100 books like Open for Murder

By Mary Angela,

Here are 100 books that Open for Murder fans have personally recommended if you like Open for Murder. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Dead Season

Elena Taylor Author Of All We Buried: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery

From my list on female sleuths in small, rural towns.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started reading crime fiction when I was a very young child. My granny introduced me to mysteries through authors like Tony Hillerman, who wrote books set in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. That early introduction into mysteries set in small towns and rural areas stuck. My books also focus on smaller towns and rural areas, which I love to visit through fiction or in real life. I have often made my home in a small town and work as a crime fiction author and a developmental editor, so I have an eye for both solid mysteries and life in a rural community.

Elena's book list on female sleuths in small, rural towns

Elena Taylor Why did Elena love this book?

I love the way the author brings protagonist Shana Merchant's past into her present situation.

I always enjoy books that layer in family history and events from a character’s background to show how they were formed by their experiences. I also love a solid police procedural that shows off a talented detective doing what she does best.

The rural environment made the story even tenser for me as Detective Merchant finds herself back in her small hometown. I am a big fan of this series.

By Tessa Wegert,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Senior Investigator Shana Merchant has spent years running from her past. But she never imagined a murder case would drive her to the most dangerous place of all—home. 

After leaving the NYPD following her abduction by serial killer Blake Bram, Shana Merchant hoped for a fresh start in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York. Her former tormentor has other plans. Shana and Bram share more than just a hometown, and he won’t let her forget it. When the decades-old skeleton of Shana's estranged uncle is uncovered, Bram issues a challenge: Return home to Vermont and solve the cold case,…


Book cover of An Evil Heart

Elena Taylor Author Of All We Buried: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery

From my list on female sleuths in small, rural towns.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started reading crime fiction when I was a very young child. My granny introduced me to mysteries through authors like Tony Hillerman, who wrote books set in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. That early introduction into mysteries set in small towns and rural areas stuck. My books also focus on smaller towns and rural areas, which I love to visit through fiction or in real life. I have often made my home in a small town and work as a crime fiction author and a developmental editor, so I have an eye for both solid mysteries and life in a rural community.

Elena's book list on female sleuths in small, rural towns

Elena Taylor Why did Elena love this book?

I loved how this book immerses the reader in the Amish community. Not only is it set in a small, rural town, but it’s also centered around an insular subgroup in that area. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is a character I truly admire.

She’s tough and smart but also struggles with her own personal issues, making her an authentic character that I can relate to. I love this series and can’t wait to read more.

By Linda Castillo,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates the brutal death of a young Amish man in An Evil Heart, the latest installment of the bestselling series by Linda Castillo.

On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. Aden Karn was just twenty years old, well liked, and from an upstanding Amish family. Who would commit such a heinous crime against a young man whose life was just beginning?

The more Kate…


Book cover of Hidden Rooms

Elena Taylor Author Of All We Buried: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery

From my list on female sleuths in small, rural towns.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started reading crime fiction when I was a very young child. My granny introduced me to mysteries through authors like Tony Hillerman, who wrote books set in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. That early introduction into mysteries set in small towns and rural areas stuck. My books also focus on smaller towns and rural areas, which I love to visit through fiction or in real life. I have often made my home in a small town and work as a crime fiction author and a developmental editor, so I have an eye for both solid mysteries and life in a rural community.

Elena's book list on female sleuths in small, rural towns

Elena Taylor Why did Elena love this book?

A dynamic debut that drew me into the story from page one. I found the descriptions of the landscape acted like another character, pitting the protagonist against the environment as well as the killer. Long-distance runner Riley suffers from mysterious symptoms, which made me root for her even more because she has so much to overcome.

I love a good amateur sleuth who does the best they can, even if investigating a murder is far outside their wheelhouse, and they have no experience with those kinds of stakes. I’m looking forward to reading this author’s second book. She has an authentic voice, which I believe will only get better with experience.

By Kate Michaelson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

You can run fast. You can run far. But you can't outrun your family.

Long distance runner Riley has been fighting various bewildering symptoms for months, from vertigo to fainting spells. Worse, her doctors can't tell her what's wrong, leaving her to wonder if it's stress or something more threatening. But when her brother's fiancee is killed-and he becomes the prime suspect-Riley must prove his innocence, despite the toll on her health.

As she reacquaints herself with the familiar houses and wild woods of her childhood, the secrets she uncovers take her on a trail to the real killer that…


Book cover of Girls Who Burn

Elena Taylor Author Of All We Buried: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery

From my list on female sleuths in small, rural towns.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started reading crime fiction when I was a very young child. My granny introduced me to mysteries through authors like Tony Hillerman, who wrote books set in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. That early introduction into mysteries set in small towns and rural areas stuck. My books also focus on smaller towns and rural areas, which I love to visit through fiction or in real life. I have often made my home in a small town and work as a crime fiction author and a developmental editor, so I have an eye for both solid mysteries and life in a rural community.

Elena's book list on female sleuths in small, rural towns

Elena Taylor Why did Elena love this book?

I loved the twisty way this debut author stayed ahead of me with her plot. This is a YA novel, but I found the characters, especially the protagonist Addie Blackwood, instantly accessible, even though my teen years are far behind me. The prose was tense and active, taking me on a nonstop rollercoaster ride.

The author deftly combined the very real danger to the characters with the complexity of teen love, which kept me guessing what would happen next. It made me nostalgic for my own teenage years while simultaneously glad I never had to face a terrifying situation like Addie does! 

By MK Pagano,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Girls Who Burn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Eighteen-year-old Addie Blackwood regrets nothing more than one horrible, mistake-filled night last summer. Hours after she hurled the worst words she could think of at her sister, Fiona was found dead at the bottom of a ravine. The police ruled her death an accident, but Addie's never bought it. Her ballet-prodigy sister didn't slip and fall; she was pushed. And Addie's number one suspect: Thatcher Montgomery, the rich kid down the street who always had a thing for Fiona.

But when Thatcher is found dead in the same ravine, Addie must admit she was wrong. And now her only ally…


Book cover of Confessions of the Fox

Cailean Steed Author Of Home

From my list on gender and identity by trans and nonbinary writers.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up, I wasn't aware of many books or stories featuring characters outside the gender binary. There was George from The Famous Five (whom I loved), and later, there were the films The Silence of the Lambs and Boys Don’t Cry. Not exactly a heartening picture! Nowadays, there is a library’s worth of literature examining the interplay of gender and identity and featuring trans and non-binary characters. This is a list of five of my absolute favorite books by trans and non-binary writers that explore gender and identity–I hope that they speak to you in the way they did to me. 

Cailean's book list on gender and identity by trans and nonbinary writers

Cailean Steed Why did Cailean love this book?

I have never read anything quite like this book. Rosenberg takes the story of the folk hero Jack Sheppard and re-imagines it as the tale of a trans man who first escapes indenture then becomes a hero to the people after a daring escape from prison. He falls in love with Bess Khan, who has fled tragedy in the fenlands to become a revolutionary in eighteenth-century London.

Rosenberg also ingeniously uses footnotes to create the unforgettable character of Professor Voth, who begins by investigating the rediscovered manuscript of Sheppard’s story and ends up telling his own story as well. 

I was blown away by the sheer detail, invention, and joy of this riotous story, which blends adventure, queer love, despair, and hope in equal measure. The range and diversity of the characters are mindblowing–I just can’t recommend it enough!

By Jordy Rosenberg,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Confessions of the Fox as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, 2019
Finalist for the Publishing Triangle Award, 2019

A New Yorker Book of the Year, 2018
A Huffington Post Book of the Year, 2018
A Buzzfeed Book of the Year, 2018

'Quite simply extraordinary... Imagine if Maggie Nelson, Daphne du Maurier and Daniel Defoe collaborated.' Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent

Jack Sheppard - a transgender carpenter's apprentice - has fled his master's house to become a notorious prison break artist, and Bess Khan has escaped the draining of the fenlands to become a revolutionary mastermind. Together, they find themselves at the center…


Book cover of Orlando: A Biography

Donna M. Lucey Author Of Sargent's Women: Four Lives Behind the Canvas

From my list on women who broke the rules—or new ground.

Why am I passionate about this?

A New York Times bestselling author, I love excavating the lives of eccentric, strong-willed women. There’s the thrill of the chase—holding handwritten letters and diaries and uncovering, bit by bit, the story of each woman—and the adventure of encountering the unexpected: Wandering through a rattlesnake-infested Montana cabin (Photographing Montana 1894-1928: The Life and Work of Evelyn Cameron); being woken by a ghost while staying at a decaying Astor mansion in the Hudson Valley (Archie and Amélie: Love and Madness in the Gilded Age); climbing 200 stone steps to reach the Royal Archives in Windsor Castle, while the recently-departed Queen Elizabeth was in the courtyard below (Victoria’s Island, in process). Such fun.

Donna's book list on women who broke the rules—or new ground

Donna M. Lucey Why did Donna love this book?

Because even its subtitle is subversive. Written as a valentine to Woolf’s lesbian lover, the book is anything but a biography. It is a gender-bending, time-traveling work of fiction that stretches from Elizabethan England to modern times—with the central character never aging, but changing sex. The book explores the fluidity of gender while poking fun at the pageantry and conventions of aristocratic English life, as well as taking to task the English tradition of male primogeniture. Fans of the book must also watch director Sally Potter’s brilliant film adaptation, Orlando, that stars a young, transcendent Tilda Swinton. 

By Virginia Woolf,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Orlando as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.

'The flower bloomed and faded. The sun rose and sank. The lover loved and went. And what the poets said in rhyme, the young translated into practice.'

Written for her lover Vita Sackville-West, 'Orlando' is Woolf's playfully subversive take on a biography, here tracing the fantastical life of Orlando. As the novel spans centuries and continents, gender and identity, we follow Orlando's adventures in love - from being a lord in the Elizabethan court to a lady in 1920s London.

First published in 1928, this tale of unrivalled…


Book cover of Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night

Felicia Davin Author Of Thornfruit

From my list on fantasy with polyamory.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write fantasy romance, or romantic fantasy, and one of my favorite things this little genre niche can do is use its otherworldly setting to re-examine our preconceived notions of romantic relationships. Polyamory exists in the real world, of course, so surely it should also exist in worlds with hauntings, spells, magic-powered giant mecha, and gods who intervene in mortal fates. Here are some books I have loved that make polyamory a fundamental part of their fantasy worldbuilding.

Felicia's book list on fantasy with polyamory

Felicia Davin Why did Felicia love this book?

This beautiful and immersive novella is a winter-solstice-themed story about a woman and a genderqueer character who have nothing in common except for their mysterious, chaotic, magical, missing boyfriend. His magical experiment goes wrong and finding him requires them to cooperate. They make their way through a strange and wonderful set of clues that bring them closer together. Layla and Nat were both so richly drawn, and the contrast between their ordinary lives and the eerie, ineffable nature of the magic made the book so memorable for me. The whole cast is marvelously queer, and I laughed out loud a couple of times. A gem.

By Katherine Fabian, Iona Datt Sharma,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The world you know is underneath the substance of another, with cracks in the firmament that let the light of its magic in…

Layla and Nat have nothing in common but their boyfriend – enigmatic, brilliant Meraud – and their deep mutual dislike. But when Meraud disappears after an ambitious magical experiment goes wrong, they may be the only ones who can follow the trail of cryptic clues that will bring him safely home.

To return Meraud to this world, the two of them will confront every obstacle: the magic of the wild unknowable, a friendly vicar who's only concerned…


Book cover of Ana on the Edge

Caroline Huntoon Author Of Skating on Mars

From my list on best sports books that center queer youth.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an accidental sports writer. While I played a few sports as a child and went as Sporty Spice for one ill-advised Halloween, I didn’t grow up on a steady diet of sports stories. I just didn’t get it. Sure, I heard stories of triumphant soccer seasons and rag-tag baseball teams, but they didn’t capture my interest. But then I grew up… and books became more diverse. I started revisiting sports novels after writing my debut novel. Seeing authors use sports as a way to explore queerness has changed my understanding of sports stories and given me a new appreciation for the genre. I can’t get enough!

Caroline's book list on best sports books that center queer youth

Caroline Huntoon Why did Caroline love this book?

This was the first published book I read with a nonbinary main character. That alone makes it one of the most personally important books I have ever read. The fact that I encountered it just after writing my own novel about a nonbinary figure skater made this beautiful book hit even harder.

It showed me that even though two books may have the same hook and some of the same basic ingredients, the execution can be diverse and take those ingredients in directions you never expected. It sparkles, both in its descriptions of figure skating and in its nuanced and honest exploration of identity. It also makes for an excellent read-aloud book.

By A.J. Sass,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Ana on the Edge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Twelve-year-old Ana-Marie Jin, the reigning US Juvenile figure skating champion, is not a frilly dress kind of kid. So, when Ana learns that next season's program will be princess themed, doubt forms fast. Still, Ana tries to focus on training and putting together a stellar routine worthy of national success.

Once Ana meets Hayden, a transgender boy new to the rink, thoughts about the princess program and gender identity begin to take center stage. And when Hayden mistakes Ana for a boy, Ana doesn't correct him and finds comfort in this boyish identity when he's around. As their friendship develops,…


Book cover of Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story

Allan Hunter Author Of GenderQueer: A Story from a Different Closet

From my list on LGBTQIA+ YA on coming out and coming of age.

Why am I passionate about this?

Allan D. Hunter came out as genderqueer in 1980, more than 20 years before “genderqueer” was trending. His story is autobiographical: the story of a different kind of male hero, a genderqueer person's tale. It follows the author from his debut as an eighth grader in Los Alamos, New Mexico until his unorthodox coming out at the age of twenty-one on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque. 

Allan's book list on LGBTQIA+ YA on coming out and coming of age

Allan Hunter Why did Allan love this book?

Jacob Tobia’s genderqueer coming-out story is the first real genderqueer memoir to be published and carried by a mainstream press.

He’s passionately serious about it but also entertaining and funny, and he makes the concept ‘genderqueer’ easy to understand. He’s a good teacher. And by having already previously come out as gay, he underlines the distinction between sexual orientation and gender identity. 

By Jacob Tobia,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"Transformative ... If Tobia aspires to the ranks of comic memoirists like David Sedaris and Mindy Kaling, Sissy succeeds." --The New York Times Book Review

A heart-wrenching, eye-opening, and giggle-inducing memoir about what it's like to grow up not sure if you're (a) a boy, (b) a girl, (c) something in between, or (d) all of the above.

"A beautiful book . . . honest and funny."--Trevor Noah, The Daily Show
"Sensational."--Tyler Oakley
"Jacob Tobia is a force." --Good Morning America
"A trans Nora Ephron . . . both honest and didactic." --OUT Magazine
"A rallying cry…


Book cover of Girl Mans Up

Jules Machias Author Of Both Can Be True

From my list on young adult and middle grade transgender stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a trans parent of a trans teen. (I didn’t do it on purpose. It just worked out that way.) I’m always looking for books by trans authors that accurately reflect transgender experiences at every life stage, but particularly during middle school and the teen years. The books I’ve selected are my favorites because they’re authentic—and because they let readers learn difficult, complicated lessons through fiction. When I’m not writing books, reading books, editing books, or eating books for dessert, I’m caring for my disabled dogs, dirt-biking with my kid, or drawing near an open window with a mug of green tea and some lo-fi beats.

Jules' book list on young adult and middle grade transgender stories

Jules Machias Why did Jules love this book?

“I want to be a boyfriend who is a girl.” — Pen Oliveira, protagonist and all-around badass. While this YA novel isn’t specifically about being trans, it does explore gender from the angle of a girl who dresses like a boy, hangs out with the boys, and likes girls—much to the consternation of her parents. Pen does a lot of heavy thinking about what “girl,” “boy,” “man,” and “woman” mean, whether any of these labels apply to her, and the damage that results when others saddle her with expectations according to their own definitions of those words. I love books that make me rethink my definitions of femininity and masculinity, and this novel gave me a lot to mull over for a long time. 

By M-E Girard,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A William C. Morris Award finalist!

"Fierce. Tender. Unstoppable." is how Lauren Myracle describes M-E Girard's brilliant and addictive debut about the many battles Pen Oliviera faces growing up butch and awesome with no one else like her around for miles. Now in paperback!

"Pen is an inspiration to anyone who's struggled to be understood, and a vital addition to the growing world of genderqueer protagonists." -The New York Times Book Review

Lambda Literary Award Winner * Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2016 * Children's Book Council Books Best Book of 2016 * Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Coming-of-Age Novel…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in non-binary gender topics and characters, South Dakota, and Cinderella?

South Dakota 18 books
Cinderella 32 books