93 books like Secrets Hidden in the Glass

By Cate Beauman,

Here are 93 books that Secrets Hidden in the Glass fans have personally recommended if you like Secrets Hidden in the Glass. 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 Jamaica Inn

Kat Hausler Author Of What I Know About July

From my list on sleuths who have enough problems without a mystery to solve.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love to see complicated characters rising to the occasion. People in real life generally have a lot going on just handling the day-to-day, and they aren’t waiting around for adventure, romance, or mystery to find them. It feels very human to me to see characters struggling with more mundane things like social situations, worrying about their appearance, or holding down a job, rather than only focusing on the plot arc, and that’s the type of character I also focus on as a writer. My latest protagonist, Simon, definitely has enough problems without a missing-person case to solve, so he may be what got me thinking of this topic. 

Kat's book list on sleuths who have enough problems without a mystery to solve

Kat Hausler Why did Kat love this book?

I have always loved literary thriller queen Daphne Du Maurier's complex and resilient characters, and Mary Yellan is no exception. Everything’s looking pretty miserable for her after her mother’s death forces her to give up the family farm and her hometown to live in a creepy inn with her miserable aunt and aggressive drunk of an uncle.

So I really enjoy how brave and resourceful she is in getting past violence, danger, miserable living conditions, a desolate setting, and bad taste in men to find out whether something more sinister than smuggling is going on at the empty inn.   

By Daphne du Maurier,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Jamaica Inn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

After the death of her mother, Mary Yellan crosses the windswept Cornish moors to Jamaica Inn, the home of her Aunt Patience. There she finds Patience a changed woman, downtrodden by her domineering, vicious husband Joss Merlyn. The inn is a front for a lawless gang of criminals, and Mary is unwillingly dragged into their dangerous world of smuggling and murder. Before long she will be forced to cross her own moral line to save herself.


Book cover of Outlander

Annemarie Musawale Author Of In the Shadow of the Styx

From my list on supernaturals who don’t sparkle in the sunlight.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Annemarie and I’ve been reading stories almost as soon as I was taught how to read. I’ve also been writing them. My fascination with the supernatural came about, I guess because an active imagination for a small child comes almost naturally from a fear of the dark. The dark held many terrors for me, and in a perverse contrariness, this prompted an interest in supernatural beings. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all real, and the more we know about them, the better. Or at least, that’s what I deduce from my never flagging interest, and I guess that’s why there’s always an element of the supernatural/paranormal in all my stories. 

Annemarie's book list on supernaturals who don’t sparkle in the sunlight

Annemarie Musawale Why did Annemarie love this book?

Is Claire supernatural because she can go through the stones? Her skin is certainly milk-soft and bright enough to shimmer in sunlight, but she doesn’t. Even when her hair starts to go white, it doesn’t exactly shimmer. However, she does fit, and so does the story because Unusual things happen to quite ordinary-looking people.

But the most magical thing about this book is the love that Jamie and Claire find in each other. Swoon.

By Diana Gabaldon,

Why should I read it?

37 authors picked Outlander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first book in Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series.

One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS’s The Great American Read!
 
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and…


Book cover of Virgin River

Marie Jones Author Of Those We Trust

From my list on leave you breathless with love, danger, and suspense.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love romance, a true romantic from the day I was born. I also love crime/thriller/twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting to turn the page. As a writer, it was the most natural choice to combine all of these to bring to you as a reader love, passion, danger, shady criminal underworld, and jaw-dropping cliffhangers mixed in with twists you never saw coming. A love story that has you hopelessly entwined with them. A beautiful backdrop of the highlands of Scotland that creates its own unique story –mystical, mighty, and carrying its own hidden dangers.

Marie's book list on leave you breathless with love, danger, and suspense

Marie Jones Why did Marie love this book?

Quite simply, Robyn is a masterclass at writing beautiful romances and nothing comes better than her Virgin River series. 

Her characters are full of depth and conflicts, and the setting of the stories are in beautiful landscapes I want to travel to. There are many great sub-stories to be drawn happily into and of course, who can resist a HEA?

By Robyn Carr,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Virgin River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Netflix Original Series

Read the book that started it all!

13 Million Copies Sold

Sometimes all you need is a fresh start

When recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees an advert for a midwife in the remote town of Virgin River, she decides this is the perfect place to escape her heartache.

However, her hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving: the cabin is uninhabitable, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. But when a tiny baby is abandoned on a front porch, Mel must decide whether to stay and help or…


Book cover of Whiskey Beach

Marie Jones Author Of Those We Trust

From my list on leave you breathless with love, danger, and suspense.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love romance, a true romantic from the day I was born. I also love crime/thriller/twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting to turn the page. As a writer, it was the most natural choice to combine all of these to bring to you as a reader love, passion, danger, shady criminal underworld, and jaw-dropping cliffhangers mixed in with twists you never saw coming. A love story that has you hopelessly entwined with them. A beautiful backdrop of the highlands of Scotland that creates its own unique story –mystical, mighty, and carrying its own hidden dangers.

Marie's book list on leave you breathless with love, danger, and suspense

Marie Jones Why did Marie love this book?

Eli is a broken man, running from his own demons and past and looking for a safe haven at Whiskey Beach (just like the character from my book, Sophia). 

He believes he has nothing to give, certainly not as a writer... until Abra comes into his life. Yet dangers are lurking near and they are both being watched. Love, danger, and a beautiful setting. 

By Nora Roberts,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Eli Landon seems to have the perfect life. A beautiful wife, a wonderful house, a dazzling legal career. But when his wife is brutally murdered after confessing to an affair, Eli is named prime suspect. After a year-long ordeal the case is dropped for lack of evidence, but Eli's world is in tatters.

Abandoned by his friends, hounded by the media and a detective with a grudge, Eli retreats to the small-town sanctuary of Whiskey Beach. Camping out in his grandmother's atmospheric house by the sea he meets Abra Walsh - compassionate, courageous and hiding secrets of her own.

But…


Book cover of Home Away From Home

Bettie Boswell Author Of Stolen Gift Exchange: A Christmas in Ohio Anthology Collection Story

From my list on mysteries with a touch of suspense.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I read many Nancy Drew books and loved how she solved the clues. During the last couple of years I have developed a deeper interest in mystery and romantic suspense books. I enjoy trying to figure out the clues in other's tales and creating my own. The challenge is like putting a puzzle together for me when I write in this genre. Recently I wrote two short cozy mysteries and a romantic suspense that were published for the Christian market. I have a couple of cozy mystery works in progress that will soon be ready to share with readers. My other books often have hints of mysteries.

Bettie's book list on mysteries with a touch of suspense

Bettie Boswell Why did Bettie love this book?

Home Away from Home is a cozy mystery woven in with a romance for an older couple.

Marigold has searched for her father for years. Her mother died in a terrible accident. Her obsession with finding her father since then has interfered with relationships and interest in marriage. In this delightful tale, she will finally unravel the mystery of what happened to her father and will discover things about herself and a family she never knew about.

She will finally be open to accepting love from a dear and faithful friend. I found this book to be an enjoyable and relaxing read. It is part of a series that I highly recommend.

By Penny Frost McGinness,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Will Marigold and Johnny embrace love late in life?

The day before Marigold Hayes turned fourteen, her mother died in a car accident and her father went missing. Her memory of standing on the porch and waving goodbye haunts her. After forty years of digging for clues to her dad's whereabouts and ignoring her personal life, the hope she might find him fades. Through the years, she has made friends, but no one significant until Johnny Papadakis. He has stood by her for nine years and helped search records of people alive and dead. For the last six months. he…


Book cover of The Messenger of Athens

May J. Panayi Author Of Sun Sea and Secrets: A novel set in Greece

From my list on the most glorious bits of Greece.

Why am I passionate about this?

I fell in love with all things Greek around the same time I fell in love with my Greek Cypriot husband about 30 years ago. That was when I started reading books about Greece as well as fiction set in Greece. I also learned to cook Greek food, which made both my man and me happy. I traveled to as many Greek islands, and of course, Cyprus, as time would allow. Eventually, I started writing books set in Greece myself. I went to a Greek Orthodox church and took Greek language evening classes. I feel at this point and have been told by Greek islanders, that I am now essentially Greek.

May's book list on the most glorious bits of Greece

May J. Panayi Why did May love this book?

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book. I wanted to read about Greece and Greek life, but I wasn’t certain I wanted a murder mystery. But this book is delivered with lots of local Greek colors and colorful characters.

It is atmospheric, enigmatic, and thoroughly beautiful. The nitty-gritty scenes of Greek life contrasted with Mediterranean passions, which at times ran very high. I was so pleased to discover there were more books to read by Zouroudi.

By Anne Zouroudi,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Idyllic but remote, the Greek island of Thiminos seems untouched and untroubled by the modern world. So when the battered body of a young woman is discovered at the foot of a cliff, the local police - governed more by archaic rules of honor than by the law - are quick to close the case, dismissing her death as an accident.

Then a stranger arrives, uninvited, from Athens, announcing his intention to investigate further into the crime he believes has been committed. Refusing to accept the woman's death as an accident or suicide, Hermes Diaktoros sets out to uncover the…


Book cover of The Magus

James Ellson Author Of The Trail

From my list on to take on a walking holiday.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a keen walker/hiker/backpacker since I was five when my parents named a local footpath James’s Path. Almost fifty years later, I have walked all over the UK and further afield in the Pyrenees and the Alps, Nepal, and the Antipodes. Walking for me is both a means to an end—to reach mountaineering routes and as exercise—and as an end in itself. Days spent walking can be reflective, social, demanding, and memorable. I always take a book, even if it's a day walk, and two or three if it’s a multiday trip. I hope you’re as energized and stimulated by my suggestions as I’ve been.

James' book list on to take on a walking holiday

James Ellson Why did James love this book?

A multi-day walking trip requires a page-turning thriller. It is one of the most intriguing mysteries I’ve ever read. It dragged me into another world and then deeper into a story within a story. Lying in uncomfortable beds in noisy hostels while backpacking in Australia, I was beguiled and forgot my own reality.

Years later, this book stayed with me and influenced my debut novel despite, I think, never really understanding it. However, writing this review has made me start reading it again. I’m already baffled, but I'm hooked!

By John Fowles,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Magus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Magus is the story of Nicholas Urfe, a young Englishman who accepts a teaching assignment on a remote Greek island. There his friendship with a local millionaire evolves into a deadly game, one in which reality and fantasy are deliberately manipulated, and Nicholas must fight for his sanity and his very survival.


Book cover of The Mysterious Island

Clemens P. Suter Author Of Rebound

From my list on people with guts.

Why am I passionate about this?

Clemens P. Suter is an author of adventure novels. His books deal with people that overcome impossible, life-changing situations. These are entertaining adventure books, with dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and Scifi elements.

Clemens' book list on people with guts

Clemens P. Suter Why did Clemens love this book?

Verne has written many books about survival, exploration, and technical innovation. In many aspects, he was far ahead of his time, a nineteen century Sci-Fi wonder boy. He was a masterful storyteller, providing an expert rhythm of action scenes followed by contemplative paragraphs. The Mysterious Island deals with a group of people that has landed in an impossible situation: they are castaways on a deserted island. In most books of this genre, the subjects will succumb or barely manage to survive, but not so for Verne’s engineer and his companions. Through the combination of scientific knowledge, the sheer power of man’s muscles, and unwavering optimism, they quickly turn nature to their benefit and remodel the island to their liking. A thrilling adventure story!

By Jules Verne,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

With an Introduction by Alex Dolby.

Translation by W.H.G. Kingston.

Jules Verne (1828-1905) is internationally famous as the author of a distinctive series of adventure stories describing new travel technologies which opened up the world and provided means to escape from it. The collective enthusiasm of generations of readers of his 'extraordinary voyages' was a key factor in the rise of modern science fiction.

In The Mysterious Island a group of men escape imprisonment during the American Civil War by stealing a balloon. Blown across the world, they are air-wrecked on a remote desert island. In a manner reminiscent of…


Book cover of Rotten Island

Scott Menchin Author Of Wiggle

From my list on for funny and artistic young children.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a curious Pratt Institute art school professor and loving parent of a daughter who has also written and/or illustrated sixteen children’s books I want to share my favorite books with other children’s book connoisseurs. It also helps that I have lots of opinions. Too many to count. And when someone actually wants to listen to my opinions I get very excited. I’m hoping one of my favorites becomes one of your favorites. 

Scott's book list on for funny and artistic young children

Scott Menchin Why did Scott love this book?

This book by the author of Shrek and one of my favorite artist/authors is a story of an island inhabited by crazy awful disgusting creatures and how they make it a terrible rotten island until nature takes hold and corrects all that.

A great book when thinking about our planet and environment. And the artwork is magnificent.  

By William Steig,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

What would happen if every creature on land and sea were free to be as rotten as possible? If every day was a free-for-all; if plants grew barbed wire; if the ocean were poison? That's life on Rotten Island. For creatures that slither, creep, and crawl (not to mention kick, bite, scratch, and play nasty tricks on each other), Rotten Island is paradise. But then, on a typically rotten day, something truly awful happens. Something that could spoil Rotten Island forever. Out of a bed of gravel on the scorched earth, a mysterious, beautiful flower begins to grow...


Book cover of Fog Island

Dan Saks Author Of We Share This School: A Community Book

From my list on proving humans are more creative than AI.

Why am I passionate about this?

I make music. I write books. I’m drawn to scenarios in which people make music or books or art collaboratively, often spontaneously. I enjoy making music with kids because of how they can be creative spontaneously. Sometimes adults pretend to be creative in a way that a child might relate to, but a child can generally sniff out a pretender. And a pretend pretender can be unpleasant company for children and adults alike. These books were written by adults who know their inner child. Wonder, play and a tangential regard for social norms are their baseline to share the stories they’ve chosen to share.

Dan's book list on proving humans are more creative than AI

Dan Saks Why did Dan love this book?

“I am the Fog Man,” said their host. “You must have got lost in my fog.” These are the words spoken by a man on Fog Island with a beard and hair that entirely cover his body. His only visible clothing are slippers, metal wristbands, and a candle strapped to a metal headband. He is the one that the kids Finn and Cara encounter when they decide not to heed their father’s warning to not leave the bay of their small coastal Irish village.

The illustrations paint a moody dreamlike journey that swing between whimsical, eerie, and delightfully odd. The text reads like an epic tale from the old country owing in so small part to the repeated use of the word “carragh.” This, like Tim Fite’s book, is another great example of an author/illustrator bringing a cohesive aesthetic to their work. We visit Tomi’s world between these pages, and…

By Tomi Ungerer,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Fog Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A timeless story about a brother and a sister whose boat drifts onto a doomed and mysterious island


Book cover of Jamaica Inn
Book cover of Outlander
Book cover of Virgin River

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