Books like Slough House: 100 fan favorites

Olive is sent away to RASCH, a private school on an island in the San Francisco Bay. There, she befriends a girl named Phil, who shares her love of "Meggie and Her Fun Family" comics. I’m not sure Meggie qualifies as a “superhero” per se. All we know is Meggie has something Olive thinks she’s always wanted, and isn’t that the allure of most superhero stories?

Olive has never fit in at the many schools she’s attended. She sees the world in a different way. I enjoy stories about smart girls who start out as misfits and eventually find their place in the world—and just maybe that place for Olive is still a place called misfit, and that’s okay so long as she’s not alone.

Yee and Santat form a strong team in bringing this delightful story to life. Their cast of misfits are kids I’d like to hang… show more.

I never realized before that a horror novel could also be a spellbinding thriller. Early on, I learned about the awful things this supposedly respectable couple was doing in their basement and the ghastly purpose they had done it for. But pit it against the naivete of the bumbling private detective who stumbles into the disaster, and for me, the story was thrilling and horrible at the same time.

Again, the author’s prose just took my breath away. I found myself holding my breath while turning the page and then letting it out when the chapter finished. This is one hell of a story!

I recommend this book for its suspenseful pacing, fabulous characters, and resolute heroine who fights for justice despite extreme heartbreak and danger.

“Jack” and her husband Gabe are hired to break into buildings and computer networks to test their security systems, but one break-in goes sideways and turns deadly. Her courage is inspiring. “Jack” does an unusual job that is often mistaken for criminal activity.

I adore “Jack” because instead of collapsing into a pool of self-pity when her world falls apart, she draws strength to get justice against dangerous enemies.

The complicated and wonderful characters in Mia’s family really drew me in. They all have enough to deal with: the pandemic; Mia’s first breakup; her complicated relationship with her twin, who seems to do everything right; their brother Eugene’s disabilities, which mean he’s often discriminated against or underestimated; and their parents’ struggles to keep it all together and move on from heartbreaking false hopes.

When her father disappears, Mia doesn’t let her other problems or even the fear and heartbreak get in the way of her determination to find out the truth–no matter how painful–and protect Eugene from unjust suspicion.

I loved the role the complex bonds between the various family members came to play in unraveling this case and coping with its ramifications.

I am so happy I discovered Griffith’s Sam Rivers Mystery Series. While each book reads great as a standalone, I recommend starting with the first book in the series, Wolf Kill. Dead Catch, the fourth book, continues the story of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Special Agent Sam Rivers and his faithful four-legged sidekick Gray—a wolf-hybrid. I love that Griffith has a wolf-hybrid as his fictional K-9 character.

Griffith weaves environmental issues into each book. Dead Catch explores the world of poaching walleye, which I found fascinating. But adding to the mystery is the relationship between Sam and his childhood friend charged with murder. I appreciated the theme of giving those we love a second chance and reviving a friendship years after a tragedy. 

Lana Rubicon is one of my favorite fictional characters in recent years. Real estate powerhouse and femme fatale, Lana is a force to be reckoned with—that is, until she gets cancer, goes through surgery and chemo, and moves in with her estranged daughter and granddaughter.

With work off-limits and her sense of purpose taken away, Lana becomes consumed with solving a murder. What I love about Lana is the wonderful balance of how the normally tough-as-nails woman accepts her vulnerability and, in the process, opens herself up to reconciling with her daughter and demonstrates just how strong she is. 

Freya Lockwood is one relatable sleuth–middle-aged, divorced, empty-nesting, and wondering how her dreams for herself have vanished after passing through the meat grinder of adulthood.

I love the themes of estrangement from oneself and others in this debut cozy mystery, as well as the deep dive into the shadowy world of antiques trading from an author with significant personal experience in the field. 

I like to learn something as I get lost in a story. This book explores a phenomenon of “Heirs Property” that’s prevalent in many rural communities.

An older generation dies without a will, and the family home is at risk. Deena Woods is an attorney who, after suffering a huge triple trauma, returns home to rural Georgia. I loved the characters and family dynamics, and I loved watching Deena become more resilient. There might be a slight supernatural edge to the story too, which I found fascinating.

Cultural exploration, traditions, and a multi-dimensional main character ticks off all the boxes.

Whether trying to finish an email or a book, I feel Dorothy Parker’s words deeply: “I hate writing,” she is purported to have said, but “I love having written.” 

In this book, protagonist Jacob Finch Bonner does Parker one better. Stuck after his well-received first novel, he takes someone else’s story and passes it off as his own. Korelitz unravels the dire consequences, though with fizzy, suspenseful glee rather than scared-straight preachiness.

Bonner may not be, as he tells himself, “a great writer,” but Korelitz certainly is. It made me want to try to write again: hate, love, and all other feelings welcome. 

I loved this book for its exploration of shock, grief, and denial on the part of two adult daughters whose mother inexplicably ends her own life by drowning in the sea. At odds for many years, the two very different women slowly mend their relationship as they discover a long-buried secret their mother had been keeping.

I especially related to the healing of their relationship as it was in adulthood that I drew much closer to my own sisters. As children, they associated my arrival with the loss of their mother, which did not make for an easy relationship.