71 books like The Hours Before Dawn

By Celia Fremlin,

Here are 71 books that The Hours Before Dawn fans have personally recommended if you like The Hours Before Dawn. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of A Stranger in My Grave

Anna Beer Author Of Eve Bites Back: An Alternative History of English Literature

From my list on unputdownable, game-changing crime fiction from the Queens of Pulp.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a long-time reader of mysteries, thrillers, and pulp fiction, I’ve lived a double life. By day, a scholar and a serious biographer, tackling heavyweight literary subjects, fighting the good feminist fight. By night, I devoured crime writing as a secret pleasure. Writing my book confirmed my belief that there have always been authors who transform genre fiction into literary magic – and that I could have fun telling their stories. Whether in my writing or mentoring, I want to celebrate neglected creators and explore how literary magic is made. The authors in this list are brave, authentic, and a damn good read. I wish you the joy of them all!

Anna's book list on unputdownable, game-changing crime fiction from the Queens of Pulp

Anna Beer Why did Anna love this book?

Once I’d belatedly realised that women wrote noir, it was a short step to becoming obsessed with Margaret Millar, a Canadian/American counterpart to British Celia Fremlin.

This book kept me guessing right to the end. It has a psychological complexity that means the characters got under my skin, and it is crammed with razor-sharp insights into dysfunctional relationships. I just love Millar’s spare prose: "The smile meant nothing. It was one of habit. She put it on in the morning along with her lipstick and removed it at night when she washed her face. Jim liked this smile of Daisy’s…"

It is easy to see why Millar was celebrated in her own time – and, sadly, equally easy to guess the reasons she now needs "rediscovering."

By Margaret Millar,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Stranger in My Grave as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Young housewife Daisy Harker’s world is upended when a blank spot in her memory and a reoccurring nightmare link her to an unsolved murder and a decades-old conspiracy

Jim and Daisy Harker are a young, well-to-do couple in San Felice, California, and though childless they maintain the sort of domestic happiness that others can only aspire to. But a darkness exists at the outer edges of Daisy’s mind and she has no idea why it’s there. In a series of reoccurring nightmares she wanders a cemetery, eventually finding her own gravestone. According to the dream, December 2nd, 1955 is the…


Book cover of All the Dangerous Things

Kate Robards Author Of The Three Deaths Of Willa Stannard

From my list on missing children.

Why am I passionate about this?

A missing child is every parent’s worst nightmare. Emotionally driven, tense, full of despair and hope, these stories captivate me. When I decided to include a cold case mystery of a toddler’s disappearance in my debut novel, I dove deep into both true crime and fictional novels on the subject. These books represent a range of gripping mysteries about not only finding missing children, but the scrutiny and heartache their mothers face. I hope you find these stories as absorbing, powerful, and suspenseful as I do!

Kate's book list on missing children

Kate Robards Why did Kate love this book?

Tense and twisty, All the Dangerous Things is psychological suspense at its finest.

It alternates between the past and present, letting dual mysteries unfold. Both storylines are equally interesting and surprising. I was surprised at nearly every turn, and despite my best efforts, unable to predict how either storyline would unfold.

What I really enjoyed is that it would have been easy to dislike the main character, but by learning her backstory in alternating chapters, I grew more invested in this complicated character as the story went on.

By Stacy Willingham,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked All the Dangerous Things as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The gripping new atmospheric thriller from the author of the instant New York Times bestseller, A Flicker in the Dark

From the author of New York Times bestseller, A Flicker in the Dark, comes an atmospheric new thriller about one woman's search for the truth

'I devoured this in two evenings and i'm adding Stacy as a go-to author... Thriller fans will adore this read.' Prima

'Pacy and sinister, ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS has a palpable tension that keeps the pages turning.' Sunday Times and internationally bestselling author, Karin Slaughter

'Brilliant! ... I had to finish this marvelous thriller in…


Book cover of Intern: A Doctor's Initiation

Adam Stern Author Of Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training

From my list on medical memoirs that will make your heart ache.

Why am I passionate about this?

I used to think one had to choose a career and work at it, giving up the parts of himself that didn’t fit neatly into that category. I was wrong. As a man in my late thirties, I am an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, but I’m also a writer. It’s books like the ones I’ve recommended here that convinced me that one does not need to turn off the parts of himself that are creative in order to be a doctor or even a grown-up. In fact, cultivating those same parts can be additive to this whole experience of being an adult. 

Adam's book list on medical memoirs that will make your heart ache

Adam Stern Why did Adam love this book?

Intern is the realest account I’ve ever read of what it’s truly like to start working after leaving the nest of medical school. Jauhar’s writing is crisp and human, while the content gives the reader a true glimpse into the life of a new doctor. This book taught me that it was okay to experience impostor syndrome, to feel overwhelmed, and to express yourself creatively even as a doctor. This author has gone on to write regularly in The New York Times and has become one of medicine’s most treasured physician-writers.

By Sandeep Jauhar,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"In Jauhar's wise memoir of his two-year ordeal of doubt and sleep deprivation at a New York hospital, he takes readers to the heart of every young physician's hardest test: to become a doctor yet remain a human being." ― Time

Intern is Dr. Sandeep Jauhar's story of his days and nights in residency at a busy hospital in New York City, a trial that led him to question his every assumption about medical care today.

Residency―and especially its first year, the internship―is legendary for its brutality, and Jauhar's experience was even more harrowing than most. He switched from physics…


Book cover of The Need

Chin-Sun Lee Author Of Upcountry

From my list on distressed women.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I listened to scary Korean folklore and then devoured all of Grimm’s fairy tales with their themes of good versus evil, disguise and betrayal, sacrifice, and magic. It’s not surprising that as I grew older, my reading tastes skewed toward darkness, mystery, madness, and the uncanny. There’s a penitential aspect to gothic stories, with their superstitious moralism, often with elements of the supernatural manifesting not as monsters but restless spirits—the repressed ghosts of a location’s history. I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of a place absorbing and regurgitating the histories and sins of its occupants, whether it be a town, a house, or both.

Chin-Sun's book list on distressed women

Chin-Sun Lee Why did Chin-Sun love this book?

One of my favorite hair-raising tropes is the hostile doppelgänger, and this one really delivers! After sensing an intruder in the house, Molly, a young mother, encounters a menacing double who calls herself “Moll” and claims to be her from an alternate reality, one where she has no children—which prompts her to claim Molly’s.

What makes this book so tense and creepy is Molly’s unreliable POV as she wrestles with her anxiety, exhaustion, and protectiveness over her two young children. Is Moll the manifestation of a psychotic breakdown? Does Molly want to vanquish her or trade places? The prose is potent and spare, with short chapters alternating between past and present action, twisting the suspense all the way to its ambiguous—but for me, satisfying—conclusion. 

By Helen Phillips,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

***LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION***
Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time

“An extraordinary and dazzlingly original work from one of our most gifted and interesting writers” (Emily St. John Mandel, author of The Glass Hotel). The Need, which finds a mother of two young children grappling with the dualities of motherhood after confronting a masked intruder in her home, is “like nothing you’ve ever read before…in a good way” (People).

When Molly, home alone with her two young children, hears footsteps in the living room, she tries to convince…


Book cover of The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep

Lynne Malcolm Author Of All In The Mind: Fascinating, inspiring and transformative stories from the forefront of brain science

From my list on psychology of the human experience.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a science journalist and broadcaster with a degree in Psychology and a deep passion and fascination for people, their behavior, and the workings of the human mind.  For nine years, I produced and presented the popular Australian ABC radio program and podcast, All in the Mind, in which I explored a range of topics, including neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, cognitive science, mental health, and human behavior. I’ve received numerous media awards and contributed to media award judging panels. All in the Mind - fascinating, inspiring, and transformative stories from the forefront of brain science is my first book. I continue to write and communicate about the topics I am inspired by. 

Lynne's book list on psychology of the human experience

Lynne Malcolm Why did Lynne love this book?

I love this book because I am a very prolific dreamer. Dreams intrigue me, and I am fascinated by all aspects of what happens in the brain when we sleep. I found myself completely engaged in the compassionate stories based on the author’s (neurologist and sleep physician) case studies of his patients.

This book helped me to explore what happens to our brains at night. I discovered that even if they're fully asleep, some people go sleepwalking or even sleep driving! And some people act out their dreams to a terrifying extent. I loved reading about the neuroscience of nightmares, dreaming, and nighttime hallucinations—and what they can tell us about the workings of our brain.

By Guy Leschziner,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A renowned neurologist shares the true stories of people unable to get a good night’s rest in The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep, a fascinating exploration of the symptoms and syndromes behind sleep disorders.

For Dr. Guy Leschziner’s patients, there is no rest for the weary in mind and body. Insomnia, narcolepsy, night terrors, apnea, and sleepwalking are just a sampling of conditions afflicting sufferers who cannot sleep—and their experiences in trying are the stuff of nightmares. Demoniac hallucinations frighten people into paralysis. Restless legs rock both the sleepless and their sleeping partners with unpredictable…


Book cover of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

Scott Galloway Author Of The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Financial Security

From my list on helping you be your best self.

Why am I passionate about this?

I try to use my platform to  help people consider how to live a more meaningful life. I've made mistakes, learned from them, and want to pass on those lessons. There are many definitions of success and fulfillment and many paths to achieve it. I hope by telling my story others can avoid some of the mistakes I made.

Scott's book list on helping you be your best self

Scott Galloway Why did Scott love this book?

Jonathan Haidt is a role model of mine. His unique insights into societal issues are not just thought-provoking but transformative. I’m a father of two sons, so Professor Haidt’s insights on the challenges of today’s youth hit close to home for me. I find his research extremely important and relevant.

While reading, I was struck by his comparison of modern online friendships to what my generation grew up with. When I was growing up, the friends and groups we hung out with were highly formative and influential. But the modern generation is forming these relationships online; it's an entirely different dynamic. Our kids are growing further and further apart and struggling increasingly with aspects like mental health and relationships.

Jonathan’s insights and advice are extremely valuable for parents, teachers, and leaders to learn from to address the impacts of technology on the next generation. 

By Jonathan Haidt,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An urgent and insightful investigation into the collapse in youth mental health, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author

Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spaces - communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around the world.

In The Anxious Generation, Haidt shows how, between 2010 and 2015, childhood and adolescence got rewired. As teens traded in their flip phones for smartphones packed with social media apps, time online soared, including time spent…


Book cover of The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time

Sharon M. Darmody Author Of Work Your Magic: Create a Better Business Community That Works for Everyone

From my list on how to make work, work again (to make sure that you and your workplace thrive).

Why am I passionate about this?

I think we can all agree we spend a lot of time at work. If we can help people to thrive at work, it makes such a big difference in their lives and it has such a ripple effect for the people around them. When we do well at work we do well at home. I have been working with people and organizations for over 25 years and over that time I have an instinct for the “temperature” of an organization. Work Your Magic helps you to diagnose what might be going wrong and then sets you up with a roadmap to make the changes that will make work, work again for you and your workplace.

Sharon's book list on how to make work, work again (to make sure that you and your workplace thrive)

Sharon M. Darmody Why did Sharon love this book?

If we are going to be able to work successfully at work, we need to be getting some sleep.

Every day when I talk to people I hear again and again about their difficulties sleeping. I think this book gives such practical easy-to-implement advice for helping us to sleep again. We need this platform so that we can get up in the morning and go out into the world and go to work. 

If we are interested in work, working than sleep is fundamental. I love a manual something that can tell me what I can do today or tomorrow, and this book does just that.

By Arianna Huffington,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

JP Morgan's Best Summer Read 2018

We are in the midst of a sleep deprivation crisis, and this has profound consequences - on our health, our job performance, our relationships and our happiness. In this book, Arianna Huffington boldly asserts that what is needed is nothing short of a sleep revolution. Only by renewing our relationship with sleep can we take back control of our lives.

Through a sweeping, scientifically rigorous and deeply personal exploration of sleep from all angles, Arianna delves into the new golden age of sleep science that reveals the vital role sleep plays in our every…


Book cover of Consequence: A Memoir

Barbara Nickless Author Of Blood on the Tracks

From my list on what it is like to go to war and come home.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an award-winning and bestselling author who teaches creative writing to veterans as part of a collaboration between the Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts. I’m also an Air Force brat who grew up around military folk. After traumatic events gave me personal experience with post-traumatic stress disorder, I better understood why veterans don’t talk about their time in war. The books on this list are some of my favorites for capturing the terror of battle and the difficulty of reintegrating into a society that gives little thought to the human cost of war. 

Barbara's book list on what it is like to go to war and come home

Barbara Nickless Why did Barbara love this book?

Our recent wars, waged under the spotlight of journalists’ cameras and highlighted on social media, exposed American audiences to the dark underbelly of what it means to wage war. We saw not only the horrors of combat, but also the fallout from our treatment of the enemy. Eric Fair worked as an interrogator in Iraq, where Abu Ghraib became synonymous with everything America did wrong in a foreign country. His memoir reveals the ethical consequence of our quest for intelligence, and how those who participated in “enhanced interrogation” against foreign soldiers and civilians will forever carry the dark memories of their actions.

By Eric Fair,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Named one of "8 Books You Need to Read" by Vulture

A man questions everything--his faith, his morality, his country--as he recounts his experience as an interrogator in Iraq; an unprecedented memoir and "an act of incredible bravery" (Phil Klay, author of Redeployment).

In 2004, after several months as an interrogator, Eric Fair’s call to serve his country has led him to a dark and frightening place. By the time he leaves Iraq after that first deployment, Fair will have participated in or witnessed a variety of aggressive interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, diet manipulation, exposure, and isolation.…


Book cover of The End of Her

Regina Buttner Author Of Down a Bad Road

From my list on love triangles that turn deadly.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have a close girlfriend who was once involved with a man she wanted to marry. The trouble was, the guy was always hanging out with this other woman who he’d known since childhood. Just friends, he said. Nothing going on. Ha! The shenanigans they got up to were unbelievable, and extremely upsetting to my girlfriend, who eventually broke up with the cad. Her unlucky experience got me interested in the psychology of the love triangle, and why some people remain mired in these dead-end relationships. My reading jam is anything twisty and suspenseful, and what’s more fraught than a three-way competition for someone’s affections.

Regina's book list on love triangles that turn deadly

Regina Buttner Why did Regina love this book?

This one had my head spinning right round, baby! Happy marriage, babies, a nice home—what more could a young wife ask for?

How about someone she can trust, for starters, and how ’bout her husband’s ex-lover quits coming around all the time, tattling tales of his murky past? It reminded me of an old friend of mine who fell in love with a guy she’d met through an online dating site. He claimed he was long divorced, but—whoops—was actually still married, and living with his estranged wife in separate parts of their house.

You can probably guess how that ended, but not this book. With every wild plot turn, I was grabbing for the Oh sh*t handle and gasping for breath.

By Shari Lapena,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'The queen of the one-sit read' Linwood Barclay

'Shari Lapena is one of the best thriller writers in the business' Steve Cavanagh

'I tore through it. It kept me on my toes throughout and the ending was just fantastic. Really tense!' Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange

___

It starts with a shocking accusation . . .

Stephanie and Patrick are recently married, with new-born twins. While Stephanie struggles with the disorienting effects of sleep deprivation, there's one thing she knows for certain - she has everything she ever wanted.

Then a woman from his past arrives and makes a…


Book cover of Ask, Tell

Jae Author Of Just a Touch Away

From my list on women who love women and romance novels.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a full-time writer, part-time editor, and avid reader of romances between queer women. I’ve just published my twenty-third novel, and I’m still amazed and humbled at getting to live my dream: writing sapphic romances for a living. Discovering sapphic books was a life-saver for me since I grew up in a tiny little village, with no openly LGBT+ people around, and I love knowing that my books are now doing the same for my readers. 

Jae's book list on women who love women and romance novels

Jae Why did Jae love this book?

Ask, Tell is the story of Captain Sabine Fleischer, a surgeon in the US Army during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era. The book is told entirely from Sabine’s point of view, so as a reader, I could really feel her pining for her superior officer, stunning and competent Colonel Rebecca Keane. It’s a story that will make you laugh and cry and understand much better what LGBT+ people serving in the military went through during that time. 

By E.J. Noyes,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Where can you turn when you’re caught in a crossfire of war and passion?

Captain Sabine Fleischer is a skilled and dedicated U.S. Army surgeon deployed to a combat hospital in Afghanistan. She is also one of the thousands of troops who are forced to serve in silence because of the military’s anti-gay policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).”

Usually driven and focused, Sabine finds that battles raging both inside and outside the perimeter walls are making it more and more difficult for her to deal with her emotions. Dealing with loss and mortality, lack of privacy, sleep deprivation,…


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