I recently talked about how I feel like I’m a “fake” fantasy reader because I always say I like fantasy books, but barely read them. I don’t do well with high fantasy and tend to prefer lighter fantasy novels, if I read them at all. I sought out some recommendations based on some of the favorites I’ve actually read and you guys definitely delivered. I’m hoping for the same thing here today. I always add mystery/thriller and historical fiction novels to my TBR on Goodreads, but almost NEVER actually read them. I want to share a few historical and suspenseful books here so you know what I like, and then hopefully you can help me out with some recommendations! Which books should I actually read?!
I tend to read more political books by Ally Carter or Jennifer Lynn Barnes, or books that fall on the “suspense” end of the spectrum (like Liane Moriarty). I don’t read a lot of hefty murder mysteries or legit thrillers, but have enjoyed some in the past. I find myself adding memory loss books to the TBR, as well as some YA murder mysteries or kidnappings. Check out my TBRs here or here if you’re curious for more I’m interested in! I also went into detail about things I don’t like about some YA mystery books too.
Seeking: political thrillers, YA murder mysteries, shocking twists,
memory loss, “suspense” classification instead of mystery/thriller
This one can be really hit or miss for me. I love books that involve historical fiction plus some kind of magic. I tend to seek those out more than any. I’ve recently discovered a few historical fiction retellings that I’ve LOVED and would like more of too! Even if they happen in the present day but they have recollections to historical events of some kind, that’s fun for me. I have smaller TBRs for this here and here if you’d like to see what I’m considering too, as well as this TTT where I laid out some books I was thinking of.
Seeking: historical fiction retellings or alternate histories, historical fiction
with magic or fantasy elements involved, WWII-timeframe maybe
Thrillers: Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams, Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday (this is an unfinished series though :/), The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong, The Body Finder by Kimberley Derting
Historical fiction: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, Scarlet Trilogy by A.C Gaughen, His Fair Assassin by R.L LaFevers, Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan, The Lovegrove Legacy by Alyxandra Harvey, The Dispossessed by Page Morgan, The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
YAAAS THANK YOU
I just kinda go with nick here. She got the good ones! (The Body Finder first though!)
Have you read Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ The Naturals series? I like it even better than The Fixer. Have you read Before I Go to Sleep? It’s an adult suspense novel that has a What Alice Forgot type story line.
Here are some adult historical fiction books that aren’t too long and are really good.
– The Mapmaker’s Children
– The Angel Makers
– The Same Sky
– The Light Between Oceans (the movie comes out soon)
I’m in the middle of Boy, 9, Missing right now. It comes out in September, and it’s kind of a suspense novel. I’m really enjoying it so far.
Not yet!! I definitely have that on my TBR. I checked out the first Naturals book from the library at the same time I checked out The Fixer and didn’t want to read them too close together!
Thanks so much for the recs!!
For mystery/thrillers I really enjoyed All the missing Girls and Black Eyed Susans was great as well. Historical fiction I agree with Nick on Salt to the Sea. I also enjoyed The Rain Sparrow which has flashbacks, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Girl You Left Behind and The Night Circus. Good luck finding some new reads!!
Awesome! Thank you 🙂
I’ve been reading a lot of suspense/thrillers lately, my recs are:
The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins (decent story line)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (excellent twist)
The Ex by Alafair Burke (excellent plot)
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight (YA crossover, includes text/email)
You by Caroline Kepnes (told in creepy second person)
Historical recs:
Anything by Philippa Gregory, but specifically the Cousins War series (lil bit of magic, kind of)
The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh (5* and based on true story!)
The Dark Days Club (fantasy, but with historical edge)
The Proposal by Tasmina Perry (debutantes!)
The Nightingale (female empowerment and WW2, 5* and my fave book of 2015!)
Yay! Thank you!!
THRILLERS: The Body Finder (this one is paranormal too, but love the mystery aspect of this one… it kind of reminds me of the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series), Ruthless, Vanishing Girls, and Never Missing, Never Found (this one has an AMAZING twist at the end. Totally recommend this one!). Prep School Confidential was pretty good too, and With Malice was interesting but I didn’t exactly like the ending (idk, some people did, so maybe it’s just me?). The Half Life of Molly Pierce was good too, but it was kinda slow… I’d totally recommend Pretty Girl-13 if you haven’t read that one yet, because it deals with the same topic that THLOMP focuses on, but has a more thriller-y vibe. The Girl on the Train is a fantastic mystery too!
HISTORICAL: Maid of Secrets, The Girl from Everywhere (LOVED this one), Prisoner of Night Fog (YES! THIS ONE WAS AMAZING!), Grave Mercy (Assassin nuns! Definitely worth the read <3), and Lies We Tell Ourselves (damn, this one was pretty sad).
Hopefully this helps! This is such a great feature, omg. Happy reading 😀
A thanks so much for the recs!
What a great idea for a feature! Hope some of these sound interesting to you!
*An Instance at the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
*The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr
*The Alienist by Caleb Carr
*Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
*Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
*the Jackaby series (this integrates some history with some magic and mystery, not sure if it’s exactly what you’re looking for, but might be worth a look)
*Please Don’t Tell by Laura Tims
*Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves
*These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly
*Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
*Truth or Dare by Jaqueline Green
*The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon
*Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
*The Voice Inside My Head by S.J. Laidlaw
*After Her by Joyce Maynard
*All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
*All These Perfect Strangers by Aoife Clifford
*Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
*Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
*Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
*Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates
*Cartwheel by Jennifer DuBois
*Dare Me by Megan Abbot
*The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon
*The Furies by Natalie Haynes
*A Game For All The Family by Sophie Hannah
*The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman
*I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
*Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
*The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
Yay thanks so much!!!
I don’t read many of either genre but I really liked All Fall Down and I really want to read The Fixer. What about Rae Carson for historical fiction???
Nereyda│ Nick & Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist
I haven’t read any of her!! Thank you!
Have you heard of Zero Day by Jan Gangsei? I have heard a lot of good things about it. It’s a YA political thriller I believe. I also feel like you would enjoy the adult mystery I have read called Black-Eyed Susans. I have also heard a lot of good things about All the Missing Girls. I have also heard a lot of good things about The Masked Truth by Kelly Armstrong. I just checked it out from the library. It is a YA thriller.
Good luck!
Awesome, thank you!!!
Um, THE BOOK THIEF? Hahah sorry the only thing I can recommend you is all the WWII books, so I mean you asked for it so that’s what I’ll do 🙂
– Front Lines
– Girl In The Blue Coat
– Salt to The Sea
– Code Name Verity
– Rose Under Fire
Yay! That time period fascinates me but I don’t read it nearly enough.
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