Here are 100 books that Murder on Memory Lake fans have personally recommended if you like
Murder on Memory Lake.
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People behave rationally and irrationally. Observing and thinking about human nature is the sport of my lifetime. In literature and art, I worship real wit. I thirst for the unusual, the deadpan, the acknowledging of one thing while another slips in unseen. Wit has been, for me, a shield and a tool for good. I try not to use it as a weapon because wit as a weapon often damages a wider target than one intends. I strive to endow my fictional women, my protagonists, with sharp yet understated wit that spares no one, not even themselves. Especially not themselves. The books I recommend here live up to my standards.
I’m not a fan of novels that are paced like greased rockets, as if the author’s afraid you’ll suddenly throw the book across the room, turn on Netflix, and order a pizza. Which is a key reason I love this book. Precious Ramotswe is a “traditionally built” woman who solves crimes in a superbly witty yet unhurried fashion and with deep compassion that stops short of sentimentality.
Her heart (huge) and brain (gently incisive) work in perfect tandem in this book. The plot is simple, which will frustrate readers who prefer intricate puzzles in their crime fiction. But for me, the pleasure lies in leisurely getting to know this wise, ingenious detective and her humble neighborhood in Botswana’s capital city.
Precious Ramotswe, a cheerful woman of traditional build, is the founder of Botswana's first and only ladies' detective agency. Here is a gentle interpretation of the detective role: solving her cases through her innate wisdom and understanding of human nature, she 'helps people with problems in their lives'. With a tone that is as elegant as that which is unfailingly used by his protagonist, Alexander McCall Smith tenderly unfolds a picture of life in Gaborone with a mastery of comic understatement and an evident sympathy for his subjects and their milieu. In the background of all this is Botswana, a…
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 started my motherhood journey when I was barely out of my teens. For the next two decades, I only knew myself as a wife and mother. As my brood of five children grew into adults, I found myself poorly equipped to parent independent Gen X and Z’ers. Then, at 46 years of age, when perimenopause hit me like a hurricane, I found myself evolving into another woman altogether. The good news was – I really liked her! I hope you enjoy these books about mid-life women parenting adult children and rediscovering themselves in the never-ever-done-aftermath of motherhood.
A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment
"Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining." -Wall Street Journal
"Don't trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman's own laugh-out-loud whodunit." -Parade
Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club.
I grew up reading Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and everything British. My first novel celebrated American literature and small towns, and my first murder mystery was a love letter to England. I once spent twenty days visiting almost thirty bookshops and reading my way all over England, and let me tell you, I learned a thing or two about murders.
Harbinder Kaur, the lead detective in Elly Griffiths's charming series, describes herself as “the best gay sikh detective in West Sussex,” and together with a few amateur sleuths, she forms a delightful cast in a sort of modern-day Miss Marple-romp.
It begins with an old lady using her binoculars to take careful note of what’s happening in her sleepy seaside village, and as all fans of British cozy crime know, where there are nosy neighbors, dead bodies will soon turn up. I loved Elly Griffiths's series about archeologist Ruth Galloway, and this new series does not disappoint. In fact, Elly Griffiths herself makes a small and entirely involuntary cameo in my book.
The ultimate gripping murder mystery to curl up with, from the bestselling author of The Stranger Diaries and the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries
The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should absolutely not be suspicious. DS Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing to concern her in carer Natalka's account of Peggy Smith's death.
But when Natalka reveals that Peggy lied about her heart condition and that she had been sure someone was following her...
And that Peggy Smith had been a 'murder consultant'…
Mia Lark is running out of options. There is only one way to change the score: the fantasy planet Revivium.
Armed with the powerful magic in the helm and the friendly AI, Hex that goes with it, Mia throws caution out the window. It’s time to find the main guildhall…
I read my first mystery in second grade, and the genre has captivated me ever since. My mother loves jigsaw puzzles—without the picture, so it’s a challenge—while I prefer to work through clues in books from Agatha Christie to Stephen King, to C. J. Box…no matter the author, my goal is to find the answer before the author reveals it. Seven of my books fall under the mystery, suspense, and thriller categories, and I want to pen many more as I enjoy the thrill of perfectly plotted prose. I hold a bachelor’s degree from TCU, and I’ve spent twenty-plus years immersed in psychology and behavioral science.
Ah, Miss Marple! She’s probably the most iconic amateur female sleuth and spawned an entire mystery genre (I love a good cozy!).
I chose this novel because the plotting is excellent, and I appreciate Agatha Christie’s subtleties. She respected her readers’ intelligence…and enjoyed playing with our observation skills. We get a slew of culprits, all with the motivation to murder the Fortescue patriarch.
So when Inspector Neele, whose perspective overtakes much of the book, needs help to understand why the bickering family is more interested in Mr. Fortescue’s fortune than his untimely death and pocketful of rye that seem to follow a nursery rhyme, of all things, well, only Miss Marple can solve this tangled web.
A classic Marple mystery, superbly read by Joan Hickson. Available for the first time on audio.
Rex Fortescue, king of a financial empire, was sipping tea in his 'counting house' when he suffered an agonising and sudden death. On later inspection, the pockets of the deceased were found to contain traces of cereals.
Yet, it was the incident in the parlour which confirmed Jane Marple's suspicion that here she was looking at a case of crime by rhyme...
In addition to being an author, I’m an avid reader, averaging about a book a week. While I enjoy a good historical fiction or NYT bestseller, my go-to is mystery and suspense, and has been since the day my mother first introduced me to Nancy Drew. I’m especially drawn to cold case mysteries, multiple POVs, and complex plots and characters, but I can dive headfirst into a fast-paced beach read with equal pleasure. As a writer by profession, I truly believe reading is the best teacher and I have learned from, and enjoyed, every one of these recommendations immensely. It’s my hope that you'll discover a new-to-you author and love the book you choose.
If you love to unravel a mystery with a hint of suspense, I’ll Never Tell is an exemplary example of a tale told from multiple points of view, with the requisite family secrets, lies, and betrayal, and a messy past getting mired into the present. A cleverly plotted, fast-paced read.
Deeply buried secrets make for a disturbing family reunion in bestselling author Catherine McKenzie's tantalizing novel of psychological suspense, named one of the Hottest Books of Summer by Goodreads.
What happened to Amanda Holmes?
Twenty years ago, she was found bludgeoned in a rowboat at the MacAllister family's Camp Macaw. No one was ever charged with the crime.
Now, after their parents' sudden deaths, the MacAllister siblings return to camp to read the will and decide what to do with the prime real estate the camp occupies. Ryan needs to sell. Margaux hasn't made up her mind. Mary believes in…
Ghost stories are predominantly one flavor: horror. However, my taste in ghost fiction resembles a smoothie. Blend equal parts of contemporary suspense/mystery and the paranormal; add a splash of science, a pinch of dark family secrets, and a sprinkle of romance; and then spike with a heaping cup of twists. That’s my favorite recipe for the paranormal crossovers I love to read and write. My narration preferences are less typical, too. Ghost stories are usually told by characters being haunted. In novels I love, ghosts participate as storytellers, breathing realism into the supernatural. For me, hauntingly plausible stories generate more goosebumps than those horrifically improbable. (Perhaps because I grew up in a haunted house!)
Fill the genre blender with equal parts contemporary mystery, paranormal, and family dysfunction, and then add several scoops of atmospheric creepiness to replicate the recipe for What You Never Knew. Who doesn’t like a mystery set on a lake, in a cottage located on a private forested island where secrets have been hidden for decades? Especially those associated with June’s father, who left the family (never to be heard from) when she was 12. Now 30 years later, June Bennett returns to Avril Island and the more secrets she unearths, the more her life is in danger. Just as enticing as the genre mix, the narration is delivered by June andher deceased sister, May, who recently died in a car accident. The setting, atmosphere, and pacing will keep the pages turning!
Told in alternating points of view between the living and the dead, Jessica Hamilton's debut novel will be perfect for fans of The Lovely Bones.
Idyllic Avril lsland, owned by the Bennett family, where their hundred-year-old cottage sat nestled in acres of forest. Forty-year-old June Bennett believed that the island had been sold after the summer of her father's disappearance when she was only twelve years old. It's months after the shocking death of her older sister May in a fatal car accident, that June finds out that the cottage was never sold. Avril Island is still owned by the…
Winner of the 2024 New Mexico - Arizona Book Award.
In this deeply researched novel of America's most celebrated outlaw, Mark Warren sheds light on the human side of Billy the Kid and reveals the intimate stories of the lesser-known players in his legendary life of crime. Warren's fictional composer…
As a suspense and thriller author in my own right since 2015, I have also read very many books that are much like the ones that I write. I am most comfortable here and I, too, like to write books with these crazy, think-outside-the-box types of twists when it comes to plotting. Honing my craft, as I am in the middle of five different book projects right now for future release, I am hoping to make a name for myself and become as memorable to my readers as my favorite authors are to me.
This is one of my new favorite authors, of who I have read many more of her books recently. I like books like this that contain twists and turns and endings that you don’t see coming. Most of her books are in the domestic thriller or psychological suspense thriller categories. These are the type of books that I read(and write) most.
When Bridget spots an elegantly dressed woman leaving her husband’s office late one night, she fears the worst. Her marriage is already strained but things are about to take an even more shocking turn when her family is suddenly torn apart by a horrific crime they all become entangled in.
Her trust is shattered, her husband is on the run, and her son is hiding a dark secret. Bridget’s life has become a dangerous lie and the clock is ticking as the police close in on a killer. But who can she trust…
I’ve been fascinated with the paranormal since I was a little girl and used to talk to the old lady on the edge of my bed. That old lady turned out to be my grandma, who had passed when I was in my mother’s womb. My entire family is touched by the curiosity and love that comes with the paranormal, so much so my mother is a working psychic medium. For years, I have spent every birthday attending haunted houses with a paranormal team to “investigate.” For some strange reason, I love to be terrified, and I fear I will never stop chasing the thrill.
This was my first peek into the world of paranormal ghost stories through books. Before this spooky thriller, truth be told, I didn’t know there was such a genre as ghost thrillers.
I will forever be grateful to Riley Sager for not only opening me up to such a captivating genre but for writing such an amazing story.
This bookgives you the present perspective of a woman returning to a haunted house that ran her family away 25 years ago, alongside the perspective of what happened 25 years ago when she was a child from the lens of a “NYT-selling novel” written by her father.
In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?
What was it like? Living in that house.
Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later…
As a child I would invent stories to entertain my cousins but at school I developed a passion for thrillers, devouring every Agatha Christie novel I could get my hands on and delighted in discovering new authors to satisfy my appetite. However, after my encounter with a man on a train, who went on to become a serial killer and after suffering a few other attacks, I crafted a novel using my experiences and melded fact with fiction to create my first psychological thriller, Killing Me Softly. It was extremely cathartic and now is a series of six, with another on the way. I’ve written eighteen books and even my historical novels are thrillers.
I love James Patterson books, particularly his Alex Cross series, and I confess I have gorged on them this summer. I appreciate the remarkably short chapters, making it easy to pick up and put down if interrupted. This one is particularly interesting as we learn more about the family and their relationship dynamics. The fact his relative is accused of murder in what appears to be a slam dunk case, Cross is not satisfied. After a plea from his lawyer niece, Cross goes to investigate. Going back to his roots in his hometown dredges up good and bad memories for him and Nana-Mama. Readers who like suspense and a complicated mystery will enjoy this story. Investigations are fraught with danger for the whole family and Cross is a man who protects his family. This is not a typical whodunnit. The case is solved but not in the way one might…
For Alex Cross, the toughest cases hit close to home-and in this deadly thrill ride, he's trying to solve the most personal mystery of his life. When his cousin is accused of a heinous crime, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in over three decades. As he tries to prove his cousin's innocence in a town where everyone seems to be on the take, Cross unearths a family secret that forces him to question everything he's ever known. Chasing a ghost he believed was long dead, Cross gets pulled into a case that has…
Ramon Ramirez’s Dog is a collection of essays written over the years about the adventures and misadventures, mostly outside but occasionally inside the diplomatic career of a U.S. ambassador. Common threads weaving the stories together are a desire for a life well-lived, balancing career with family and friends, keeping physically…
I am a published author, memoir-writing instructor, and retired clinical psychologist. I wrote an initial memoir as a chronological account of my dysfunctional marriages and recovery from them, but lately, I have become very interested in what is termed “hybrid memoirs.” Hybrid memoirs combine personal memoirs with major incidents and research into issues similar to those in the memoir or the culture and laws surrounding them. Since my new book combines my memoir with an account of a crime that affected all the citizens in the country village where I grew up, I have gravitated to memoirs featuring crime as part of the story.
I love murder mysteries, and this is the story of a real-life murder. Marzano-Lesnevich’s memoir, as well as her journalistic story of the murder, intertwines to make a compelling book.
She unveils her own personal story as well as the personal story of the murderer and his victim.
'Part memoir, part true crime, wholly brilliant.' - Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train.
When law student Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich is asked to work on a death-row hearing for convicted murderer and child molester Ricky Langley, she finds herself thrust into the tangled story of his childhood. As she digs deeper and deeper into the case she realizes that, despite their vastly different circumstances, something in his story is unsettlingly, uncannily familiar.
The Fact of a Body is both an enthralling memoir and a groundbreaking, heart-stopping investigation into how the law is personal, composed of individual stories, and…
