98 books like Hither, Page

It’s the roaring twenties—fast cars, slinky dresses, and international spy agencies. Will Darling, a former soldier turned bookshop owner, gets stuck into a mystery, and it’s all so much fun.

Will has a wonderfully dark sense of humor, his love interest Kim is morally gray but tries hard, the supporting characters sparkle, and although it’s escapism all the way down, it’s the highest class of escapism. This is the first of a trilogy, and they’re all delicious and frothy.

In this book, we get to watch philologist Percival Endicott Whyborne solve a dark mystery from his past and battle an evil cult in the company of Griffin Flaherty, an ex-Pinkerton turned private detective, and it is delightful.

Widdershins, MA feels like a real place, but also somewhere plucked directly from the pages of H. P. Lovecraft. Whyborne and Griffin’s relationship is sweet and tender. Whyborne’s best friend, Christine Putnam, is a spitfire in the best possible way. The early twentieth century is rendered in loving detail. And there’s a ton of dark humor. What’s not to love?

This is book one in a series of eleven, so you’ll have plenty to sink your teeth into.

I have to admit, although I know a lot about gods, I haven’t spent a ton of time reading about folkloric creatures, like faeries, brownies, and selkies. This book, set in a gothic old house in the English countryside in the 1850s, definitely made me feel my neglect of the topic; luckily, I got to learn alongside magician John Blake and Lord Thornby as they investigate the spell that’s holding Thornby trapped.

One remarkable thing about this book is the intriguing and clever magic system. The romance is great. And the twist at the end—well, I didn’t see it coming.

This book is set in an alternative Mediterranean during what feels like the 400s BCE. There are a lot of would-be philosophers floating around and being pretentious (the philosophy major in me rejoiced). There’s Damiskos, a former soldier with a limp who investigates a mystery. And there’s Varazda, a nonbinary dancer who’s also a spy.

Although the murder plot was a lot of fun, and the multiple cultures and languages the author plays with are exciting, the real highlight of this book is the way the two main characters talk through and negotiate their relationship. Both of them have been hurt in different ways and have baggage, and the way they figure out consent between them, the discussions and power balancing, is a delight.

Sri Lankan photojournalist Maali Almeida is stuck in purgatory and determined to find out how he died. Maali is no saint, and his questionable antics—both his sexual exploits and the questionable work he took on during Sri Lanka’s civil war—come back to haunt him as he slips in and out of places he had been when he was alive.

I loved the irreverence, the humor, and the insights into a civil war I knew little about and I was endlessly fascinated by the portrayal of purgatory and the afterlife.

I like this very violent book because it shows how the love of two fathers for their murdered sons overcomes their own racial and sexual prejudices.

One father is a white redneck and the other is a Black ex-con. Their sons married each other and have been estranged from their fathers because of their homosexuality. When they are murdered, these two men must link up and exact both justice and revenge. What a great premise!

Cosby nicely shows how the two men grow to understand and accept each other because of this higher calling. It ends in blood.

I'm a political junkie. And if you want Veep in book form, this is for you. Are Thom and Clay likable? Eventually, yes! Is the premise completely nuts? Totally, and I love it.

I am a huge sucker for enemies-to-lovers. And pining. And the public lens being trained on our MCs. And this one has it all. The banter, the chemistry, everything you want in a romance, plus the absurd US political system is like a cherry on top. 

Okay, I have a type, but to be fair, I would recommend anything Hall had written.

This one is my favorite. Snarky British humor? Check. Flawed MC with a checkered past? Check. Uptight lawyer with a heart of gold? Check. Fake dating? Chemistry that leaps off the page? Check and check.

This book will make you laugh out loud, cheer, and cry real tears. Underneath the hilarity, there is real heart and soul to Hall's writing. You will root for Luc and Oliver like they're your own idiot friends who cannot see how in love with each other they are.

Fadeout is the first book in Hansen’s Dave Brandstetter mysteries. The protagonist, an openly gay insurance investigator in 1970s California, is convinced that a man who has been reported dead is actually still alive, and he must hurry to find him. Another classic in the gay mystery canon, Fadeout is vividly noir, grittily honest, and rejects cliches and stereotypes in a way that is still shocking over fifty years later.

My first sexual experience after I moved to London in 1957 was with a slightly older man I met at one of the parties I got invited to after my book was published. When we got to his flat I knew enough to take my clothes off and lie down on the bed, but what was I supposed to do then? Clueless, I lay there like a stick of celery. “You’re not gay,” he kept repeating. “Yes I am,” I kept repeating, but didn’t know how to prove it.

Too many years later, in 1966, The Song of the Loon filled in the blanks of how gay men actually had sex. It’s very well-written explicit erotica, a backwoods fantasy about impossibly handsome masculine men living far from those city gays corrupted by shame and disappointment. Song is no quick potboiler. It’s a gay author’s well-realized attempt to bring to life… show more.