their stories.

Sharon's book list on psychological thrillers to stimulate your mind and heart

Sharon A. Mitchell Why did Sharon love this book?

Don’t you love it when you don’t know who is the victim and who is the villain? A cheating husband, caught by his distraught wife. Now she’s out for revenge. You could understand her initial reaction, couldn’t you? But wait, is there more to this? I loved the twists in this story.

By Daniel Hurst,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

They’ll do anything to get out. She’ll do anything to keep them in.

When happily married Grace comes home early one night and catches her husband, Dominic, with another woman in the cabin at the bottom of their garden, she is shocked, angry, and most of all, hell-bent on revenge. That’s why she acts quickly, locking the pair in the cabin while she decides what she wants to do to them.

While Dominic and his mistress desperately try to get free, Grace makes a plan on the outside, but it’s a plan that is formed based on her previous experiences.…


Book cover of Say You Love Me

Sharon A. Mitchell Author Of Gone

From my list on psychological thrillers to stimulate your mind and heart.

Why am I passionate about this?

The human mind fascinates me. Perhaps that’s why I got a PhD in Psychology, and have spent decades in the counseling field. That, of course, brought me in touch with all kinds of minds. Why do people do the things they do, make the choices they live with? We learn patterns in childhood that keep us safe. What if those patterns no longer work in adulthood, or worse, were built on false beliefs? Do life’s events shape us or do they merely show who we were all along? In my psychological thrillers, I explore such things. Even the bad guys have their stories.

Sharon's book list on psychological thrillers to stimulate your mind and heart

Sharon A. Mitchell Why did Sharon love this book?

Families. What can I say? They can be weird beasts, and none less so than the family of detective Eva Rae Thomas.
A father who kidnapped her sister from a grocery store when they were children. A brother she didn’t know existed. Ignored by her family for decades, can she refuse their call for help? Many would, in a case where nothing is as it seems.

By Willow Rose,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Say You Love Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Former FBI-profiler Eva Rae Thomas is back and embedded in a true nightmare reaching deep into her own family. What would you do if your brother was accused of a horrible crime, and you were certain he didn’t do it?

Life is not done throwing Eva Rae Thomas curveballs.

A phone call turns her life upside down – once again.

The call is from her father, the man she hasn’t seen in thirty-six years, not since he kidnapped her sister in a supermarket.

Now, he is back in Florida, and he needs her help.

Her younger brother – whom she…


Book cover of Have You Ever Seen?

Barbara Ann Mojica Author Of Little Miss History Travels to Mount Vernon

From my list on for all ages to enjoy.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a parent, grandparent, retired educator, historian, and children’s book author, I am an avid reader and advocate for children’s literacy. My forty years of experience working with children and their families gives me the background and expertise to identify high-quality books and the types of subjects that children will want to read and adults in the family will enjoy sharing with them.

Barbara's book list on for all ages to enjoy

Barbara Ann Mojica Why did Barbara love this book?

I adore the Auntie Lily character who has a penchant for telling silly stories. Each of these stories composed in clever rhymes feature a silly animal doing something outrageous. Children become interactive partners visualizing and acting out the hijinks like a stork riding on a subway train or a fly that works for the FBI. The fun continues because readers get ten riddles to solve at the end of the tale. This book is fun for the whole family from preschooler to grandma!

By Sarah Mazor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Have You Ever Seen? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 2, 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

Have You Ever Seen? is a perfect read right before sleep, as you lighten the mood with Auntie Lily's silly rhymes and thus guarantee bedtime with a smile :)Silly Auntie LilyWho’s tall and also smallImagines silly thingsThat make no sense at allShe tells us silly storiesAnd does so all in rhyme'Cause silly Auntie Lily Is silly all the timeHave fun and help your child develop with Have You Ever Seen? - the hilarious first in the READY TO READ children's books series about funny, silly, and nonsensical situations that will have you and your kids rolling with laughter.


Book cover of A Cold Dark Place

C.F. Francis Author Of Sanctuary Island

From my list on romantic suspense twists to make your head spin.

Why am I passionate about this?

I walked to the library every Saturday to find a new mystery. I think I read everyone and read some more than once. As I matured, I discovered the mixture of romance and suspense I was hooked. I literally read every book in the genre’ at my local library. 

C.F.'s book list on romantic suspense twists to make your head spin

C.F. Francis Why did C.F. love this book?

A romantic suspense with an unlikely hero with a dark, murderous past and a female FBI agent with a history that haunts her.

It is packed with action and an ending that will shock you. It’s a story of redemption, self-forgiveness, and righting wrongs. A real page-turner.

Alex Parker has become one of my all-time favorite characters. A former CIA agent and now a computer wizard is forced to kill those that escape justice to settle a debt. 

By Toni Anderson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Cold Dark Place as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

She's an FBI agent hunting her twin sister's killer. He's an assassin who'll die to keep her safe. His secret will destroy them both.

Read this award-winning novel from a New York Times bestselling author with over five-thousand 5-star reviews on Goodreads!

FBI agent Mallory Rooney spent the last eighteen years searching for her identical twin sister’s abductor. With a serial killer carving her sister’s initials into the bodies of his victims, Mallory thinks she may finally have found him.

Former soldier Alex Parker is a highly decorated but damaged war hero with a secret—he’s a covert government assassin who…


Book cover of Prince of Thieves

William J. Warner Author Of Gold Line to Lenox: An Odyssey of Crime, Love & Betrayal

From my list on cops in pursuit of the bad guys.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion is writing crime fiction and more. William J. Warner is my name. I am a retired FBI Agent who worked violent crime cases. I developed a wealth of experience interviewing seedy people around the globe. As such, I love writing their dialogue and incorporating it with those of good intentions. I’ve written seven books. My degrees are in business, forensic psychology, and law. My novels include Holdup Number Six, Appalachian Impasse, Gold Line to Lenox, Going Knee to Knee with FBI Polygraph, Ohio Boys, Hoosier Fields, and Jewels In The Sand where I digressed into a love & war saga with a tear-jerking finish.

William's book list on cops in pursuit of the bad guys

William J. Warner Why did William love this book?

Having worked bank robberies as a former FBI Special Agent, I have a keen sense as to what makes these people tick. Most are quite ignorant, however, occasionally clever planning takes place by those as brazen as Hogan has portrayed here. A true masterpiece, Chuck Hogan does a splendid job bringing his characters to life in all the real-life depictions you will enjoy. This is a gut-wrenching roller coaster mixing crime with romantic infatuation to the point you can’t stop reading. I’ll admit, once the movie came out, I had to get the book and now it’s one of my all-time favorite crime thrillers.

By Chuck Hogan,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Prince of Thieves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the author of The Strain comes a tense, psychologically gripping, Hammet award-winning thriller.

Four masked men—thieves, rivals, and friends from the tough streets of Charlestown—take on a Boston bank at gunpoint. Holding bank manager Claire Keesey hostage and cleaning out the vault were simple. But career criminal Doug MacRay didn't plan on one thing: falling hard for Claire. When he tracks her down without his mask and gun, their mutual attraction is undeniable. With a tenacious FBI agent following his every move, he imagines a life away from his gritty, dangerous work—a life centered around Claire. But before that…


Book cover of Atomic Love

Kitty Zeldis Author Of The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights

From my list on historical novels that feature bad-ass women.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a girl growing up in the 1960s, I loved books that were set in the past—Anne of Green Gables, A Little Princess, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn were among my favorites. But those books weren’t historical fiction because they were written back then. So discovering that I could set my own books in the past was a thrill. I love evoking the sights, sounds, and smells of the past. And I especially love describing what my characters wear. Vintage clothes are my passion and being able to incorporate that love into my work is an ongoing delight.

Kitty's book list on historical novels that feature bad-ass women

Kitty Zeldis Why did Kitty love this book?

A novel about a young woman who worked on the atomic bomb and fell in love with one of the other scientists on the project who breaks her heart into a million pieces so she abandons her career and takes up as a shop-girl? Add in an FBI agent who is on the tail of the cad and wants her help in finding him? Count me in!

Fields is terrific at creating mood and the 1950s milieu. And the unexpected romance between Rosalind, the one-time scientist, and Charlie, the FBI agent, is both moving and immensely satisfying—these are two wounded souls who manage to find each other and by the end, you’re out of your chair and cheering.

By Jennie Fields,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The stunning novel about our fiercest loyalties, deepest desires and the power of forgiveness

'A highly-charged love story' DELIA OWENS, bestselling author of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

'This story has everything. Just thinking about it makes me feel that lovely feeling where your heart seems to skip a beat' 5***** Reader Review
________

Chicago, 1950: Rosalind Porter is unfulfilled, heartbroken and angry.

Five years ago her career as a scientist was sabotaged by the man who also broke her heart: former Manhattan Project colleague Thomas Weaver.

Now, out of the blue, Thomas gets back in touch: he urgently needs to…


Book cover of Second Wind

Leah St. James Author Of Adrienne's Ghost

From my list on series that should be made into movies or TV shows.

Why am I passionate about this?

Aside from reading (preferably at the beach), one of my favorite pastimes is watching movies or TV with my husband. We enjoy analyzing plots and talking about what we do or don’t like, what surprised us, or how we might have handled a scene differently. It seems the better ones are most often based on novels, usually with strong, well-developed characters, emotional punch, interesting settings, and/or hard-to-guess plot twists. This is my list of stories I think are strong in those characteristics and would make great movies or TV shows/series.

Leah's book list on series that should be made into movies or TV shows

Leah St. James Why did Leah love this book?

This story is filled with quirky characters, a beautiful backdrop, suspense, and sweet romance, perfect for a romantic comedy. Escaping an abusive fiancé, Laurel McDowell flees with her feisty feline Rufus and her few belongings to her family home in California’s Big Sur. Trouble quickly follows. Soon, she is embroiled in a money laundering conspiracy and finds herself in the cross-hairs of the Russian Mafia. Luckily, FBI forensic accountant Jake Carlson is on the case. This author has a gift for humor, and I found myself chuckling as I read. The supporting characters—Laurel’s restaurateur mother, her two artist sisters, and a high school friend—are likable to the point I wish I could take a cross-country drive to visit. 

By Alison Henderson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Action. Suspense. Mystery. Romance.

Desperate to escape her abusive fiancé, sculptor Laurel McDowell pawns her engagement ring, loads everything she owns into her VW Beetle, and heads for the sanctuary of her family home in Big Sur.

After her ex’s body washes up on Carmel beach, she finds herself dragged into a scheme involving money-laundering Russians, a pair of bikers named Snowflake and Twitchy, and a hot FBI number-cruncher who’s more comfortable in a T-shirt and shorts than a suit.


Book cover of Take the Monkeys and Run: A Barbara Marr Murder Mystery

Maria Schneider Author Of One Good Eclair: A Nutrition Mafia Mystery

From my list on humorous, non-paranormal, cozy mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

Cozy mysteries tend to exist in a simpler world, one without extreme violence and heavy swearing. They are often set in bucolic settings, but they deal with murder! I love many of the cozy tropes—tea, cats, dogs or other pets, family shenanigans, food. I think it’s family nuances that draw me the most to cozies. Whether it’s a romantic comedy or just one full of capers and laughter, cozies are my favorite genre.

Maria's book list on humorous, non-paranormal, cozy mysteries

Maria Schneider Why did Maria love this book?

This is soccer mom meets the film True Lies, with monkeys thrown in for good measure. This caper has laughs, fun, romance, and pacing that had me finishing it in one sitting. Barbara Marr’s mid-life crisis doesn’t end in divorce and finding new love—no, this is more clever.

And after book one, Barb and her friends continue finding dead bodies and household crisis’ that anyone over forty can appreciate. The whole neighborhood is often involved in Barbara Marr capers, each one a tangled mess of clues, mishaps, and criminals.

By Karen Cantwell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Film lover Barbara Marr is a typical suburban mom living the typical suburban life in her sleepy little town of Rustic Woods, Virginia. Typical, that is until she sets out to find the missing link between a bizarre monkey sighting in her yard and the bone chilling middle-of-the-night fright fest at the strangely vacant house next door. When Barb talks her two friends into some seemingly innocent Charlie's Angels-like sleuthing, they stumble upon way more than they bargained for and uncover a piece of neighborhood history that certain people would kill to keep on the cutting room floor.Enter sexy PI…


Book cover of We Need to Talk about Kevin
Book cover of Your Son is Alive
Book cover of The Couple in The Cabin

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