Here are 7 books that Our Little Secret fans have personally recommended if you like Our Little Secret. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Look Closer

Kathleen Donnelly Author Of Killer Secrets

From Kathleen's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Kathleen's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Kathleen Donnelly Why Kathleen loves this book

David Ellis had me hooked from the beginning of LOOK CLOSER. I had heard there was an amazing twist at the end and the other readers who told me that were right. I didn't see the ending coming! I heard a podcast interview with David Ellis and he mentioned that to help with surprise endings, he plots his books from the ending to the beginning. I found that fascinating and after reading LOOK CLOSER, I think it works well. Even knowing there was a big twist coming, I didn't completely guess the ending. I've since enjoyed other books by David Ellis and look forward to reading more in his backlist.

By David Ellis ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Look Closer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Wildly entertaining.”—New York Times Book Review

From the bestselling and award-winning author comes a wickedly clever and fast-paced novel of greed, revenge, obsession—and quite possibly the perfect murder.

Simon and Vicky couldn’t seem more normal: a wealthy Chicago couple, he a respected law professor, she an advocate for domestic violence victims. A stable, if unexciting marriage. But one thing’s for sure: absolutely nothing is what it seems. The pair are far from normal, and one of them just may be a killer. 

When the body of a beautiful socialite is found hanging in a mansion in a nearby suburb, Simon…


If you love Our Little Secret...

Ad

Book cover of Hard Lies

Hard Lies by Steve Rush,

He will stop at nothing to keep his secrets hidden.

Denise Tyler’s future in New Jersey with fiancé Jeremy Guerdon unravels when she stumbles upon a kill list, with her name on it. A chilling directive, “Leave the family memories of her, nothing else,” exposes a nightmare she never imagined.…

Book cover of Gathering Mist

Kathleen Donnelly Author Of Killer Secrets

From Kathleen's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Kathleen's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Kathleen Donnelly Why Kathleen loves this book

I love the Timber Creek K-9 series by Margaret Mizushima. Her latest release, GATHERING MIST, is one of my favorite reads for 2024. Mizushima does a great job of researching the K-9 work for her books. She took her characters, Deputy Mattie Cobb and her K-9 Robo, to a new setting in the Pacific Northwest. There, Mattie and Robo must help find a missing child. Mizushima weaves an intricate plot that kept me guessing and the pages turning. I highly recommend this entire series.

By Margaret Mizushima ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Secrets hide within the fog deep in the mossy forests of the Pacific Northwest in this ninth thrilling installment in award-winning author Margaret Mizushima’s Timber Creek K-9 mystery series.

Deputy Mattie Wray, formerly Mattie Cobb, is summoned to Washington’s Olympic peninsula for an urgent search and rescue mission to find a celebrity’s missing child. With only a week left before her wedding, Mattie is hesitant to leave Timber Creek, but her K-9 partner Robo’s tracking skills are needed.

Dense forest, chilling rain, and unfriendly locals hamper their efforts, and soon Mattie suspects something more sinister than a lost child is…


Book cover of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Matthew Restall Author Of When Montezuma Met Cortés: The True Story of the Meeting that Changed History

From Matthew's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Professor Historian Voracious reader Music lover Traveler

Matthew's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Matthew Restall Why Matthew loves this book

I put off reading this for a few years, because all the acclaim regarding its originality of plot seemed overblown, and that plot sounded confusing. How wrong I was! The plot may be potentially confusing, but Turton is such a skilled writer that the reader is able to follow its cleverly contrived premise and all the consequent twists, especially as it is (cliché alert!) hard to put the book down. And is it really possible, after so many thousands of murder mysteries have been written, for one to be truly original in its plot? Absolutely!

By Stuart Turton ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Pop your favorite Agatha Christie whodunnit into a blender with a scoop of Downton Abbey, a dash of Quantum Leap, and a liberal sprinkling of Groundhog Day and you'll get this unique murder mystery." ―Harper's Bazaar

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive mystery that follows one man's race to find a killer, with an astonishing time-turning twist that means nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again,…


If you love Lisa Jackson...

Ad

Book cover of Hard Lies

Hard Lies by Steve Rush,

He will stop at nothing to keep his secrets hidden.

Denise Tyler’s future in New Jersey with fiancé Jeremy Guerdon unravels when she stumbles upon a kill list, with her name on it. A chilling directive, “Leave the family memories of her, nothing else,” exposes a nightmare she never imagined.…

Book cover of And Then There Were None

Karl Bjorn Erickson Author Of The Blood Cries Out

From my list on fiction across all genres by Christian authors.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been deeply moved by how people of substantiative faith translate it into literature. After all, an important difference exists between Christian fiction and fiction by Christian authors. The author, who understands that this life is not everything, is able to infuse so much more depth, emotion, and truth into the narrative than his counterpart.  Shortly after watching the movie The Song of Bernadette in Oxford, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote to his son in the RAF to say, “My mind and heart are still filled with Bernadette Soubirous, and long may they be so. Every quality of a ‘fairy story,’ plus truth and sanctity, is an overwhelming mixture.” 

Karl's book list on fiction across all genres by Christian authors

Karl Bjorn Erickson Why Karl loves this book

This may be one of my favorite mysteries; I could barely put the book down. Granted, this title is not full of examples of faith precisely, but Agatha Christy was a devout Anglican (like C.S. Lewis). If one is going to write mysteries, one must appreciate Agatha Christy. She was an incredibly prolific author of some truly high-quality fiction. 

This was the first title I read of hers, and it set me on a path to begin collecting her books. This tale has so many elements that build tension and create a great mystery—from the isolation of the setting to suspicion and general confusion. It is a masterpiece of a whodunit.

By Agatha Christie ,

Why should I read it?

19 authors picked And Then There Were None as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Agatha Christie's world-famous mystery thriller, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.

Ten strangers, apparently with little in common, are lured to an island mansion off the coast of Devon by the mysterious U.N.Owen. Over dinner, a record begins to play, and the voice of an unseen host accuses each person of hiding a guilty secret. That evening, former reckless driver Tony Marston is found murdered by a deadly dose of cyanide.

The tension escalates as the survivors realise the killer is not only among them but…


Book cover of Devious

Claris Lam Author Of Winner Takes All

From my list on mysteries stuck in isolated areas.

Why am I passionate about this?

Mystery fiction was one of my favourite book genres growing up. I especially enjoy reading mysteries taking place in remote locations, since it narrows down the suspects to only the people present there. Having the cast isolated from the rest of the world creates a special kind of pressure on them to find out who committed the crime. These mysteries also often involve ensemble casts and deep and complicated relationships between characters that are fun to keep track of. Reading these mysteries, including the ones in this list, inspired me to write my own! I’ve written and self-published two amateur sleuth murder mystery books, and I’m currently writing my third one!

Claris' book list on mysteries stuck in isolated areas

Claris Lam Why Claris loves this book

Devious might bit a bit heavy-handed with the religious references, but it makes sense given its location and the types of murders occurring in this book.

I enjoyed how the author worked those references into the overall mystery with not just the location, but the clues and other discoveries along the way. There also is a big twist behind the true killer in this book that I really enjoyed reading, too.

I wish I could explain it in more detail, but that would give away major spoilers! 

By Lisa Jackson ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NOWHERE IS SACRED. NOWHERE IS SAFE.

Fans of Karen Rose and Nora Roberts will love Lisa Jackson's chilling new novel about a killer striking in the holiest of places.

Sister Camille, a troubled novice, is found garrotted in St Marguerite's cathedral. Bentz and Montoya discover this case is close to home - Montoya knew Camille previously as his brother's girlfriend and they even know the prime suspect: the priest Frank O'Toole, father of Camille's unborn child.

When more nuns are brutally slaughtered by someone who seems to know their darkest secrets, Bentz is sure Father O'Toole is their man. But…


Book cover of An Unwanted Guest

Greta Boris Author Of The Cliff House

From my list on thrillers featuring tropes you know and love.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in New York City, the only child of a busy editor/publisher and a classical musician. We lived in a two-hundred-year-old brownstone that was full of history and books. Often, my fictional and real worlds overlapped. I explored the dark spaces in our old house and imagined the ghosts that might still dwell there. I sat in eight-foot-high windows in the summer and near fireplaces with Victorian marble mantels in winter and read Nancy Drew, Alice in Wonderland, Tolkien, Poe, Shakespeare, and more. Those stories dropped like seeds into my psyche and eventually bloomed into the thrillers and mysteries I write today.

Greta's book list on thrillers featuring tropes you know and love

Greta Boris Why Greta loves this book

The Trope: The Locked Room Mystery

The first locked room mystery I ever read was Agatha Christy’s, And Then There Were None. I fell in love with the trope. I’m a complete patsy for any story that holds a group of unsuspecting characters captive and starts killing them off individually.

Shari Lapena uses a ski resort and a snowstorm to do just that. This book is a fabulously creepy and claustrophobic read for a winter night. 

By Shari Lapena ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked An Unwanted Guest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AS FEATURED ON BBC RADIO 2: 'Properly gripping' Romesh Ranganathan

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER from the number one bestselling author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR.

'Crafted like a vintage Christie and just as tense, this will be a smash hit.' Heat
'Tense. Unpredictable. Unputdownable. Shari Lapena's novels are domestic noir at its finest.' Simon Kernick

____________________

We can't choose the strangers we meet.

As the guests arrive at beautiful, remote Mitchell's Inn, they're all looking forward to a relaxing weekend deep in the forest, miles from anywhere. They watch their fellow guests with interest, from a polite distance.

Usually we…


Book cover of The Con Artist

Claris Lam Author Of Winner Takes All

From my list on mysteries stuck in isolated areas.

Why am I passionate about this?

Mystery fiction was one of my favourite book genres growing up. I especially enjoy reading mysteries taking place in remote locations, since it narrows down the suspects to only the people present there. Having the cast isolated from the rest of the world creates a special kind of pressure on them to find out who committed the crime. These mysteries also often involve ensemble casts and deep and complicated relationships between characters that are fun to keep track of. Reading these mysteries, including the ones in this list, inspired me to write my own! I’ve written and self-published two amateur sleuth murder mystery books, and I’m currently writing my third one!

Claris' book list on mysteries stuck in isolated areas

Claris Lam Why Claris loves this book

The murder taking place at a comic con, of all places, really drew me in as a reader. I thought it did a great job capturing the essence of a comic con too, from enthusiastic fans to cosplayers and vendors!

Combining the chaos of the con with investigating the actual murder mystery going on throughout the book made for some really funny and unexpected scenes. I thought that the mystery and the complications of investigating it, thanks to its comic con setting and the people involved, make this book really engaging and fun. 

By Fred Van Lente , Tom Fowler (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Comic book illustrator Michael Yoo is having a terrible week. He's just arrived in San Diego for Comic-Con -- the annual nerd Mardi Gras that triples the beachside city's population with 150,000 fans. Michael hopes to spend the next five days working his booth in Artist's Alley, where he'll sign autographs and sell sketches for $40 a pop. Instead he's implicated in the death of his editor, the widely feared and reviled Danny Lieber. There are plenty of suspects onhand -- from rival illustrators to burlesque cos-players. But the most valuable clues might be hidden in Michael's own sketchbook. He's…


Book cover of Look Closer
Book cover of Gathering Mist
Book cover of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?