Here are 4 books that The Instrumentalist fans have personally recommended if you like The Instrumentalist. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Long Island Compromise

By Taffy Brodesser-Akner ,

Book cover of Long Island Compromise

Eileen Ogintz Author Of The Kid's Guide to New York City

From Eileen's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

By Eileen Ogintz Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Eileen's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Book cover of The Hunter Book cover of Long Island Compromise Book cover of The Instrumentalist

Eileen Ogintz Why Eileen loves this book

I grew up on Long Island, New York where this book was set and it took me back to my childhood as well as offering a really interesting take on how a traumatic event can have lifelong repercussions.

Long Island Compromise

By Taffy Brodesser-Akner ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Long Island Compromise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Everything I was dreaming it would be - shocking, tender, profound and delicious' EMILY MAITLIS

'Both enjoyable and funny while also substantive and profound' CATHY RENTZENBRINK

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Fleishman Is in Trouble comes Long Island Compromise, a darkly exhilarating novel about an American family and its inheritance - the safety and wealth that they fought for, and the precarity of their survival that is their legacy.

In 1980, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway in the nicest part of the nicest part of Long Island. He is brutalised, held for…

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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

The Hunter

By Tana French , #2 of Cal Hooper series

Book cover of The Hunter

Becky Oles

From Becky's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

By Becky Oles

Unknown Author Why Becky loves this book

This is Tana French’s follow up to “The Searcher”. I am a big Tana French fan, and found both The Searcher and The Hunter extraordinary. French’s ability to immerse you into the world of a small Irish community is spot on. Although these to books are not her usual police procedural novels, but much more character/community driven, and I found them exceptional.

The Hunter

By Tana French ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Hunter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It’s a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.

Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He’s found it, more or less: he’s built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he’s gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme…

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The History of Sound

By Ben Shattuck ,

Book cover of The History of Sound

Ellis Scott Author Of Night Terminus

From my list on literary fiction about catastrophe and memory.

By Ellis Scott Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Writing is about the metaphysical as well as the rational if it’s any good. As an author, I am always more interested in the wreckage of a crisis than the crisis itself—in the aftermath. Survivors search for purpose above all else. They undertake long sojourns, seek spiritual counsel, or find solace in art or politics. As a writer who has dealt with illness for most of my adult life, I think one path that is shared by all these novels is the discovery of agency—over one’s body, one’s choices, and one’s own life and death. There lies meaning.

Ellis' book list on literary fiction about catastrophe and memory

Book cover of Atonement Book cover of The Things They Carried Book cover of The History of Sound Book cover of The Hours Book cover of Austerlitz

Ellis Scott Why Ellis loves this book

What does it mean to be forgotten and to be remembered? This brilliant collection of short stories is anchored by the title story about a walk through rural Maine directly after World War One by two male lovers, both musicians and one a returning soldier, recording folk songs ostensibly for his conservatory.

Each story has a companion in the compilation, which I found to be an incredibly effective device for exploring the emotional impact of memory. The writing is so dispassionate yet devastating in its exploration of how even long-ago relationships can be brought to the surface by rediscovered artifacts or found objects.

I found the descriptive world-building second to none, and what it means to survive tragedy, inspirational.

The History of Sound

By Ben Shattuck ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The History of Sound as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now a major movie starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor

'Triumphant' The Times
'Stellar' Daily Mail
'Exceptionally accomplished' The Scotsman
'Sublime' Observer
'Exquisite' Sunday Post

In twelve luminous stories set across three centuries, The History of Sound examines the unexpected ways the past returns to us and how love and loss are entwined and transformed over generations. In Ben Shattuck's ingenious collection, each story has a companion story, which contains a revelation about the previous, paired story. Mysteries and murders are revealed, history is refracted, and deep emotional connections are woven through characters and families.

The haunting title…

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If you love Harriet Constable...

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Book cover of Katie’s Gamble

Katie’s Gamble by Kara O'Neal,

Katie's Gamble is an unexpected, unique story about a young woman who's trying to support her younger siblings by keeping her family's confectionery shop open.

In order to do that, she has to take on her older brother, who's a notorious gambler in Louisiana. Additionally, she has to outsmart Rowdy…

The Correspondent

By Virginia Evans ,

Book cover of The Correspondent

Darlene Foster Author Of Amanda in Ireland

From Darlene's 3 favorite reads in 2026.

By Darlene Foster Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Darlene's 3 favorite reads in 2026

Book cover of The Weight of Snow and Regret Book cover of The Correspondent Book cover of A Gentleman in Moscow

Darlene Foster Why Darlene loves this book

This is a brilliantly written story about a complicated, contemporary woman, seen through her letters and emails. Sybil Van Antwerp is in her seventies and has been writing letters all her life. She is a hardworking, intelligent career woman; a friend, sister, mother and avid reader. Through her correspondence, we learn about those around her; her effect on them and their effect on her. I enjoyed all the characters; those with whom she corresponds, including well-known authors. (I loved that part). The sad reality is that she is losing her sight and may not be able to continue writing letters. She also has to come to grips with a past tragedy in order to move on. I loved this book; I could relate to Sybil. It will stay with me for a long time.

The Correspondent

By Virginia Evans ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Discover the emotional, funny, unforgettable BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick, Amazon Best Book of 2025 and New York Times bestselling word-of-mouth sensation that thousands of readers are calling their favourite book of the year...

Over 30,000 five star reviews on Goodreads!

'THIS NOVEL IS A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION' Ann Patchett

'I WAS DELIGHTED AND MOVED . . . MASTERFUL' New York Times

'I CAN'T PRAISE IT ENOUGH. AN ABSOLUTE TRIUMPH' Clare Chambers

'THIS NOVEL IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER JOY' Ann Napolitano

'I DON'T HAVE ANY WORDS. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL STORY' Reader review

'I THINK I'VE JUST FINISHED MY…

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Book cover of Long Island Compromise
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