The most recommended books about hell

Who picked these books? Meet our 96 experts.

96 authors created a book list connected to hell, and here are their favorite hell books.
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Book cover of The Girl with the Golden Eyes

David Downie Author Of Red Riviera

From my list on crime novels that double as travel books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in the ā€˜60s and ā€˜70s watching Alfred Hitchcock movies and reading Dashiell Hammettā€”Iā€™m from San Francisco. Then opera got hold of me. So, I dropped out of my PhD program, left Danteā€™s Inferno behind, and moved to Paris to live a modern-day La BohĆØme. Because Iā€™m half-Italian, I decided I had to divide my life between Paris and Italy. Mystery, murder, romance, longing, and betrayal were what fueled my passions and still do. To earn a living, I became a travel, food, and arts reporter. These interests and the locales of my life come together in my own crime and mystery novels.

David's book list on crime novels that double as travel books

David Downie Why did David love this book?

Do you want the gritty, pungent beauty of Paris during the heyday of the Romanticsā€”the 1830s? You want perversion, decadence, a crazy, kinky plot revolving around sex, dominance, Sapphic passion, murder, and intrigue, set in the Trocadero neighborhood? Only HonorĆ© de Balzac could dream up something this wild and get away with it. One of the wonders of this short novel is how, through casual descriptions, Paris comes to life. Itā€™s not a picture-postcard version of the city. Au contraire. Itā€™s a seamy, real place I recognize after 35 years living there. While I was reading The Girl with the Golden Eyes, I actually went out and found the locations. The city has changed less than youā€™d think in 190 years. Above all, the seamy, perverse side remains.

By HonorƩ de Balzac,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Girl with the Golden Eyes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Beginning with a visceral description of the society and politics of Paris, The Girl with the Golden Eyes considers the sex life of the upper class by its raw depiction of the underside of Parisian life. Henri de Marsay is a young, rich man who is nearly devoid of morals and virtue. After he meets Paquita Valdes, a mysterious and beautiful woman, he becomes infested with a deviant lust for her. When his plan to seduce her succeeds, Henri and Paquita maintain an intensely sexual relationship. However, when Henri starts to suspect Paquita is involved with another lover, he becomesā€¦


Book cover of The Sinful Scot

Jennifer Trethewey Author Of Saving the Scot

From my list on regency romances featuring hot highlanders.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about historical romance and romance readers. My favorite era in history is the Regency, the period during which the Prince of Wales was named Regent. It is also the time during which Jane Austen wrote. Austen readers are particular about details so itā€™s daunting to write Regency fiction. Still, I love to write it and read it. Iā€™m also passionate about Scotland, its history, the land, the people, the customs, the folklore, the food, and the music. If youā€™ve never been, put Scotland on your bucket list. They say itā€™s the oldest rock on earth. Thereā€™s magic there, too. Really and truly. Magic.

Jennifer's book list on regency romances featuring hot highlanders

Jennifer Trethewey Why did Jennifer love this book?

In The Sinful Scot, Maddison Michaels combines mystery and romance, two of my favorite kinds of novels. Viewed from the outside, Constance Campbell has the perfect life. The truth is, her husband, the duke, keeps her prisoner in a living hell. When her husband turns up dead in her bed, she is framed for his murder. 

Dr. Alec McGuiness has always known his origins were too humble for the likes of Constance, but he has never stopped loving her, so when she turns to him for help, he has to save her. In my opinion, there is nothing so painful as loving someone who can never love you back. This one has all the feels.

By Maddison Michaels,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Constance Campbell, the Duchess of Kilmaine, once believed that all she needed in life was a duke. But everything unraveled when she realized her perfect husband was a perfect monster. Now broken beyond repair, she hides her misery behind a perfect Society mask...even from her childhood friend, Alec.

Dr. Alec McGuiness reluctantly finds himself back in Scotland, and checking up on the only woman to ever get under his skin, Connie. After she spurned him many years ago, he knows his humble life as a doctor could never be enough for her. But when the Duke of Kilmaine is murderedā€¦


Book cover of The Girl with the Golden Eyes
Book cover of The Sinful Scot

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