Love Second Wind? Readers share 26 books like Second Wind...

This book ticks all my must-haves in a great movie: a compelling story, characters, and setting. Shortly after losing her husband to a debilitating illness, Emma Dance unexpectedly inherits her great-aunt’s beach house where she’d spent happy childhood days. Located at the North Carolina coast, it’s a perfect place to try to hide from the grief and emotional drain of the past few years. Despite her desire to lock herself away from the world, Emma slowly emerges and makes friends, possibly even a new romance. Eventually she finds joy once more in everyday life. While delivering an emotionally satisfying story, the author perfectly captures life at the beach—from the breath-stealing beauty of sunrise and sunset, to the force of a storm’s wind shrieking through the seaside house. 

This story is a good mystery, but more importantly, it makes me laugh (in a good way). I think it would be a great date-night movie. Brand-new private investigator Alex O’Hara inherits her father’s PI agency and (oh, joy!) snags her first paying client. Thus begins the fun. With sharp writing, a crafty plot, a light romance, and fun and relatable characters (including a heroine who is a bit of a klutz—a woman after my own heart), the author leads the reader on a fun and engaging search for a missing man. 

One thing I look for in my “screen” entertainment is a fascinating location. This story takes place in Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe. I’ve never been to either, but both are described so well in this book, I feel like I might have visited at some point. The story follows Raine Endicott, Levi Hill, and several other members of their former college hiking club through a 60-mile, four-day trek through the national park. When one of the members is found dead, the danger for our couple starts. While suspensefully leading the reader through the murder investigation, the author weaves in details of outdoor life—like coming upon bears on the trail—and paints a vivid picture of the beauty and majesty of the settings. 

Every once in a while, I like a good, scary movie (as long as there’s a limit on the gore). Little Darlings is one of a collection of short stories featuring a murder taking place on Friday the 13th. I made the dubious decision to start reading it one night before bed. Immediately, I was sucked into the story of three friends on a weekend getaway who find themselves terrorized by four black-eyed children who come knocking. The author did a fantastic job of creeping me out to the point where I was listening for the story’s “little darlings” long after turning out my light. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well that night. I see this as an episode in a Twilight Zone-type series.

I loved this book by Jessica R. Patch for its perfect blend of relentless suspense and second-chance romance. The mystery kept me guessing with its clever suspects and red herrings. Asa and Fiona, seasoned FBI agents with a complex history, drew me in with their dynamic and emotional depth.

The tension and anticipation throughout this thriller made it impossible to put down. Patch's ability to weave crime-solving with romance kept me hooked and eager for more. This book was an unforgettable read for me as someone who loves mystery with heart.

Multiple ingenious impossible crimes feature into the first Jessica Blackwood thriller by magician Andrew Mayne. A killer calling himself the Warlock claims to be using supernatural powers to perform deadly miracles, and only former stage magician Jessica Blackwood, now an FBI agent, can see through his tricks. Because magicians create misdirection for a living, they’re perfect characters to unravel seemingly impossible crimes. As a bonus, Jessica Blackwood is a terrific character you’ll root for. 

I adore the Auntie Lily character who has a penchant for telling silly stories. Each of these stories composed in clever rhymes feature a silly animal doing something outrageous. Children become interactive partners visualizing and acting out the hijinks like a stork riding on a subway train or a fly that works for the FBI. The fun continues because readers get ten riddles to solve at the end of the tale. This book is fun for the whole family from preschooler to grandma!

I loved this work!  And its realism truly frightened me. 

James Lawler, a legendary CIA officer, has followed his brilliant debut novel (Living Lies: A Novel of the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program) with a very frightening and all-too-contemporary thriller about bioweapons. This is not science fiction, and the fields of bioweapons and neuro weapons - think ‘Havana Syndrome’ or lethal viruses such as COVID and EBOLA - have been extensively studied by America’s adversaries.

Jim has told a gripping, taut, and exciting tale of Russia’s and North Korea’s collaboration in the development of such bioweapons. The characters are fascinating and believable, as is the plot line.  Lawler’s novel combines espionage, mystery, and science fiction – or not! – in a terrifying, real-world, 21st-century mystery thriller.

The intriguing plot and the smart strength of the main character, Rowan Smith, kept me reading page after page, which isn’t easy with my short attention span. Rowan is a former FBI agent who wrote a bestselling novel that is being made into a movie. She is stalked by a mysterious killer who is copycatting the murders that she wrote about in her book. This story has all my favorite elements—a strong woman main character, a traumatic past that made her tough, and a story that is non-stop suspense. 

Jane Hawk is as fierce and fearless as they come. She’s a rogue FBI agent on a mission to learn why her well-adjusted husband suddenly committed suicide along with hundreds of others. This case has nothing to do with cults, or Kool-Aid. As she gets closer to the truth, Jane is hunted too. She’s lost so much, her one true love and the doting father of their boy, but Jane is driven to make the leader of this horrific tragedy pay. This book is laced with Koontz’s flair for description and his talent for pushing readers to the edge of their seats for a heart-pounding conclusion.