70 books like North Bay Road

This was the book that I brought on vacation with me, and then it forced me to ignore my entire family. 

It’s a dark and gothic medieval murder mystery with Criminal Minds vibes but in a YA Fantasy setting. A rare moon magic gives our protagonist Catrin, the ability to see through the eyes of victims as they’re claimed by a serial killer, and the suspect may be closer to her than she thinks. 

This book kept me up late into the night, trying to figure out who the culprit was and leaving me to suspect almost the entire cast. It’s incredibly unique, and I’m not sure I’ve come across another book like it. It was just as riveting the second time through.

This book surprised me based on the twists involved with the characters’ relationships with each other, especially for three of them.

The fact that they were all trapped in the same location helped raise the stakes for everyone suspecting each other of the crime. Those that trusted each other might even cover up for each other – with later plot reveals showing what happened otherwise.

This made it hard for me as a reader to figure out which characters were innocent or guilty, but I enjoyed the challenge of figuring out who did it! 

I love books that cross romance genres, and Lovely Digits qualifies as it’s a historical romantic suspense. I was hooked from the first page where the heroine, Lucy, deals with a particularly unruly case. I read this book while waiting to pick up my twins from school and at all times of day. 

The book revolves around two murders committed in the sleepy Victorian town of Clun, England, where an unlikely partnership forms between the new constable and the quirky heroine. Can they combine forces and prevent a third murder?

I liked how Lucy was ahead of her time as well as relatable and likeable. She cared for her sister and her cat while still proving her intelligence to the town and the hero while winning his heart.

I loved the movie with Nicole Kidman, and I loved the book by Joyce Maynard, too!

It’s not exactly a true factual account of how New Hampshire school teacher Pamela Smart got her teenage lover to murder her husband in 1990. But the book is clearly inspired by that sensational news event. Sex, murder, betrayal, adultery–this book has it all.

It's an even better fictional story than the real story it came from.  

Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie in Julie Klassen’s Shadows of Swanford Abbey. Rebecca is bidden by her recluse brother to get his manuscript published by an author residing at the abbey. A mysterious death occurs for which Rebecca is a suspect. Even worse, the man she used to care for is the presiding magistrate. Klassen is always faithful in detailing Regency elements in every single area of her work from the clothing, jury procedures, customs, architecture, etc. The mystery was seamlessly woven into the history.

Frances lives in the Victorian Era in London, but in her hometown of New York, it’s the Gilded Age. This is her background in all its glittering and horrifying glory. 

Crime novels fit quite naturally in this era. I love a loathsome villain and Rosemary Simpson serves up some of the worst in her Gilded Age series. She uses actual events, like the great blizzard of 1888, as catalysts for some heinous crimes. If you needed to dispose of a body, what better place than a snowdrift? 

Prudence MacKenzie, the dead man’s fiancé and our sleuth, doesn’t seem to realize the danger she’s in. I spent the entire read on the edge of my seat wondering if she’d make it to the end of the book alive. This is historical noir in elegant Gilded Age style.

This is the second book in the Texas Murder Files series and Griffin is the author who brought us the Tracers books (another great series. Go read it!) In Flight, Miranda is desperately trying to take a break and recoup from a far too stressful job. We can all relate. But when she stumbles upon a murder, her skills as a forensic photographer mean her break is over. Local Detective Joel is just the hero we need and the tension builds slowly and wonderfully. This is great romantic suspense!

Early on, what the then-publisher sought, and what the characters preferred apparently diverged, because a few of the titles have an “alternate universe” relationship with the main mystery world.

That didn’t bother me one bit, when the characters and the historical aspects of Napoleonic Britain are so well drawn. Grant is particularly adept at exploring the odd corners of this time period—the diplomatic convolutions, New World repercussions, and sociological upheaval in Britain itself following Waterloo.

As the series progresses, the main protagonists build a community of sleuths, and the relationships complexify right along with the politics. Absolutely wonderful!

Including novellas (two of them prequels), this series is closing in on 30 titles.

Ilona Andrews is a husband-and-wife team that writes realistic, diverse characters and edgy, complex storylines. From the unique, somewhat sci-fi Innkeeper Chronicles to the gritty post-shift world of the Kate Daniels series and the powerful families of the Hidden Legacy series, the Andrews team excels at next level world building, flawed, relatable characters, and I love every one of their books, but Blood Heir is my favorite because it has a strong grown-up street kid with a found family vibes and is a tension-filled slow burn romance, with a strong, intelligent, compassionate, witty female protagonist. 

Dani Pettrey is the master of suspense and romance! So if you’re wanting a story that will thrill you in alllllll the feels, this is it! It’s the first of a trilogy and has characters you will fast be drawn to. She doesn’t hold back on the action or the suspense. Pettrey provides us with a story that is fast-paced and designed to be read with your eyes half-closed holding your breath for the next high-octane moment. And her heroes? Don’t get me started. (insert all the heart emojis here)