77 Books Like Laws of Depravity

Hannibal Lecter’s silky smooth menace still chills me like no other villain on my shelf.

Silence of the Lambs taught me how to write a terrifying villain with more than enough charisma to start a devoted cult. Every reread of this book hooks me with that hypnotic voice. Hannibal’s character is so persuasive and razor-sharp, I catch myself sympathizing before the dread slams back in.

I love how Thomas Harris forces me to straddle the line between fascination and horror, then shoves me into Clarice Starling’s head for that heart-hammering showdown with Buffalo Bill.

Decades later, for me, no thriller matches its psychological intrigue. It’s a timeless classic that keeps my lights blazing and my imagination deliciously unsettled.

Blends psychological thriller, historical fiction, and detective mystery, set in New York City in 1896.

Journalist John Schuyler Moore and psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, aided by a young Theodore Roosevelt, investigate brutal murders that shock the city. Carr’s meticulous research brings Gilded Age New York vividly to life, from opulent drawing rooms to grim tenements.

The novel explores the roots of criminal profiling and human darkness, reflecting techniques I use in my own book's character’s investigations, including incorporating real historical figures for authenticity.

This book is made for Criminal Minds addicts.

Every breadcrumb is important and kept me trying to solve the clues left by the Unknown Subject (UNSUB) nicknamed the Prophet. The killer’s ciphers and methods echoed those of the Zodiac. And somehow, despite the level of detail in the Prophet’s crime scenes and writings, Gardner’s pacing is a stomp on the gas pedal that doesn’t let up. It’s a tricky balance I aspire to achieve.

The Prophet’s poetic fantasies bleeding into reality while the clock counted down kept me wondering how, and if, Detective Caitlin Hendrix would stop this ruthless killer right up until the surprise-filled final showdown.

I enjoy mysteries that tie my brain in knots, and With A Vengeance had more twists than a pretzel.

Right from the start, the premise flips the genre on its head where the main character, Anna Matheson, who wishes everyone she has gathered together was dead, is also the one who must save them. I loved that Riley Sager set the entire locked-room mystery inside a moving train where every passenger is a suspect, yet somehow maybe none of them are guilty.

I spent the whole ride toggling between motives and alibis, sure I’d cracked it, only to be blindsided by another twist. Sager’s color-coded cast felt like walking Clue pieces, vivid enough that I swore I would find Mr. Plum in the Conservatory with the candlestick. But I certainly didn’t make the correct guess, and there’s nothing I love in a book more than a surprise ending!

The way… show more.

This book made me feel as if I were on a Coney Island ride that was part roller coaster, part Tilt-a-Whirl, and part chamber of horrors—followed by a tranquil stroll in Central Park to catch my breath. That's just the mix of wild stimulus and stately calm I loved when I lived in New York City myself.

The story—really, multiple interlocking character portraits set in the maybe 1980s—is totally believable even though it moves around in time, including into the future. The city itself is not one of those characters. But the city is made real and rich through their multiplicity. Some of them are wildly idiosyncratic people. But hey, they're New Yorkers! Reading it, I kept asking myself why I ever left.

I was intrigued by the magical abilities in the “Hands” of each one of the three protagonists in this book. Tamara uses her hands for tarot readings to tell people’s futures, while Phyllis’s hands have a super-power strength for knife-throwing, and Dev has “Saint’s Hands” have a sort of spidey-sense, helping his work as a police spy.

I was intrigued by Tamara’s tarot readings as part of this crime story, with the weaving in of black people’s stories of trauma, the double-edged sword of passing for white, and Juju assassins. This alternate history is a nebula of magic, criminals, and an exploration of how love heals people.

This book was the 2021 Winner of the World Fantasy Award. It was an unexpected winner, but I can see how Johnson’s gritty writing pulled people in. Trigger warning: if you have nerves about reading about knives as weapons, you may want to… show more.

Another friendly rodent tale with a clever premise! I read this long before there was ever a movie about Stuart. Once again, the author’s imagination amazed me. I was enchanted with all the clever things Stuart could do – his car, his canoe, his friendship with Margalo the bird, and the humans that accepted him as part of their family.

I remember bringing the library book to my grandmother’s house when I spent the weekend. I don’t think the book was out of my grasp except when I was sleeping. And even then, I was dreaming of being a writer and “living” in a world like Stuart’s. 

Don’t be fooled by the cover, The Masterpiece is an excellent dual-timeline about two seemingly ordinary women fighting for their independence in the same place, yet from two distinct time periods.

In 1928 Clara, a confident illustrator and art instructor and in 1974 Virginia, a recently divorced tollbooth operator, found themselves working at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal.

Davis brilliantly braids both stories about complicated flawed women challenging social injustices and entitled men of their time within a fascinating setting. (Yes, 50 years apart and they're dealing with similar issues!)

I stayed up late discovering how their stories coincide once Virginia uncovered a painting by Clara. Talk about unknown history—who knew there was an art school upstairs in the Grand Central Terminal or that it was almost demolished?!

I love how the lives of different people intersect during the summer in this book. Unexpected romance, well-meaning lies, and damaging secrets pepper this story, making it the perfect page turner during a summer vacation.

I also love that one of the characters is a baker. I just love stories that marry food and cooking into the story.

I love this book because it’s dark and unsettling. Wait, what? Yeah. Eleven-year-old Harriet roams her city, spying on adults and kids and writing about them in her notebook. Sounds cute, but her personality is pretty damn awful when you really look at her. And this I love. Call me perverse.

I was ten when I first met Harriet, a sneakers-and-jeans-wearing girl who doesn’t know much but wants to know more. She’s not upbeat. She does crappy things to her friends and enemies. Fascinating! I knew kids like that.

Harriet’s wit is based on calculation: If I do X, I might see Y result, and then I might learn Z.

Some readers label Harriet a sociopath. They’re missing it: She’s on a flawed mission to grow up. As was I.