100 books like Thief of Souls

By Brian Klingborg,

Here are 100 books that Thief of Souls fans have personally recommended if you like Thief of Souls. 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 Waking Up in Medellin

Carmen Amato Author Of Cliff Diver

From my list on thrillers set in exotic locations.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve turned lessons from a 30-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency into crime fiction loaded with intrigue and deception. My Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's drug cartels, government corruption, and social inequality. Readers will love Detective Cruz’s complex plots, fast action, and exotic location. I’m originally from upstate New York, the setting for the upcoming Galliano Club thriller series. My family tree includes a mayor, a Mensa genius, and the first homicide in the state of Connecticut with an automatic weapon. After killing two people, including his wife, my great-grandfather eluded a state-wide manhunt. He was never brought to justice.

Carmen's book list on thrillers set in exotic locations

Carmen Amato Why did Carmen love this book?

The tropical atmosphere of contemporary Medellin, Colombia is the setting for the first book in the Nikki Garcia corporate espionage thriller series. Still reeling from her young son’s tragic death, savvy international auditor Nikki Garcia accepts an assignment to investigate fraud allegations at the Colombian affiliate of a multinational corporation. I loved Nikki’s sharp-edged inner voice and canny observations.

The impeccable cultural details really caught my attention. For example, right in the first scene, Nikki watches a wealthy businessman light a cigar. From the Churchill brand to the way he lights it with a strip of cedarwood to the way he makes her wait, not only could I see the scene in my mind’s eye, but I could smell the tang of burning wood and tobacco and resent his snobby attitude. So. Well. Done.

Infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar is long gone from Medellin, but his dangerous legacy is not…

By Kathryn Lane,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Waking Up in Medellin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named Best Fiction Book of the Year, 2017, by Killer Nashville!

Handsome Colombian men and life-threatening danger were not normally a part of Nikki's auditing job, but this assignment was anything but normal. Despite her emotional wounds, she accepts the challenge as a way to overcome the loss of her young son in a tragic event.

In the midst of the male-dominated business world in Colombia, she investigates mismanagement allegations and uncovers a sinister plot involving fraud . . . and possibly murder. She also discovers an attractive man who seems to have feelings for her. As her relationship with…


Book cover of Trouble in Nuala

Carmen Amato Author Of Cliff Diver

From my list on thrillers set in exotic locations.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve turned lessons from a 30-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency into crime fiction loaded with intrigue and deception. My Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's drug cartels, government corruption, and social inequality. Readers will love Detective Cruz’s complex plots, fast action, and exotic location. I’m originally from upstate New York, the setting for the upcoming Galliano Club thriller series. My family tree includes a mayor, a Mensa genius, and the first homicide in the state of Connecticut with an automatic weapon. After killing two people, including his wife, my great-grandfather eluded a state-wide manhunt. He was never brought to justice.

Carmen's book list on thrillers set in exotic locations

Carmen Amato Why did Carmen love this book?

I love the combination of a historical mystery with a little-known location, but this book also charmed me with a spare but fluid writing style. Ceylon in the 1930s under British rule (today Ceylon is the independent nation of Sri Lanka) sets the first book in the addictive Inspector Shanti de Silva mystery series in a riveting yet mostly overlooked moment in history. Add a superbly written cast of characters and set them at odds against each other, and I’m hooked on the whole series.

De Silva is the head of a 3-person police force in the smallish city of Nuala where he must straddle the divide between the local population and his British bosses. Reports of a cruel tea plantation owner lead to a missing worker and the owner’s suspicious debt. A dubious business associate, a frazzled wife, and a chatty mynah bird all combine to add layers of…

By Harriet Steel,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Meet Inspector Shanti de Silva, the new chief of police in Nuala, a sleepy town in the beautiful tea country of colonial Ceylon. He moved from the big city in search of a quiet life, but now that he’s faced with the suspicious death of an arrogant plantation owner, it looks like Nuala won’t be as peaceful as he’d hoped. He’s going to need all his experience to unravel the mystery and prove his worth to his new British boss.
A vintage-style mystery set in the 1930s, spiced with colourful characters and a dash of humour.

“I can imagine sitting…


Book cover of Recipes for Love and Murder

Carmen Amato Author Of Cliff Diver

From my list on thrillers set in exotic locations.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve turned lessons from a 30-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency into crime fiction loaded with intrigue and deception. My Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's drug cartels, government corruption, and social inequality. Readers will love Detective Cruz’s complex plots, fast action, and exotic location. I’m originally from upstate New York, the setting for the upcoming Galliano Club thriller series. My family tree includes a mayor, a Mensa genius, and the first homicide in the state of Connecticut with an automatic weapon. After killing two people, including his wife, my great-grandfather eluded a state-wide manhunt. He was never brought to justice.

Carmen's book list on thrillers set in exotic locations

Carmen Amato Why did Carmen love this book?

Having travelled in Africa, I’m always keen to find books set on the continent. It’s a bonus if suspense is involved and a double bonus if the story hinges on the setting. This book gets high marks in both departments. It was a better immersive experience than if I’d rented an Airbnb and watched the action unfold from the front porch.

Rural South Africa is home to advice columnist and cooking authority Tannie Maria (Tannie meaning Auntie, the respectful Afrikaans address for a woman older than you) in the first book in this unique and extraordinary series. A middle-aged widow, she offers advice and recipes to the lovelorn and others who write the local newspaper.

One letter-writer is a woman desperate to escape her abusive husband: an echo of Tannie Maria’s own fraught past. When the woman is murdered, Tannie Maria becomes dangerously entwined in the investigation, despite the best…

By Sally Andrew,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Recipes for Love and Murder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Vivid, amusing and immensely enjoyable . . . A triumph' Alexander McCall Smith

Meet Tannie Maria: the loveable writer of recipes in her local paper, the Klein Karoo Gazette.

One Sunday morning, as Maria stirs apricot jam, she hears her editor Harriet on the stoep. What Maria doesn't realise is that Harriet is about to deliver a whole basketful of challenges and the first ingredient in two new recipes - recipes for love and murder.

A delicious blend of intrigue, milk tart and friendship, join Tannie Maria in her first investigation. Consider your appetite whetted for a whole new series…


Book cover of Death on Paradise Island

Carmen Amato Author Of Cliff Diver

From my list on thrillers set in exotic locations.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve turned lessons from a 30-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency into crime fiction loaded with intrigue and deception. My Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's drug cartels, government corruption, and social inequality. Readers will love Detective Cruz’s complex plots, fast action, and exotic location. I’m originally from upstate New York, the setting for the upcoming Galliano Club thriller series. My family tree includes a mayor, a Mensa genius, and the first homicide in the state of Connecticut with an automatic weapon. After killing two people, including his wife, my great-grandfather eluded a state-wide manhunt. He was never brought to justice.

Carmen's book list on thrillers set in exotic locations

Carmen Amato Why did Carmen love this book?

The South Pacific nation of Fiji is a magical place, as I found out many years ago on a scuba trip that evolved into a circuit of the main island of Viti Levu. For tourists, the island chain offers the gold standard of tropical paradise resorts, but the story for the Fijians is considerably more complicated. The islands are widely scattered, race relations led to government coups, economic opportunities are limited, and old ways are under pressure from modern expectations.

Using cultural elements like canoe racing, as well as a foreboding sense of the conflict inherent in Fijian life today, Fiji becomes a marvelous place for trouble. I could almost smell the hibiscus! And the sunscreen! This story nearly had me booking a flight before I was halfway through.

Fiji’s complexities are woven into the plot, which would be impossible to set anywhere else. Modern beach fun and age-old traditions…

By B.M. Allsopp,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death on Paradise Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An island paradise. A grisly murder. Can a detective put his rugby days behind him to tackle a killer case?

Josefa “Joe” Horseman holds out hope for a comeback. But after riding high in top class rugby, returning to the Fiji detective force with a bum knee and a promotion-hungry new partner wasn’t what he had in mind. So he knows he'll have to up his game when guests at an island resort discover a young maid’s corpse snagged on the reef.

Sorting through the victim’s list of jealous admirers, Horseman's under pressure to solve the case before the high-end…


Book cover of When

Stacy Stokes Author Of The Darkness Rises

From my list on thrillers with a dash of magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was in fifth grade when I brought home my first paranormal thriller from the library. It was love at first read. Since then, I’ve broadened my reading horizons to many fiction genres, but fast-paced stories grounded in our world with a dash of magic continue to be my favorite. The same can be said of my viewing habits—give me shows like Severance or Black Mirror, and I’ll be glued to the screen all day long. It probably doesn’t surprise anyone that it is my favorite entertainment genre and writing genre. Many of the books on this list have served as inspiration—I hope you love them too!

Stacy's book list on thrillers with a dash of magic

Stacy Stokes Why did Stacy love this book?

This book has one of my favorite paranormal tropes—a girl with an ability she doesn’t want but must use to find the bad guy. But the execution felt truly unique, and despite all my best efforts to figure out who the killer was, the twist at the end caught me completely off guard. Brava. 

By Victoria Laurie,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked When as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior cursed with an eerie intuitive ability that's out of her control—one that entangles her in a homicide investigation   For as long as she can remember, Maddie has seen a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father's premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually deathdates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.   Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie…


Book cover of Under the Wave at Waimea

Jamie Brisick Author Of Becoming Westerly: Surf Legend Peter Drouyn's Transformation Into Westerly Windina

From my list on books about surfing that will thrust you into the tube.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve poured my life into surfing, competed on the ASP world tour through my late teens and early twenties, was the editor of several different surfing magazines through the late ‘90s and aughts, and still write about it, way too much in fact. It’s my love, my life, my burden, my machete. Earlier today, in fact, I was out there riding waves. There were dolphins and whales. And bright, soul-enriching sun.

Jamie's book list on books about surfing that will thrust you into the tube

Jamie Brisick Why did Jamie love this book?

I grew up reading Paul Theroux’s fiction and nonfiction. His travel books riveted me, inducing a wanderlust I’ve yet to come down from. When I learned that he’d written a surf novel, I jumped all over it.

I was not disappointed—more like enchanted. There’s the macking surf. There’s Hawaii. There’s the fascinating Joe Sharkey. And there’s a very subtle moment where Paul, the author, pokes his head through and breaks the fourth wall as it were. I loved that. And I love this book.

By Paul Theroux,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Under the Wave at Waimea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From renowned writer Paul Theroux comes a dazzling novel following a big-wave surfer in Hawaii as he confronts ageing, privilege and mortality

'It was as if in surfing he was carving his name in water, invisibly, joyously.'

Joe Sharkey knows he is passed his prime.

Now in his sixties, the younger surfers around the breaks on the north shore of Oahu still revere him as the once-legendary 'Shark', but his sponsors have moved on, and Joe wonders what new future awaits him on the horizon. Uninterrupted quality time with the ocean, he hopes.

Life has other plans.

When he accidentally…


Book cover of Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon

Naching T. Kassa Author Of Sherlock Holmes and the Arcana of Madness: A Horror Mystery

From my list on extraordinary Sherlock Holmes stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a lifelong Sherlockian, I have always enjoyed writing and reading about Sherlock Holmes. My favorite pastiches are the ones that are most faithful to the characters of Holmes and Watson, even if the story borders on the fantastic. I adore Sherlock Holmes and am a member of the Sound of the Baskervilles, The Sherlock Holmes Society of London, The Crew of the Barque Lone Star, The Beacon Society, The ACD Society, and The John H. Watson Society. I’ve written over 20 published stories about the Great Detective and plan to write many more.

Naching's book list on extraordinary Sherlock Holmes stories

Naching T. Kassa Why did Naching love this book?

James Lovegrove’s pastiches are among the best I’ve ever read!

I happen to be a horror and mystery fan, and Lovegrove’s stories are not only fun, they’re frightening. In this book, Holmes and Watson must solve a mystery involving an evil Christmas spirit called the Black Thurrick. They also must contend with a family who wants them to return to London above all else.

I received this book as a Christmas gift from my husband a few years ago, and it was my introduction to Lovegrove, who also writes The Cthulhu Casebooks, a series of Sherlock Holmes books concerning H.P. Lovecraft’s creations.

Fun Fact: James Lovegrove and Nicholas Meyer (author of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution) share the same birthday, December 24th.

By James Lovegrove,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new Sherlock Holmes novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Odin.

It is 1890, and in the days before Christmas Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are visited at Baker Street by a new client. Eve Allerthorpe - eldest daughter of a grand but somewhat eccentric Yorkshire-based dynasty - is greatly distressed, as she believes she is being haunted by a demonic Christmas spirit.

Her late mother told her terrifying tales of the sinister Black Thurrick, and Eve is sure that she has seen the creature from her bedroom window. What is more, she…


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 The Dollhouse

Nathan Gower Author Of The Act of Disappearing

From my list on dual timeline novels with a satisfying twist.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love studying history and reading books informed by the past because of the ways such study elucidates and complicates my understanding of the present moment. I also think the best stories should entertain as well as teach; that is, books should be enrapturing and never didactic. I’m a professor of English at a liberal arts university in Kentucky, and every time I assign a short story, novel, play, or poem, I always do so with the conviction that reading the assigned text should enthrall my students as much as it teaches them about a particular literary movement or historical moment. 

Nathan's book list on dual timeline novels with a satisfying twist

Nathan Gower Why did Nathan love this book?

I love novels set in the past but told in a way that elucidates our lives in the present, and this book is a prime example of this quality in Fiona Davis’s writing.

I loved the feeling of falling headlong into the real, tangible, utterly convincing world of the Barbizon Hotel for Women in the 1950s because so many of the themes still resonate so strongly today.

I also found the pacing of the book riveting, with back-and-forth chapters between the present-day story of journalist Rose Lewin and the past narrative of Darby McLaughlin to be perfectly balanced.

By Fiona Davis,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Enter the lush world of 1950s New York City, where a generation of aspiring models, secretaries, and editors live side by side in the glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women while attempting to claw their way to fairy-tale success in this debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue.

“Rich both in twists and period detail, this tale of big-city ambition is impossible to put down.”—People
 
When she arrives at the famed Barbizon Hotel in 1952, secretarial school enrollment in hand, Darby McLaughlin is everything her modeling agency hall mates aren't: plain, self-conscious, homesick,…


Book cover of Agatha Christie: An Autobiography

Meg Hafdahl Author Of The Science of Agatha Christie: The Truth Behind Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and More Iconic Characters from the Queen of Crime

From my list on by Agatha Christie you haven’t read.

Why am I passionate about this?

I picked up And Then There Were None off my parents' shelf when I was probably about thirteen. It was my first Agatha Christie, and I was instantly entranced by her ability to build suspense, write witty dialogue, and plot the perfect murder. As I grew up I continued reading her prolific work, while, like her, making writing my career. When we decided to write our sixth book in the Science of Horror series, we wanted to step out of “horror” and explore more the mystery genre, and we knew Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, was the perfect point of view. The Science of Agatha Christie was born.

Meg's book list on by Agatha Christie you haven’t read

Meg Hafdahl Why did Meg love this book?

During research for my book, I came across her own autobiography, which was a rare treat. It made me feel closer to her as I studied her life, getting to read events in her own voice.

Christie was a formidable woman with a life well lived, so hearing her take on her own characters and books was fascinating. She was quite self-effacing, and even admits to being annoyed with Hercule Poirot! I recommend this book for fans of her, of course, but also for aspiring writers.

By Agatha Christie,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Agatha Christie as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Back in print in the exclusive authorized edition, is the engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the “Queen of Mystery.” Fans of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and readers of John Curran’s fascinating biographies Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks and Murder in the Making will be spellbound by the compelling, authoritative account of one of the world’s most influential and fascinating novelists, told in her own words and inimitable style. The New York Times Book Review calls Christie’s autobiography a “joyful adventure,” saying, “she brings the sense of wonder...to her extraordinary career.”


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