100 books like Picnic at Hanging Rock

This was one of my favourite books when I was a child, and it still makes me laugh even now. On first reading, I was immediately captivated by the witty depiction of the closed world of Linbury Court Preparatory School, a traditional boys’ boarding school inspired by the school at which the author had taught. The endearing central character of Jennings is well-meaning and spirited, but his mad-cap schemes, in which he is aided by his chum Darbishire, inevitably backfire with hilarious results. I especially loved the language of their schoolboy banter, eg “what a wizard wheeze!” for “what a great idea”. Although first published in 1950, it’s still a very entertaining read.

Many people will be familiar with the two series of comedy films, one made in the 1960s and the other in the 2000s, and I highly recommend going back to the series of books that inspired the spirit of the films. Cartoonist Ronald Searle dreamed up this anarchic school and drew hilarious cartoons satirising head teachers, staff, and pupils. Another product of the mid-twentieth century, his wicked observational humour is still fresh and funny. Once you’ve enjoyed his iconic St Trinian’s cartoons, you’ll never see a girls’ boarding school in the same way again!

This is the first of a series written by Geoffrey Willans about the fictional boys’ boarding school, St Custard’s, and Willans’ hilarious wordplay is the perfect complement to Ronald Searle’s cartoons. It’s a spoof guide to surviving the English public school system, told in the voice of one of the pupils, Nigel Molesworth. As with Jennings, its vocabulary is a delight, enhanced by Molesworth’s misspellings and catchphrases, eg “as any fule kno”. I enjoyed this first as a child, but my whole family found it entertaining, and it’s still a go-to book for whenever you need a good laugh. 

Moving on now to something more serious, this is the start of a very long and very popular saga set at a girls’ boarding school, founded in the 1920s, by a pair of sisters without any apparent qualifications, in a Swiss chalet, as a means of supporting themselves. It’s a children’s book but has a huge following among adults, with its many adventures featuring an ever-changing range of pupils and teachers from all over the world. They’re now very dated (not least for their cavalier attitude to health and safety and indeed towards education), but they have a timeless charm.

This book is very arty by which I mean it introduces the young reader to the world of art and art galleries. There is also a strong dose of spy-type intrigues.

A very snooty older man gets satirised for his arrogance, which I think is a nice twist for the reader and a good change from the bossy types who often appear. The father-daughter relationship is well done.

No matter how much you may love a certain genre, you can inevitably fall into a reading slump. Too much of a good thing, right?

I will begrudgingly admit, the “missing” or “murdered girl” trope can sometimes get a bit dull without a new touch. Which is why when I came across Megan Miranda’s adult debut told entirely in reverse (from Day 15 to Day 1) was I ever floored with delight!

How absolute genius is it to take a twisty, shocking story about the disappearance of two girls, decades apart but give it to reader backwards? I found myself deeply engrossed not only in the propulsive story but intrigued by the unique way I had to process the timeline.

Irish author Tana French is known for her Dublin Murder Squad series and is what some call a literary crime writer.

The Searcher, a standalone novel, explores themes of restorative justice. Chicago cop Cal Hooper retires to rural Ireland where he undertakes the renovation of a dilapidated cottage. While he toils, he’s joined by a nearly silent teen Trey.

It’s another book where an adult and child don’t realize they need each other, but so quietly and beautifully help heal each other’s wounds.

This was my absolute favorite book in this author’s canon. It’s not perfect, but it’s perfectly imperfect.

Mankell’s troubled hero, Kurt Wallender, hits new depths in this final novel. Things have not been well. His handgun left on the seat of his car was to be picked up by a child. Past conversations with his artist father, who paints the same landscape 7000 times while his memory deteriorates. Wallender now has to face the realization that he, too, is losing his memory. I felt for him on this difficult journey.

But there is still a last case to be solved. The father of his daughter’s fiancé goes missing on his morning walk. Dark secrets from Sweden’s Cold War past threaten to resurface. Wallender has to battle with deteriorating health to solve the mystery, fearing the truth may not be welcome. For me, his integrity shines through.

I don’t know about you, but when I find an author I like, I always hope there’s a series. And that’s the case here—Cameron’s, Arlis Cutter, is the investigator in each of the books, and he’s just the kind of guy I want to know—he’s strong, persistent, smart, and doesn’t ever need to talk about himself or how good he is at his job. His work speaks for itself.

In this book, he’s in a small Inupiaq village up by the Arctic Circle to investigate the death of a girl found frozen in the permafrost of a whaling family’s cellar. And this points to the other things I really like about this book (and the others in the series): they’re set in the indigenous community of Alaska; I always learn a lot about that culture from the books; and Cameron somehow weaves Arliss’ personal challenges into the cases he works… show more.

Tim Weaver has a way of getting under the skin of not just his characters but his readers, too. For me, it helped that his main character, like me, had lost his wife to cancer. I could instantly relate. But beyond that, the plot was gripping, drawing me in and holding my attention from start to finish.

While reading one of his books and for a long time afterward, your mind has only two ways to be—either reading his book or thinking about his book.