100 books like Walking with Shadows

By Luke Romyn,

Here are 100 books that Walking with Shadows fans have personally recommended if you like Walking with Shadows. 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 Jet

Alan McDermott Author Of Run and Hide

From my list on thrillers that kept me reading all night.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was at school, reading was a chore. We were given books that held no interest and told to dissect the author’s words to find a deeper meaning. It put me off reading for years. It wasn’t until I came across a thriller that I discovered my love of books, and I’ve been hooked ever since. There’s nothing like mounting tension to get you flipping the pages, and I try to do that in my books. 

Alan's book list on thrillers that kept me reading all night

Alan McDermott Why did Alan love this book?

A cracking action thriller. A friend recommended this to me, saying my pulse would rise within the first few pages. He wasn’t wrong. It shot up and barely came down. Jet is an Israeli agent who wants out, but it’s never that easy. Such a good first book that the author wrote about 20 more in the series. Guess who read them all!

By Russell Blake,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Code name: Jet Twenty-eight-year-old Jet was once the Mossad's most lethal operative before faking her own death and burying that identity forever. But the past doesn't give up on its secrets easily. When her new life on a tranquil island is shattered by a brutal attack, Jet must return to a clandestine existence of savagery and deception to save herself and those she loves. A gritty, unflinching roller-coaster of high-stakes twists and shocking turns, JET features a new breed of protagonist that breaks the mold. Fans of Lisbeth Salander, SALT, and the Bourne trilogy will find themselves carried along at…


Book cover of Rainbow Six

Alan McDermott Author Of Run and Hide

From my list on thrillers that kept me reading all night.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was at school, reading was a chore. We were given books that held no interest and told to dissect the author’s words to find a deeper meaning. It put me off reading for years. It wasn’t until I came across a thriller that I discovered my love of books, and I’ve been hooked ever since. There’s nothing like mounting tension to get you flipping the pages, and I try to do that in my books. 

Alan's book list on thrillers that kept me reading all night

Alan McDermott Why did Alan love this book?

The best book I’ve read. I still have the hardcover edition that I bought twenty years ago, and it’s well-thumbed, trust me. Clancy, for me, was the master of the international action thriller. This one features a few of his better-known characters, including Ding Chavez and John Kelly (who was known by different names in other books). Kelly is tasked with creating a multinational anti-terror group using special forces personnel from around the world. Just in time, as a threat to mankind is unearthed.

By Tom Clancy,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Rainbow Six is a nerve-shredding thriller from international bestseller, Tom Clancy.

Newly named head of an elite multinational task force, John Clark faces the world's greatest fear: international terrorism. And following each terrifying new outbreak - the ghosts from his own past.

The challenge of a new mission is just what Clark needs, but the opportunities come faster than he expected. Hostage-taking at a Swiss bank. The kidnapping of an international trader. Carnage at a theme park in Spain. Each incident seems separate, yet the timing disturbs Clark.

Is there a connection? Is he being tested? Or is there a…


Book cover of Unleashed

Alan McDermott Author Of Run and Hide

From my list on thrillers that kept me reading all night.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was at school, reading was a chore. We were given books that held no interest and told to dissect the author’s words to find a deeper meaning. It put me off reading for years. It wasn’t until I came across a thriller that I discovered my love of books, and I’ve been hooked ever since. There’s nothing like mounting tension to get you flipping the pages, and I try to do that in my books. 

Alan's book list on thrillers that kept me reading all night

Alan McDermott Why did Alan love this book?

In Adam Black, Karl Hill has created a strong, believable character, full of angst and anger. Black is ex-SAS, a former captain turned lawyer. Out jogging from his home in a Scottish village, Black comes across trouble in the form of some gangster types hell-bent on violence. Believe me when I say they chose the wrong man.

By Karl Hill,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An ex-SAS captain survives a violent attack only to wind up in the crosshairs of a vengeful Glaswegian gangster in this crime thriller series opener.

Adam Black, a lawyer and former SAS captain, is randomly attacked while out for his nightly jog in the quiet Scottish village of Eaglesham. But Black does not take the ambush lying down, and while defending himself, kills two of the three attackers.

After Black is interviewed by the police, they decide not to press charges . . . against him.

Unbeknownst to Black, the men who assaulted him have links to a vicious criminal,…


Book cover of Killing Hope

Alan McDermott Author Of Run and Hide

From my list on thrillers that kept me reading all night.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was at school, reading was a chore. We were given books that held no interest and told to dissect the author’s words to find a deeper meaning. It put me off reading for years. It wasn’t until I came across a thriller that I discovered my love of books, and I’ve been hooked ever since. There’s nothing like mounting tension to get you flipping the pages, and I try to do that in my books. 

Alan's book list on thrillers that kept me reading all night

Alan McDermott Why did Alan love this book?

I bought this book after meeting the author, a down-to-earth Lancashire lad. When I started reading about an American cop, I had to check that I’d picked up the right book. I had, and the story he wove had me enthralled. The atmosphere was authentic, like Houghton had been there, done that. I went on to read everything he’s written.

By Keith Houghton,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

THE #1 KINDLE BESTSELLER

"If you like James Patterson's Alex Cross books, then this is the thriller series for you." ★★★★★ Seriously Good Reads

When homicide detective Gabe Quinn returns to the Los Angeles streets after the murder of his wife Hope, he thinks he has fought off all the demons that life can throw his way. But his first case back on the job may prove to be his last ...

A repeat killer is in town, a killer on a personal mission to bring Gabe to his knees, luring him into a deadly game of cat and mouse.…


Book cover of Ideas and Institutions: Developmentalism in Brazil and Argentina

Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak Author Of The Political Economy of Latin American Independence

From my list on the history of political economy in Latin America.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Brazilian economist working in Paris and dedicated to historical scholarship. I have always been deeply impressed by the political weight carried by economic arguments across Latin America. Debates on economic policy are typically contentious everywhere, but in Latin America, your alignment with different traditions of political economy can go a long way to determine your intellectual and political identity. At the same time, our condition as peripheral societies – and hence net importers of ideas from abroad – raises perennial questions about the meaning of a truly Latin American political economy. I hope this list will be a useful entry point for people similarly interested in these problems.

Carlos' book list on the history of political economy in Latin America

Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak Why did Carlos love this book?

Kathryn Sikkink brings a political science approach to the study of developmentalism as a policy framework in postwar Latin America.

Rather than rationalizing the ideology of development as the expression of interest group politics, the book interrogates the channels through which ideas find their way into institutional settings, and thence into political action. Contrasting the historical experiences of Brazil and Argentina, Sikkink shows how the same intellectual premises may lead to disparate results when put to work within different national settings.

Ideas do matter, but if they are to succeed, they need to find a hospitable institutional environment – which sheds light on both the possibilities and challenges faced by Latin American nations seeking to shape their own destiny.

By Kathryn Sikkink,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In Ideas and Institutions, Kathryn Sikkink illuminates a key question in contemporary political economy: What power do ideas wield in the world of politics and policy? Sikkink traces the effects of one enormously influential set of ideas, developmentalism, on the two largest economies in Latin America, Brazil and Argentina.

Introduced under the intellectual leadership of Raul Prebisch at the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America, developmentalism was embraced as national policy in many postwar developing economies. Drawing upon extensive archival research and interviews, Sikkink explores the adoption, implementation, and consolidation of the developmentalist model of economic policy in Brazil and…


Book cover of Ways to Disappear

Glen Hirshberg Author Of Infinity Dreams

From my list on loners whose passions lure them to other people.

Why am I passionate about this?

All my life, I’ve been fascinated by interest-driven people and the subcultures they discover or form around themselves. Though my writing ranges from mainstream literary work to music criticism to speculative fiction in many different flavors, I’m best known for what one longtime reader referred to as my “oddly personable brand of horror.” Call them people-and-their-ghosts stories. I’ve written six novels and four collections, which have earned me the Shirley Jackson and International Horror Guild Awards, among other honors. I’ve also taught writing at the graduate, university, and secondary level for more than 25 years.

Glen's book list on loners whose passions lure them to other people

Glen Hirshberg Why did Glen love this book?

Emma, the bored and restless translator into English of the works of a reclusive, once-celebrated Brazilian author, learns that the author has disappeared. On impulse, and uninvited, Emma ducks out of her Pittsburgh life and a relationship she has tired of, jets off to Brazil, and insinuates herself into the ongoing investigation into what has happened. Less a detective story than a constantly unfolding act of decoding—like Helene Hanff, Emma seems to have an easier time coaxing layered meaning out of words than interpreting gestures or interactions with actual people—Ways to Disappear is packed with doubts about humanity but soul-deep love of books, Brazil, and the process of translation. (Novey herself has translated the brilliant and enigmatic Clarice Lispector.) This being 21st Century American lit, the relationships that form feel less stable, healthy, and sustainable. And yet, in indulging her fascination with the mysteries of other places…

By Idra Novey,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Winner of the Sami Rohr Prize in Fiction

Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction

NPR Best Book of 2016
Buzzfeed Best Debut of 2016
BUST Magazine Best Book of 2016

Winner of the 2016 Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize for Fiction

New York Times Editors' Choice

2016 Barnes & Noble Discover selection

"An elegant page-turner....Charges forward with the momentum of a bullet." --New York Times Book Review

For fans of Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette, an inventive, brilliant debut novel about the disappearance of a famous Brazilian novelist…


Book cover of The Falling Sky: Words of a Yanomami Shaman

Miguel Farias Author Of The Oxford Handbook of Meditation

From my list on religious experience.

Why am I passionate about this?

From about the age of 14, I have been exploring how unusual ideas and experiences might change a person’s life. This led me to become an author and experimental psychologist studying the effects of religious beliefs, rituals, and meditation exercises on our minds and bodies. I have spent a good part of the last 4 years putting together a book which tries to answer many of my questions on the varieties of meditation practices around the world.   

Miguel's book list on religious experience

Miguel Farias Why did Miguel love this book?

Imagine a Martian landing on planet Earth, meeting with people in Europe and the USA, and writing about it. Part of this book is filled with such freshness of vision and its cuts through the problems and vices of our civilization; the other part is no less of an extraordinary tale of a religious leader brought up in the Amazon who seems to move effortlessly between the natural and supernatural realms.

By Davi Kopenawa, Bruce Albert, Nicholas Elliott (illustrator) , Alison Dundy (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The Falling Sky is a remarkable first-person account of the life story and cosmo-ecological thought of Davi Kopenawa, shaman and spokesman for the Yanomami of the Brazilian Amazon. Representing a people whose very existence is in jeopardy, Davi Kopenawa paints an unforgettable picture of Yanomami culture, past and present, in the heart of the rainforest--a world where ancient indigenous knowledge and shamanic traditions cope with the global geopolitics of an insatiable natural resources extraction industry.

In richly evocative language, Kopenawa recounts his initiation and experience as a shaman, as well as his first encounters with outsiders: government officials, missionaries, road…


Book cover of Children of the Drug Trade

Robert Gay Author Of Bruno: Conversations with a Brazilian Drug Dealer

From my list on the drugs and violence in Brazil.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was twelve, my family moved to Brazil for a year because of my father’s work. I’ve been fascinated by the country and it has been always been the focal point of my research. Initially, my focus was how neighborhood associations in Rio’s favelas took advantage of new political opportunities during the transition to democracy in the mid-1980s. By the mid-1990s, however, the neighborhoods had all been occupied by heavily armed and occasionally violent drug gangs. Since then, I've tried to figure out the dynamics of this process, from the involved actors’ points of view. Including the voices of participants in drug gang life and those, like Bruno, who bring drugs to market.

Robert's book list on the drugs and violence in Brazil

Robert Gay Why did Robert love this book?

Based on meticulous and ground-breaking research, this book examines the roles played by children and adolescents in the drug trade in Rio de Janeiro. The author and his team interviewed twenty-five young men involved with the drug trade, plus various other local actors. The testimonies reveal that the participation of children and adolescents is a function of a thriving drug market, the absence of alternative opportunities, and the corrupt and repressive nature of local security forces. I know of no other book with such unparalleled access to child combatants in Rio’s favelas. 

By Luke Dowdney,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Children of the Drug Trade as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Neymar: From the Playground to the Pitch

Madelaine Healey

From my list on sport for 8-12 year olds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an expat Australian freelance writer living in Silicon Valley, and also the mother of two boys aged ten and seven. My boys are avid readers and it is an accepted rule that no one in our family speaks at breakfast. I have a bad habit of reading books over their shoulders, but my boys are still willing helpers on some current writing projects on kids’ fiction and circumnavigating the horribly sad “decline at nine”. I also have a PhD in South Asian Studies and have worked in commercial research and marketing.

Madelaine's book list on sport for 8-12 year olds

Madelaine Healey Why did Madelaine love this book?

This isn’t one you’ll enjoy reading over your kid’s shoulder unless you truly are a diehard soccer fan. Matt and Tom Oldfield’s series of soccer-star bios are comfort food for tween fans - a bland, seemingly never-ending diet of rags to riches stories to inspire every kid with dreams of the Premier League. The prose is undemanding: “With his mohawk dyed red this time, Neymar Jr walked onto the stage. He couldn’t believe what was happening. His goal had beaten brilliant strikes by Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi”. The story unfolds with a happy triumphalism: Neymar is spotted as a deft-footed child prodigy, he is scouted to the heights of Barcelona, he overcomes injuries, he puts the team first, he is a mega-star who does noble things for Brazil. If you’re not a soccer person, the Oldfields’ books on Lionel Messi, Harry Kane and Paul Pogba don’t read very differently.…

By Tom Oldfield, Matt Oldfield,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Neymar as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

The No.1 football series - over 1 million copies sold!

'As Neymar Jr made the long walk to the penalty spot, he knew this was his chance, the one that he had dreamed of since the age of three. If he scored, Brazil would be Olympic Champions for the first time ever.'

Neymar da Silva Santos Junior is the boy who carries the hopes of Brazil on his shoulders. Although he now faces a new challenge at Paris Saint-Germain, it was his years playing for Barcelona, in a fearsome attacking trident alongside Messi and Suarez, that made him a legend…


Book cover of Heart of Fire

Kathy L Wheeler Author Of Captivated By His Countess

From my list on romance to keep you turning when you want to sleep.

Why am I passionate about this?

I began my own writing journey in 2007. I skipped many HS classes just to stay home and read. I want to know the ending of a story. I want happy ending. Life is hard, but when I have the ability to write the stories I write with the ending that so many are deprived of, at least I know I can find it in a book of my own choosing. That is my love of romance.

Kathy's book list on romance to keep you turning when you want to sleep

Kathy L Wheeler Why did Kathy love this book?

If you love Indiana Jones or tales of King Soloman’s Mines then this is a great book. Very sexy. I will say (because it’s an old book, and yes, I’ve read and re-read it many times. It’s just that good!)

There is major head-hopping, but the story is so compelling that you can actually see past that. As a young girl, the heroine followed in her father’s archeological footsteps. Her father was known as Crackpot Sherman and she is out to prove he was not a crackpot, but things don’t look too promising.

A trek up the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers and a thousand miles through the jungle in a search for the heart of an unknown tribe. Family dynamics, a frustrated, but, definitely, a hero to die for. One of the best stories that will keep you turning the pages, when you are just dying to put it…

By Linda Howard,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A fabulous lost Amazon city once inhabited by women warriors and containing a rare red diamond: it sounded like myth, but archaeologist Jillian Sherwood believed it was real, and she was willing to put up with anything to find it-even Ben Lewis.

Ruffian, knock-about, and number one river guide in Brazil, Ben was all man-over six feet of rock-hard muscles that rippled under his khakis, with lazy blue eyes that taunted her from his tanned face. Jillian watched him come to a fast boil when she refused to reveal their exact destination upriver in the uncharted rain forests-and resolved to…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Brazil, Colombia, and story within a story?

Brazil 76 books
Colombia 39 books