Fans pick 97 books like The Raven Wheel

No list of crows and ravens in fiction can ignore this book. While I don’t like crows being depicted as the bad guys, I do love King’s depiction of crows throughout this thriller as powerful and intelligent. However, those abilities come in part or maybe wholly because the crows are in service to the Devil. 

In this ultimate Good vs. Evil story, villain Randall Flagg is a shape-shifter who sometimes appears in the form of a crow. Crows have other, somewhat vague, and therefore scary roles in the saga. Sometimes, the crows come across as spies for Flagg’s army, and sometimes, they seem to appear as harbingers foreshadowing an appearance by Flagg. The birds in this book definitely lean sinister, but hey, it is a Stephen King novel, after all.

I loved that crows’ fascinating abilities are described in detail and woven into this mystery/thriller’s plot. Sloan’s mother is an ornithologist who studied crows and taught her children how the amazing birds form strong bonds, recognize faces, hold grudges, and mimic human voices. 

When Sloan returns to her hometown as her mother is being released from a psychiatric facility and her father from prison, she repeatedly hears a crow calling Ridge, the name of her brother who went missing years before. This eerie echo of the past drives her to learn the truth about her brother’s disappearance, even as she is sucked back up into the childhood trauma that put her parents away. PTSD, double lives, and creeping insanity make this a riveting read, enriched by the crow imagery.

I loved how crows play an important role in this Southern thriller, first as witnesses, then as historians, and finally as heroes. In 1828, crows observed a mass murder that set in motion almost two centuries of witchcraft by a coven operating under the cover of a college sorority. In the present day, the main character, Annabeth, assumes the ever-present crows at her new college hate her when, in fact, they are watching over her. Finally, crows play a major role in the climax. 

I loved the supernatural aspect of the crows, which is based in the natural world, and how this very enjoyable, eerie story wrapped in witchcraft has elements of coming of age, family trauma, and Native American mysticism.

“This was the fourth dead raven to appear on Sophronia Carver’s front path in as many weeks.” So begins this historical mystery. A series of dead ravens deposited on a young widow’s front stoop and an injured, rehabilitated raven taking flight bookend this period piece set in 1846 Maine. 

In a plot heavy with Edgar Allen Poe references and influences, the ravens reflect all of the birds’ many incarnations. The Widow Carver understandably sees the raven carcasses sent to scare her as sinister symbols and purveyors of doom. By the time the mystery is solved, malevolent intentions are thwarted, and true love has triumphed, the raven is finally seen as a noble, stately creature—a conclusion that I, of course, loved.

This book is jam-packed with hilarious details and a narrator who loves to share jokes directly with the reader. The laughs come consistently and quickly, and as someone who knows how hard that is to achieve, I read with respect!

Mort the Meek’s role as the only vegetarian pacifist in the violent kingdom of Brutalia is comedy genius. Keeping his vow to live peacefully, without hurting anyone, becomes a challenge when the evil Queen appoints him Royal Executioner and his first job is to execute his best friend. Fantastic fun, fantastically illustrated, with enough gore to satisfy readers who love yelling ‘Urgh, gross!’ between their giggles.

“The ravens circled Brutalia, searching the ragged shoreline for distressed sailors. Or at least some body parts of distressed sailors. A plump eyeball was always nice.

Beware the ravens of Brutalia! said no one. Because no one ever survived to pass on the message.”

Hunt gives us a different type of werewolf. One who is just trying to find his place in the world. His journey gave me all the feels. I loved being a part of Josh’s journey and seeing him find a life instead of just going through the motions of day-to-day life.

I saw my first raven near Mount Rainier. The bird looked me in the eye, hopped to the left, sized me up, and continued his business. The advancing Russian army drove Bernd Heinrich and his family into the forest near Hahnheide, Germany, where they lived in a small hut for five years.

There, he began his lifelong quest to connect with insects (especially bees), owls, trees, antelope (he runs ultramarathons), geese...and ravens. The mind of the Raven is a deep, scientific meditation on the intersection between being human and raven. It concludes that “ultimately [our differences are] less a matter of consciousness than of culture” (342).

I wonder how culture has dulled my imagination, a struggle Heinrich clearly has fought more successfully than I have.

I am from Baltimore, where famous spooky writer Edgar Allan Poe lived and died right outside a bar I used to go to in my twenties (a few centuries before I ever went there!). Our football team is even named after his famous poem, "The Raven," and its mascots are named Edgar, Allan, and Poe. So of course I love this adorable book about a tiny raven who just won’t go to bed! Stucki’s illustrations make a kind of scary animal—a raven—very appealing to little kids. And everyone can relate to a kid not wanting to go to bed! There is a whole series of books by this duo covering different Poe stories, if you want a very literary Halloween.

This book is full of petty rivalries and hierarchies that seem high stakes in the moment but, with time and distance, seem absurd. Competition between employees at the LA television station where the novel takes place is cutthroat. There’s no trust, no downtime, and something as simple as taking a day off with the flu can destroy your standing.

This book is chaotic and challenging and somehow perfectly captures the feel of an office in a fast-paced office that takes itself too seriously. I’ve been there, and I felt every moment of this book. Kaplan finds ways to point out how ridiculous our workplaces are while still honouring the experiences of the women who work there. It is highly relatable and wrenching. 

From the ravens circling its spires to the gargoyles adorning its roof, Blackberry Manor looms ominously over its rambling grounds. And behind its doors, amid the flickering shadows and secret passageways, danger lies in wait…  Deeply emotional and seriously sexy, these five standalone romances combine mystery with passion. Excellent bedtime reading.