78 Books Like Spirit Crossing

I was living in Madrid, Spain, when one of my friends and fellow English-language teachers, Heather, nudged me and said, “James, you have to read this.”

I was in my “James only reads highbrow literature” era, so I told her that the cover looked too pulpy (yes, I was guilty of judging a book by its cover). Thankfully, my respect for Heather forced me to overlook my biases and give Pillars a shot. I’m so glad I did.

The prose style is simple and accessible (obeying Animal Farm author George Orwell’s advice to write prose as transparent as a “windowpane”). And that’s good, because the content draws you in completely.

A village in Medieval England decides to build a cathedral. The characters range from evil knights to noble monks to savvy businesswomen to scheming clerics. The world is rich with detail and the pages are addicting, almost turning themselves. It’s… show more.

I love listening to Evanovich’s hilarious tales of Stephanie Plum’s misadventures as a wannabe bail/bondsman. These books are my wife’s and my favorite distraction on long road trips. While her mysteries may be thin, her characters are so real and her stories so crazy, I didn’t miss the whodunit. I included her in this August list because she captures the seedy side of Trenton, New Jersey, with amazing clarity, even while laughing at the place.

I picture myself riding in one of her cars—which she destroys regularly—along with her friend, the former ho, LuLu, hair flowing in the stinky wind blowing off deserted warehouses, sleezy girl joints and questionable car repair shops. This is the first in a series that is now at 31.

I have never been to the untamed lands of Wyoming and Montana but after reading this and other books by C J Box, this region certainly moved to the top of my travel list. This author is so adept at transporting readers into his scenes, I felt the biting cold of the wind off the Bighorn Mountains, experienced the chafing of riding my horse up and down the valleys and mountains, heard bullets sing through the air and tasted the bile in my own throat at seeing an animal mutilated.

This is the first entry in this bestselling mystery/adventure series, now at 25. Even in this first book, I loved that the story involved the whole Pickett family, Game Warden Joe, his wife MaryBeth, and his daughters, Lucy and Sheridan.

I have to confess I love both mysteries and historical fiction, and when I discovered Benn’s series, I fell in love. This is the twelveth entry in his “Billy Boyle” series. Like Follett, Benn has the ability to transport me to a different time and place, in this case, 1945 “neutral” Switzerland.

Billy is there to investigate—before the war, he was a detective from Boston—money laundering by the Swiss. Billy narrowly escapes death, his plane being shot down, and, through Benn’s skillful writing, I experienced it all. But when Billy Boyle stumbles upon a train carrying Jews to a concentration camp, Benn captured the poignant scene so vividly that I found myself weeping for the victims, screaming for help inside the cattle cars as they passed.

As with William Kent Krueger, I love all of Sandford’s Prey novels (and there are a lot!). This is the first one I read, and I guess I got hooked because I want to be—if I’m honest—either one of the main characters that persist through his books, and that appear in this one. Virgil Flowers is a lithe, laid-back, really smart guy who has long hair and wears band T-shirts; absolutely not the sort of person you’d associate with the U.S. Marshals Service, yet there he is! (He also has his own series, good for us!). Lucas Davenport is his boss, and Lucas is big, ruthless, and very rich—and loves hunting bad guys. But what I think I’m drawn to most is that he says exactly what he thinks, gets the job done by any means possible, and does not brook fools. At all. And, as I said, I am… show more.

I don’t know about you, but when I find an author I like, I always hope there’s a series. And that’s the case here—Cameron’s, Arlis Cutter, is the investigator in each of the books, and he’s just the kind of guy I want to know—he’s strong, persistent, smart, and doesn’t ever need to talk about himself or how good he is at his job. His work speaks for itself.

In this book, he’s in a small Inupiaq village up by the Arctic Circle to investigate the death of a girl found frozen in the permafrost of a whaling family’s cellar. And this points to the other things I really like about this book (and the others in the series): they’re set in the indigenous community of Alaska; I always learn a lot about that culture from the books; and Cameron somehow weaves Arliss’ personal challenges into the cases he works… show more.

By now, you probably think I only read books by male authors who create male protagonists. Nope! Here’s a case in point. Sasscer Hill is a woman after my own heart—she writes horse racing mysteries set in the Thoroughbred racing world (!), just like me. Unlike me, Sasscer Hill was a racehorse breeder, trainer, and rider—and she brings all that experience to bear on creating an incredibly realistic setting for all her racing novels. I know a lot about Thoroughbred racing myself, so one thing I’m really drawn to in her books is how authentic they are. She does the “behind the scenes” thing with pinpoint accuracy and ease. And I love that she doesn’t shy away from the “dark underbelly” of racing, either.

In this book, her main character, Fia McKee, is on leave because she uses a little too much force when making an arrest. Ok, yeah, I… show more.

We are back in the world of horses, but this time western horses, not Thoroughbred racehorses. Laura Crum has created a series with a female equine veterinarian—Gail McCarthy—as her main character. I’m drawn to Gail because she’s incredibly competent as a vet, but also wicked smart at sniffing out the bad guys and has the courage to go against the boys very often to do just that. I’m always rooting for strong characters, men or women, and I love it that we women are now catching up in fiction as well as in real life!

This is the first in Crum’s series, but I’ve enjoyed all of them I’ve read. I love the rural setting, and I can almost smell the sweet scent of hay and hear the horses rustling gently in their stalls (which always does my heart good) as I read this book. In it, a dead horse… show more.

The English Wife had me racing to unravel the secrets at the heart of Annabelle and Bay's marriage. And at the same time I was savoring the fascinating characters and brilliant writing.

The twists and turns of the plot had me gasping, but the biggest mystery was understanding the central characters and their relationship.

I loved British forensic archeologist and single mom Ruth Galloway. She’s plump, “moon-faced,” and middle-aged.

In the line of duty, Ruth is doing a TV bit and worries that her stomach sticks out. I can relate. As she frantically searches for a kidnapped child, two dashing men vie for her affection–this gave me hope. And I loved the complex crew of characters, the twisty plot, ancient castles and towers, and the rather exceptional number of extramarital affairs.

I found this book to be a fine and fast-paced read, and Ruth Galloway is a unique and humble heroine. Happy to say there are 15 books in the series.