100 books like Everyone Burns

This is a twisted romantic suspense that delivers a gripping read.

Romance and suspense merge when a decade-old secret turns deadly. The opening chapter thrust me into the murder of Reagan Asher’s grandmother. Not getting what they wanted, the culprits set their sights on Reagan. Passed events become the premise of this novel, and Reagan must come to terms with her grandmother’s death and her father’s betrayal to stay alive and uncover the truth.

The unpredictable nature of this story was a winner for me.

This is not your average detective story.

This was a different and enjoyable read for me. An escort turns detective when one of her customers is murdered. While this delves into the life of an escort, it is a ‘murder mystery’ with the focus on solving the murder of her client, and not her services.

The main character is delightfully forward in her reasoning, and I was invested from the start. So much so, and very intriguingly, while the story is told in the POV of the escort, I did not learn her name at all. And even stranger, it was only at the end that I realized this.

While this may not be classed as a suspense novel, it is just that for me. It is a brutal, honest, and heartbreaking story that lived on long after I finished reading it. Touching on dementia and Down Syndrome, the author weaves a magic web of true understanding and heartfelt emotions. 

Irene's strength, sense of responsibility, family, and love for her husband, Sam, make this a beautiful read. For Irene, it isn’t only about coming to terms with the loss of her sister, Rose, but finding out what happened the night that Rose died… and the truth is very different from what Irene thinks she saw.

This is a true story of a Russian spy that I found poetically sad yet uplifting.

This is a tale with no happy ending. And yet, ex-KGB naval intelligence officer Sergei leaves behind a compelling legacy of strength and bravery. His fight to ‘do the right thing’ and leave behind a regime that would eventually kill him is very real.

This is a plunge into a world of spies, murder, mistrust, and suffering. It filled me with awe and sadness, and it is not one I will forget easily.

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. 

Corris and his protagonist, the hard-scrabble private detective Cliff Hardy, are quintessentially Australian. The Dying Trade introduces Cliff (smoker, drinker, ex-boxer) and sets the standard for all the books that follow in this series. It’s dry and laconic, with a wonderful sense of place (a very gritty 1980s Sydney). There’s a definite nod to the greats— Chandler and Hammett in this series; you know Cliff Hardy probably shouldn’t take this job, it’s odds-on he’ll cop a beating along the way, possible he’ll find love and lose it again. I enjoy the author’s economy with words and the moral complexity of his characters. If you like hard-boiled crime, this series is worth a look!

*Note: Sydney is much nicer than it may seem when you walk in Corris’s shoes!

Intricately woven romantic suspense set in New Orleans.

I love a book where the ending is a surprise, and the characters are entertaining and intelligent. You will fall in love with the secondary characters. Gabe is a chef who father is dead, but the authorities call it a suicide. He doesn’t believe it and hires a private investigator, Molly.

There are good cops and some really bad cops. Fantastic ride. Finished it in one sitting. 

If you love crime fiction there is no one who writes it better than Agatha Christie. Each one of her books transports you on an adventure where you become part of the crime scene, working to solve the murder before he or she gets away. In Death on the Nile, the vivid descriptions of the ship, the pyramids and the slow winding journey, and even the funny Belgian detective is so well developed you can’t help but be transported. It’s like traveling to exotic locals via armchair.

This book combines romance and suspense, humor, and action, all in one package. Shane, a P. I., and Gabriel, a security expert, are separately investigating a person of interest. They eventually cooperate to catch their villain. This is a slow-burn romance with a stiff-upper-lip Brit, working for Cipher Systems in Chicago and an amputee who takes no prisoners. Their explosive mix makes for an exciting ride with a great love story. 

I loved that both Gabriel and Shane live in The Manor, which is the former British consulate. I’d live there myself if I could afford it. Having characters situated in neighborhoods that I know makes the reading experience more authentic. I also loved how Shane handles being an amputee. Her scenes with her prosthetics designer are hilarious.

I first met Wren's character, Conan Flagg when I was a teenager. I'd picked up this book in a secondhand bookshop and decided to give it a try. Even at that time, the book had been out for over ten years, so it was already a bit dated, but Wren's writing and plotting drew me. Set in a small seaside town in Oregon, this book contains a cast of quirky, unique characters that outshine any of the archaic references that make this book seem a bit out of date. You tend to forget that smoking in public is no longer as acceptable as it was when this book was written. Curiosity Didn't Kill the Cat is a great start to this eight-book series. Although these books were out of print for many years, they've recently been reprinted, and I've enjoyed getting reacquainted with the series.