100 Books Like Still

What a deeply atmospheric, evocative read! I’d been meaning to dive into a Jane Harper novel for some time, and I’m so pleased this is where I chose to start. I’ve done what we Aussies call ‘The Big Lap’ a couple of times, touring around the coast of Australia, then up through the arid center, before exploring the remote reaches of Western Australia.

This book brings the vastness of this landscape to life so perfectly without overstating or overdramatizing it. This character-driven novel is compelling, leaving me with a sense of being intimately acquainted with the families living on the isolated properties … and of their fear, knowing a murderer may be in their midst.

I adore anything Australian crime noir. Throw in the Outback as well, and I’m there! 

This book is a compelling mystery. Slow burn and character-driven, it sucked me in and had me imagining the characters even whilst I wasn’t reading. An award-winning debut, I’ll definitely be adding this author’s future work to my TBR piles. 

I wouldn’t recommend reading this book during a storm when there’s a chance of a power cut! Years back, I camped on the edge of a highway in the middle of central Australia–and even before this book came out, I knew I’d never do it again! The stars might be spectacular, but the isolation is an absolutely crushing force. 

This book captures that essence perfectly–along with the relief of finding another human being on the road…quickly followed by the terror of realizing that person may not be who you think. 

I admit it—I’m a fangirl. I caught up with Chris Hammer at my local library and had a photo taken with him. This book spans multiple timelines, from 1913 to the present.

As if that wasn’t enough, it’s set in a small Australian town where secrets, intrigue, and lies always abound. If that didn’t tick all my boxes, nothing could! 

The first time I set foot in Sydney, Australia (after a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles), I knew that I needed to learn as much about the history of that continent as possible.

In bars and cafes, I would listen to Australians speaking to each other, marveling at their accents. I wondered how a colony of convicts could thrive in a place completely different from their homes in England and Ireland. I wondered what they did to the Aboriginal people to claim as much land and wealth as they had.

This is why I was drawn to Christina Baker Kline’s book, which follows three young women in Australia, telling the story of its colonization in the 19th century from very different perspectives. Kline’s prose is effortless–descriptive without getting in its own way, but not simplistic. At some point, when I was reading this book cover to cover, I looked up… show more.

I’m a sucker for a good title, and this one had me hooked before I read a word. But the fun doesn’t stop there with this cosy spy thriller. Reading this book left me breathless.

The pace never lets up as the hapless Dawson travels to Australia where, confused, he is chased by a colourful collection of Germans, Russians, Brits, and Aussies, all intent on getting their hands on the eponymous teapot. 

I love books where the underdog finds their inner hero, and Dawson–with some help from the resourceful Lucy–is such a character. I galloped through this witty, clever book, eager to discover the secret of that teapot. I wasn’t disappointed.

This is the first in a long-running, action-packed science fiction series starring Miles Vorkosigan. He is brilliant, driven, ambitious, hyperactive, and neurotic. He also suffers from a chronic disability that makes him unfit for military service on his home planet. This is why he takes to the stars for a life of adventure and excitement under the pseudonym Miles Naismith, Admiral of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries.

This book is our introduction to Miles and shows the birth of the Naismith persona, and it is fabulous fun on every page. I devoured this series like potato chips.

I really enjoyed this novel by Sofía Segovia. She takes us to a mystical world. Exceptionally well described, the main character, Simonopio, sees things nobody else can see, visions of what is to come. Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, Simonopio is welcomed by Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt and care for him as if they were their own. His swarm of bees always helps Simonopio, and his mission is to protect his adoptive family from threats, both human and those of nature. For me, this is a fascinating book that shows the beauty of this little boy.

I read this whole series as a teenager, and I remember loving it but not following it very well–the story is spread over seven books, each flowing logically and naturally into the next. It was a little too big and complex for me at the time. I’ve started rereading them as an adult, and they are phenomenal.

The four-elements theme of world-building seemed very simple at first, even a little gimmicky, but as I got into it and discovered how the worlds were interconnected, it all fell into place for me: worlds meant to be elegantly interdependent are instead standing–and faltering–alone. I like how the worlds are populated by real people leading real lives, bringing the whole big picture to a more relatable level.

I will almost never buy a book on Atlantis anymore… except this one got me. Want to know why? I liked the write-up. I was short on adventure novels and I fell in love and read the whole series.

The two characters, Nina Wide and Eddie Chase, are brilliant. Eddie is a wise-cracking, no-nonsense guy, a British cockney who does the stupidest things and blows stuff up. You can't help but love him. In this book, Nina gets a tip on where to find Atlantis (here, her parents got killed trying to find it), and Eddie has to look after her.

McDermott writes like Clive Cussler on cocaine, so there is literally never a dull moment. Atlantis stuff can be really trite, but this is really good. I had some good laughs and could identify with the frustrations of someone on a goose chase. I also liked the villain in… show more.