Fans pick 62 books like R&R

By Maria Giuseppa,

Here are 62 books that R&R fans have personally recommended if you like R&R. 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 Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird

J. Shep Author Of After Me

From my list on close relationships despite distance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I didnā€™t realize I enjoyed this dimension of a story until I noted how many of my most enjoyable reads had this in common. I enjoy the emphasis on relationships and characterization, but the element of distance adds depth to these relationships, making for a page-turning read!

J.'s book list on close relationships despite distance

J. Shep Why did J. love this book?

In this non-fiction piece that unfolds like a novel, Hammer takes the reader around the globe, providing much detail on the terrain, flora, and fauna of many disparate biomes.

The reason for the detail and the varied settings is the pursuit of a thief, always quick to dart off to the next deal, to the next domain, wherein a prize might be claimed, smuggled, and sold. Without knowing each other, a relationship develops between the investigator and his elusive perp.

By Joshua Hammer,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A "well-written, engaging detective story" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) about a rogue who trades in rare birds and their eggs-and the wildlife detective determined to stop him.

On May 3, 2010, an Irish national named Jeffrey Lendrum was apprehended at Britain's Birmingham International Airport with a suspicious parcel strapped to his stomach. Inside were fourteen rare peregrine falcon eggs snatched from a remote cliffside in Wales.

So begins a "vivid tale of obsession and international derring-do" (Publishers Weekly), following the parallel lives of a globe-trotting smuggler who spent two decades capturing endangered raptors worth millions of dollars as race champions-andā€¦


Book cover of When Walls Talk

J. Shep Author Of After Me

From my list on close relationships despite distance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I didnā€™t realize I enjoyed this dimension of a story until I noted how many of my most enjoyable reads had this in common. I enjoy the emphasis on relationships and characterization, but the element of distance adds depth to these relationships, making for a page-turning read!

J.'s book list on close relationships despite distance

J. Shep Why did J. love this book?

The distance in this novella takes a unique form as Toni, working on the building of her bookshop in the space of a one-time bakery belonging to her family, discovers something special in the walls. The discovery takes her to the arrival and experiences of her ancestors in Chicagoā€™s Little Italy, the same locale of the soon-to-be bookshop.

My favorite part of the book is the relationship that develops between the Toni of today and the Vittorio of the past, as well as the understanding Toni comes to about her ancestors through Vittorioā€™s voice. Time and death present forms of distance, but Vittorioā€™s message transcends both, reaching Toni in a positive way. The possibility that someone can forge a beautiful relationship with a deceased ancestor is a neat feature of this book.

By Geralyn Hesslau Magrady,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Be careful with the wooden frame," I instructed the workers. "I'm told it's original to the building."

"You actually want to keep these old studs, Toni?"

"Of course! I can breathe new life into them. Repurpose them into shelves or a tabletop."

It's what I was attempting to do with my own self, breathe new life into a shattered one.


Antonia "Toni" Russo is broken, but reimagining a family business in Chicago's Little Italy might bring back her inner strength and joy. When venturing into this new future, Toni discovers that she's not the first Russo to face obstacles andā€¦


Book cover of The Song of the Lark

Sarah Seltzer Author Of The Singer Sisters

From my list on bold and beautiful female musicians.

Why am I passionate about this?

From Taylor Swift to Lauryn Hill, from Joan Baez to Beyonce, I find that the lyrics, performances, and melodies of women making music inspire my own creativity every day. I am not a musician; I am a writer, editor, and novelist! But I find music to be so accessible, so deeply meaningful, in a way that other art forms, even my own, are not. So naturally, I adore novels about music! 

Sarah's book list on bold and beautiful female musicians

Sarah Seltzer Why did Sarah love this book?

I find this to be the perfect book about an artistā€™s coming of age in a different time and place. Thea, a young woman living long ago on the American prairie, is discovered to have musical genius. She nurtured, pushed, and even loved while everyone around her knew that her destiny lay out in the wider world, onstage. 

By Willa Cather,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In this powerful portrait of the self-making of an artist, Willa Cather created one of her most extraordinary heroines.

Thea Kronborg, a minister's daughter in a provincial Colorado town, seems destined from childhood for a place in the wider world. But as her path to the world stage leads her ever farther from the humble town she can't forget and from the man she can't afford to love, Thea learns that her exceptional musical talent and fierce ambition are not enough.  

It is in the solitude of a tiny rock chamber high in the side of an Arizona cliff--"a cleftā€¦


Book cover of Night's Bright Darkness: A Modern Conversion Story

J. Shep Author Of After Me

From my list on close relationships despite distance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I didnā€™t realize I enjoyed this dimension of a story until I noted how many of my most enjoyable reads had this in common. I enjoy the emphasis on relationships and characterization, but the element of distance adds depth to these relationships, making for a page-turning read!

J.'s book list on close relationships despite distance

J. Shep Why did J. love this book?

Sally shares an autobiographical account of her turning from atheism to Catholicism, revealing through her narration a relationship between herself and God. The shape that distance takes in this memoir is illusive in a way, for the God that Sally eschewed had been calling to her for years.

Soon, Sally finds herself in pursuit of God only to discover, once again, that God is and has been near to her. Readā€™s writing presents some beautiful passages, and the telling of her faith journey progresses beautifully.

By Sally Read,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Night's Bright Darkness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Staunchly atheist Sally Read converted to Catholicism in the space of nine electric months. In 2010, Read was heralded as one of the bright young writers of the British poetry scene. Feminist and deeply anti-Catholic, she was writing a book about female sexuality when, during her research, she spoke with a Catholicpriest. The interview led her on a dramatic spiritual quest that ended up at theVatican itself, where she was received into the Catholic Church.

Unsurprisingly, this story is written in the vivid language of poetry. Read relates her encounters with the Father, the Spirit and then the Son exactlyinā€¦


Book cover of Finding Langston

Ellen Mulholland Author Of This Girl Climbs Trees

From my list on middle grade dealing with death, dying, and grief.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I can remember, Iā€™ve been fascinated with life and death. As a child, my own life was fairly mundane and even joyful. However, I went through loss like most. We lost two dogs when I was maybe seven or nine. Then my beagle Suzy, who we had the longest, was struck by a car on a rainy day. A few years later, my grandfather passed from cancer. Watching my mother grieve stuck with me. It shaped meā€”how I cared about life, how I longed to understand it. Once I decided to write stories for children, I knew it could be a safe place to explore my hidden feelings.

Ellen's book list on middle grade dealing with death, dying, and grief

Ellen Mulholland Why did Ellen love this book?

This is a warm hug book. The kind that sneaks up on you when youā€™re reading words. Langston is a lovable main character. His story is rich with family, tradition, loss, and poetry. He is eleven when his mother dies, and his dad decides they must leave Alabama. So many changes for this boy as he is bullied and deals with segregation in 1940s Chicago. But he discovers the library that welcomes all. Such a sweet story and perfect for younger middle grade readers.

By Lesa Cline-Ransome,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Finding Langston 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?

A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

When eleven-year-old Langston's father moves them from their home in Alabama to Chicago's Bronzeville district, it feels like he's giving up everything he loves.

It's 1946. Langston's mother has just died, and now they're leaving the rest of his family and friends. He misses everything--Grandma's Sunday suppers, the red dirt roads, and the magnolia trees his mother loved.

In the city, they live in a small apartment surrounded by noise and chaos. It doesn't feel like a new start, or a better life. Atā€¦


Book cover of Devil by the Tail

G.P. Gottlieb Author Of Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery

From my list on fabulous historical mysteries set in American cities.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read at least 100 books each year, mostly novels, and before I became a published author in 2019, used to send a list of my favorite 30 to hundreds of friends, friends of friends, and family. I began hosting New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, in 2018, and have interviewed over 180 authors so far. It was tough to choose just 5 top books, but in looking over all those interviews, I remembered how much I loved reading these books, all set in the United States long before the 21st century.

G.P.'s book list on fabulous historical mysteries set in American cities

G.P. Gottlieb Why did G.P. love this book?

A smart, quick-witted civil war widow is forced to make her way in 1867 Chicago, but nobody listens to an unmarried young woman unless she has a tough, gun-toting ex-rebel soldier as a partner.

They have a case to solve, and she uses a professional name, Mrs. Paschal, so nobody connects her with the former in-laws who are trying to stop her from receiving her dead husbandā€™s estate. Loved reading about 19th Century pre-fire Chicago, teeming with corrupt politicians, gambling parlors, and bawdy houses of ill-repute.

Also, someone is trying to murder Quinn Sinclair, aka Mrs. Paschal. Canā€™t wait to read more from Jeanne Matthews.

By Jeanne Matthews,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Devil by the Tail as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What's a 20-something Union war widow to do in 1867? Start up her own detective agency with a former Reb POW, of course!

Quinn Sinclair, who uses the name Mrs. Paschal professionally, and her wryly observant partner Garnick get two cases on the same day - one to help a man prove he didn't kill his wife, another to help a lawyer find reasonable doubt that his client killed her ex-lover's new bride. As the detectives dig deeper, they unearth facts that tie the cases together in disturbing ways.

This tantalizing tale of 19th Century Chicago comes complete with corruptā€¦


Book cover of The Last Hot Time

Walter Williams Author Of Johnny Talon and the Goddess of Love and War

From my list on paranormal noir from someone who loves noir.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love noir fiction and the hard-boiled detective novels that often best exemplify the genre. Both Dashiel Hammetā€™s Sam Spade and Raymond Chanderā€™s Marlowe are two men who will sacrifice everything for the truth, no matter the cost. There is a stark beauty in that. Fantasy, the genre of myth, carries the deepest, most poignant truths. These are the hard truths that can break a heroā€™s heart, as in Gilgamesh, or give you the bittersweet ending of The Lord of the Rings. Blending them produces some of my favorite stories, stories I love to read as the fog rolls in, listening to the music of heartbreaking jazz. 

Walter's book list on paranormal noir from someone who loves noir

Walter Williams Why did Walter love this book?

Mixing elves and eldridge powers into the gang warfare of prohibition Chicago, this book is a fast-paced wild ride into the dark and seedy lives of those who use violence to hold on to power.

The key to a good noir story is that it forces the protagonist to confront something theyā€™d rather not know and to survive, they must find a way to live with that dark truth. This is a journey too many of us face, and Ford writes just such a brilliant journey for his protagonist, Doc.

Once I started reading this, it gripped me like cold iron until I was done.

By John M. Ford,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When Danny Holman leaves the cornfields of Iowa for the bright lights of Chicago, he expects his life to change. He just can't guess how much and how fast. A violent incident on the road brings Danny the favor of a man known only as Mr. Patrise, who gives Danny a job, a home, and a new identity.

The City is a different world from the one Danny--now called Doc--knew, and literally so. Long-vanished powers have returned, and more is going on in the streets than nightlife and street warfare. Power is gathering: a power rooted in terror, madness, andā€¦


Book cover of The House on Mango Street

Jennifer De Leon Author Of Borderless

From my list on Latina latine authors I wish I had read as a teen.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am convinced that my life would be better if I had read more books by Latina/Latine authors while growing up. To be able to see oneself in a story is powerful. I didnā€™t have that for a long time. It made me feel invisible. It made me feel like being an author was as realistic as becoming an astronaut or a performer in Cirque du Soleil. Now, as a professor of Creative Writing and author of several books (and more on the way!), I dedicated my life to writing the books I needed as a young Latina. I hope others find something meaningful in my stories, too.

Jennifer's book list on Latina latine authors I wish I had read as a teen

Jennifer De Leon Why did Jennifer love this book?

This is the first book I ever read by a Latina author. I was nineteen years old and a student at a small private liberal arts college in Connecticut. My professor assigned it to my American Literature class. I thought sheā€™d made a mistake because some of the words in the book were in Spanish. I didnā€™t know you could do thatā€”write in English but have some words in Spanish peppered throughout the dialogue and text. I was stunned.

I remember reading about Esperanza and her experiences in her Mexican neighborhood in Chicago, meeting characters on Mango Street, and falling in love with both the story and Cisnerosā€™ playful, vulnerable, poetic writing style. After reading this book, I knew I also wanted to be a writer.

By Sandra Cisneros,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The House on Mango Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER ā€¢ A coming-of-age classic, acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the worldā€”from the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature.

The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Told in a series of vignettes-sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous-Sandra Cisneros' masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers.

ā€œCisneros drawsā€¦


Book cover of The Secret Life of Maggie Blake

Sharon Michalove Author Of At First Sight

From my list on romance, mystery, and suspense in Chicago.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburbs. After a career at the University of Illinois, 150 miles downstate, I moved back to my hometown to recapture the urban vibe that I love. A historian, I love the stories that architecture tells me and wandering the streets of the city never stales. Having romance in my life is important and writing about how relationships can develop in the city is part of that. Everywhere I go in Chicago, I think of how my characters might interact with each other and the setting. Romance can be found in grand restaurants and in odd corners and Chicago has it all.

Sharon's book list on romance, mystery, and suspense in Chicago

Sharon Michalove Why did Sharon love this book?

Much like Walter Mitty, Maggie Blake has a rich fantasy life that breaks the tedium of being a housewife with twins. After seven years of marriage to the seemingly stolid Preston, Maggie misses the excitement of her career as an investigative reporter. When a terrorist plot threatens Chicago, Preston and his team move in to stop it. But he is also trying to protect his identity as the Motorcycle Maverick, a masked Zorro-like figure Maggie dreams about. 

Chicago and its environs, especially a suburb that is reminiscent of Lake Forest, add to the texture of the story. The idea of romantic suspense that involves a married couple is unusual and extremely well done. Marilyn is always an inspiration to me as a writer and this book is no exception.

By Marilyn Brant,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Secret Life of Maggie Blake as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE SECRET LIFE OF MAGGIE BLAKE is a contemporary romantic suspense, light action & adventure tale by New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Marilyn Brant! This story is for fans of humorous husband/wife spy films such as "True Lies," readers who love slow-build romantic suspense, admirers of heroes in disguise like Zorro & The Scarlet Pimpernel, and anyone who's ever found themselves having "Walter Mitty"-like fantasies in the middle of the day...

In an affluent Chicago suburb, Maggie Santori Blake, a clever stay-at-home mom with vivid daydreams of a more exciting life, is caught up in a dangerousā€¦


Book cover of The Lucky One

Deborah Halber Author Of The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths Are Solving America's Coldest Cases

From my list on cold cases involving unidentified victims.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™d always known about the Lady of the Dunes. Iā€™d read about how she was found in the dunes of Provincetown, Massachusetts, on July 26, 1974. I didnā€™t know about the tens of thousands of other unidentified victims like her, stowed around the US in the back rooms of morgues and unmarked graves. As a journalist who has always given a voice to those who struggle to be heard, I feel compelled to research and write about these Jane and John Does and the people who work to keep their cases in the public eye. I share a unique bond with writers who do the same.

Deborah's book list on cold cases involving unidentified victims

Deborah Halber Why did Deborah love this book?

I am biased toward any writer who features amateur sleuths. Lori Rader-Day not only plunges readers into a compelling story with a delightfully twisty ending, she also pays tribute to the volunteers who slave away on real-life sites such as The Doe Network. When the protagonist comes across a picture of a missing person, she realizes itā€™s someone from her past and resolves, for complicated reasons, to track him down. 

By Lori Rader-Day,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"This might well be my favorite Rader-Day so far: a brilliant premise intriguingly developed, totally believable characters and a climax that took my breath away." - Ann Cleeves, New York Times bestselling author of The Shetland and Vera Series

From the author of the Edgar Award (R)-nominated Under A Dark Sky comes an unforgettable, chilling novel about a young woman who recognizes the man who kidnapped her as a child, setting off a search for justice, and into danger.

Most people who go missing are never found. But Alice was the lucky one...

As a child, Alice was stolen fromā€¦


Book cover of The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird
Book cover of When Walls Talk
Book cover of The Song of the Lark

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