59 books like Seeking Whom He May Devour

I remember an awards ceremony where Bjork described herself as “a musical scientist.” Most likely accepting some well-deserved award, she spoke in this odd sing-song way that made her seem genuinely like a mad scientist.

I think Olga Tokarczuk is a bit like Bjork. Her voice is utterly unique, with a texture and humor perfectly suited to this book's marvelous protagonist. I loved Janina Dusezjko, a cranky old Polish woman wandering the hills of her village trying to solve a mystery. I could have listened to her for the whole book even if there was no mystery, so the unraveling felt like an added bonus! 

Why does the past speak to us? What do the 1920s – those decadent years of jazz and cocktails and sex – have to offer the 2020s?

When I was writing my book, I was obsessed with the interwar decades – Sayers’ Golden Age of Crime – and with the detective-like quality of my own work, as I chased scraps of information about my subjects’ lives in scattered archives.

In Lote, we meet Mathilda, who has what she calls Transfixions: fragments of the past, especially the Black queer past, that mesmerize and absorb her. Mathilda’s quest for contact with that past takes her into surreal, extravagant adventures.

This is an intoxicating novel and a must for anyone who has ever swooned before a black-and-white photo, a handwritten letter, or a claret-coloured dress.

This set of interlocked novellas opens with a comatose detective – a legend in his time – apparently conducting an interrogation through means of electrical signals sent from his brain to a computer. I was skeptical.

I’m a fan of the rules that Sayers and the Detection Club developed: no magic, no ‘jiggery-pokery’, no mystery poisons or miracle drugs, only the fair play of putting the evidence before the reader and letting them practice deduction. My skepticism was totally misplaced.

Chan Ho-Kei’s brilliant work tells the history of twentieth-century Hong Kong through the careers of two policemen. Each novella pays homage to the classic genres of crime fiction, and they build up to twists and revelations that are both shocking and completely faithful to fair play as Sayers knew it.

Rudolph Fisher was a contemporary of Sayers, but working in a very different context: the Harlem Renaissance.

This novel, reputed to be the first detective novel written by a Black American, opens with the mysterious, apparently impossible murder of a Harvard-educated fortune-teller, N’Gana Frimbo, the ‘conjure-man’ of the title. Then the body disappears, and Frimbo (apparently) reappears – throwing medical and police investigations into chaos.

There’s a surfeit of suspects and lots of talking; what I really love about this novel is the sense of being plunged into a vivid, fully-populated world. This book wins my vote for most overlooked mystery novel from the Golden Age.

Lea hunts werewolves to protect her village, and Henrik is…yep, you guessed it. But he’s also literally the boy from her dreams. The magnetic attraction between these two is unforgettable! My eyes were glued to the page through the last quarter, when war escalates and Lea finds allies—and new enemies—she never would’ve expected. 

Patricia Briggs is a true weaver of stories, whose complex characters and intriguing world-building make it easy to get lost in her books.

Cry Wolf, the first in her Alpha and Omega series is no different. As someone who loves female characters with a core of grit, Anna, an Omega wolf who’s survived a brutal attack that threw her into a world of monsters, is one such heroine. When she and her new mate, Charles, stumble upon a wicked witch, it’s Anna’s strength that gives the nascent couple the edge they need to triumph over evil.

Fair warning, Anna’s history is painful and could be triggering for some, but what rises from the ashes is stunning to behold and gives testament to the strength of survivors.

This book is a little different in the sense that I feel like it’s somewhat darker, but it’s still a favorite of mine. I loved Vivian. She wants what she wants and knows how to get it. And, unlike some, I really liked her with Gabriel. I know lots of readers thought he was a bit much, but to me, he was a bad boy with layers which I enjoyed. 

I read this book way back in 2011 when it first came out. It still comes to mind when I think of creating a list of werewolf books I loved. There’s a bit of a love triangle but I thought it was done really well. I loved Alex. He was the new boy in town with a secret, but he was funny and caring. I was so invested in the romance of this story and the story itself. Also, I still think the first line of this book is hilarious! 

This was my first foray into reading Urban Fantasy, and it made me very glad I did. This is the story of Lucy, a woman transformed into a werewolf, who must navigate the task of being Alpha of her new pack as well as adjusting to the new, often violent, world she’s a part of. I love how Heather deals with Lucy embracing a job she didn’t choose for herself. The interplay between the characters makes this a fun read with some very laugh-out-loud dialogue, especially in the interactions between Lucy and her Wolf, Esme. I think the whole ‘fish out of water’ thing speaks to all of us. Who hasn’t daydreamed, what if I could do magic, or had superpowers? The real question is, how would you cope if you suddenly could and it changed your life completely?

Wolf Girl reminded me of a Werewolf Bachelor. One guy. Lots of women. All of them werewolves. This story was unique and unlike anything I’d ever read before. I loved Demi’s sassiness and Sawyer was definitely swoony. I’m warning you beforehand though, it does have a hellacious cliffhanger.