Love Night Shift? Readers share 100 books like Night Shift...

By Stephen King ,

Here are 100 books that Night Shift fans have personally recommended if you like Night Shift. 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 The Talented Mr. Ripley

Brandi Bradley Author Of Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder

From my list on fabulous fakes books about frauds and phonies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am always enthralled by stories about people who are faking it. I want to read any story where someone either inflates their importance to get their foot in the door, scrambles to keep their secrets from being revealed, or flat-out lies and scams people out of millions. Lying is incredibly human, and witnessing how long one will keep a lie going is fascinating to me because it’s always a house of cards that will eventually tumble. Most crime stories and mysteries revolve around someone desperately trying to keep something in their life secret, and often that comes from a space of gaining access to affluence or making sure you keep your affluence.

Brandi's book list on fabulous fakes books about frauds and phonies

Brandi Bradley Why Brandi loves this book

Highsmith does not write likable characters, and the talented but unlikeable Ripley fakes his way through a luxury tour of Europe and has no plans to stop. She wrote multiple sequels to Ripley’s stories, allowing readers to see how he lies, cheats, steals, and kills his way into the most glamorous life.

I realize now that one of the characters in Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder was inspired by Dickie Greenwood because Dickie was a guy trying to escape privilege but not wanting to escape any of the perks of being privileged. He ignores how all the family money and connections make it possible to escape to an all-expense-paid villa on another continent. He was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.

By Patricia Highsmith ,

Why should I read it?

27 authors picked The Talented Mr. Ripley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's here, in the first volume of Patricia Highsmith's five-book Ripley series, that we are introduced to the suave Tom Ripley, a young striver seeking to leave behind his past as an orphan bullied for being a "sissy." Newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan, Ripley meets a wealthy industrialist who hires him to bring his playboy son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from gallivanting in Italy. Soon Ripley's fascination with Dickie's debonair lifestyle turns obsessive as he finds himself enraged by Dickie's ambivalent affections for Marge, a charming American dilettante, and Ripley begins a deadly game. "Sinister and strangely alluring"…


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Book cover of Dawn of Eve

Dawn of Eve by MJ Howson,

On the surface, Dawn Easton seems to have it all. Heiress to a fashion empire, and with a gorgeous younger boyfriend, there’s almost nothing she can’t have. Yet, despite her wealth and power, there’s one thing that’s remained out of reach her entire life—giving birth. As her 40th birthday inches…

Book cover of Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood

William P. Robertson Author Of Ghosts Revisited

From my list on classic horror story collections.

Why am I passionate about this?

My Swedish grandmother first introduced me to the horror genre when I was a small boy. Her folktales of trolls and witches really fueled my imagination! Then, when I was in junior high, my father encouraged me to read Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I didn’t get hooked on things Gothic, however, until I heard the lyrics of Jim Morrison and the Doors in high school. After college, I became a freelance writer. I quickly learned that 80% of my spooky stuff got accepted by magazines while only 10% of my general interest work was published. That said, it’s no wonder I became a horror writer! 

William's book list on classic horror story collections

William P. Robertson Why William loves this book

The Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood features the author’s scariest tales, including “The Willows” and “The Wendigo”. Blackwood piles detail after detail atop one another until the reader nearly suffocates from the gloom and terror they create! He also squeezes much fear from isolated places like Canada and the Danube River.

By Algernon Blackwood ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A woman of snow . . . a midnight caller keeping his promise . . . forests where Nature is deliberate and malefic . . . enchanted houses . . . these are the beings and ideas that flood through this collection of ghost stories by Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). Altogether thirteen stories, gathered from the entire corpus of Blackwood's work, are included: stories of such sheer power and imagination that it is easy to see why he has been considered the foremost British supernaturalist of the twentieth century.
Blackwood's ability to create an atmosphere of unrelieved horror and sustain it…


Book cover of Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre: The Best of H. P. Lovecraft

William P. Robertson Author Of Ghosts Revisited

From my list on classic horror story collections.

Why am I passionate about this?

My Swedish grandmother first introduced me to the horror genre when I was a small boy. Her folktales of trolls and witches really fueled my imagination! Then, when I was in junior high, my father encouraged me to read Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I didn’t get hooked on things Gothic, however, until I heard the lyrics of Jim Morrison and the Doors in high school. After college, I became a freelance writer. I quickly learned that 80% of my spooky stuff got accepted by magazines while only 10% of my general interest work was published. That said, it’s no wonder I became a horror writer! 

William's book list on classic horror story collections

William P. Robertson Why William loves this book

The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre showcases some of the weirder stories of the horror genre. “The Rats in the Walls” and “The Thing on the Doorstep” put the “f” in fear! H.P.’s evil space creature, Cthulhu, also makes an appearance in this anthology.

By H. P. Lovecraft ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“H.P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the twentieth century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale.”—Stephen King

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”—H.P. Lovecraft

This is the collection that true fans of horror fiction must have: sixteen of H.P. Lovecraft’s most horrifying visions, including:

The Call of Cthulu: The first story in the infamous Cthulhu mythos—a creature spawned in the stars brings a menace of unimaginable evil to threaten all mankind.
The Dunwich Horror: An evil man’s desire to perform an unspeakable…


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Book cover of Kill Crime

Kill Crime by Mike Slavin,

Winner Literary Titan Gold Book Award-Case and Trish Teal PI seek justice—fast-paced action and surprises everywhere. Takes place in Houston, Vegas, and rural Texas. He hunts the murders and unrelated tangles with the mob.

There is a book in a book on killing bad guys. Loved it! Top-Notch Thriller! Thought-provoking!…

Book cover of Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

HP Newquist Author Of Behemoth

From my list on horror masterpieces from a horror writer.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by scary movies, creature features, and books that tell tales of the strange and supernatural. Years later, my own books explored those things that scare us, from monsters of the deep and the ways we die to the mythology of blood. Research for those books led me into realms that explained why we fear the things we do. Many of those fears are found in horror novels, which provide an endless source of fright, release, and entertainment within their haunting pages. I can’t think of any other genre of writing that takes its readers on such a joyously terrifying ride.

HP's book list on horror masterpieces from a horror writer

HP Newquist Why HP loves this book

Sometimes, you have to get your horror in small bites. When I have a limited amount of time to read (like waiting in an airport), I go straight to the original horror master, Edgar Allan Poe. No one else compresses so many terrifying emotions into so few pages. Fear, dread, loathing, anxiety, unease, and panic are something I expect–and am rewarded with–every time I read Poe.

I started reading his work in grade school, and when I found this collection in college, it became one of my prized possessions. There’s a familiarity in Poe’s tales that I have with very few other authors. I still keep this on my bookshelf for short reads like Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Pit And The Pendulum.

By Edgar Allan Poe ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This single volume brings together all of Poe's stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary history.


Book cover of More Haunted Northern New York

William P. Robertson Author Of Ghosts Revisited

From my list on classic horror story collections.

Why am I passionate about this?

My Swedish grandmother first introduced me to the horror genre when I was a small boy. Her folktales of trolls and witches really fueled my imagination! Then, when I was in junior high, my father encouraged me to read Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I didn’t get hooked on things Gothic, however, until I heard the lyrics of Jim Morrison and the Doors in high school. After college, I became a freelance writer. I quickly learned that 80% of my spooky stuff got accepted by magazines while only 10% of my general interest work was published. That said, it’s no wonder I became a horror writer! 

William's book list on classic horror story collections

William P. Robertson Why William loves this book

More Haunted Northern New York by hometown girl, Cheri Revai, examines the region’s ghostly tales with a journalistic eye. History and horror go hand-in-hand in such stories as “DocRoc’s Z Bar,” “Spanky’s Diner,” “The House at the Racket,” and “Burrville Cider Mill.” Photos of each haunted place help bring these horrors to life.

By Cheri Farnsworth ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked More Haunted Northern New York as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Another fascinating compilation of true ghost stories and spirit encounters from around the North Country region. Cheri Farnsworth has done it again, weaving unbelievable bits of Northern New York history into these new chilling accounts of ghostly encounters and deftly illustrating the very personal nature of encounters with the spirits of deceased loved ones in this admirable follow-up to her best-selling book, "Haunted Northern New York."


Book cover of The Shining

Mia Dalia Author Of Haven

From my list on renting a haunted house for vacation.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Mia Dalia. I write dark speculative fiction across genres. A lot of it is psychological horror, which I love! My latest novel features a rather unique haunted house and a family who spend their summer vacation there. Hauntings are a theme I have visited before in shorter forms and were very excited to explore in full. My goal here was to deconstruct the myth of an all-American happy family within the frame of a classic may-or-may-not-be-haunted house. Those who have dared to stay in Haven have been profoundly unsettled. It is a hungry house, always looking for more visitors. I hope you’ll come for a stay!

Mia's book list on renting a haunted house for vacation

Mia Dalia Why Mia loves this book

And speaking of hotels, there is, of course, the infamous Overlook Hotel, staying in which does terrible things to the Torrance family. I loved the idea of the place jeopardizing people’s sanity as it reveals its nightmarish secrets to them. Plus, a haunted hotel concept really works for me–why limit yourself to a single-family history of horrors when you can have a variety?

This book is a more in-your-face approach to the haunted house theme and, in my opinion, incredibly effective as such. Also, this one traps its characters, and the readers along with them, inside a winter storm to double down on that stuck-can't-leave feeling. Brr.

By Stephen King ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Before Doctor Sleep, there was The Shining, a classic of modern American horror from the undisputed master, Stephen King.

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around…


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Book cover of Friends Like These

Friends Like These by James V. Irving,

Joth Proctor is an under-employed, criminal defense lawyer based in Arlington, Virginia, where a mix of southern charm, shady business dealings, and Washington, D.C. intrigue pervade the story. Upon the suspicious death of the wife of a close friend, Proctor enters a tangled web of drug and alcohol abuse, real…

Book cover of Anton B. Stanton and the Pirats

Sam Gayton Author Of Lilliput

From my list on miniature stories about the miniature.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in featureless suburbia, where the streets of identical bungalows seemed scrubbed of anything miraculous. Maybe that’s why I came to be fascinated, as a kid, with the idea of tiny things. Here was magic that might exist in my backyard: miniature people trooping through lawns as if they were forests, riding ladybugs, and carrying bramblethorn spears! These daydreams formed some of the first stories I wrote, as a child. And they’ve continued to fascinate me as a reader, and a writer, ever since. I’ve tried to pick stories that might have slipped out of sight amongst ‘bigger’ brethren like The Burrowers and Gulliver’s Travels. I hope you enjoy them!

Sam's book list on miniature stories about the miniature

Sam Gayton Why Sam loves this book

A Tom Thumb-type fable, and the first story about the miniature that I remember being enthralled by. Anton B. Stanton sails a castle moat like it’s a sea, and gets captured by Pirats (I didn’t get the lame pun until I was a grown-up and buying the book for my own son). It was the first book that held out the promise of tiny, miraculous adventures happening right under my nose. 

By Colin McNaughton ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anton B. Stanton and the Pirats as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A boy no bigger than a tea cup is forced to walk the plank by his rat captors and then returns to their pirate ship to free the kidnapped water rat princess.


Book cover of The Toymaker

Sam Gayton Author Of Lilliput

From my list on miniature stories about the miniature.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in featureless suburbia, where the streets of identical bungalows seemed scrubbed of anything miraculous. Maybe that’s why I came to be fascinated, as a kid, with the idea of tiny things. Here was magic that might exist in my backyard: miniature people trooping through lawns as if they were forests, riding ladybugs, and carrying bramblethorn spears! These daydreams formed some of the first stories I wrote, as a child. And they’ve continued to fascinate me as a reader, and a writer, ever since. I’ve tried to pick stories that might have slipped out of sight amongst ‘bigger’ brethren like The Burrowers and Gulliver’s Travels. I hope you enjoy them!

Sam's book list on miniature stories about the miniature

Sam Gayton Why Sam loves this book

I just don’t know why this book isn’t talked about more. It’s so brooding and brilliant and horrifying. Heavily influenced by Philip Pullman’s masterful Clockwork (there’s sinister automata, and creepy clockmakers, and a snow-bound Germanic feel), it contains one of the most awful and terrifying antagonists in all of children’s literature. Nasty and enchanting — the very darkest and grimmest of tales.

By Jeremy de Quidt ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Toymaker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

What good is a toy that will wind down? What if you could give a toy a heart? A real heart. One that beat and beat and didn't stop. What couldn't you do if you could make a toy like that?

From the moment that the circus boy, Mathias, takes a small roll of paper from the dying conjuror, his fate is sealed. For on it is the key to a terrifying secret, and there are those who would kill him rather than have it told.

Pursued by the sinister Dr. Leiter with his exquisite doll and malevolent dwarf, preyed…


Book cover of The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

Frances McNamara Author Of Molasses Murder in a Nutshell: A Nutshell Murder Mystery

From my list on real women in criminology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was frustrated by stories of gilded-age women who floundered around and were pitied because of the limitations society put on them. I thought the heroine of House of Mirth was not heroine but a loser. It seemed to me there must be other women out there who weren’t just sitting around bemoaning their predicament. Since I’m a mystery writer I was especially pleased to find some women who were out there doing things, even in criminology. Finding Frances Glessner Lee was the icing on the cake when I learned that she is known as the Mother of Forensic Science. Had to be great stories there.

Frances' book list on real women in criminology

Frances McNamara Why Frances loves this book

A book of photographs that show the Nutshell Studies in great detail.

This book inspired me to learn more about the wealthy woman who spent so much time creating these hugely detailed crime scenes.

Why? It took more research to learn that she had developed a passion for teaching investigators to follow the old saying "convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth in a nutshell.”

It seems to me this is what the investigator is always trying to do in mystery stories, like the 9 I had already written in my Emily Cabot Mysteries. If a picture is worth a thousand words, these pictures suggest a lot of stories.

By Corinne May Botz ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death offers readers an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a master criminal investigator. Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy grandmother, founded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard in 1936 and was later appointed captain in the New Hampshire police. In the 1940s and 1950s she built dollhouse crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence. Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the…


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Book cover of Forget to Remember

Forget to Remember by Alan Cook,

Carol Golden isn't her real name. She doesn't remember her real name or anything that happened before she was found in a Dumpster, naked and unconscious, on the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California.

After helping her get some initial medical treatment, government at all levels officially declares her…

Book cover of The Knife Thrower: and Other Stories

Hugh Sheehy Author Of Design Flaw

From my list on the world as a dream.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve loved fiction that excites my mind and imagination since I was very young. I spent a lot of time in the library growing up, mostly reading horror and historical narratives. Later, I became interested in music, painting, film, philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, religion, and politics. I’m not an expert in anything—I’m too driven to make things to be a good scholar—but these are the subject areas that inform what I write.

Hugh's book list on the world as a dream

Hugh Sheehy Why Hugh loves this book

Millhauser’s stories are miracles. He combines the wonderstruck imagination of the fairy tale lover with surpassing technical expertise, and the result is beautiful art. This collection’s title story, for instance, is simultaneously a fairy tale, an exploration of group morality, a rigorous demonstration of the Freytagian dramatic structure, and a gripping story from start to finish.

By Steven Millhauser ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Knife Thrower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Included in this short story collection is "The Sisterhood of the Night", now a major motion picture. From the bestselling author of Martin Dressler, this volume explores the magnificent obsessions of the unfettered imagination, as well as the darker, subterranean currents that fuel them.
 
With the panache of an old-fashioned magician, Steven Millhauser conducts his readers from the dark corners beneath the sunlit world to a balloonist's tour of the heavens. He transforms department stores and amusement parks into alternate universes of infinite plentitude and menace. He unveils the secrets of a maker of automatons and a coven of teenage…


Book cover of The Talented Mr. Ripley
Book cover of Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood
Book cover of Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre: The Best of H. P. Lovecraft

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