Fans pick 73 books like The Tommyknockers

By Stephen King,

Here are 73 books that The Tommyknockers fans have personally recommended if you like The Tommyknockers. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Something Wicked This Way Comes

Bryan L. Young Author Of A Children's Illustrated History of Presidential Assassination

From my list on morbidly curious kids and their adults.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a nerd for the morbid for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I tore through all the books on the shelves in my house, whether they were appropriate for my age group or not. I started tearing into Stephen King books at 8 or so. I remember vividly copying language out of Christine when I was about 10 on the playground and getting in a lot of trouble for it. But I turned out okay. I really do believe that kids have a fascination for things above their age range, and adults enjoy it, too, and I still love all of these.

Bryan's book list on morbidly curious kids and their adults

Bryan L. Young Why did Bryan love this book?

There’s something deliciously attractive about this book.

The language Bradbury uses draws me in every time I visit it, and it keeps me hooked. This was another book I found as a kid, and it left its hooks in me from when I was young.

Is it morbid? There are definitely morbid parts to it. And it deals with life-and-death situations, but it’s just so good. I never wanted it to end.

By Ray Bradbury,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Something Wicked This Way Comes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of Ray Bradbury’s best-known and most popular novels, Something Wicked This Way Comes, now featuring a new introduction and material about its longstanding influence on culture and genre.

For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all…


Book cover of Intensity

Brett McKay Author Of The Intruders

From my list on warp your brain with shocks, twists, and horror.

Why am I passionate about this?

It wasn’t until high school when I read Stephen King’s Night Shift that illuminated the genre for me—horror. My first short story was The Dark Shadow, and it fit me like a glove. My writing is inspired by the books I like to read, as I’m sure it is with all writers, and I write characters that I know and in settings I am familiar with for authenticity. The years of experience have honed my craft, and my books are a culmination of my favorite things—supernatural horror, suspense, heart, drama, westerns, and action.

Brett's book list on warp your brain with shocks, twists, and horror

Brett McKay Why did Brett love this book?

When this book caused me to pull over, park, and listen to the last hour, making me late to my work appointment, I knew I was reading (listening) to the most intense, suspenseful, tightly written novel.

As much as I love horror and the supernatural, none of it thrills me unless it is accompanied by suspense, and no one cranks them out better than Koontz.

By Dean Koontz,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

If you delight in the suspense of Stephen King and Harlan Coben, you'll love Intensity - a classic thriller by Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.

Edgler Vess is a sociopath intent on murder. He lives for one purpose only: to satisfy all appetites as they arise, seeking ever more outrageous experience. To live with intensity.

When he attacks her friend, Laura, Chyna Shepherd is saved by the instincts developed during a dark and turbulent childhood. Not knowing Laura is already dead, Chyna follows, hoping to save her friend, as Vess carries her body to his…


Book cover of Phantoms

R. David Fulcher Author Of The Movies That Make You Scream!

From my list on staying awake at night.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer or horror and suspense books myself, I’ve always sought out exceptional works in the genre that are able to scare me and keep me on the edge of my seat. As a student of the horror film genre as well, a number of the books recommended on my list were made into thrilling movies as well, including Phantoms, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Tommyknockers.

R.'s book list on staying awake at night

R. David Fulcher Why did R. love this book?

Phantoms is an exceptional book. When two sisters discover that their hometown of Snowfield, CA is deserted, the reader is instantly pulled into the mystery. Koontz’s powerful description of finding homes deserted without warning, with dinner still on the table in some cases, is uncanny and unsettling. A masterful storyteller, Koontz adds special touches to increase a sense of the supernatural – voices coming from drain pipes, streetlights shattering, and even random bursts of music being heard over loudspeakers by the handful of survivors. The terror reaches a cosmic scale when Dr. Timothy Flyte recognizes the source of the supernatural events as humanity’s “ancient enemy” – a cunning being of massive size that has been feeding on mankind for centuries. I highly recommend this book if you need to stay awake all night!

By Dean Koontz,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Phantoms is gruesome and unrelenting...It's well realized, intelligent, and humane."-Stephen King

They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body, strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California.

At first they thought it was the work of a maniac. Or terrorists. Or toxic contamination. Or a bizarre new disease.

But then they found the truth. And they saw it in the flesh. And it was worse than anything any of them had ever imagined...


If you love The Tommyknockers...

Ad

Book cover of Conditions are Different After Dark

Conditions are Different After Dark By Owen W. Knight,

In 1662, a man is wrongly executed for signing the death warrant of Charles I. Awaiting execution, he asks to speak with a priest, to whom he declares a curse on the village that betrayed him. The priest responds with a counter-curse, leaving just one option to nullify it.

Four…

Book cover of The Servants of Twilight

R. David Fulcher Author Of The Movies That Make You Scream!

From my list on staying awake at night.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer or horror and suspense books myself, I’ve always sought out exceptional works in the genre that are able to scare me and keep me on the edge of my seat. As a student of the horror film genre as well, a number of the books recommended on my list were made into thrilling movies as well, including Phantoms, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Tommyknockers.

R.'s book list on staying awake at night

R. David Fulcher Why did R. love this book?

If you’re awake at night due to paranoia, then The Servants of Twilight comes highly recommended. The book creates an atmosphere of paranoia much like the movie The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In the book single mother Christine Scavello tries to save her son from cult members of “The Twilight,” a cult led by the evil and delusional Grace Spivey. Grace accuses Joey of being the antichrist after bumping into him at a local mall. Christine enlists the help of Private Detective Charlie Harrison to protect her and Joey from the cult. However, Grace’s followers are everywhere. Even police officers follow Grace’s orders to destroy the young boy, forcing Charlie, Christine, and Joey to run for their lives against a seemingly unbeatable foe. 

By Dean Koontz,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

To his mother, Joey seems an ordinary six-year-old boy - special to her, but to no one else. To the Servants of Twilight, he is an evil presence who must be destroyed - an Anti-Christ who must die.

The terrifying ordeal for Joey and his mother begins in the supermarket car park where an old woman accosts them and pursues them with her terrible threats. Christine's world is turned into a nightmare of terror. Only her love for her child, and the support of the one man who believes her, gives her the chance to survive the Servants of Twilight...…


Book cover of Scarpetta

Richard P. Wenzel Author Of Labyrinth of Terror

From my list on medical mysteries health impact expert solvers.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an Infectious Diseases specialist and epidemiologist, I became aware of the clandestine bio-weapons program in Russia when exposed—after the fall of the Soviet Union. I began to look at data and lecture on the potential problem before 9/11. I familiarized myself with the biology behind likely successful pathogens, including antibiotic resistance, inability to make a vaccine, and enhanced virulence designs. I also have a passion for Greek mythology that I wanted to stitch into a publication. This is the background for my book. 

Richard's book list on medical mysteries health impact expert solvers

Richard P. Wenzel Why did Richard love this book?

A best-selling crime writer, Cornwell outlines the fascinating story of a forensic pathologist about to uncover the strange story of an injured man in a hospital’s psychiatric ward. What Cornwell does as well or better than most authors is explain the excellent and latest technological testing to clarify events and identify the cause of the mystery.

By Patricia Cornwell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Scarpetta as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14.

What is this book about?

From America's #1 bestselling crime writers comes an extraordinary #1 New York Times bestselling Kay Scarpetta novel.

Leaving behind her private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta accepts an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured man on Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric prison ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her, and when she literally has her gloved hands on him, he begins to talk-and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard.

The…


Book cover of Postmortem

Christine Knapp Author Of Murder at the Wedding

From my list on mystery series with female sleuths.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love mysteries, especially series with a female sleuth. I discovered Miss Marple when I was a midwifery student and was instantly hooked. Over the years, I have sought out mysteries with women Sherlocks and am always thrilled to find a series. I was so enchanted that I wanted to add to the genre and now write the Modern Midwife Mysteries featuring Maeve O’Reilly Kensington, a modern nurse midwife. Try any of the books I’ve recommended. You’re in for a treat!

Christine's book list on mystery series with female sleuths

Christine Knapp Why did Christine love this book?

I would love to meet the iconic Dr. Kay Scarpetta in real life. She is amazing.

Patricia Cornwell has written twenty-seven brilliant novels about this intriguing chief medical examiner. In this debut work, Dr. Scarpetta has to track down a serial killer.

Attention to detail, tight plotlines, and friendship and family drama had me locked in from the start. I was instantly transported to Dr. Scarpetta’s universe. It’s a great one.

By Patricia Cornwell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell.

'America's most chilling writer of crime fiction' The Times

A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings.

So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. And she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig…


If you love Stephen King...

Ad

Book cover of Victoria Unveiled

Victoria Unveiled By Shane Joseph,

A fast-paced literary thriller with a strong sci-fi element and loaded with existential questions. Beyond the entertainment value, this book takes a hard look at the perilous world of publishing, which is on a crash course to meet the nascent, no-holds-barred world of AI. Could these worlds co-exist, or will…

Book cover of The Last Precinct

Seth Mallios Author Of The Deadly Politics of Giving: Exchange and Violence at Ajacan, Roanoke, and Jamestown

From my list on alternate perspectives on Jamestown.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was Site Supervisor at the Jamestown Rediscovery Project in the late 1990s and early 2000s. My fondness for the people involved with the archaeological excavations is only rivaled by my love for the subject matter that involves the collision of cultures as Chesapeake Algonquians, Spanish Jesuits, and English colonists first encountered one another during the 16th and 17th centuries. Though I have been fortunate to write many books, my first book was on Jamestown, and this topic will always hold a special place in my scholarly heart (there is such a thing, I swear!).

Seth's book list on alternate perspectives on Jamestown

Seth Mallios Why did Seth love this book?

Acclaimed crime novelist Patricia Cornwell came and dug with us at Jamestown while doing research for The Last Precinct. For weeks, she immersed herself in every detail of our archaeological excavations and then produced this inspired murder mystery that transcends time. The novel is fun, thrilling, and has its roots deep in the clay subsoil of the Tidewater. 

By Patricia Cornwell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Physically and psychologically bruised by her encounter with the killer Chandonne, Dr Kay Scarpetta has to leave her home in the hands of the police team investigating the attack. She finds shelter with an old friend, Anna Zenner, but it is not the haven of security she needs when she discovers that Anna has been sub-poenaed to appear before a Grand Jury which is investigating Scarpetta for murder. Kay knows she is being framed and she also knows she can trust no-one. Meanwhile it appears that Chandonne killed a woman in New York before his murderous spree in Virginia, but…


Book cover of The Trials of Madame Restell: Nineteenth-Century America's Most Infamous Female Physician and the Campaign to Make Abortion a Crime

Marcia Biederman Author Of The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England

From my list on abortion flourishing even when criminalized.

Why am I passionate about this?

Years ago, I wrote mystery novels featuring women investigators when that was new in the genre. Now, I discover stories of real-life women whose lives have a natural story arc that can engage the reader from start to finish. Like gambling and prostitution, abortion, when it was illegal in the US, as it is now again in many places, was simultaneously in your face and undercover. It was also largely practiced by women, which is why I’m fascinated by books about it.

Marcia's book list on abortion flourishing even when criminalized

Marcia Biederman Why did Marcia love this book?

I thought I had nothing left to learn about Madame Restell, the unapologetic 19th-century abortion provider until I saw how this book was organized. While keeping the narrative flowing, Syrett helpfully organizes Restell’s career into phases defined by changes in the law, her trials, and the emergence of one male adversary after another.

I loved learning that, even after Restell met her Waterloo, her loving grandchildren profited from her legacy. As told by Syrett, a gender-norm-defying woman who was literally hounded to death somehow managed to have the last laugh.

By Nicholas L. Syrett,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The biography of one of the most famous abortionists of the nineteenth century-and a story that has unmistakable parallels to the current war on reproductive rights

For forty years in the mid-nineteenth century, "Madame Restell," the nom de guerre of the most successful female physician in America, sold birth control medication, attended women during their pregnancies, delivered their children, and performed abortions in a series of clinics run out of her home in New York City. It was the abortions that made her famous. "Restellism" became the term her detractors used to indict her.


Restell began practicing when abortion was…


Book cover of Black Notice

Colin Cotterill Author Of The Coroner's Lunch

From my list on reads whilst awaiting radiology and/or death.

Why am I passionate about this?

When you write a book, it’s natural to put yourself in it. You’re the avenger, the rookie agent, the hard-drinking detective. But how many of us volunteer to be the corpse? I sit here every day in the cancer unit at a public Thai hospital and smile at folks who won’t be around much longer. I wrote fifteen books in a series about a coroner. I painted the victims colorfully when they were still alive but how much respect did I show them once they were chunks of slowly decaying meat? From now on my treatment of the souls that smile back at me will take on a new life.

Colin's book list on reads whilst awaiting radiology and/or death

Colin Cotterill Why did Colin love this book?

You don’t necessarily have to like an author to admire their grasp of the subject matter and few writers have a better slab-side manner than Cornwell. She knows her stuff and you can perhaps forgive her the smartarsery that she can’t resist. But she does go out of her way to give the victims and their families closure. 

By Patricia Cornwell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In this #1 New York Times bestseller Dr. Kay Scarpetta is on a deadly mission that will pull her in two opposite directions: toward protecting her career or toward the truth...

Remains were all that was left of the stowaway. He arrived in Richmond's Deep Water Terminal-the ghastly cargo of a ship from Belgium. The decomposed body gives Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta no clues to its identity-or the cause of death. But an odd tattoo soon leads her on an international search to Interpol's headquarters in Lyon, France-and towards a confrontation with one of the most savage killers…


If you love The Tommyknockers...

Ad

Book cover of Dead Hand

Dead Hand By Valerie Nieman,

Lourana and Darrick took down the dreaded coal barons in To the Bones, but it seems that the Kavanaghs aren’t done yet. The college-age son of Eamon Kavanagh has unexpectedly inherited not only the family’s business empire but the family itself: generations of Kavanagh men whose spirits persist and who…

Book cover of The Medicine Woman of Galveston

Isabel Tutaine Author Of Song of the Wooden Sparrow

From my list on female doctors.

Why am I passionate about this?

My mother was the only female chemist in a Fortune 500 company for a good two decades before another one was hired. I saw from a front-row seat the misogyny she endured. The result of this experience was that I wrote a novel about a female doctor in 1894. I also ended up in a technical field that was only slightly populated by women, although women dominate it today. I saw the transition because I was involved in it. I think my acceptance in that field happened because of the efforts of the other women who went before me.

Isabel's book list on female doctors

Isabel Tutaine Why did Isabel love this book?

I really enjoyed this book because it plopped me right into the early 1900s when women began wandering into traditionally men’s fields like medicine. I like the delicate folding of the main character’s personal life with her Down Syndrome child and her struggles in her professional life because, face it, work is not everything in life.

This book captures the compromises a single mother has to make and compounds them by adding characters who refuse to believe she’s competent in medicine.

By Amanda Skenandore,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In a uniquely vivid story of women in medicine, found family, and conquering fear for readers of Kristin Hannah, Ellen Marie Wiseman, and Audrey Blake, an impoverished former doctor and her disabled son join a traveling medicine show and its family of strangers on a collision course with the deadliest natural disaster in American history – the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. From the acclaimed author of The Nurse's Secret and The Second Life of Mirielle West.

"Perfect on so many levels that I don't even know where to begin." —Addison Armstrong, Author of The War Librarian

Once a trailblazer in…


Book cover of Something Wicked This Way Comes
Book cover of Intensity
Book cover of Phantoms

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,605

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in female doctors, Virginia, and medical examiners?

Female Doctors 29 books
Virginia 118 books