Here are 93 books that Murder Is Binding fans have personally recommended if you like Murder Is Binding. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Homicide in Hardcover

Daphne Silver Author Of Crime and Parchment

From my list on cozy mysteries about rare books and museums.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the Agatha-winning author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery series. My first in the series, below, won the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel. I’ve worked for more than twenty years in museums and symphonies and have the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When not writing, I’m drawing and painting. I live in Maryland with her family. Although I’m not much of a baker, I won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.

Daphne's book list on cozy mysteries about rare books and museums

Daphne Silver Why Daphne loves this book

Kate Carlisle’s Bibliophile Mystery series is what made me fall in love with cozy mysteries. I wanted to restore the book bindings on old books like her main character, Brooklyn Wainwright.

Since that wasn’t going to happen, I loved living vicariously through her adventures, learning more about how she works and how that knowledge can be used to solve crimes. 

By Kate Carlisle ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Homicide in Hardcover as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Book expert Brooklyn Wainwright discovers that murder is always a bestseller in the first novel in the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series.

Brooklyn Wainwright is a skilled surgeon. Sure, her patients might smell like mold and have spines made of leather, but no ailing book is going to die on her watch. The same can’t be said of Abraham Karastovsky, Brooklyn’s friend and former employer. 
 
On the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration, Brooklyn finds her mentor lying in a pool of his own blood. With his final breath Abraham leaves Brooklyn with a cryptic…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

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…

Book cover of Fundraising the Dead

Daphne Silver Author Of Crime and Parchment

From my list on cozy mysteries about rare books and museums.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the Agatha-winning author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery series. My first in the series, below, won the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel. I’ve worked for more than twenty years in museums and symphonies and have the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When not writing, I’m drawing and painting. I live in Maryland with her family. Although I’m not much of a baker, I won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.

Daphne's book list on cozy mysteries about rare books and museums

Daphne Silver Why Daphne loves this book

As someone who worked in museums for decades, finding Sheila Connolly’s series was a fantastic look behind the curtain of my career.

I got such a kick out of going behind the scenes with fundraiser Nell Pratt as she navigates historic artifacts in the collections, seeking donations, and solving crimes in her historical society. 

By Sheila Connolly ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fundraising the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

At The Society for the Preservation of Pennsylvania Antiques, fundraiser Eleanor "Nell" Pratt solicits donations-and sometimes solves crimes. When a collection of George Washington's letters is lost on the same day that an archivist is found dead, it seems strange that the Society president isn't pushing for an investigation. Nell goes digging herself, and soon uncovers a long, rich history of crime.


Book cover of Feint of Art

Daphne Silver Author Of Crime and Parchment

From my list on cozy mysteries about rare books and museums.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the Agatha-winning author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery series. My first in the series, below, won the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel. I’ve worked for more than twenty years in museums and symphonies and have the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When not writing, I’m drawing and painting. I live in Maryland with her family. Although I’m not much of a baker, I won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.

Daphne's book list on cozy mysteries about rare books and museums

Daphne Silver Why Daphne loves this book

One of the reasons I started working for museums was that I trained as a painter and in art history, so Hailey Lind’s Annie Kincaid Mystery series was a particular delight. Her main character, Annie, is a former art forger turned faux finisher.

However, she can’t seem to put her past behind her after realizing her curator ex-boyfriend’s new big painting acquisition is a fake. I enjoy a good redemption story, especially when mixed with history and artifacts. 

By Hailey Lind ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Feint of Art as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Annie Kincaid informs her ex-boyfriend, curator Ernst Pettigrew, that the Brock Museum's fifteen-million-dollar Caravaggio painting is a fake, a bizarre chain of events is set in motion, forcing Annie to enter into an underworld of art forgers--a place she swore she left behind. Original.


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

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…

Book cover of Artifact: A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery

Daphne Silver Author Of Crime and Parchment

From my list on cozy mysteries about rare books and museums.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the Agatha-winning author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery series. My first in the series, below, won the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel. I’ve worked for more than twenty years in museums and symphonies and have the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When not writing, I’m drawing and painting. I live in Maryland with her family. Although I’m not much of a baker, I won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.

Daphne's book list on cozy mysteries about rare books and museums

Daphne Silver Why Daphne loves this book

Gigi Pandian has gone on to write several series I adore, including the Secret Staircase and Accidental Alchemist mysteries, but her first series about history professor Jaya Jones remains my favorite.

A bejeweled and mysterious artifact sends her globe-trotting, and I, for one, enjoyed the ride every step of the way. Jaya is smart and confident, and I would want to hang out with her and her friends any day of the week—especially that roguish possible art thief she encounters. 

By Gigi Pandian ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Artifact as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Scottish legend that hides a secret. A treasure from India that vanished long ago. An unexpected package that ignites an adventure.

History professor Jaya Jones is reeling from the news of a former flame's untimely death when she receives a mysterious parcel he’d sent from abroad. Inside is a cryptic plea for help, along with a jewel-encrusted artifact hinting at a treasure from India shrouded in a Scottish legend. As she starts to unravel the mystery, the unsettling discovery of her ransacked apartment makes it clear she's not the only one on the trail.

From the iconic British Library…


Book cover of Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a multi-award-winning film and television producer; before that, I was a theatre director. I’ve spent my life telling stories, whether through theatre plays or television dramas. It doesn’t matter if you’re watching a TV drama or reading a book; the same rules apply to creating a great story. It needs compelling characters, an intriguing plot, and a strong sense of place. I love the murder/mystery genre, and nearly all the books I read fall into this category, so it’s no surprise that the first book I’ve written is a cosy crime. 

Jayne's book list on contemporary murder/mystery novels by women writers and one bloke who isn’t Richard Osman

Jayne Chard Why Jayne loves this book

I laughed out loud at some of the lines in this book. If you’re looking for something to brighten up your day, then this is the book for you. It’s masterfully clever and intricately woven in a rich tapestry of humour and fun.

Think Murder On The Orient Express but set in Australia with a train whose passengers are all crime writers, including  Ernest Cunningham, a “lowly debut author” with writer’s block, who Stevenson uses as the narrator. Ernest hilariously explains the rules of writing a murder mystery novel while at the same time guiding us through the plot, unravelling a complex set of clues that eventually lead to the unveiling of the killer.

By Benjamin Stevenson ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, a fiendishly fun locked room (train) murder mystery that "offers a tip of the hat to the great Agatha Christie novel while at the same time being a modern reinvention of it" (Nita Prose) -- perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each…


Book cover of Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

Clare Broyles Author Of In Sunshine or in Shadow

From my list on spunky women in historical mayhem who nevertheless persisted.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been known to read a book a day, and I read widely: all the classics, mystery and suspense, science fiction, future fiction, and fantasy. My favorite novels in any genre take me to a place or time far away. My favorite characters are like hobbits; they are caught up in big adventures but fun to have a beer with and don’t take themselves too seriously. And all the protagonists in the novels I have chosen are women, because women my age have spent enough time reading about men who have adventures. 

Clare's book list on spunky women in historical mayhem who nevertheless persisted

Clare Broyles Why Clare loves this book

This Agatha Christie doesn’t feature her famous Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. Instead, it introduces a likable young couple, Bobby and Frankie, who fall into adventure by accident.

This book has the best one-line denouement of all mystery novels. It is a line that will give you chills when you read it. (Or re-read it. This mystery is so good that I have reread it many times in my life, and I get chills each time.)

One question ties the whole mystery together. As a mystery writer, I wish I could find that turning point question for each of my novels. But, alas, Agatha Christie was the queen. 

By Agatha Christie ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Why Didn't They Ask Evans? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When a man plunges down a cliff, two adventurous friends decide to find his killer...

While playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body of a dying man. With his final breath the man opens his eyes and says, 'Why didn't they ask Evans?'

Haunted by these words, Bobby and his vivacious companion, Frankie, set out to solve a mystery that will bring them into mortal danger...


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Suspect

Neil Plakcy Author Of In Dog We Trust

From my list on crime-solving dogs.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I met my husband, he had two dogs—Gus the collie and Charlie the Yorkie. When the collie crossed the rainbow bridge, we brought another big dog into the household—a golden retriever. Charlie let Sam know that my husband was HIS human, and Sam could have me if he wanted. That began a beautiful twelve-year love affair. I knew I had to write about the relationship between man and dog, and chose the mystery novel as my framework. I spend hours every day researching my books – walking my current goldens, Brody and Griffin; feeding them; grooming them; playing with them; and observing how they interact with the world.

Neil's book list on crime-solving dogs

Neil Plakcy Why Neil loves this book

I’ve been a fan of Crais’s Elvis & Joe series for years, so I was delighted to see that he brought a dog into a new series as a main character. Another book with traumatized characters, this one demonstrates the redemptive power of canine love.

LAPD officer Scott James is recovering from an assault in which his partner was killed, and he almost lost his life. He’s barely fit to return to duty until he’s paired with his new partner Maggie, a bomb-sniffing German shepherd that lost her handler in Afghanistan. Their partnership offers healing for both, and I love this book and A Borrowing of Bones because they reflect redemption.

By Robert Crais ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Suspect as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well. Eight months ago, a shocking late-night assault by unidentified men killed his partner Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty - until he meets his new partner.

Maggie is not doing so well, either. A German shepherd who survived three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan sniffing out explosives before losing her handler to an IED.

They are each other's last chance. Shunned and shunted to the side, they set out to investigate the one case that no one wants them…


Book cover of Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders

Lynn Ferguson Author Of Notes From The Valley

From my list on cozy mystery audiobooks with serial killers.

Why am I passionate about this?

The greatest mystery I face in life is, how is it that when I've just packed the dishwasher, I have to pack it yet again? But I love stories. There’s nothing more healing than a well-told story with characters and jokes and twists and turns. Each of these books contains some form of fictionalized domestic world where murders happen, but marriages and babies and falling in love do, too. We live in a time when the world is hard to navigate. All of these writers bring a mystery, the best of company, and the idea that even in the darkest of times, everything can turn out quite spiffingly.

Lynn's book list on cozy mystery audiobooks with serial killers

Lynn Ferguson Why Lynn loves this book

When I was a kid, my Mum loved Upstairs Downstairs—a TV show about a household in Victorian England and the lives of the gentry upstairs and the servants downstairs. Nobody was allowed to even whisper when it was on. 

Well, the Mrs Jeffries Mysteries would have blown her mind. Because the servants in Detective Witherspoon’s household not only do regular servanting but also solve murders on the fly. 

There are loads of great characters: Mrs Goodge, the surly cook, Smythe, the fierce-looking coachman with a heart of gold, and of course Mrs Jeffries herself, who’s like a sherry-guzzling Sherlock Holmes who can tidy.

By Emily Brightwell ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mrs. Jeffries and Inspector Witherspoon should be checking off their Christmas present lists but instead they’re listing murder suspects in this latest entry of the beloved Victorian Mystery series.

TIS THE SEASON FOR MURDER
 
Harriet Andover was a smart businesswoman who did not suffer fools gladly, yet somehow her house was full of them. With a husband who has no head for money and two grown stepchildren who would rather do anything than an honest day’s work, Harriet had every intention of righting the ship and putting her family back on the path to respectability. But she soon discovers that…


Book cover of The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

Monique Gliozzi Author Of Facets of the Past: No Dark Deed Goes Unpunished

From my list on combining the paranormal and psychopathy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Let me tell you a little about myself. I was born in Dublin, and being the daughter of a diplomat afforded me to experience different cultures. Since childhood my fascination with the unknown caused me to gravitate towards stories related to hauntings. I shared this interest with my maternal grandparents, who contributed to my education by telling me ghost stories (some true whilst others are fictional). Tales of haunted castles were my favorite, which is reflected in my book. In later life, my own experiences with the paranormal cemented the notion of the unexplained and the thin veil between us and those departed.

Monique's book list on combining the paranormal and psychopathy

Monique Gliozzi Why Monique loves this book

What I loved about this book (which was also adapted into a film starring Elisabeth Taylor) was my first exposure to a female murderer. I liked the backstory of what motivated this woman to kill a seemingly innocent person at a party. Being a psychiatrist myself, my fascination with women who kill has inspired me to create a fictional serial killer in some of my own works.

Furthermore, the importance of a woman’s innate desire to become a mother when robbed of such happiness added to my interest in women’s psychopathology on how horrific memories of the past leave an imprint that can haunt us forever.

By Agatha Christie ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A movie star A deadly cocktail A murder

When glamorous Marina Gregg came to live in St Mary Mead, tongues were sure to wag.

But, with a local gossip's sudden death, has one tongue wagged a bit too much?

As the police chase false leads, and two more victims meet untimely ends, Miss Marple starts to ask her own questions.

What secrets might link a peaceful English village and a star of the silver screen?

Never underestimate Miss Marple

'Christie's ingenious plots and fiendish twists set the bar for all of us who follow in her footsteps.'
Ruth Ware

'The…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Amy Suiter Clarke Author Of Lay Your Body Down

From my list on amateur sleuths who have no idea what they’re doing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I like to write about everyday people who—whether by overconfidence or desperation—are motivated to solve crimes that hit close to home. My first novel Girl, 11 is about a true crime podcaster investigating a serial killer who terrorized her town decades earlier, and my newest book Lay Your Body Down is about an ex-fundamentalist Christian who returns to her insular community to expose the church’s secrets and uncover the truth of who killed the man she once loved. Normal people can and do solve mysteries before police—and even when detectives are involved, they rely on members of the community. Those are the stories I love to tell.

Amy's book list on amateur sleuths who have no idea what they’re doing

Amy Suiter Clarke Why Amy loves this book

I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this book, and I am blown away at how Jesse Sutanto continues to smash both her novel concepts and character voices out of the park!

Vera Wong herself is the ultimate amateur sleuth, but she is not reluctant whatsoever. When a dead body turns up in her tea shop, Vera Wong—the most wonderfully grandmotherly non-grandmother—decides the police aren’t up to the task of realizing the young man was murdered, obviously, and so she decides to hunt down the suspects and interview them herself.

Vera is at turns heartwarming and hilarious, infuriating, and delightful. Told through the perspective of Vera and all her murder suspects, this book will keep you guessing until the end—and might just charm your socks off.

By Jesse Q. Sutanto ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A lonely shopkeeper takes it upon herself to solve a murder in the most peculiar way in this captivating mystery by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to.

Then one morning, Vera trudges…


Book cover of Homicide in Hardcover
Book cover of Fundraising the Dead
Book cover of Feint of Art

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