Here are 74 books that Black Heart fans have personally recommended if you like
Black Heart.
Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
I lived vicariously through Nancy Drew when I was young. I was naturally observant and curious, and my mom was known to tail a car through our neighborhood if she thought the driver looked suspicious. So, it’s not surprising that I developed a love for all things thrilling. While working in the oil and gas industry for fifteen years, I spent some time focused on a foreign deal that served as inspiration for my first novel. I worked with people seeking power; negotiations bordered on nefarious; the workplace became toxic. If you ever ponder the moral implications behind the pursuit of power, you’ll enjoy the books on this list!
I tell everyone I know that if they want a book with incredible character development, read The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.
This book is highly atmospheric. You can feel the biting cold, the fear, the pain. It also has characters with questionable ethics. It made me question how I feel about vengeance and retribution. Some of the content is very dark, yet it doesn’t feel sensationalized.
This is also a thriller with hints of a happy ending—at least, for some people—while also leaving some things uncertain or unresolved. I prefer a thriller to leave me hanging a little . . .
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly-knit but dysfunctional family.
He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history.
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
I have cerebral palsy, but the list of things that I absolutely can’t do is surprisingly short: I can climb a flight of steps or walk the length of a football field, for example, but those tasks are going to take a lot more time and energy for me than they would an able-bodied person. We all choose where to invest in life, but cerebral palsy makes that process much more deliberate, and I’ve been fascinated by it for a long time. I’m always on the hunt for stories that demonstrate that our choices shape our life, not our limitations, and I’m determined to choose joy.
I love this book because it’s the best fictional example I’ve ever seen of a character’s disability being eclipsed by his talent. Lincoln Rhyme is paralyzed, but his talent as a criminologist is far more important—and Deaver showcases Rhyme’s genius and passion as often as he details the difficulties of disability.
I find the book’s mystery compelling and the characters well-written, and I couldn’t get enough of the relationship between Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. I’ve never seen a better portrayal of a partnership based solidly on mutual respect and admiration. I’m so grateful for how this story demonstrates that disability doesn’t need to stop you from making a real impact through the gifts and talents you’ve been given.
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Goodbye Man, discover Jeffery Deaver's chilling thriller that inspired the film starring Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington and is now a major NBC TV series.
Their first case, their worst killer . . .
New York City has been thrown into chaos by the assaults of the Bone Collector, a serial kidnapper and killer who gives the police a chance to save his victims from death by leaving obscure clues. Baffled, the cops turn to the one man with a chance of solving them - Lincoln Rhyme.
I have a confession to make. I’m a collector of book boyfriends (BBFs). Alpha males, to be precise. The more confident, successful, and assertive they are, the harder they fall for their heroine. It’s the “fall” that gets me every time. There is nothing more satisfying than falling in love right alongside the heroine. As not only a writer of romance but also an avid reader, I can go on and on about all the books I love, so it was hard to choose only five. This list is a small taste of some of my favorites. If you’re looking for a swoon-worthy BBF, reading these books is a must.
Though last on this list, Roarke is by no means “last” in anything. Powerful, confident, insanely wealthy, and oh-so-sexy, Roarke is the epitome of the swoon-worthy alpha male.
Seeing his love for his lieutenant, Eve, I fell in love—and fell hard. I was hooked after book one, and 60 books later, I still can’t get enough.
Crime and punishment is Lieutenant Eve Dallas's business. Murder her speciality. Named by the social worker who found her when she was a mere child roaming that city's streets, Eve Dallas is a New York police detective who lives for her job. In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all - and knows her survival depends on her instincts. But she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, a charismatic Irish billionaire - and a suspect in Eve's latest murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I’m an author from England who set out one lunchbreak to write the type of book I wanted to read. I like strong, imperfect heroines who fight for justice, both in their own lives and for others. Plus most of my books involve romance, so hot guys are a must too. I’ve written over fifty novels and novellas, from romcoms to thrillers, and one constant is strong female characters who do things for themselves.
Greg Rucka is better known for comic books, but he writes awesome novels too.
I borrowed Critical Space from the library years ago, and Drama is a character who has stuck with me throughout my life. In previous books in the series, she was cast as the bad guy, but in this installment, she drags the hero, Atticus Kodiak, over to her world and we find out that it’s not as black-and-white as we were led to believe.
Critical space: it's all that stands between you and death...Code-named Drama, she is a lightning-fast death machine - a hit-woman sought by intelligence agencies around the world. Drama kills as easily as she breathes...And the last time she met Atticus Kodiak, they barely escaped each other alive. Atticus has a reputation as one of the toughest bodyguards in the business, and is used to calling the shots. But all that changes when he is forced to take on Drama as a client. From New York's Russian enclaves to the Swiss Alps and the Carribean, Atticus becomes Drama's only hope for…
I walked to the library every Saturday to find a new mystery. I think I read everyone and read some more than once. As I matured, I discovered the mixture of romance and suspense I was hooked. I literally read every book in the genre’ at my local library.
A romantic suspense with an unlikely hero with a dark, murderous past and a female FBI agent with a history that haunts her.
It is packed with action and an ending that will shock you. It’s a story of redemption, self-forgiveness, and righting wrongs. A real page-turner.
Alex Parker has become one of my all-time favorite characters. A former CIA agent and now a computer wizard is forced to kill those that escape justice to settle a debt.
She's an FBI agent hunting her twin sister's killer. He's an assassin who'll die to keep her safe. His secret will destroy them both.
Read this award-winning novel from a New York Times bestselling author with over five-thousand 5-star reviews on Goodreads!
FBI agent Mallory Rooney spent the last eighteen years searching for her identical twin sister’s abductor. With a serial killer carving her sister’s initials into the bodies of his victims, Mallory thinks she may finally have found him.
Former soldier Alex Parker is a highly decorated but damaged war hero with a secret—he’s a covert government assassin who…
I’m a Canadian novelist and historian who became addicted to spy novels in my early teens. I first read John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle when I should have been studying for my Grade 10 Math exams. Since then, I’ve read everything in the genre that I could get my hands on. As an army officer, I’ve always had a strong interest in security matters. On top of this, military service gave me opportunities for travel as well as meeting and working closely with a diverse range of people, all of which have stoked my interest in the world’s second-oldest profession.
McCarry has never had the wide acclaim that my first two picks have had, and that’s a shame.
The Tears of Autumn is set in late 1963. Kennedy has been assassinated, and Vietnam has come to a fast boil. McCarry’s protagonist, Paul Christopher, an introspective poet and burned-out spy, takes it upon himself to find out the truth behind the rumor that the Vietnamese were behind Kennedy’s killing.
It’s a novel that spans continents and provides professional insight into the motivation and temperament of the spy world. Like Le Carré, McCarry’s style is sparse, lean, and enthralling. In a world beset by conspiracy theories, disinformation, and fake news, The Tears of Autumn is superb.
A re-release of the best-selling thriller originally published twenty years ago finds influential secret agent Paul Christopher pursuing a dangerous theory about the assassination of JFK, an investigation that threatens American foreign policy. By the author of Old Boys. 20,000 first printing.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I am a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Army Special Forces and the CIA with more than 20 years experience in “interesting” places around the world. That experience (and a graduate degree) gave me the background and tools to write about special operations and espionage history. I am also a conflict archaeologist and have conducted battlefield and campaign studies on three continents. I know and love these stories because they have been part of my life, and know readers will also love them.
I love all aspects of the Spy Game, from the places, to books, to film, to the food, and (of course) the drinks, so where best to go to find that kind of info than in a great book like A Spy Walked Into A Bar…?
I love the premise, the stories, and the how to make a drink. Put it all together, and you have not only a mixology but a captivating history of an “interesting” side of espionage.
Written by two senior CIA officers who know the business and what it takes to survive, which includes a cocktail once in a while. With this book, you can go into a bar and spot the spies or their targets… maybe.
Spy Tradecraft coupled with Spy Barcraft at its best. I’ll have a Talisker 18, double, straight up, in a cold glass, please!
A Spy Walked Into A Bar: A Practitioner's Guide to Cocktail Tradecraft by former senior CIA Officers Rob Dannenberg and Joseph P. Mullin Jr. is a real-life guide to spies and their favorite cocktails. Based on experiences from their clandestine operations backgrounds, Rob and Joe have collected, curated and perfected the cocktails that were enjoyed while celebrating milestone events during their CIA careers. From the drinks that were ordered after successfully recruiting assets, to marking the end of a major operation, this book features real life stories and homegrown photos by the authors themselves. A Spy Walked Into A Bar…
I have a fierce passion for justice. Studying political science in college, I keyed on moments in history where greed, power, and oppression marred human society. As a thriller writer myself (15 published titles and counting), I enjoy authors that understand the characters, settings, and combat sequences in their novels either through personal experience, training, or deep research. I work hard to ensure as wild as my characters’ adventures are, every detail is plausible. The books on this list are filled with raucous action and death-defying scenes while remaining possible.
When asked about my favorite author and influences, Vince Flynn is right at the top.
Flynn and his character Mitch Rapp aren’t afraid to take on anyone in order to wreak justice, even if the trail leads them to the oval office itself. This is what I love about the book, series, and character, that urgent, calculated versus reckless pursuit of justice.
Act of Treason, like the rest of the Mitch Rapp series, is fast-paced, irreverent at times, and hard-hitting as CIA Agent Rapp faces down anyone, foreign or domestic, to complete his mission. I enjoy Flynn’s writing style and the emotional twists he makes Rapp and the readers endure.
Two weeks before the election - and presidential candidate Josh Alexander's motorcade is decimated by a terrorist bomb. Alexander survives the attack, although members of his entourage are not so lucky. It appears to be the work of al-Qaeda. But then CIA director Irene Kennedy is presented with classifed information so toxic that she considers destroying it altogether. Instead she summons Mitch Rapp, the one man reckless enough to follow the evidence to its explosive conclusion...
AMERICAN ASSASSIN, book one in the series, is soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Dylan…
John Marks is co-author of The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence, a New York Times best-seller in hard-cover and paperback. He has written for the Washington Post, New York Times, Playboy, Foreign Policy, and Rolling Stone. He was the founder and long-time President of Search for Common Ground, the world’s largest peacebuilding organization that was nominated for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.
This is a great book about former CIA Director Richard Helms and the agency he directed. Helms was the quintessential CIA man, and Powers tells the story of his 30-year career in spying in this beautifully written book, which somehow captures both Helms’ elusiveness and his essence.
An account of the thirty-year career of the quintessential CIA man details his activities and attitudes as an intelligence agent and official and reveals--objectively and comprehensively--the workings of the CIA itself
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I'm a British-born American historian, currently residing in Long Beach, California. I’ve published four books on the CIA and lectured about it for the Great Courses. Why spies? I’ve always loved spy novels and movies but my historical interest was piqued years ago when I stumbled across the weird story of how the CIA secretly funded various American artists and writers in the so-called Cultural Cold War. Decades on, I’m still fascinated by the subject: there’s so much human drama involved, and it’s a great lens through which to examine recent American and world history.
The best book on the founding period of the CIA, the 1940s to the 1960s. Thomas is the only non-Agency employee to have been granted access to still-classified CIA historical studies, making this work an invaluable compendium of previously secret information. It’s also a wonderfully rich evocation of the rarified social world of the early CIA – East Coast, WASP, Ivy League – and a moving biographical portrait of a generation of intelligence officers whose early careers began in youthful idealism but all too often descended into disillusionment, disgrace, and even suicide. The gold standard of CIA history books.
Evan Thomas recreates the personal drama of four figures who risked everything to keep America out of war. They were Frank Wisner, Richard Bissell, Tracy Barnes and Desmond FitzGerald. Within the inner circles of Washington, at the high point of American power in the world, they planned and acted to contain the Soviet threat - by stealth and "political action", and to do by cunning and sleight of hand what great armies could not be allowed to do. The fall of each man had momentous consequences for the CIA. Thomas draws on the CIA's own secret histories, as well as…
