97 books like The Hunter

By Tana French,

Here are 97 books that The Hunter fans have personally recommended if you like The Hunter. 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 City of Thorns

Emilia Dashfire Author Of The Viper's Library

From my list on vampire novels to sink your teeth into.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always had a wild imagination and have been creative and expressive through various art forms since I was young. After a series of crazy and vivid dreams, I decided to turn them into a story. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had over 20 projects, each with a different style but all with my voice. I grew up in Cheshire and studied digital media at the University of Bradford, but moved to my paternal home in Spain in 2009, where I now teach English and moonlight as a fantasy author.

Emilia's book list on vampire novels to sink your teeth into

Emilia Dashfire Why did Emilia love this book?

Mistaken identity, a deadly game, and confusing desires make for a fun read. This book was one of my instant favourites because of its sassy style and the female main character psycho-analysing the people around her because of her studies in psychology.

Rowan is determined to find her mother’s killer, but her plan falls apart when a demon kidnaps her and accuses her of being someone else.

I love the way she plays two roles as herself and her shadow self and how she uses that to play games with Orion, who may or may not want to kill her. It makes for a unique character and a very interesting story.

By C N Crawford,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

I never thought I'd be singing happy birthday to myself in a dungeon. And yet when a sinfully sexy demon crashes happy hour, that's exactly what happens. He's known as the Lord of Chaos, and he's mistaken me for my succubus doppelgänger.


Happy birthday to me.


When he tastes my blood, he finally understands I'm mortal. And I realize we have something in common: we both crave revenge. So we make a deal: I can stay in the forbidden city to hunt for my mom's killer. In return, I'll help him get the vengeance he craves. I just have to…


Book cover of Veiled Revenge

Susie Black Author Of Death by Sample Size

From my list on humorous cozy mysteries set in the fashion industry.

Why am I passionate about this?

Like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, I am a ladies’ swimwear sales exec. I love solving puzzles, asking a lot of questions, and am naturally curious (some narrow-minded people say I am nosy…go figure…LOL). So, writing mysteries set in the fashion industry was the natural next step for me to take. From the beginning of my career, I have kept a daily journal chronicling the interesting, quirky, and sometimes quite challenging people I have encountered as well as the crazy situations I’ve gotten myself into and out of. My daily journal entries are the foundation of everything I write.

Susie's book list on humorous cozy mysteries set in the fashion industry

Susie Black Why did Susie love this book?

I’ve always been a sucker for a good curse to thicken a cozy mystery plot, and this one has a doozy: a stunning Russian shawl worn by a fortune-teller at a bridal shower that Washington, D.C. fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian attends for her BFF Stella. I love the plucky amateur sleuth who uses her Extra-Fashionary Perception to capture a villain who vowed that nobody at this wedding will live happily ever after.

Book cover of A Master of Djinn

Caroline Stevermer Author Of The Glass Magician

From my list on historical fantasy for armchair travel.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write fantasy novels, including A College of Magics, River Rats, and When the King Comes Home. With Patricia C. Wrede, I wrote half of the Kate and Cecy series: Sorcery and Cecelia, The Grand Tour, and The Mislaid Magician.

Caroline's book list on historical fantasy for armchair travel

Caroline Stevermer Why did Caroline love this book?

Agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, Fatma el-Sha'arawi is the spectacularly well-dressed protagonist tasked with saving the world (again) in an alternate 1912 Cairo. This award-winning novel awed me with its detail and invention. What I loved most was the way the world building relegated the British Empire to relative unimportance. Come to think of it, I loved the Ministry library almost as much.

By P. Djèlí Clark,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Master of Djinn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Included in NPR’s Favorite Sci-Fi And Fantasy Books Of The Past Decade (2011-2021)
A Nebula Award Winner
A Ignyte Award Winner
A Compton Crook Award for Best New Novel Winner
A Locus First Novel Award Winner
A RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner
A Hugo Award Finalist
A World Fantasy Award Finalist
A NEIBA Book Award Finalist
A Mythopoeic Award Finalist
A Dragon Award Finalist
A Best of 2021 Pick in SFF for Amazon
A Best of 2021 Pick in SFF for Kobo

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark goes full-length for the first time in his dazzling debut…


Book cover of Remember Me

Ellen Won Steil Author Of Fortune

From my list on satisfying your dark, suspense craving.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved dark stories. There is something especially human about being lured by that part of us we bury. How secret desires and thoughts get teased out in ways we don’t really experience in real life. Which is why I write suspense novels. Sometimes you just want to go there! Here are some books that I find hit that fix.

Ellen's book list on satisfying your dark, suspense craving

Ellen Won Steil Why did Ellen love this book?

I’m going even further back with this one. Unusual pick certainly, a YA novel from 1989 that I stole off my sister’s shelf circa 1994.

I was ten and ready for something darker than The Baby-Sitters Club. This was one of those early reads that made me want to write in the first place. The first real suspense book that had me staying up late, wondering how does one create a story like this? I still have that book, tattered and sitting on my shelf as a reminder of that first spark.

Christopher Pike is able to write stories to young readers in a timeless way. The nostalgia and sheer thrill from this story about a young woman who finds herself dead after falling four stories will bring you back to nights with covers over your head. Did she jump or was something more sinister behind her death? Only her…

By Christopher Pike,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Remember Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13.

What is this book about?

In this harrowing thriller from bestselling author Christopher Pike, a teen girl must solve the mystery of her own murder before the killer strikes again.

After a night spent out with friends, Shari Cooper wakes up in her bed not sure how she got home. And things only get stranger when her family acts like she’s not even there. Nothing Shari says gets a response and nothing she does can get someone to even glance at her. Then the hospital calls.

Shari’s mom starts to cry. The blood drains from her dad’s face. And still no one will tell her…


Book cover of Robicheaux

David Michael Dunaway Author Of Angry Heavens: Struggles of a Confederate Surgeon

From my list on celebrating an author’s literary style.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a lifetime, passionate reader. During the summer vacations, my brother and I would often ride with our father to his job in downtown Mobile and walk to Mobile Public Library, where we would spend all day exploring and reading. Well-written novels with remarkable but believable characters—such as those I've noted here are my passion. I have included novels in my list where I can identify personally with the protagonist. My list of books is varied. They have one thing in common: believable characters who struggle with life—authored by legitimate wordsmiths. When I wrote Angry Heavens as a first-time novelist, it was my history as a reader that I used as a writer.

David's book list on celebrating an author’s literary style

David Michael Dunaway Why did David love this book?

James Lee Burke is now 85 as of the date of this submission and writes every day. As I just turned 76 this month, his remarkable work habits are a goal to which I can aspire. 

James Lee Burke’s writing is filled with memorable metaphors and similes that no one uses quite as well as this Southern man of letters

In Robicheaux: A Novel, Burke reminds us that Robicheaux is plagued by the acts he committed in Vietnam, now manifested in the ghosts of his alcoholism and tendency to violence. Complicating his life even more is the sudden death of his beloved wife, Molly. The New Iberia man who killed Molly is also killed, and colleagues accuse Robicheaux of murdering the man who killed Molly.

Dave Robicheaux is a good man who does not tolerate evil deeds by others, even though he must battle his tendency to react violently when…

By James Lee Burke,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

James Lee Burke’s most beloved character, Dave Robicheaux, returns in this New York Times bestselling mystery set in the towns and backwoods of Louisiana: an “enthralling yet grim novel that…will captivate, start to finish” (Publishers Weekly).

Dave Robicheaux is a haunted man. From the acts he committed in Vietnam, to his battles with alcoholism, to the sudden loss of his beloved wife, Molly, his thoughts drift from one irreconcilable memory to the next. Images of ghosts pepper his reality. Robicheaux’s only beacon remains serving as a detective in New Iberia, Louisiana.

It’s in that capacity that Robicheaux crosses paths with…


Book cover of Darling Girls

Nicole Trope Author Of The Family Across the Street

From my list on helping you explore the darker side of suburbia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a writer for almost as long as I have been a reader, and I have always been attracted to the darker side of ordinary life. I write psychological suspense thrillers, always featuring a family in crisis. I am fascinated by what happens behind closed doors and what the headlines do not tell you about a situation. Most people love a good secret exposed, and I am no different. I look at those around me and wonder, ‘What are you hiding?’ because everyone is hiding something. And I want to know what it is.

Nicole's book list on helping you explore the darker side of suburbia

Nicole Trope Why did Nicole love this book?

This domestic suspense novel explores a less traditional family.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are foster children who end up together on an idyllic farming estate, but their lives are filled with manipulation, secrets, and lies. Their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, is a complicated and scary character, and her abuse of her young charges is difficult to read.

By Sally Hepworth,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER... Sally Hepworth’s new novel has it all.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three…


Book cover of Time's Undoing

Lynn Kanter Author Of Her Own Vietnam

From my list on when the political turns personal.

Why am I passionate about this?

Many of us were taught as children that life isn’t fair. I never accepted this; shouldn’t we do all we can to make life fair? I grew up to be a lifelong activist and a writer for social justice organizations. As a reader and writer, I love books about women’s lives, especially women who realize that the world around them shapes their own experiences. Sometimes history is happening right here, right now—and you know it. Those transformative moments spark the best stories, illuminating each book I’ve recommended. 

Lynn's book list on when the political turns personal

Lynn Kanter Why did Lynn love this book?

Any book in which a journalist and a librarian are the heroes gets a gold star from me. In this gripping novel, a Black journalist from Detroit who writes about the Black Lives Matter movement goes to Birmingham, Alabama, in 2019 on a personal and professional quest.

Her great-grandfather was, she believes, killed there by a white policeman 90 years ago, and she’s determined to find out the truth. She also thinks his story can illuminate what’s happening nationwide today. Based on this compelling premise, the novel is a mystery, a love story, a history, and an examination of racial justice rolled into one. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes view of exactly how a journalist builds a story.

By Cheryl A. Head,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Time's Undoing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A searing and tender novel about a young Black journalist’s search for answers in the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago—inspired by the author’s own family history

Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is in its heyday, known as the “Magic City” for its booming steel industry, and while Robert and his family find much to enjoy in the city’s busy markets and vibrant nightlife, it’s also a stronghold for the Klan. And with…


Book cover of The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder

Kate Hilton Author Of Bury the Lead

From my list on amateur detective novels that keep you laughing while they keep you guessing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve loved murder mysteries since childhood, and during the pandemic–when reading became a challenge–I returned to my first literary love, binging on one mystery series after another. Eventually, I decided to write one with my friend Elizabeth Renzetti. It’s been the most enjoyable writing experience either of us has had. I’ve written three other published novels, and I have a day job as a therapist (I like to think this helps with realistic characterization, but it also pays the bills). I write humor because I like to have fun at work, and I appreciate a good laugh when I’m reading.

Kate's book list on amateur detective novels that keep you laughing while they keep you guessing

Kate Hilton Why did Kate love this book?

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. 

By C. L. Miller,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A bold, bright and delightful jaunt back to the golden age of detective fiction' Janice Hallett

'A delicious read - who could resist a treasure hunt with murder at its core?' SJ Bennett

'It's a delight!' Katie Fforde

What antique would you kill for?
Freya, it's down to you to finish what I started . . .

Freya Lockwood has avoided the quaint English village in which she grew up for the last 20 years. That is until news arrives that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freya's estranged mentor, has died . . . and the circumstances seem suspicious.

You…


Book cover of No One Will Miss Her

Arthur Herbert Author Of The Bones of Amoret

From my list on endings that make you go, “Whoooooaaaa”.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born and raised in a small town in Texas, where I worked on offshore oil rigs as a bartender, a landscaper at a trailer park, and a social worker before attending medical school. I’ve worked as a trauma and burn surgeon for nineteen years. Living an exciting life has made me a better writer (like Hemingway said, “To write about life, first you must live it”), but it has little to do with my passion for mystery/suspense. I read this genre for the best reason, presumably the same as yours: I’m just a huge fan. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did!

Arthur's book list on endings that make you go, “Whoooooaaaa”

Arthur Herbert Why did Arthur love this book?

I’m not only a mystery/suspense writer but also a fan of the genre, as I read or listen to about forty whodunnits a year, just under one a week. I tend to read these books with one eye toward the superficial story, yes, but I also study them from a technical standpoint, saying to myself, “Oh, I see what the author did there,” “Man, that was a nice way to frame that conflict,” or, “What the hell? I think the author wrote that chapter by getting drunk and taping crayons to their feet.” The point I’m trying to make is that the plot devices and metaphors tend to blur together after a while. 

But this book? Man, it stood out. I mean, Kat Rosenfield had me hook, line, and sinkers with the book’s opening line, “My name is Lizzie Ouellette, and if you’re reading this, I’m already dead.” It's…

By Kat Rosenfield,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked No One Will Miss Her as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


"Blade-sharp, whip-smart, and genuinely original - a thriller to refresh your faith in the genre, your belief that a story can still outpace and outsmart you."- A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in The Window

"Clever and surprising...The superb character-driven plot delivers an astonishing, believable jolt."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Deserves two big thumbs up. Readers will be gripped by this astonishing story in which one gasp-inducing twist follows on the heels of another. A unique page-turner that just begs to be turned into a movie." -Booklist (starred review)

A smart, witty, crackling novel of…


Book cover of The Blackhouse

Angie Spoto Author Of The Grief Nurse

From my list on gothic set in Scotland.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I first visited Scotland, I drove north from Edinburgh, driving through much of the country to catch a ferry to Orkney. This northern archipelago is certainly one of the most magical places I’ve ever been to; the steep sea cliffs and standing stones, windblown grasses, and violent waves put me in a gothic state of mind. I moved to Scotland a few years later to live by the sea. Since that first visit to Orkney, I’ve written my own Scottish gothic novels, as well as presented research on the gothic at various academic conferences. It’s a topic that I’m certain will compel me for a long time to come. 

Angie's book list on gothic set in Scotland

Angie Spoto Why did Angie love this book?

This book is so atmospheric; when I read it, I could taste the Scottish sea air and smell the black peat of the island.

It has the pace of a thriller but does not compromise on rich language and complex characters. Like Johnstone’s first book, Mirrorland, the twists are absolutely brilliant and unexpected; I couldn’t put this one down!

By Carole Johnstone,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A remote village. A deadly secret. An outsider who knows the truth...

'ATMOSPHERIC AND COMPELLING' CATHERINE COOPER

'ENGROSSING, EVOCATIVE AND CHILLING' C. J. TUDOR

'DELICIOUSLY UNSETTLING' OBSERVER

'SPLENDIDLY CREEPY' DAILY MAIL

Maggie Mackay has been haunted her entire life. No matter what she does, she can't shake the sense that something is wrong with her. And maybe something is...

When she was five years old, without proof, Maggie announced that someone in the remote village of Blairmore in the Outer Hebrides had murdered a local man, sparking a media storm.

Now, Maggie is determined to discover what really happened and…


Book cover of City of Thorns
Book cover of Veiled Revenge
Book cover of A Master of Djinn

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