Fans pick 100 books like Her Deadly Game

By Robert Dugoni,

Here are 100 books that Her Deadly Game fans have personally recommended if you like Her Deadly Game. 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 How the Light Gets In

Cyndi L. Stuart Author Of Deadly Yours

From my list on mystery books with a SMACK.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been an avid reader of murder mysteries since I was a kid when my grandmother gave me my first Agatha Christie novel for Christmas. What I love about Christie and the books I’ve picked here is that just when you think you have the whole thing figured out, the writers give you a big SMACK up side the head. So, whether the mysteries are cozies, courtroom dramas or femme noir, they all give you that moment toward the end where you cry out loud, “No way!” and then flip furiously back through the pages to see how you missed it.

Cyndi's book list on mystery books with a SMACK

Cyndi L. Stuart Why did Cyndi love this book?

Louise Penny has hooked me again with another great installment in the Inspector Gamache series. I was so excited when I opened the book and found I would be returning to Three Pines for a new murder and an old story line Penny has been dangling in front of me since book one.

Both are resolved in this book (I think, but you never know) and the end is more than satisfying. There's still a lot of unfinished business in that little town and this incredible cast of characters just keeps me coming back for more. Moreover, (I remind my husband every time I start a new book in the series), I would run away with Armand Gamache if given even the slightest chance. 

By Louise Penny,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked How the Light Gets In as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How the Light Gets In is the ninth Chief Inspector Gamache Novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny.

"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." —Leonard Cohen

Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it's a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn't spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining…


Book cover of Death by Sample Size

Cyndi L. Stuart Author Of Deadly Yours

From my list on mystery books with a SMACK.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been an avid reader of murder mysteries since I was a kid when my grandmother gave me my first Agatha Christie novel for Christmas. What I love about Christie and the books I’ve picked here is that just when you think you have the whole thing figured out, the writers give you a big SMACK up side the head. So, whether the mysteries are cozies, courtroom dramas or femme noir, they all give you that moment toward the end where you cry out loud, “No way!” and then flip furiously back through the pages to see how you missed it.

Cyndi's book list on mystery books with a SMACK

Cyndi L. Stuart Why did Cyndi love this book?

What a wild ride! Author Susie Black didn’t let me off this roller coaster until I’d twisted and turned my way through a fantastic whodunit.

The tenacious amateur sleuth, Holly Schlivinik, is VP of sales at Ditzy Swimwear, and right out of the chute, she’s in a mess of a murder. Both friends and foes are implicated, and even Holly herself looks suspicious.

The writing is witty, fast paced and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. There’s also a great group of women called the yentas, who both support Holly and have no problem telling her when she’s lost her mind. With this being the first in a series of Holly Swimsuit Mysteries, I’m going to put the kettle on and settle in for the mayhem to come. 

By Susie Black,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death by Sample Size as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Everyone wanted her dead…but who actually killed her? The last thing swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik expected was to discover ruthless buying office big wig Bunny Frank's corpse trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey with a bikini stuffed down her throat. When Holly's colleague is arrested for Bunny's murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to find the real killer. Nothing turns out the way Holly thinks it will as she matches wits with a wily murderer hellbent for revenge.


Book cover of Kat Out of the Bag

Cyndi L. Stuart Author Of Deadly Yours

From my list on mystery books with a SMACK.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been an avid reader of murder mysteries since I was a kid when my grandmother gave me my first Agatha Christie novel for Christmas. What I love about Christie and the books I’ve picked here is that just when you think you have the whole thing figured out, the writers give you a big SMACK up side the head. So, whether the mysteries are cozies, courtroom dramas or femme noir, they all give you that moment toward the end where you cry out loud, “No way!” and then flip furiously back through the pages to see how you missed it.

Cyndi's book list on mystery books with a SMACK

Cyndi L. Stuart Why did Cyndi love this book?

I found this to be a wonderful read. It's fun, entertaining, and filled with just enough twists and misdirection to keep me turning pages.

Kendall built such great characters and left just enough clues that I thought maybe the whole town had done it right up until the end. She also gave me a glimpse behind the scenes into the world of handbag design (not a subject I thought I cared about until I read this book).

A great book for a rainy afternoon. I hear she has another In Purse-Suit Mystery in the works. And who doesn't like a mystery series?

By Wendy Kendall,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When celebrated international purse designer, Katherine Watson, hosts a gala for her Purse-onality Museum, she never expected the next day's headline to read: 'Murder at the Gala Premiere.' But after a dead body is found during the event, that's exactly what happened.

Working to solve the murder, Katherine matches wits with local cop Jason Holmes and his K-9 partner, Hobbs. Although Holmes and Watson disagree often, they discover an undeniable attraction building between them. But they'll have to put their feelings on hold and focus on solving the murder, before Katherine becomes the killer's next knock off.


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Book cover of Through Any Window

Through Any Window By Deb Richardson-Moore,

Riley Masterson has moved to Greenbrier, SC, anxious to escape the chaos that has overwhelmed her life.

Questioned in a murder in Alabama, she has spent eighteen months under suspicion by a sheriff’s office, unable to make an arrest. But things in gentrifying Greenbrier are not as they seem. As…

Book cover of Revenge in 3 Parts

Cyndi L. Stuart Author Of Deadly Yours

From my list on mystery books with a SMACK.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been an avid reader of murder mysteries since I was a kid when my grandmother gave me my first Agatha Christie novel for Christmas. What I love about Christie and the books I’ve picked here is that just when you think you have the whole thing figured out, the writers give you a big SMACK up side the head. So, whether the mysteries are cozies, courtroom dramas or femme noir, they all give you that moment toward the end where you cry out loud, “No way!” and then flip furiously back through the pages to see how you missed it.

Cyndi's book list on mystery books with a SMACK

Cyndi L. Stuart Why did Cyndi love this book?

To say Revenge in 3 Parts is a page-turner doesn’t do it justice. And justice is the name of this game for Angeline Porter, a woman who makes no excuses for any and all actions needed to find out who killed her sister.

Book one of the trilogy kept me on edge, wondering what Ang was going to do at any given moment. About halfway through, I stopped trying to predict what was on the next page and just enjoyed it with full abandon.

Three cheers for the Femme Noir!

By Valerie J Brooks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Revenge in 3 Parts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A GRIPPING TALE OF REVENGE, BETRAYAL, AND JUSTICE DENIED.


Her sister is dead. The FBI, the mob, and a stalker all played a part. Now they’d better watch their backs…

Angeline Porter won’t budge from her convictions. After getting disbarred for breaking the rules to put a criminal away, the former attorney still believes in doling out justice. So when her troubled sibling takes her own life, Angeline’s quest for the truth turns into a frenzied hunt for vengeance.

Caught in a whirlpool of grief, her relentless chase for answers exposes an ugly chain of betrayal, sex, and extortion that…


Book cover of The Unquiet Grave

Sarah Loudin Thomas Author Of The Finder of Forgotten Things

From my list on making you feel like you’re in Almost Heaven, WV.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a seventh-generation West Virginian. My husband and I own the farm that’s been in my family since before the Civil War. My Appalachian roots are sunk deep, so when it comes to “writing what you know,” this is it! I was baptized in stories by my father who transformed my ancestors and my history into a living, breathing cast of characters I longed to meet. So, I began to write their stories in the guise of novels about made-up people. My seven novels (and two novellas) are love letters to the place that shaped me. 

Sarah's book list on making you feel like you’re in Almost Heaven, WV

Sarah Loudin Thomas Why did Sarah love this book?

Don’t you love that title?!? And the novel is based on a true story about a ghost who testified at her own trial. Seriously. Testimony from the Greenbrier Ghost was accepted in a court of law. I’m just sorry I didn’t get around to writing about this one before Sharyn did!

By Sharyn McCrumb,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From New York Times bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb comes this finely wrought novel set in nineteenth-century West Virginia, based on the true story of one of the strangest murder trials in American history-the case of the Greenbrier Ghost.

Lakin, West Virginia, 1930-Following a suicide attempt and consigned to a segregated insane asylum, attorney James P.D. Gardner finds himself under the care of Dr. James Boozer. Eager to try the new talking cure for insanity, Boozer encourages his elderly patient to reminisce about his experiences as the first black attorney to practice law in nineteenth-century West Virginia. In his forty-year career,…


Book cover of Their Vicious Games

Sami Ellis Author Of Dead Girls Walking

From my list on the bloodiest YA books for bad bitches.

Why am I passionate about this?

Maybe it was too much reality TV growing up, especially being raised on figures like Tiffany "New York" Pollard or A Different World's Whitley Gilbert, but bad girl protagonists are insta-buys for me. I love them, and I have a particular fondness for when they're black girls. We're already seen as so angry, but bad girl books show you not only why a girl could get to be so angry but also that you ain't seen nothing yet. I need more people to see how much joy there is in rage, and I chose to explain it with YA horror because it's a genre so driven by catharsis and mood that it's a perfect fit.

Sami's book list on the bloodiest YA books for bad bitches

Sami Ellis Why did Sami love this book?

This book was Beautiful Gowns but make it horrorand I loved every second of it. While more of a thriller than horror, the kills in this one stick with me like its comparative film, Ready or Not did.

Our main character is the resident bad girl of her private school, and once she's lost everything she worked for, she's not afraid to be the villain for the bag. I love reading about ambitious girls who leave scratch marks behind them, and Adina practically plows through the book, telling everyone, "This is not America's Next Top Best Friend." Not afraid to lie, cheat, or steal your man, I’m still glad she got everything she wanted - especially because she took it for herself.

By Joelle Wellington,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Their Vicious Games as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

“A brutally honest and haunting cautionary tale…exposing the lie that is meritocracy and the unrelenting toll that being a final girl takes. A bloody tale spun masterfully…a dark delight.” —Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, New York Times bestselling author of Ace of Spades

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this “spine-chilling thriller” (Publishers Weekly).

You must work twice as hard to get half as much.

Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for…


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Book cover of Knife Skills

Knife Skills By Wendy Church,

"Dizzying . . . Audiences who wished the TV series The Bear had made room for Russian mobsters are in for a treat" - Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

Sagarine Pfister is a great cook but has been blacklisted by almost every restaurant in Chicago. She gets her chance at Louie's,…

Book cover of Absolution

Kathleen Donohoe Author Of Ghosts of the Missing

From my list on books that feature complex friendships between women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and am the middle daughter of three. My sisters and I were close in age, and, of course, our home was girl-centered. The three of us attended the same all-girls Catholic high school, though we each had our own friends. Because of my childhood, I love books that explore how women make friends and keep them, how we let them go, and why. The genesis of friendships interests me, whether childhood, high school, college or motherhood. I love to read books by women where girlfriendships are not an afterthought or window dressing but central to the characters’ inner lives and the story being told. 

Kathleen's book list on books that feature complex friendships between women

Kathleen Donohoe Why did Kathleen love this book?

Absolution is about the wives of American men with non-combat roles in the U.S. government in Vietnam. The men have brought their families to Saigon. Tricia is a new arrival, and Charlene lures her into the insular world of the American wives. I’ve always been interested in the politics of the late 1960s in the U.S., so I found this book fascinating because it takes place in 1963, before the Kennedy assassination. 

I was captivated by Tricia and Charlene’s friendship because it is complicated and intense. I loved how Tricia is intrigued by Charlene but also intimidated by her and aware that they’d never be friends if they’d met under different circumstances. McDermott skillfully portrays the ambiguity inherent in many friendships, and I appreciated her exploration of this dynamic.

By Alice McDermott,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Named a Best Book of the Year by Time, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Kirkus Reviews, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Oprah Daily, Real Simple, and Vogue

A riveting account of women’s lives on the margins of the Vietnam War, from the renowned winner of the National Book Award.

You have no idea what it was like. For us. The women, I mean. The wives.

American women―American wives―have been mostly minor characters in the literature of the Vietnam War, but in Absolution they take center stage. Tricia is a shy newlywed, married to a rising attorney on…


Book cover of 26 Below

William Fietzer Author Of Metadata Murders

From my list on technothrillers with a cyber-security protagonist.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by the potential of the Internet ever since I chaired the Metadata subcommittee for the American Library Association. Here was a device capable of benefiting lives or destroying mankind simultaneously. Particularly intriguing was its almost supernatural ability to accomplish these ends as if we were gods beyond the realms of morality or accountability. I’m not a very spiritual person, but such potential calls out for revising our old worldviews and/or exploring new ways of coping with our burgeoning technical prowess and moral responsibilities. Dealing with these conflicts is what I write about and what stories from other authors I recommend to readers.

William's book list on technothrillers with a cyber-security protagonist

William Fietzer Why did William love this book?

The book’s opening scene caught me off-guard. An older lady dies from out-of-season Alaskan cold. Meanwhile, the heroine, Darcie Phillips, contends with the demands of her new job as Fairbanks’ Emergency Operations Center director.

Among her headaches are a rejected candidate for that position, a protest group demanding she shut down a newly installed oil pipeline, and insecurities regarding her qualifications for her position. Little does Darcie suspect the old lady’s death heralds ecological disaster if she fails to meet the demands of an unknown terrorist before the outside temperature reaches 26 degrees below zero.

The author’s use of Alaskan localisms, along with each chapter heading’s time and temperature measurements, intensifies the suspense; however, little character description and minimal display of the protagonist’s Internet abilities dampens her authenticity as a cyber expert.

By Kimberley Woodhouse,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 26 Below as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A thrill ride. . . as current as today's front-page news!"
--Colleen Coble, USA Today best-selling author

In her new role as Emergency Operations Center director for Fairbanks, Alaska, Darcie Phillips prevents disasters. But none of her training can prepare her for the terror that's coming.

As a cybersecurity specialist, Jason Myers is determined to ferret out any threats to the town he now calls home--and that includes his reckless brother and his ecoterrorist friends.

When an old woman's wild prediction--widespread destruction as soon as the Fairbanks temperature falls to 26 below--hits national headlines, neither Darcie nor Jason sees a…


Book cover of Powerless

Dakota Davies Author Of Falling for My Best Friend

From my list on friends to lovers books for those in their romance era.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been drawn to the idea of a friendship turning into lasting love. When two people are friends first, they can be vulnerable with each other, support each other, and develop a tender intimacy before the fireworks. My young adult years as a tomboy and outdoor education instructor meant I was often the only girl among many guys, and I developed some very deep and meaningful friendships. My first love was also a tender friend first, and I’ll never forget the power of our bond. Writing friends to lovers stories always feels like home to me. Enjoy these five friends to lovers “must-reads”!

Dakota's book list on friends to lovers books for those in their romance era

Dakota Davies Why did Dakota love this book?

I am a sucker for lifelong friends to lovers with a bit of the taboo, and this book delivered!

Our hero is a sexy hockey player with a dark past, and our heroine is a dancer with an overprotective and controlling family. When, on her wedding day, she learns the jerk she’s being forced to marry has been cheating on her, she runs right into the arms of her childhood crush and friend Jasper, who offers to whisk her away so she can figure out what to do and how to face her parents.

Jasper and Sloane were made for each other from page one, and I loved rooting for them! Add in the delightful small-town vibes, the belonging that comes from being part of an amazing, tight-knit family, and some steamy times, and it’s a recipe for an all-nighter (reading, that is).

Though this story is part of a…

By Elsie Silver,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Two childhood friends. Two broken hearts. One impromptu road trip to get away from everything. That's all this was supposed to be.

To Jasper Gervais's fans, he's the handsome, talented hockey heartthrob on TV. But to Sloane, he'll always be the lost boy with the sad eyes and a heart of gold.

The man she's loved in secret all her life.

So when her life falls apart on the day she's supposed to marry someone else, it only makes sense that he's the one to swoop in and save her. And when his world comes crashing down around him, she's…


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Book cover of Down a Bad Road

Down a Bad Road By Regina Buttner,

Jealousy can be deadly.

Ron Burley has a rule against messing around with married women, but lovely Lavender has convinced him to break it. Their steamy affair sets someone off, but it isn’t Lavender’s clueless husband—it’s Marta, Burley’s clingy childhood friend and ex-lover. 

Hoping to win Burley back, Marta dangles…

Book cover of The Push

Barrie Miskin Author Of Hell Gate Bridge: A Memoir of Motherhood, Madness and Hope

From my list on motherhood and madness.

Why am I passionate about this?

I came to writing later in life – at age forty-two. Writing was something I had always wanted to do. Still, it wasn’t until I experienced something that was in some ways extraordinary and in some ways prevalent–the inadequate treatment of maternal mental health and maternal health in general–that I felt my story had to be told. While maternal mental illnesses are expected, there is a shortage of books on the topic. When I was deep inside my illness, I searched for any story that might mirror my own and had difficulty finding one. With this list, I hope to help anyone who needs a hand to reach out to. 

Barrie's book list on motherhood and madness

Barrie Miskin Why did Barrie love this book?

I picked this book up at 3 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon and didn’t put it down until I finished the last page at 1 o’clock on a Sunday morning.

This unique thriller explores what happens when you don’t become the mother you expected to be and struggle to connect with your child. It is all at once brilliant, nuanced, and propulsive.

Audrain lays bare the complexities of the nature of maternal love, generational trauma, and skirting the fine line between sanity and madness.

By Ashley Audrain,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Push as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | A New York Times bestseller!

"Utterly addictive." -Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train

"Hooks you from the very first page and will have you racing to get to the end."-Good Morning America

A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family-and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for-and everything she feared

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.

But in the thick of…


Book cover of How the Light Gets In
Book cover of Death by Sample Size
Book cover of Kat Out of the Bag

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