100 books like The Drift

By C. J. Tudor,

Here are 100 books that The Drift fans have personally recommended if you like The Drift. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book cover of The Island

Michelle Prak Author Of The Rush

From my list on thriller books set In eerie, isolated settings.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born in the world’s most isolated capital city – Perth, Western Australia. Ever since my family packed up and drove across the vast Nullarbor Plain to relocate to South Australia, I’ve been fascinated by our eerie, wide-open spaces. There’s no doubt that family folklore fed into this. My Finnish mother arrived as a ten-year-old, recalling that when she first felt the heat, she thought: “This is hell.” My father and his family arrived from the Netherlands. I love my country, but this continent presents dangers in its arid isolation – all captivating to a storyteller.

Michelle's book list on thriller books set In eerie, isolated settings

Michelle Prak Why did Michelle love this book?

The Island achieved an incredible feat by inducing two competing thoughts in my mind: this couldn’t possibly happen, and this could possibly happen! 

A family of four is on an Australian driving holiday and is unexpectedly allowed entry onto a privately owned Dutch Island. This isolated setting soon makes them vulnerable and reliant on others. I loved following the characters’ journeys as they grappled with how to protect themselves and their loved ones. They’re "ordinary everyday people" who are forced to take action—and there’s plenty of it! 

As with most of the best thrillers, there are multiple points of view that ratchet up the tension.

By Adrian McKinty,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 

A "brilliant and relentless" new thriller from the author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Chain (Don Winslow).

"Unrelenting suspense." —Stephen King

“Extraordinary.” —T. J. Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Falling

"You'll never go on vacation the same way again." —Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of City On Fire

IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY VACATION.

A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT CHANGED EVERYTHING.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE CAPABLE OF UNTIL THEY COME FOR YOUR FAMILY.

After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom,…


Book cover of The Cabin at the End of the World

Richard S. Sargent Author Of The Horror Movie Night Cookbook: 60 Deliciously Deadly Recipes Inspired by Iconic Slashers, Zombie Films, Psychological Thrillers, Sci-Fi Spooks, and More

From my list on delicious horror stories to devour in one sitting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been a student of horror since my mother first sat me down in front of the TV to watch the old monster movies with her. It's a genre for the outsiders, the underdogs, which I've certainly felt at several points throughout my life. Good horror is both an escape and a vessel to affect change in the world. Many people in my life believe horror is just boobs and blood, so I feel like it's my job to educate them. This is why I started hosting my horror movie nights, which later developed into my first cookbook. Horror is a major part of my life and I hope it gets the appreciation it deserves.

Richard's book list on delicious horror stories to devour in one sitting

Richard S. Sargent Why did Richard love this book?

There is so much tension and paranoia built into this quiet story that you won't know what to believe by the end.

I have been thinking a lot about adopting, and I felt really connected to this one. It must be hard to be a gay couple raising a child in a world full of strangers who can burst into your life just to challenge you at any time.

I just couldn't get past the reality of the situation presented here. It could happen to anyone at any time, but the fact that it happened to a gay couple made it all the more relatable and horrifying.

By Paul Tremblay,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Cabin at the End of the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Paul Tremblay’s terrifying twist to the home invasion novel—inspiration for the upcoming major motion picture from Universal Pictures

“Tremblay’s personal best. It’s that good.” — Stephen King

Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road.

One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen, but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost…


Book cover of The Final Girl Support Group

Oliver Douglas Author Of Karma

From my list on horror that focuses on character development.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up, I’m not embarrassed to admit the horror genre was too scary for me. I don’t remember when it was but at some point that changed and it’s become my favourite. It started with horror movies but as I became a writer, that love transferred to horror books. My favourite type of horror focuses more on the character than the scares. I don’t see why I should be worried about a character’s fate if they’re one-dimensional. I’d trade in great character development for clichéd scares in horror any day.

Oliver's book list on horror that focuses on character development

Oliver Douglas Why did Oliver love this book?

First of all, if you go into this book expecting a slasher story, you’ll be disappointed. While its characters are rooted in the horror genre, the story focuses more on thriller until its final act. However, the best thing about the book is its character development with its main character and the other Final Girls. While the plot collapses in on itself every so often, the character work keeps it afloat and provides the suspense to make the reader scared.

By Grady Hendrix,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Final Girl Support Group as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

VOTED GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD BEST HORROR NOVEL OF 2021

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick

“The horror master…puts his unique spin on slasher movie tropes.”-USA Today

A can't-miss summer read, selected by The New York Times, Oprah Daily, Time, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer,CNN, LitHub, BookRiot,Bustle, Popsugar and the New York Public Library

In horror movies, the final girls are the ones left standing when the credits roll. They made it through the worst night of their lives…but what happens after?

Like his bestselling novel The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Grady…


Book cover of Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

Amanda Desiree Author Of Smithy

From my list on creepy epistolary horror novels.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always admired epistolary novels—stories told in the form of diaries, letters, or other mass media. They seem so real and so much more believable than plain narratives. When dealing with fantastic subjects, like paranormal phenomena, any technique that can draw the weird back into the real world helps me become more invested as a reader. It’s a quality I’ve also tried to capture as a horror writer. Moreover, the epistolary format pairs well with unreliable narrators, often filtering stories so as to make them more ambiguous and disturbing. From the many epistolary works I’ve read over the years, here are my picks for the most compelling—and creepy.

Amanda's book list on creepy epistolary horror novels

Amanda Desiree Why did Amanda love this book?

I know the concept of a sasquatch attack on a remote commune sounds silly on the surface, but Brooks crafts it into a realistic, serious story. As a believer in the possibility of Bigfoot, I was fascinated to see how disastrously an encounter between humans and cryptids could conceivably go.

The naivete of the settlers in the wilderness is even more distressing than the hostility of the animals. Unsettling news reports (of which the characters remain unaware) interspersed with diary entries underscore their desperation and peril. I thought the situation was completely credible. Really, we ought to have more sasquatch horror books.

By Max Brooks,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WORLD WAR Z

'TRUE TERROR' Guardian 'NAIL CHOMPING SUSPENSE' Total Film
______________________________________
As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier's eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town's bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing - and too earth-shattering in its implications - to be forgotten.

In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate's extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into…


Book cover of The Line Between

Andrew Golizsek Author Of Rivers of the Black Moon

From my list on thrillers about pandemics and medical mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a researcher at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and a college professor who has taught biology and anatomy & physiology, I have a unique insight into the mysteries of the human body and how existing and emerging viruses can wreak havoc on the world’s populations. In light of the COVID pandemic that killed millions and the threat of older and increasingly virulent pathogens, I find it terrifying that viruses could be unleashed that leave us defenseless. Despite all our advances and knowledge, medical mysteries continue to intrigue us and spark our imaginations. We are drawn to them, now more than ever, hoping that the fiction we read about will not become reality.

Andrew's book list on thrillers about pandemics and medical mysteries

Andrew Golizsek Why did Andrew love this book?

It was disturbing for me to think that the melting of Alaskan permafrost could actually unleash a disease that spreads and causes its victims to go mad. But the more I thought about it, the more realistic it seemed. Ebola, after all, was spread the same way, except by unearthing tropical soil.

A doomsday cult, which I love reading about, is involved in a sinister plot, and the world falls into chaos and is on the brink of apocalypse. To my delight, I got it all from this book: conspiracy, thrills, a sinister subplot, and a bit of romance. Tosca Lee has given me a believable and riveting novel that delivered on all levels.

By Tosca Lee,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Line Between as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this frighteningly believable thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee, an extinct disease re-emerges from the melting Alaskan permafrost to cause madness in its victims. For recent apocalyptic cult escapee Wynter Roth, it's the end she'd always been told was coming.

When Wynter Roth is turned out of New Earth, a self-contained doomsday cult on the American prairie, she emerges into a world poised on the brink of madness as a mysterious outbreak of rapid early onset dementia spreads across the nation.

As Wynter struggles to start over in a world she's been taught to regard as…


Book cover of Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life: A Former CIA Officer Reveals Safety and Survival Techniques to Keep You and Your Family Protected

Cat Connor Author Of [Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

From my list on to relive the 70’s if you’re surrounded by spies.

Why am I passionate about this?

Crime and espionage are a lifelong fascination for me. I used to think my dad was a spy when I was young because he didn’t talk about work. Turned out he didn’t think I’d be interested in his day as a Quantity Surveyor, my Grandad was a LEO so talking about work wasn’t really a thing. Or they were both spies. Over the years I have made some good friends in the espionage community and various policing agencies and they’re kind enough to share their expertise with me. I’m a big fan of fast-moving stories with intricate plots and action and hopefully they'll draw you in as well. I hope you enjoy the books.

Cat's book list on to relive the 70’s if you’re surrounded by spies

Cat Connor Why did Cat love this book?

As a writer of a Spy/PI series, this book is super helpful. It’s also good for personal security and I do recommend you get it and read it.

Because of this book, I listen to my gut a lot more when I’m out. I do have a tactical pen on my person whenever I leave home and it is one of the few things that you can have in your handbag on an airplane.
It’s an easy read and you can use it as a reference book like I do. If you want to know how to disappear you can find out just how hard that is in a world where cameras are everywhere. 

By Jason Hanson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times bestseller that reveals the safety, security, and survival techniques that 99% of Americans don’t know—but should

When Jason Hanson joined the CIA in 2003, he never imagined that the same tactics he used as a CIA officer for counter intelligence, surveillance, and protecting agency personnel would prove to be essential in every day civilian life.

In addition to escaping handcuffs, picking locks, and spotting when someone is telling a lie, he can improvise a self-defense weapon, pack a perfect emergency kit, and disappear off the grid if necessary. He has also honed his “positive awareness”—a heightened…


Book cover of Mr. Burns

Darrel Perkins Author Of The End Is At Hand

From my list on to read as the world crumbles around us.

Why am I passionate about this?

Like most people, I started to think about the end of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of learning how to bake sourdough bread, I read stories and made art about the apocalypse. The true and catastrophic experiences of people throughout history interested me so much that the project turned into a book. My background in printmaking and illustration has formed my approach to visualizing narrative scenes using crisp black and white linocut prints. My current position as a studio art professor has given me practice in providing information concisely. I try to entertain as much as inform. 

Darrel's book list on to read as the world crumbles around us

Darrel Perkins Why did Darrel love this book?

A little levity may be required as we watch the world crumble around us. Anne Washburn’s play reads as a multi-generational game of telephone. Beginning shortly after the apocalypse, with television now obsolete, people gather round a campfire and begin retelling what they remember from random episodes of The Simpsons. In the second act, the retelling has evolved into an oral tradition far from the original. By the third act, we’re eighty years removed from the apocalypse, and the story has become its own bizarre and surreal performance. I read Mr. Burns and saw the play in person years ago, but I still think about it and laugh. It might also somehow be a fairly accurate depiction of our post-apocalyptic world.

By Anne Washburn,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

It's the end of everything in contemporary America. A future without power. But what will survive? Mr Burns asks how the stories we tell make us the people we are, explodes the boundaries between pop and high culture and, when society has crumbled, imagines the future for America's most famous family.


Book cover of Eve

Una Mccormack Author Of Star Trek: Picard: Second Self

From my list on speculative fiction crackling with feminist themes.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a science fiction writer who loves my chosen genre for the promises it makes for the worlds that we can have—and the warnings that it offers for the worlds that might be ours if we don’t take care. I’ve picked books for people who like their thinking to be challenged, and who also long for the world to be a much better place. These are the kinds of books I love to readand the kinds of books I try to write. 

Una's book list on speculative fiction crackling with feminist themes

Una Mccormack Why did Una love this book?

England, in the near future, walking blindly into totalitarianism, everything falling apart. Eve has grown up in a happy family, with loving parents, but not even they can protect her from the world collapsing around them. Eve sets out on a journey, alone, across the wild Yorkshire moors, in search of new ways of living. This is a powerful, beautiful graphic novel from Una. 

By Una,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A powerful novel of mothers and daughters, and how we imagine our future, from acclaimed author of BECOMING UNBECOMING

'A disturbing and necessary book for our times ... Una has held up a chilling mirror for us, and leaves us with a choice - what kind of world will we make for ourselves?' JACKY FLEMING

In the near future, in a world that seems just like our own, Eve grows up in a loving family that is increasingly threatened by a society which seems to be sleepwalking into totalitarianism. After a catastrophe that changes everything, Eve must set off on…


Book cover of The Last Kids on Earth

Joshua Hauke Author Of Doom's Day Camp

From my list on monster loving middle grade reads.

Why am I passionate about this?

I always used to want to sleep with a nightlight. Then one night my dad said, “what does it matter, if when you close your eyes it’s dark anyway?” That’s when I realized, he was completely right. I'd been vulnerable to monsters this whole time and since none of them had tried to snack on me yet, then that must mean some were friendly… right? The only way to be sure was to learn more about them. So, I did. Here's a list of some of my favorite middle grade books featuring monsters. Because the only thing better than a book about a monster, is a book about kiddos that they scare or befriend.

Joshua's book list on monster loving middle grade reads

Joshua Hauke Why did Joshua love this book?

There is nothing more fun than a rag-tag group of kids living in a tree house and battling monsters, zombies, and whatever else bleeds into their dimension.

Max Brallier does an amazing job of tapping into a middle grader’s pituitary. What he squeezes out is a thrilling and hilarious roller-coaster of an adventure. Just writing this makes me want to take the ride all over again. And I didn’t even mention the art yet either.

Douglas Holgate draws monsters so cool, that they are often drool inducing. Seriously. Do a Google search if you don’t believe me.

By Max Brallier, Douglas Holgate (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Last Kids on Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

'Terrifyingly fun! Max Brallier's The Last Kids on Earth delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs.' Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

SOON TO BE A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES!

'Forty-two days ago I was an ordinary kid, living an uneventful life. But now it's TOTAL MONSTER ZOMBIE CHAOS and I'm battling beasts on a daily basis. Crazy, right? But I know exactly how to make it through the zombie apocalypse.'

Meet Jack Sullivan, self-described as a late-blooming, slow-developing 13-year-old who has so far survived the zombie apocalypse by hiding out in his treehouse. Overnight Jack's life has…


Book cover of The Blood Trials

Michael J Brooks Author Of Republic Falling

From my list on delivering thought-provoking social inspection.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since childhood, I’ve been a consumer of fiction entertainment. I’m a fan of comic books, anime, television series, fiction books, movies, video games, etc. Influenced by all of these forms of storytelling, I seek to entertain people with my science fiction books and help take their minds off their troubles. At a young age, I also realized fiction can be a gateway into exploring and bringing awareness to crucial issues. With an MFA from Howard University, I’m naturally a creative person, and if I’m not creating, I’m not living. I hope readers will check out my latest book, and best so far, Republic Falling: Advent of a New Dawn.

Michael's book list on delivering thought-provoking social inspection

Michael J Brooks Why did Michael love this book?

For me, The Blood Trials accomplishes what many fiction books are rarely able to, blend the genres of science fiction and fantasy, while exploring complex social themes, such as racism, discrimination, and classism. As an African American, I often search for good action books with black protagonists. As a young black woman, protagonist Ikenna Amari becomes the target of demoralizing treatment, while fighting through the trials to earn the military rank and status of Praetorian. Written in first person, I was easily transported inside the tempest that is Ikenna’s thoughts. I was able to feel and connect with every bit of her rage, pain, and spiritual unrest from the discriminatory treatment she faces. This book is a prime example of how to explore social themes while still being a solid action story.

By N. E. Davenport,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport's fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.

It's all about blood.

The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen's deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.

The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.

For…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in survival, coming out, and presidential biography?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about survival, coming out, and presidential biography.

Survival Explore 189 books about survival
Coming Out Explore 47 books about coming out
Presidential Biography Explore 19 books about presidential biography