Here are 69 books that The Dark Hours fans have personally recommended if you like The Dark Hours. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

Peter Solomon Author Of 12 Years to AI Singularity

From my list on modern evolution: from humanoids to super species to sentient artificial intelligence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a scientist, educator, successful entrepreneur, and author. I believe that human civilization is threatened by the wonderful and dangerous technologies that we created in the last two centuries: fossil fuels, nuclear weapons, gene editing, AI, and social media. As a creator of technologies, I feel responsible that more hasn’t been done to properly control them. My current mission is to sound an alarm about the potential tyranny of technology through my novels, 100 Years to Extinction and the sequel, 12 Years to AI Singularity, on my website and on social media. While the recommended books on my list are nonfiction, my fictional story presents the science and technology accurately as nonfiction would.

Peter's book list on modern evolution: from humanoids to super species to sentient artificial intelligence

Peter Solomon Why Peter loves this book

I believe this book is a must read because Jennifer Doudna’s CRISPR-Cas 9 gene editing invention will be the second major technology to threaten the existence of humanity.

Doudna won a Nobel Prize for her discovery. She said, “The idea that you would affect evolution is a very profound thing.” Will CRISPR be used to create a new super humanoid species, or used by AI to create a species that is more to their liking and easier to control than humans? Or will AI use it to create deadly viruses to rid the Earth of the pesky human species?

Understanding the power of this breakthrough technology is essential to our understanding the future. I found it fascinating that the technology is based on the method bacteria developed 3 billion years ago to protect them from viruses.

By Walter Isaacson ,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked The Code Breaker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The best-selling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns.

In 2012, Nobel Prize winning scientist Jennifer Doudna hit upon an invention that will transform the future of the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA.

Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions. It has already been deployed to cure deadly diseases, fight the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and make inheritable changes in the genes of babies.

But what does that mean for humanity? Should we be hacking our own DNA to make us less susceptible to disease? Should…


If you love The Dark Hours...

Book cover of Deadly Sommer

Deadly Sommer by Nicholas Harvey,

Readers who enjoy police procedurals with an offbeat main character and fascinating locations will love this thriller.

One missing girl. Two lives on the line. Four treacherous challenges.

Nora Sommer's first case for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is one she'll never forget... if she survives. When the daughter…

Book cover of Killing Floor

Patrick Weill Author Of The Mazatlan Showdown

From my list on action thrillers to keep you awake past bedtime.

Why am I passionate about this?

I remember carrying home tall stacks of library books in the summertime and spending entire days immersed in my heroes’ latest adventures as a kid. This continued as I grew up, as I learned that I ought to be a hero, too, by confronting evil both within and without. So I took steps to face my fears, and now when I write about good guys fighting bad guys in my own action fiction, it’s with a real passion for doing what’s right, for making this world better, even if it’s in my own way and only just a little. 

Patrick's book list on action thrillers to keep you awake past bedtime

Patrick Weill Why Patrick loves this book

As I indicated earlier, I am a Lee Child superfan. I’ve read all his original books. A thick (and expensive) biography. A long essay he wrote on heroism. All his short stories. You get the idea. So it was fun to re-read this book, his first.

It wasn’t what I remembered, that’s for sure! Yes, the action scenes are vivid and instructive (Child writes about the utility of a headbutt versus the risk of breaking your hand with a punch), and the action is what I remember most. But there’s more to this book than fights: there’s a major romance, which the author writes with gusto and in detail, heavy on feelings, not on private parts; the prose is better than solid, with imagery that really makes it come alive; and the story is plausible and tightly woven, with plenty of surprises. 

By Lee Child ,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked Killing Floor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. He's just passing through Margrave, Georgia, and in less than an hour, he's arrested for murder. Not much of a welcome. All Reacher knows is that he didn't kill anybody. At least not here. Not lately. But he doesn't stand a chance of convincing anyone. Not in Margrave, Georgia. Not a chance in hell.


Book cover of Where the Crawdads Sing

Melanie Maure Author Of Sisters of Belfast

From my list on women discovering strength through tragedy.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for this topic of women overcoming the odds stems from having worked with powerful, resilient women as a life coach and therapist for the past 15 years. I witness and continue to be inspired by women who surpass what they or those around them believe is possible internally and externally. Women are powerful in unimaginable ways, and I love to read a great story that depicts this truth.

Melanie's book list on women discovering strength through tragedy

Melanie Maure Why Melanie loves this book

Kaya Clark is the wild child I longed to be growing up. Although her family story is tragic and well-explored, how she inhabits her world of nature and allows it to inhabit her is stunning. Once again, she is a young woman who is an outcast who manages to rise above her limitations and those placed on her by society. 

Beyond the incredible storytelling and intriguing plot lines, I was mesmerized by the natural world of the North Carolina marshes, being as much a main character as Kaya herself. The intricate details of the lushness and cruelty of the natural world were incredible. In looking back at my favorite novels, one of the commonalities is the writing’s ability to come alive in my head and to take up a permanent space as much as my own lived memories. This novel is one of those.

By Delia Owens ,

Why should I read it?

59 authors picked Where the Crawdads Sing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

OVER 12 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
A NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

For years, rumours of the 'Marsh Girl' have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be…


If you love Michael Connelly...

Book cover of Friends Like These

Friends Like These by James V. Irving,

Joth Proctor is an under-employed, criminal defense lawyer based in Arlington, Virginia, where a mix of southern charm, shady business dealings, and Washington, D.C. intrigue pervade the story. Upon the suspicious death of the wife of a close friend, Proctor enters a tangled web of drug and alcohol abuse, real…

Book cover of Mortal Prey

Gary J. Rose Author Of The Fourth Reich

From my list on protagonists that helps the reader solve the crime.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a retired police officer, I believe that my insight into police procedures helps move my novels along. By creating a strong female protagonist, FBI Agent Jeannie Loomis, my readers get the best of both worlds. A somewhat flawed female main character who is still a dedicated law enforcement officer who believes, similarly to Lucas Davenport of the Prey Novel series, and Jack Reacher of the Reacher novels, that the ends, justify the means.

Gary's book list on protagonists that helps the reader solve the crime

Gary J. Rose Why Gary loves this book

Great follow-up novel in Sanford’s Prey Series concerning a serial female killer. Sanford leaves the reader from a previous prey novel, where the female serial killer escapes.  This leaves his readers with a desire to learn more….a continuing storyline…and he more than satisfies that with her return in Mortal Prey.

By John Sandford ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Years ago, Lucas Davenport almost died at the hands of Clara Rinker, a pleasant, soft-spoken, low-key Southerner, and the best hitwoman in the business. Now retired and living in Mexico, she nearly dies herself when a sniper kills her boyfriend, the son of a local druglord, and while the boy's father vows vengeance, Rinker knows something he doesn't: The boy wasn't the target-she was-and now she is going to have to disappear to find the killer herself. The FBI and DEA draft Davenport to help track her down, and with his fiancie deep in wedding preparations, he's really just as…


Book cover of Ghost Train

Gary J. Rose Author Of The Fourth Reich

From my list on protagonists that helps the reader solve the crime.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a retired police officer, I believe that my insight into police procedures helps move my novels along. By creating a strong female protagonist, FBI Agent Jeannie Loomis, my readers get the best of both worlds. A somewhat flawed female main character who is still a dedicated law enforcement officer who believes, similarly to Lucas Davenport of the Prey Novel series, and Jack Reacher of the Reacher novels, that the ends, justify the means.

Gary's book list on protagonists that helps the reader solve the crime

Gary J. Rose Why Gary loves this book

The author blends historical facts into a great fiction novel about Hitler’s Gold train. This remarkable book takes today’s headlines of a missing gold train hidden in a cave in Europe apparently being found. Turns out it was a false alarm, but rumors of hidden gold laden trains persist.

By Bill Thompson ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

HAS A NAZI GOLD TRAIN BEEN HIDDEN IN A MOUNTAIN TUNNEL
SINCE WORLD WAR II?

Paul Silver, an international businessman and amateur adventurer, arrives in Berlin looking for information about a fabled Nazi train full of priceless objects and gold. Along with answers he finds a deranged man who hated him in the past, a man who wants revenge more than life itself.

There have been rumors for decades about a train filled with so much wealth it could fund Hitler’s dream of a Fourth Reich. A Romanian family believes its patriarch, one of Hitler’s trusted officers, possesses a coded…


Book cover of 1st to Die

Elizabeth Ducie Author Of Counterfeit!

From my list on strong women fighting crime together.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was able to read before I went to school and have never been without a book since; frequenly having several novels on the go at one time. I started with adventures and classics, moved on to fantasy and later discovered crime fiction. Having been educated at an all-girls school where we assumed we could do everything, it was a shock to enter the world of science and engineering in the 1970s and find that women were not considered as strong and powerful as men, and certainly not as good. Even though times have changed somewhat, I still love finding books (especially series) where crime solving and sisterhood go hand-in-hand.

Elizabeth's book list on strong women fighting crime together

Elizabeth Ducie Why Elizabeth loves this book

This book made me realise that women’s role in fiction didn’t have to be the ‘little woman’ or the ‘love interest’.

It was published back in 2001 when female protagonists were a rarity, but James Patterson gives us not one, but four strong women who get together to solve crimes that the police alone cannot. I love the fact that these women are willing to break the rules in order to succeed in a man’s world. But at the same time, they are a club in the traditional sense: they eat, drink, and have fun together, while watching each other’s backs.

It was a wonderfully empowering experience to discover this book (and even more so when I realised there were a whole series of books about the same group of women).

By James Patterson ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked 1st to Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the only woman homicide inspector in San Francisco, Lindsay Boxer has to be tough. But nothing she has seen prepares her for the horror of the honeymoon murders, when a brutal maniac begins viciously slaughtering newly wed couples on their wedding nights. Lindsay is sickened by the deaths, but her determination to bring the murderer to justice is threatened by her own personal tragedy. So she turns to Claire, a leading coroner, Cindy, a journalist and Jill, a top attorney, for help with both her crises, and the Women's Murder Club is born.


If you love The Dark Hours...

Book cover of Sins in Black

Sins in Black by Dita Dow,

Sins in Black takes readers deep into Sinister Falls, a town built on secrets and silence.

When a young woman’s murder shakes the community, Detective Harlie Whitlock is forced to confront not only corruption and danger, but her own past.

What sets this mystery apart is its fast-paced storytelling combined…

Book cover of The Hidden One

Karl Milde Author Of The Road Ranger

From my list on keeping you riveted until the very end.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have SB degrees in physics and electrical engineering from M.I.T. and a JD degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. I’m interested in how things work and how people think. I’ve written four novels, published countless articles, as well as many children’s stories. A few of them may be found on my author’s website

Karl's book list on keeping you riveted until the very end

Karl Milde Why Karl loves this book

Linda Castillo is a master of the Amish whodunnit, having written fifteen books in a series staged in Amish country and culture. I’ve read five of them. Her characters are vivid and come alive on the page. The Hidden One, this latest “novel of suspense,” is written in the first person by her protagonist, Kate Burkholder, Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio. Before you realize it, you are in Kate’s mind, trying to make sense of the many clues—bits and pieces of information—that make up a mosaic. All this is delivered up in what I would venture to say is a “woman writer’s touch”—with sensitivity and a warm heart.

By Linda Castillo ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The discovery of an Amish bishop's remains leads chief of police Kate Burkholder to unearth a chilling secret in The Hidden One, a new thriller from bestselling author Linda Castillo.

Over a decade ago, beloved Amish bishop Ananias Stoltzfus disappeared without a trace. When skeletal remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister.

The town’s elders arrive in Painters Mill to ask chief of police Kate Burkholder for help, but she quickly realizes she has a personal connection to the crime. The handsome Amish man who stands accused of the murder, Jonas Bowman, was…


Book cover of The Cold Dish

Jeff Kerr Author Of Blunt Force Trauma

From my list on crime fiction that sucked me into a series.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was a boy, my father filled our house with books. From an early age, I immersed myself in whatever he was reading, especially spy thrillers (John LeCarre was his favorite) and crime fiction (the first I recall reading was Joseph Wambaugh’s The Onion Field). I loved those books. What captivated me most were stories that provided clues but made me piece them together to draw my own conclusions. I strive to deliver this same experience to the readers of my novels by providing entertaining tales with unexpected, yet plausible endings.

Jeff's book list on crime fiction that sucked me into a series

Jeff Kerr Why Jeff loves this book

I love Western movies and TV shows. I don’t read as much in the genre unless we’re talking about modern Westerns. Craig Johnson’s Longmire series ranks among the best. As strong a protagonist as Sheriff Walt Longmire is, I find his sidekick Henry Standing Bear to be the real star.

The Cheyenne Nation, as Walt likes to call him, is as indispensable to the stories as Watson is to Sherlock Holmes. And the setting of the Wyoming Rockies makes me long for a road trip. With its strong characters and satisfying plot twists, this book drew me into the Longmire series from the first page.

By Craig Johnson ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Cold Dish as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Introducing Wyoming's Sheriff Walt Longmire in this riveting novel from the New York Times bestselling author, the first in the Longmire mystery series

Craig Johnson's new novel, LAND OF WOLVES, is forthcoming from Viking

Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love this outstanding first novel, in which New York Times bestselling author Craig Johnson introduces Sheriff Walt Longmire of Wyoming's Absaroka County. Johnson draws on his deep attachment to the American West to produce a literary mystery of stunning authenticity, and full of memorable characters. After twenty-five years as sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire's…


Book cover of Lost Light

Marjorie McCown Author Of Final Cut

From my list on crime about Hollywood.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been hooked on the magic of storytelling since childhood, always eager to go wherever imagination can take me. I think that early fascination led me to become a costume designer because costume design is about using clothing to help tell a story. I spent 27 years working on the costume design teams for films like Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Angels & Demons, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. When I decided to take what felt like a logical creative step, to write my own stories, I knew I wanted to write murder mysteries. And I thought the world behind the scenes of a movie would make the perfect setting.   

Marjorie's book list on crime about Hollywood

Marjorie McCown Why Marjorie loves this book

In the ninth book featuring Connelly’s iconic character, (now retired) LAPD detective Harry Bosch, the quintessential modern knight errant is working a case that’s haunted him for years – the murder of Angella Benton.

Her death might be linked to a bold and bloody robbery of 2 million dollars from a movie set where she worked as a production assistant, but neither crime was ever solved. Now Harry is intent on finding Angella’s killer.

The story is set against the backdrop of the movie industry and the celebrity-obsessed culture of Hollywood. Unimpressed by the trappings of power, Harry follows his instincts, led only by his guiding principle, “Everybody counts or nobody counts.”

But this time, he’s on his own without a badge or backup, and when his investigation hits very close to home, Harry finds himself facing brutal enemies determined to strike him down. 

By Michael Connelly ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Award-winning No.1 bestselling author Michael Connelly's ninth Bosch book. Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch has retired from the Los Angeles Police Department - but the discovery of a startling unsolved murder among his old case files means he cannot rest until he finds the killer.

When he left the LAPD, Bosch took a file with him: the case of a production assistant murdered four years earlier during a movie set robbery. The LAPD thinks the stolen money was used to finance a terrorist training camp. Thoughts of the original murder victim were lost in the federal zeal, and when Bosch decides to…


If you love Michael Connelly...

Book cover of The Realtor's Curse

The Realtor's Curse by John J. Jessop,

The Realtor's Curse: Award-winning comedy mystery. International Firebird Book Award, 1st place in both humor and mystery. 

This is one take-charge lady PI. Her husband has the knots on his head to prove it. 

The realtors are really angry in Florida. When this dysfunctional PI couple travel to the…

Book cover of The Last Coyote

Aime Austin Author Of Judged

From my list on crime fiction that made me love the human race.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m agnostic to book genre. If I see it, I will try it. I read all over the place. I just finished a book on online dating and race, the buzzy fiction of the moment, and a self-help book. There are two genre’s that are my absolute favorites, though, women’s fiction, and police procedurals. I’ve read Elizabeth George, Julia Spencer Fleming, Michael Connelly, and Tana French since they started publishing. While I enjoy the whodunit nature of the books, my favorite parts are those quiet moments of pure, unfettered relations between people who care for each other in an otherwise chaotic world. It’s what I write and what I read.

Aime's book list on crime fiction that made me love the human race

Aime Austin Why Aime loves this book

The Harry Bosch series has been long and often predictable.

Bosch has a strong belief that if everybody doesn’t count, nobody counts. He has to hold up his image of justice against an LAPD that plays politics, and a city populace easily swayed by the latest headlines.

What I love about The Last Coyote is that it’s a very personal novel where Bosch examines his relationship with his deceased mother Marjorie Phillips Lowe, a prostitute who was brutally murdered. While on psychiatric leave, Bosch takes on the case of his mother’s unsolved murder.

It’s a wonderfully nuanced exploration of the relationship between a mother and son, a cop and his own psyche, and a city and its most reviled citizens.

By Michael Connelly ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Last Coyote as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

LAPD detective Harry Bosch is down on his luck - his house is condemned in the aftermath of the earthquake, his girlfriend has left him and he has been suspended for attacking his superior officer.

To occupy time, he examines the old case files covering a murder which took place on October 28, 1961. The victim was Marjorie Phillips Lowe - his mother . . .

The case forces Bosch to confront the demons of the past, and as he digs deeper into the case, he discovers a trail of cover-ups that lead to the high-ups in the Hollywood Hills…


Book cover of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Book cover of Killing Floor
Book cover of Where the Crawdads Sing

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