Here are 100 books that The Long Shadow fans have personally recommended if you like
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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!
One of the best things about teaching English at Oxford University is that students sometimes get to choose their own topics. Years ago, one of those students introduced me to Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret, and (to my shame) I didn’t even know the author. Yet Braddon sold more novels than Dickens in the nineteenth century.
Indeed, Lady Audley went head-to-head with Great Expectations, and Braddon won! On first reading, I loved the novel’s raw energy, its crazy plot twists, and its honesty: there’s little or no sentimentality in Braddon. On the second or third reading (yes, Lady Audley can cope with multiple reads even though it’s a murder mystery), I discovered complexities, contradictions, and challenges that just made me more intrigued.
Put simply, Victorian Braddon is the original and best Queen of Pulp.
Originally published in Robin Goodfellow magazine, Lady Audley's Secret is the essential work of Mary Elizabeth Braddon and is considered a staple of sensation fiction. The story centers on a mysterious woman, whose dark past slowly comes to light.
Lady Audley is a former governess who marries the wealthy widower, Sir Michael Audley. She thoroughly enjoys the life of privilege and status associated with her new husband. Although she appears beautiful and polished, Lady Audley is more than meets the eye. She has a dark secret that could jeopardize everything she's worked for. To maintain her facade, she plots and…
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!
From the opening pages (where the heat of the desert seeps off the page), I was hooked by this mystery. And then, the fun and games began.
There I was, enjoying the superbly-paced plot, the psychological realism, the stark beauty of Hughes’ prose when – suddenly – the book leapt from being very, very good to being a work of genius. I won’t share the twist, but it’s a powerful, provocative one.
Hughes, like all the authors on my list, shows that pulp fiction can be truly great, game-changing literature.
The critic HRF Keating chose The Expendable Man as one of his Crime & Mystery: The 100 Best Books. A late addition to the thirteen crime stories Dorothy B Hughes wrote with great success in one prolific spell between 1940 and 1952, it was, in his view, her best book. But it is far more than a crime novel. Just as her earlier books had engaged with the political issues of the 1940s - the legacy of the Depression, and the struggles against fascism and rascism - so The Expendable Man, published in 1963 during Kennedy's presidency and set in…
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!
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."
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…
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!
While Eric is not a Queen, I think he is a Prince.
Trains. Many trains. Rail travel has always been a crucial element in crime fiction–which works for me since I truly adore train journeys, real or imagined. Seriously though, there’s so much I love about Eric Ambler’s book.
Known as the creator of the modern thriller (just as Braddon created the murder mystery), Ambler – like all the authors I’ve chosen – offers a whole lot more than thrills. I’ve mentioned the trains, but I love the way in which his heroes are just ordinary guys who discover they can do extraordinary things while defeating Fascism.
I’m fascinated by Ambler’s unobtrusive but telling insights into some of the darkest moments in European history – this is writing that takes a popular genre and turns it into literary gold.
Kenton's career as a journalist depends on his facility with languages, his knowledge of European politics and his quick judgement. Where his judgement sometimes fails him, however, is in his personal life. When he travels to Nuremberg to investigate a story about a top-level meeting of Nazi officials, he inadvertently finds himself on a train bound for Austria after a bad night of gambling. Stranded with no money, Kenton jumps at the chance to earn a fee helping a refugee smuggle securities across the border. Yet he soon discovers that the documents he holds have far more than cash value…
I write historical mysteries, and developed an interest in early forensics when I was a police officer. I have worked in private industry, as a civilian police worker, and in a department connected to the Home Office. Historical mysteries particularly appeal to me as they present a different, and very specific, challenge. There’s no lab to process evidence, and everything needs to be double-checked for anachronisms, even down to the colour of light from gas lamps in different areas. Extensive research acted as the foundation for developing the characters in The Innocents Mystery Series. I like my mysteries twisty, complex, and intricate; through a fog of history and a touch of light humour.
For any fans of vintage murder mysteries this book is a must-read. This is a thorough examination of the poisons used by Agatha Christie, giving details of the availability, interactions with the human body, how toxins can be detected now, and at the time the books were written. As a reader or a writer, this book will make murder by poison less of a mystery, and more of a trail of clues.
Shortlisted for the BMA Book Awards and Macavity Awards 2016
Fourteen novels. Fourteen poisons. Just because it's fiction doesn't mean it's all made-up ...
Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she employed it more than any other murder method, with the poison itself often being a central part of the novel. Her choice of deadly substances was far from random - the characteristics of each often provide vital clues to the discovery of the murderer. With gunshots or stabbings the cause of death is obvious, but this is not…
I like to write about everyday people who—whether by overconfidence or desperation—are motivated to solve crimes that hit close to home. My first novel Girl, 11 is about a true crime podcaster investigating a serial killer who terrorized her town decades earlier, and my newest book Lay Your Body Downis about an ex-fundamentalist Christian who returns to her insular community to expose the church’s secrets and uncover the truth of who killed the man she once loved. Normal people can and do solve mysteries before police—and even when detectives are involved, they rely on members of the community. Those are the stories I love to tell.
Oh my goodness, first of all: this book will make you so hungry. So, be prepared for that.
Taking place in a warm, intimate Filipino restaurant outside Chicago, Arsenic and Adoboforces recently dumped Lila Macapagal into action after a brutal restaurant critic (who just so happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead while eating her aunt’s food.
She and Tita Rosie are the main suspects, so Lila has to put on her amateur sleuth hat and figure out what really happened to stay out of jail and save her aunt’s business.Arsenic and Adobois funny, charming, and layered with enough sweetness and spice to keep you devouring it until the last crumb.
The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer....
When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves…
Jennifer Bean Bower is an award-winning writer and native Tar Heel. A passionate student of North Carolina history, Bower seeks to document the lesser-known people, places, and events of her state's past. She is the author of four books: North Carolina Aviatrix Viola Gentry: The Flying Cashier; Animal Adventures in North Carolina; Winston & Salem: Tales of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem; andMoravians in North Carolina.
Dead and Gone was the first book I purchased with my own “earned” money. I was ten years old when I saw the book on display in a North Carolina bookshop. The book’s cover was orange and featured an illustration of the grim reaper in a top hat and coat. Needless to say, it grabbed my attention. Inside, Wellman’s words did not disappoint as he brought ten (pre-1914) North Carolina murders vividly to life. In fact, his words were so vivid, that I could not put the book down and finished reading it in a day. Wellman’s book sparked my interest in North Carolina’s not-so-happy past and I am sure it will spark your interest too.
Violent dealth is amazingly apt to remind us of vigorous life; these ten stories of classic North Carolina murders which occurred between 1808 and 1914 represent a much neglected part of the exciting history of the state. Victims include a Confederate general, a lovely orphan girl, a pathetic little boy, and a highly offensive political boss. The motives are the usual ones -- gain, revenge, ""elimination,"" and jealousy. The plaintive history and untimely death of Naomi Wise -- ""poor 'Omi"" they called her in Randolph County over five generations ago -- strikingly counterparts Dreiser's An American Tragedy ; Ida Bell…
My mother got cancer when I was seven and died when I was in college. So, I began to consider death and the afterlife from a very young age. I don’t know if ghosts are real, but I know that people are haunted. I explore this idea—that haunted houses are really settings for haunted humans—as well as the ambiguity between ghosts and mental descents in my own teaching and writing. I love haunted house novels because they’re wonderful vehicles for this sort of exploration and because they’re so much fun to read! I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do!
I know most people’s favorite Shirley Jackson haunted house book is The Haunting of Hill House, but I find the mystery in this book even more compelling.
Give me two sisters, a family killed by poison under mysterious circumstances, a suitor, an angry mob filled with class envy, and an unreliable narrator, and I will be filled with that peculiar combination of happiness, unease, and dread that all of us haunted house readers desire. I love this novel.
Living in the Blackwood family home with only her sister, Constance, and her Uncle Julian for company, Merricat just wants to preserve their delicate way of life. But ever since Constance was acquitted of murdering the rest of the family, the world isn't leaving the Blackwoods alone. And when Cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect the remaining family.
As a child (and budding feminist), I inhaled historical fiction about queens and other formidable women. This led to my scholarly interest in female power and authority. Aristocratic women had meaningful political influence in Old Regime France through family networks and proximity to power. However, with the French Revolution of 1789, women’s exclusion from political power (and the vote) was made explicit. This led me to examine the tools women had to accumulate political and social capital, including beauty and the control of fashion. We need to take the intersection of beauty, fashion, and politics seriously to understand the operation of power in both history and the modern world. The books I chose privilege my own interest in eighteenth-century France, but have a broader significance. And they are all really fun to read!
Women have long used face paint, hair dyes, and perfumes, despite the health risks associated with them. Martin skillfully analyzes the ambivalence women feel towards cosmetics, pushed by marketers who play on their desire to be beautiful, while moral philosophers attack the vanity and corrupting effects of artifice. The Age of Enlightenment introduced the paradox that still exists today: women are supposed to be “naturally” beautiful, but marketers convince us that beauty requires cosmetics to enhance our “natural” beauty. Like fashion, beauty is a commodity with political overtones.
Morag Martin's history of the cosmetic industry in France examines the evolution of popular tastes and standards of beauty during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As the French citizenry rebelled against the excesses of the aristocracy, there was a parallel shift in consumer beauty practices. Powdered wigs, alabaster white skin, and rouged cheeks disappeared in favor of a more natural and simple style. Selling Beauty challenges expectations about past fashions and offers a unique look into consumer culture and business practices. Martin introduces readers to the social and economic world of cosmetic production and consumption, recounts criticisms against…
I studied psychology in college and am fascinated with the human mind. The psyche holds so many joys, wonders, and the deepest horrors imaginable, all compact and functioning within our skulls. My love for psychology grew into the horror realm, where I read and watched anything revolving around the character study of an individual driven to the brink. Now, I write stories about the morality of actions taken by those who have found themselves in a peculiar position. I believe there is more to the clean-cut view of right versus wrong regarding the decision-making of one’s self-preservation.
This book stressed me out. What starts as the tale of a married couple dealing with a death in the family devolves into something chaotic. I couldn’t stop reading because I was desperate to see where this downward spiral would take me next.
I resonated deeply with the main character and her quest to be so perfect that it drove her to the brink. I, too, sometimes focus on perfectionism so hard that I feel the subtle whisper of insanity. I love it when stories relate to the darker thoughts we keep hidden inside.
'A gruesome, blackly funny, utterly original feminist horror story' New York Times, Notable Book of the Year
'A buzz-worthy and ferocious horror comedy from one of the genre's most promising voices' Buzzfeed
Abby Lamb has done it. She's found the Great Good in her husband, Ralph, and together they will start a family and put all the darkness in her childhood to rest. But then the Lambs move in with Ralph's mother, Laura, whose depression has made it impossible for her to live on her own. She's venomous and cruel, especially to Abby, who has a complicated understanding of motherhood…
