35 books like The Darkest Evening

By Ann Cleeves,

Here are 35 books that The Darkest Evening fans have personally recommended if you like The Darkest Evening. 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 Deal Breaker

Stephen J. Gordon Author Of In the Name of God: A Gidon Aronson Thriller

From my list on thrillers for intriguing characters and backgrounds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love a story filled with interesting characters and a plot that reels me in. I know how challenging it is to construct a plotline and create breadcrumbs (not too many, so the solution isn’t obvious)–all driven by intriguing characters. I am also a sucker for the “good guys” winning but with no guarantees. The characters must have depth, and I want to learn something new about a situation I am unfamiliar with or how a great story is told.

Stephen's book list on thrillers for intriguing characters and backgrounds

Stephen J. Gordon Why did Stephen love this book?

As a reader of mysteries and thrillers, I always look for intriguing characters, a great storyline, and something special. Not all books in the genre have these. This one does. The secret element is that it’s extremely charming. I love the relationship between the protagonist, Myron, and his best friend, the wealthy Win. For instance, they are both TV trivia nuts of classic TV shows from the ‘60s and forward.

Additionally, Win is very much not what he seems. This other side is intriguing and adds depth to the character. In Coban’s book, I rooted for Myron (I didn’t always agree with his choices) but was on his side the whole time.

By Harlan Coben,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Deal Breaker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The truth can get you killed... A stunning thriller from the SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of SIX YEARS.

Investigator and sports agent Myron Bolitar is poised on the edge of the big-time. So is Christian Steele, a rookie quarterback and Myron's prized client. But when Christian gets a phone call from a former girlfriend, a woman who everyone, including the police, believes is dead, the deal starts to go sour.

Suddenly Myron is plunged into a baffling mystery of sex and blackmail. Trying to unravel the truth about a family's tragedy, a woman's secret and a man's lies, Myron is…


Book cover of Blood Price

Raquel Zepeda Fitzgerald Author Of Bloody Urn

From my list on justice with a twist.

Why am I passionate about this?

I worked as a paralegal for many years and know how little justice there is in this world. Passion is a requirement if you toil in that legal arena of wit and woe. Even if you lose your case, you must go on. That’s when I had the epiphany that there are other forms of justice. I also realized that the occult does not necessarily mean bad or evil. If I’m losing faith, I pick up a novel about the delicious and refreshing possibilities of justice with a twist. This is a kind of justice where there is not necessarily a courtroom; there are no judges, no lawyers, and no jury.

Raquel's book list on justice with a twist

Raquel Zepeda Fitzgerald Why did Raquel love this book?

I loved this story because it opens your mind to another kind of justice, but justice nonetheless. 

Vicki Nelson is an ex-cop turned private investigator. One evening, she witnesses a horrific murder that is out of this world. 

She consults with her former partner, Mike Celluci. However, a knight in not-so-shiny armor appears, Henry Fitzroy. Henry is a vampire who will prove to be the best ally they could have hoped for. And there, in the dark streets of Toronto, a new kind of justice had been born. 

By Tanya Huff,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Blood Price as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Blood Books are now available in "Blood Ties" TV tie-in editions. View our TV tie-in feature page here here.

Vicki Nelson, formerly of Toronto’s homicide unit and now a private detective, witnesses the first of many vicious attacks that are now plaguing the city of Toronto. As death follows unspeakable death, Vicki is forced to renew her tempestuous relationship with her former partner, Mike Celluci, to stop these forces of dark magic—along with another, unexpected ally…

Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII, has learned over the course of his long life how to blend with humans,…


Book cover of Murder, Exit Stage Right

Yvonne Rediger Author Of Condo Crazy

From my list on discovering which type of mystery fits you.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've read mysteries of all types since I was young. Unfortunately for my publishers, I like to write in several different genres too. Everyone loves a mystery, a puzzle, sussing out the hidden. If you think you don’t like mysteries, then I think you just haven’t found your genre yet. Reading a mystery is like treasure hunting, we all want to find the gold. I love clever dialogue, characters you want to meet in real life, and accompany them while solving a mystery. All the books I have recommended have an overarching mystery element. I write like that too, also, one element links all my books regardless of genre. Happy treasure hunting!

Yvonne's book list on discovering which type of mystery fits you

Yvonne Rediger Why did Yvonne love this book?

In this cozy mystery Mable and Violet are fast friends and have odd adventures. I think everyone needs a partner in crime, so to speak. This is a series; each book has a different theme, which I like. This story is set in a theatre, a one-act play competition in small town Saskatchewan, Canada. From my experience in little theatre odd things do happen. Like in my writing, this story has humour, intrigue, and enduring friendship. The added bonus, a theatre critic who has it coming. I like figuring out who had the biggest axe to grind and what motives each character is hiding.

By Joan Havelange,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Murder, Exit Stage Right as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Murder is a hard act to follow. All the drama does not take place on the stage at the Glenhaven Drama Festival. A collection of amateur actors with big egos land in Mabel Havelock’s hometown. And Mabel’s acting debut is not the only thing on her mind. Mysterious accidents and sabotage are plaguing the festival.

Mabel and her best friend Violet Ficher are determined to ferret out the culprit. The problem is why? Who has anything to gain? And why did Sherman have to die?


What Happened to Frank?

By Vicky Earle,

Book cover of What Happened to Frank?

Vicky Earle Author Of What Happened to Frank?

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Vicky's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

What Happened to Frank? is the first book in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series. Meg is an amateur sleuth who owns racehorses and lives on a horse farm. Her beloved border collie, Kelly, is usually at Meg's side as she investigates murders and solves other mysteries. The books are action-packed and fast-paced, and set in the world of thoroughbred horse racing and country life.

Meg's first investigation starts on the dreaded anniversary of Frank's untimely death. Meg's conviction that it was no accident turns into a keen determination to find out who killed her husband. As she follows the bends…

What Happened to Frank?

By Vicky Earle,

What is this book about?

Meg Sheppard Mystery Series Book One

"What Happened to Frank?" is a fast-paced, action-packed mystery that unfurls within the worlds of thoroughbred horse racing and country living.

Meg Sheppard escaped persistent abuse by her stepfather by emigrating to Canada from England.
She now lives on a small horse farm. She owns two thoroughbred racehorses, Rose and Speed, and two retired racehorses, Eagle and Bullet.

Meg adores her border collie dog, Kelly, who is usually at her side.
On the dreaded anniversary of Frank's untimely death, Meg's conviction that it was no accident turns into a keen determination to find out…


Book cover of Bad Move

Joan Havelange Author Of Death and Denial

From my list on new and not so new murder mystery and mayhem.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write whodunits. I love a good puzzle. And I love humour. I have written five mysteries Wayward Shot, Death and Denial, a travel mystery, The Trouble with Funerals, The Suspects, my protagonists, go on another travel mystery, and Murder Exit Stage Right. I have won BWL INC best-selling author two years in a row. I am now writing another mystery Moving is Murder the publishing date is October 2023. And new to me and a challenge is a historical mystery I’m writing set in the 1900s.

Joan's book list on new and not so new murder mystery and mayhem

Joan Havelange Why did Joan love this book?

This was the first mystery thriller of Linwood’s I read. And it wasn’t the last.

Since then, I’ve read every book he has written and have never been disappointed. Bad Move is a mystery thriller set in the small town of Promise Falls.

You would think moving from the big bad city would be a good move. But no. Hence the name Bad Move. Linwood combines this mystery thriller with humour. Yes, humour in a thriller.

He is a master storyteller. 

By Linwood Barclay,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Zack Walker Mystery #1

Zack Walker is a writer with an overactive imagination and two teenage children. After a murder on their street, he uproots his family from the city - insisting it's for their own good - and heads for the security of the suburbs.

However, his peaceful new life is soon shattered when he finds a body while out walking by the creek. Zack recognizes the dead man - and knows who his killer might be.

Things go from bad to worse as Zack follows a trail of deceit that leads right to his front door. To protect…


Book cover of Cop Hater

Desmond P. Ryan Author Of 10-33 Assist PC

From my list on police procedurals with a flawed protagonist.

Why am I passionate about this?

For almost thirty years, I worked as a cop in the back alleys, poorly lit laneways, and forgotten neighbourhoods in Toronto, the city where I grew up. Murder, mayhem, and sexual violations intended to demean, shame, and haunt the victims were all in a day’s work. Whether as a beat cop or a plainclothes detective, I dealt with good people who did bad things and bad people who followed their instincts. And now that I’m retired, I can take some of those experiences and turn them into crime fiction novels.

Desmond's book list on police procedurals with a flawed protagonist

Desmond P. Ryan Why did Desmond love this book?

I really enjoyed the entire 87th Precinct series, wherein Ed McBain creates the American police procedural genre.

Cop Hater, the first in the series, is hard-hitting, fast-paced, filled with complex characters, and captures the essence of a cop’s soul while giving the reader a wonderful glimpse into the world of criminal investigations.

By Ed McBain,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The murder of three detectives in quick succession in the 87th Precinct leads Detective Steve Carella on a search through the city's underside and ultimately into the murderer's sights


Book cover of The Devil's Detective

Philip Palmer Author Of Version 43

From my list on fantasy with a detective hero.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a science fiction and fantasy novelist and also a screenwriter and prolific writer of audio dramas for BBC Radio. I began my career many eons ago writing for the crime drama series The Bill and during that period I spent a lot of time mixing with coppers & villains and attending crime scenes. I have a great passion for detective and crime writing as well as all forms of speculative fiction, and I’m a sucker for crime/fantasy mash-ups.

Philip's book list on fantasy with a detective hero

Philip Palmer Why did Philip love this book?

I bought this book in Hatchard’s bookshop because I liked the cover, and because I like stories about Hell. A great choice on my part—this wonderful crime/fantasy novel features a detective called Thomas Fool in the most lawless land there can be. Thomas has to investigate a series of grisly murders which threaten the Devil’s domain; and to make his police procedural story work Unsworth has to invent a whole new mythology of Hell in which murder is even possible. The writing is stunningly evocative and the logic of the world building is remarkable even if it is,  ultimately, bonkers. This book and its sequel, The Devil’s Evidence, are the noirest of noirs and are completely unputdownable. 

By Simon Kurt Unsworth,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Devil's Detective as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WELCOME TO HELL.

Solving crimes was the purpose of Hell's Information Men, yet they almost never achieved it, and even when they did, the facts they scraped free were lost, buried again in the labyrinthine mess of the infernal Bureaucracy.

When an unidentified, brutalised body is discovered in Hell, the case is assigned to Thomas Fool. But how do you investigate a murder where death is commonplace and everyone is guilty of something?


Book cover of A Clubbable Woman

Catherine Maiorisi Author Of A Matter of Blood

From my list on mysteries that feature two detectives.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write the NYPD Detective Chiara Corelli Mystery series featuring Corelli and her partner Detective P.J. Parker. Most mysteries have a single main character so I’m passionate about finding other authors who write mysteries with two professional investigators as main characters. It’s fascinating to see how authors writing the same type of characters handle them and what they do about character growth over the course of the series. To me, watching two characters react to each other, seeing their relationship change over the course of a book or a series is much more interesting than reading about a single detective.

Catherine's book list on mysteries that feature two detectives

Catherine Maiorisi Why did Catherine love this book?

I seem to be addicted to long-running series with British detectives, though not all written by British authors, and A Clubbable Woman is the first book in this twenty-one-book series by Reginald Hill.

When I began to write fiction and worked on creating Corelli and Parker, Hill was one of the authors I looked to for inspiration. Although his Yorkshire detectives, the abrupt and rude Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and the educated, calm, and well-mannered Detective Sergeant Peter Pascoe, did not fit my vision for my own characters, I enjoyed their antics and read the entire series. The books are fun and challenging and this is a great beginning.

By Reginald Hill,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Clubbable Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel investigates a murder close to home in this first crime novel featuring the much-loved detective team of Dalziel and Pascoe.

'So far out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder' Sunday Telegraph

Home from the rugby club after taking a nasty knock in a match, Sam Connon finds his wife more uncommunicative than usual. After passing out on his bed for a few hours, he comes downstairs to discover communication has been cut off forever - by a hole in the middle of her forehead.

Andy Dalziel, a long-standing member of the…


Book cover of The Vault

Nora Gaskin Author Of The Worst Thing

From my list on noir and psychological suspense by women.

Why am I passionate about this?

Do you see the pattern in the five books I’ve recommended? In each of them, a woman writer explores the darker side of human nature and lures the law-abiding reader to explore it, too. I do not expect to ever commit a murder or to have to cover one up for the sake of a loved one. But could I? Could the person next to me in the grocery store line? Hmmm, I wonder. Traditional mystery stories and police procedurals reassure the reader that in the end, justice will be served and order restored. The women writers of noir/psychological suspense make us contemplate the world very differently.

Nora's book list on noir and psychological suspense by women

Nora Gaskin Why did Nora love this book?

The Vault is the sequel to A Sight for Sore Eyes. It is a police procedural with the detective trying to identify several dead bodies found in an abandoned coal cellar. The dead seem to have no connection to each other, so the detective must also puzzle out how each of them came to be there. I recommend it because the reader has some fun: She knows the answers to all those questions from having read the first book. It’s a great twist on mystery-as-riddle whodunits. 

By Ruth Rendell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

INCLUDES AN EXCERPT OF RENDELL’S FINAL NOVEL, DARK CORNERS

In the stunning climax to Rendell’s classic 1998 novel A Sight for Sore Eyes, three bodies—two dead, one living—are entombed in an underground chamber beneath a picturesque London house. Twelve years later, the house’s new owner pulls back a manhole cover, and discovers the vault—and its grisly contents. Only now, the number of bodies is four. How did somebody else end up in the chamber? And who knew of its existence?

With their own detectives at an impasse, London police call on former Kingsmarkham Chief Inspector Wexford, now retired and living…


Book cover of Finding Claire Fletcher

Weldon Burge Author Of Harvester of Sorrow

From my list on police procedural series.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a writer of nonfiction and fiction and full-time editor since my college years, and a publisher (Smart Rhino Publications). I’ve read horror and suspense fiction all my life, but it’s only been in the past decade or so that my reading has turned more and more toward police procedurals, noir, and crime fiction. It was only natural that I’d turn to writing a police procedural series, starting with Harvester of Sorrow. I hope you’ll read all the wonderful books I’ve recommended!

Weldon's book list on police procedural series

Weldon Burge Why did Weldon love this book?

As a male writer, I find writing from a female point of view can often be difficult. Lisa Regan’s Finding Claire Fletcher, the first in her Connor Parks series, focused largely on a girl that has been kidnapped and held in captivity for years. As I read the book, I learned much from Regan’s use of the girl’s perspective, especially juxtaposed with that of Parks’ POV. 

By Lisa Regan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Finding Claire Fletcher as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the first book in bestselling author Lisa Regan's new series, a one-night stand sets a detective on the trail of a terrifying unsolved crime.

With his career on thin ice and fresh ink on his divorce papers, Sacramento PD Detective Connor Parks goes searching for solace at the bottom of a bottle-and winds up in the arms of a beautiful woman. By morning she's gone, and the one clue she left behind sends Connor on a desperate mission to unravel a decade-old mystery-her abduction.

Presumed dead for the last ten years, Claire Fletcher has been living her life as…


Book cover of Lola Lago, Detective: Lejos de Casa

Patricia Lorente Author Of 100 Entertaining Short Stories to Practice Your Spanish in Present Tense

From my list on improving your Spanish.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer and a Spanish teacher. Creative and a little crazy. I love teaching people who arrive in my city (Madrid) to live for a while. I love writing fiction, specially novels, but also poetry and little stories. Sometimes I mix both skills and create texts as the one below. I dream about winning the lottery but I never buy tickets, and I also love to sing with my guitar when I’m alone. Pleased to meet you.

Patricia's book list on improving your Spanish

Patricia Lorente Why did Patricia love this book?

I guess I’s not a coincidence that this series of fiction books are written by the same writers as the previous one, since both of them have the same high quality in their content and are grammatically so well focused. 

The protagonist is Lola Lago, a detective who will solve a case per book.

The books range from level A1 to level B1 and come with an audiobook. The length of the stores is perfect (45-60 pages) and the format light enough to feel that you can do it. Every one of them is well focused on its level, and you can find, at the end, lovely explanation notes and light and fun comprehension exercises.

By Lourdes Miquel López, Neus Sans,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lola Lago, Detective as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Humberto, un joven colombiano, es acusado de herir gravemente al “Tigre”, un skinhead con el que había discutido. Humberto desaparece y la asociación de vecinos contrata a Lola para que lo encuentre y demuestre su inocencia.


Book cover of Deal Breaker
Book cover of Blood Price
Book cover of Murder, Exit Stage Right

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