Here are 100 books that Genuine Deceit fans have personally recommended if you like
Genuine Deceit.
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I’ve always enjoyed mystery and suspense stories—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark being two of my all-time favorite authors. Throw in some legends and folklore, and I’m hooked. I like well-crafted stories that keep me turning the pages. Those that stump me in figuring out the mystery are a plus for me. I love books with descriptive settings that place me, as the reader, in the heart of the action.
Dual-timeline, legends, and folklore drew me to this story. While it was co-authored, the dual story blends perfectly as if written by a single person. Past and present come together, and an age-old mystery is solved.
If you enjoy stories with a bit of supernatural, this one is for you.
One founding father. One deathbed curse. A town haunted for generations.
Ward Chatham, founder of Chatham Hollow, is infamous for two things—hidden treasure and a curse upon anyone bold enough to seek it. Since his passing in 1793, no one has discovered his riches, though his legend has only grown stronger.
In 1888, charlatan Benedict Fletcher holds a séance to determine the location of Chatham’s fortune. It’s all a hoax so he can search for the gold, but he doesn’t count on two things—Victor Rowe, a true spiritualist who sees through his ruse, and Chatham’s ghost wreaking havoc on the…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
I’ve always enjoyed mystery and suspense stories—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark being two of my all-time favorite authors. Throw in some legends and folklore, and I’m hooked. I like well-crafted stories that keep me turning the pages. Those that stump me in figuring out the mystery are a plus for me. I love books with descriptive settings that place me, as the reader, in the heart of the action.
My interest in stories involving Native Americans and my love of the southwest drew me to Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee books. Once I read the first one, I was hooked on the series.
I feel as if I’ve come to know more about the Navajo people in reading this series. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but The First Eagle is at the top of my list. Not only do we have classic Leaphorn and Chee, but the author also delves deeper into their personal lives.
Did I mention setting? I always feel as if I’m transported to the American Southwest when reading a Hillerman novel.
From a brilliant new voice comes a brilliant new epic fantasy saga of war, prophecy, betrayal, history, and destiny.
When Acting Lt. Jim Chee catches a Hopi poacher huddled over a butchered Navajo Tribal police officer, he has an open-and-shut case—until his former boss, Joe Leaphorn, blows it wide open. Now retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, Leaphorn has been hired to find a hotheaded female biologist hunting for the key to a virulent plague lurking in the Southwest. The scientist disappeared from the same area the same day the Navajo cop was murdered. Is she a suspect or another…
I’ve always enjoyed mystery and suspense stories—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark being two of my all-time favorite authors. Throw in some legends and folklore, and I’m hooked. I like well-crafted stories that keep me turning the pages. Those that stump me in figuring out the mystery are a plus for me. I love books with descriptive settings that place me, as the reader, in the heart of the action.
Real-life mysteries intrigue me, and one of the strangest unsolved cases involved a group of nine Soviet hikers in the area known as Dyatlov Pass. Preston and Child took this story, set it in the mountains of New Mexico, and weaved an enticing tale that kept me turning the pages and guessing right up to the end.
This is the fourth book of their Nora Kelly series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone.
In 2008, nine mountaineers failed to return from a winter backpacking trip in the New Mexico mountains. At their last campsite, searchers found a bizarre scene: something had appeared at the door of their tent so terrifying that it impelled them to slash their way out and flee barefoot to certain death in a blizzard. Despite a diligent search, only six bodies were found, three violently crushed and missing eyes and tongues. The case, given the code name “Dead Mountain” by the FBI, was never solved.
Now, two more bodies from the lost expedition are unexpectedly discovered in a cave,…
Sine, a professor of creative writing, accompanies Sam, a neuroscientist, on a conference trip to a Hotel Castle. Sam wants to present a new device, the "monitor." Sine hopes to recover from tending to her mother who just passed away.
When they arrive, Sine is in a dream-like state. Real…
I’ve always enjoyed mystery and suspense stories—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark being two of my all-time favorite authors. Throw in some legends and folklore, and I’m hooked. I like well-crafted stories that keep me turning the pages. Those that stump me in figuring out the mystery are a plus for me. I love books with descriptive settings that place me, as the reader, in the heart of the action.
After reading the first book of the Cork O’Connor series some twenty years after its initial publication date, I got hooked and quickly devoured the other books.
I’ve come to love many of Krueger’s recurring characters. Not only does he weave a good mystery but paints vivid descriptions of the Minnesota wilderness. This nineteenth book of the series is my favorite so far.
The latest in the New York Times bestselling Cork O'Connor Mystery Series from the "master storyteller" (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author) follows Cork in a race against time to save his wife, a mysterious stranger, and an Ojibwe healer from bloodthirsty mercenaries.
The ancient Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux has had a vision of his death. As he walks the Northwoods in solitude, he tries to prepare himself peacefully for the end of his long life. But peace is destined to elude him as hunters fill the woods seeking a woman named Dolores Morriseau, a stranger who had…
I have always had a thirst for mystery and puzzle-solving, which has expanded into books as I've grown. For me, emotions play an important role in any tale. Suspense novels that bring a personal element allow the puzzle to unfold meaningfully. Like slotting the last piece of a jigsaw in place, I want to feel their emotions—the fear that makes their hearts pump in rapid beats. Their sorrow and happiness. I want to know I have been on a journey when I finish. And one, I didn’t travel alone. I hope you, too, go on a journey with the books I have recommended.
This is a craftily written tale of murder against the breathtaking backdrop of the Thai Island of Samui (the Land of Smiles). The blend of local traditions and colorful characters lured me in until I could smell the spices and hear the beeping of car horns.
I love characters that are quirky and unpredictable, and private detective David Braddock is just that. He’s a man battling with his past and bad habits, keeping the Chief of Police satisfied and solving the murders before he gets sidelined by his superiors.
'He opens a drawer of his desk, casually takes out a pistol, flicks off the safety catch and points it at my head. He says almost sorrowfully, "Do you imagine me to be a gangster, Mr Braddock?"'
It is January 2005, and the charred remains of two Europeans have been discovered on the Thai island of Samui. Local Police Chief Charoenkul, sidelined by his superiors, enlists the reluctant David Braddock, a burnt-out private detective, to assist in an ‘unofficial’ investigation. But Braddock has problems of his own, including an affair with the same Police Chief’s wife ...
I have always had a thirst for mystery and puzzle-solving, which has expanded into books as I've grown. For me, emotions play an important role in any tale. Suspense novels that bring a personal element allow the puzzle to unfold meaningfully. Like slotting the last piece of a jigsaw in place, I want to feel their emotions—the fear that makes their hearts pump in rapid beats. Their sorrow and happiness. I want to know I have been on a journey when I finish. And one, I didn’t travel alone. I hope you, too, go on a journey with the books I have recommended.
This was a different and enjoyable read for me. An escort turns detective when one of her customers is murdered. While this delves into the life of an escort, it is a ‘murder mystery’ with the focus on solving the murder of her client, and not her services.
The main character is delightfully forward in her reasoning, and I was invested from the start. So much so, and very intriguingly, while the story is told in the POV of the escort, I did not learn her name at all. And even stranger, it was only at the end that I realized this.
Sex. Murder. An Escort. A Mystery. WINNER: 2023 Best Indie Book Award WINNER: 2023 Paris Book Festival WINNER, best novella: 2024 International Book Award WINNER, best novella: 2024 American Fiction Award WINNER, best novella: 2023 Firebird Book Award WINNER, best noir mystery: The 2023 BookFest Award WINNER, best private investigator mystery: 2024 Book Excellence Award DISTINGUISHED FAVORITE, novella: 2024 Independent Press Award RUNNER-UP, sleuth-mystery: 2023 PenCraft Book Award BRONZE MEDAL, novella: 2024 Independent Publisher Book Award BRONZE AWARD, mystery: 2024 Reader Views Literary Award FINALIST: 2024 Hawthorne Prize FINALIST, novella: 2023 Best Book Awards; 2023 American Writing Awards; 2024 Next…
In an age of splendor, a heretic king strips Egypt bare—forcing his queen to quell rebellion and plunging his children into a conspiracy against the crown.
Salvation in the Sun follows Nefertiti as she ascends the throne beside Pharaoh Amenhotep—soon to become Akhenaten—just as he declares war on Egypt’s ancient…
I have always had a thirst for mystery and puzzle-solving, which has expanded into books as I've grown. For me, emotions play an important role in any tale. Suspense novels that bring a personal element allow the puzzle to unfold meaningfully. Like slotting the last piece of a jigsaw in place, I want to feel their emotions—the fear that makes their hearts pump in rapid beats. Their sorrow and happiness. I want to know I have been on a journey when I finish. And one, I didn’t travel alone. I hope you, too, go on a journey with the books I have recommended.
While this may not be classed as a suspense novel, it is just that for me. It is a brutal, honest, and heartbreaking story that lived on long after I finished reading it. Touching on dementia and Down Syndrome, the author weaves a magic web of true understanding and heartfelt emotions.
Irene's strength, sense of responsibility, family, and love for her husband, Sam, make this a beautiful read. For Irene, it isn’t only about coming to terms with the loss of her sister, Rose, but finding out what happened the night that Rose died… and the truth is very different from what Irene thinks she saw.
Mother and daughter tied together by shame and secrecy, love and hate.
I wait by the bed. I move into her line of vision and it’s as though we’re watching one another, my mother and me; two women – trapped.
Today has been a long time coming. Irene sits at her mother's side waiting for the right moment, for the point at which she will know she is doing the right thing by Rose.
Rose was Irene's little sister, an unwanted embarrassment to their mother Lilian but a treasure to Irene. Rose died thirty years ago, when she was eight,…
I have always had a thirst for mystery and puzzle-solving, which has expanded into books as I've grown. For me, emotions play an important role in any tale. Suspense novels that bring a personal element allow the puzzle to unfold meaningfully. Like slotting the last piece of a jigsaw in place, I want to feel their emotions—the fear that makes their hearts pump in rapid beats. Their sorrow and happiness. I want to know I have been on a journey when I finish. And one, I didn’t travel alone. I hope you, too, go on a journey with the books I have recommended.
This is a true story of a Russian spy that I found poetically sad yet uplifting.
This is a tale with no happy ending. And yet, ex-KGB naval intelligence officer Sergei leaves behind a compelling legacy of strength and bravery. His fight to ‘do the right thing’ and leave behind a regime that would eventually kill him is very real.
This is a plunge into a world of spies, murder, mistrust, and suffering. It filled me with awe and sadness, and it is not one I will forget easily.
**SILVER / 2ND PLACE WINNER - 2019 FEATHERED QUILL BOOK AWARDS**
He was a Soviet defector – She worked for the U.S. Federal Government. “Do we really know what we are getting ourselves into…” Sergei Kourdakov jumped from a Russian trawler in 1971 and barely survived the treacherous swim to the rocky shores of Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada. The handsome, twenty-year-old ex-KGB naval intelligence officer had defected—leaving behind a horrific life he could no longer face.
K. Kidd’s search for independence and a career with the Federal Government led her on a journey that far surpassed any expectations. A year…
When offered a plot at the community garden, I thought it would be fun to invite other families to learn to grow food together. As a science teacher, I knew that for toddlers, digging in the dirt and growing plants for food could plant seeds for a life-long love of exploring nature, hands-on science inquiry, environmental stewardship, and joy in healthy eating. As we gardened, I noticed what questions children and their parents had, and how we found the answers together. I wrote the picture book How to Say Hello to A Worm: A First Guide to Outside to inspire more kids and their parents to get their hands dirty.
Why garden at all? Isn't it a lot of work? I can always count on The Talking Vegetables, a retelling of a traditional African story, to delight toddlers and preschoolers. They revel in Spider's laziness as he shirks helping neighbors grow food at the community garden, and are just as delighted when he gets his comeuppance as the insulted vegetables refuse to let him get away without contributing to the team effort.
A wonderful folktale from the award-winning authors of Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile The villagers are planting a garden, but Spider refuses to help. He has plenty of rice to eat, so why should he do all that hard work? Then one day Spider gets tired of plain rice and decides to pick some of the delicious produce. Imagine his surprise when the vegetables start talking! The talented team that created the award-winning titles Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile and Head, Body, Legs join together once again for a laugh-out-loud funny Liberian story. The Talking Vegetables is a…
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
Reading with your kid can be a delight, but it’s tough to find a book that both grown-up and child think is hysterical. I mean, I tried reading Catch-22 to my three-year-old, but for some reason the incisive social commentary just didn’t resonate with her. My kids and I both let out genuine chuckles and guffaws while reading all of these books—an experience that I treasured. These books are all giggly, snickery proof that you don’t have to dumb things down to appeal to a wide age range—a goal that I aim for myself in the children’s books and TV shows that I write.
This is the book that made my kids’ heads explode (not literally—this book is perfectly safe (as far as I know)) as it helped them discover the idea of parody: taking something familiar and twisting it in a funny, unexpected way.
We rolled and lol’ed together as we read Jon’s wild, hysterical takes on old fairy tales. The non-twist twist ending to his take on the ugly duckling story is still a running joke in our family. Jon’s The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs and The Real Dada Mother Goose are also great for the same reason.
The entire book, with its unconventional page arrangement and eclectic, frenetic mix of text and pictures, is a spoof on the art of book design and the art of the fairy tale. The individual tales, such as The Really Ugly Duckling and Little Red Running Shorts, can be extracted for telling aloud, with great success. Another masterpiece from the team that created The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! -Horn Book
