28 books like Arkady Renko

I love this fast, fun short story set in 16th-century London. I love scenes that exude character. Finding a body anywhere is gruesome, but finding one in a unique setting is magical. Especially when the author and the main character have the same last names.

A historical thriller, the author took pains to get correct. As a bonus you can click the footnotes and see how the author wrote the scene. I love that there is a lot packed into a very short story. It left me wishing it was longer.

Are ex-CIA agents all living in isolation taunted by their deeds? We may never know, they may have to kill us if we do. Dan Hendricks, the main character is torn between justice and protecting agents he knew in the frosty cold of Sweden.

It was a page-turner for me. I enjoy stories set in faraway places where the rules aren’t always the same. Having been to Sweden in winter I am familiar with the sting of the biting breezes. Brrr.

This novel, released in 1994, was one of The New York Times’ Notable Books of the Year, but these days, unfortunately few people have heard of it. 

A thriller about a terrorist holding the entire American air traffic control system hostage, this novel stood out because of how accurate all the details of the U.S. ATC were—details Gruenfeld had become aware of while pursuing a pilot’s license. 

Rush Limbaugh, an avid fan of aviation, raved about the book on his #1 rated radio show, and that’s where I heard about it.

I could easily recommend any of Robert Harris’s “intelligent thrillers” however I’ve picked this one because I like the idea of an “ordinary” man who finds himself in the midst of a dangerous mystery. Briefly, The Second Sleep is set in the future after our civilisation has destroyed itself and where life is now functioning at the medieval level. The church, which controls everything, has banned investigation into the past. A humble priest is sent to visit a village in his parish and begins to suspect that things are not as they seem. Eventually, against the orders of the church, he decides to try to penetrate the past with alarming consequences. So, as for my character, David Hidalgo, we find that ordinary people can make a difference!

I am recommending this book as it introduces the lead character to a new lifestyle from that which she’s used to in the United States. Business and life in Hong Kong are at first crazy and overwhelming, but then she slowly, over time, learns how to adapt and thrive. She begins to feel at home in Hong Kong and doesn’t want to return to her life in the United States.

This is how I felt when I first came to Thailand. But once I became more familiar with life in Thailand, I realized that living on a remote island would be perfect for me at retirement. I embraced change, and I’ve never looked back.

This book is a terrific story that takes place in an amazing city where the old and the new collide. The characters are relatable, allowing us to experience their challenges alongside them. It’s a story you… show more.

David Brooks explores how we often climb one “mountain” of achievement—only to discover that true fulfillment lies on a second mountain, defined by purpose, service, and deeper values. This reflects the journey I've taken myself, and that I see so many entrepreneurs and startup founders take, where success becomes less about climbing higher and more about climbing in the right direction, guided by internal transformation and spiritual growth.

We all have that mountain inside of us that we need to climb, and it can be hard to admit that it's the mountain within that matters. I read this during a time of reflection, standing in the “valley” between two phases of life, uncertain of what came next. Brooks gave language to a transition I was already living—moving from outer success to inner fulfillment. His metaphor helped me see that real purpose isn’t about chasing accolades; it’s about showing up with… show more.

I found this book hysterically funny, and the dialogue more imaginative than any book I’ve ever read. The characters are without equal in terms of their originality, including the children of Jack and Babette Gladney.

The sheer number of meaningful topics this story covers is also without equal. The author’s observations are extremely keen. At its core, it is about the fear of death, though it is not a depressing story in any sense. It’s no wonder why it won the 1985 National Book Award.

It takes real guts to prove all the naysayers wrong, and become a hero.

Raassay is a remote Scottish island, site of the Rona lighthouse, which Calum MacLeod tended full time until 1967 when he was 56, and the lighthouse was semi-automated.  As the only man living in northern Raasay, he had some more time on his hands.

To bring more people to the area, he decided to build a road, nearly two miles long, using just a pick, a shovel, a wheelbarrow, multiple pairs of wellington boots, and his bare hands.  It took him ten years. Today on Calum’s Road or “Rathad Chaluim” (in Gaelic) drivers are in awe of one man’s determination to do what he believed was needed, despite the cost.

This is (still) the best book that I have ever read about cowards who became heroes.

Whether you read it as an adult or with a child, before or after you have seen the movie multiple times, you can marvel at how Dorothy and all the characters (and there are many more in the books than in the movie) inspire the readers by overcoming adversity.

The book is a rollercoaster of emotion - never knowing what is on the next page - and the movie transcends Harry Potter or Indiana Jones for action. “True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid.” This is the difference between being fearless and being courageous.

If you feel no fear, then you are fearless, yes, but not courageous.

You don’t have to look too far to find tales of ordinary soldiers in World War II, but stories from deserters? This was a story I did not expect and had not seen handled elsewhere.

I thought Glass brought the reader into the increasingly fragile minds of the young men on the battlefield, showing how the horror of what they saw weighed on them and how some pressed on while others could not.

I often say I want a book to put me into the boots of the soldier on the field – but maybe not these soldiers!