Here are 11 books that The Letter Keeper fans have personally recommended if you like The Letter Keeper. Shepherd 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 Water Keeper

Patricia Bradley Author Of Shadows of the Past

From Patricia's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Mystery/Suspense reader Potter Traveler Speaker Learner

Patricia's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Patricia Bradley Why Patricia loves this book

You must read all four of the books in the series (I hope there's a fifth!). Murphy Shepherd totally captured my heart!

By Charles Martin ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Water Keeper as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A riveting story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds by New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin.

Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds of a church with no parishioners, and he's dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes.

When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida's Intracoastal Waterway, Murph's mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end…


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Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Book cover of The Record Keeper

Patricia Bradley Author Of Shadows of the Past

From Patricia's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Mystery/Suspense reader Potter Traveler Speaker Learner

Patricia's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Patricia Bradley Why Patricia loves this book

This is the 3rd book in the 4-book series and I wish there were more! Charles Martin really puts you in his characters shoes. And if you're reading the series, don't stop with this one. Be sure to read the last one--The Keeper! And then you'll wish for more.

By Charles Martin ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Because you're worth rescue."

The unrelenting third installment in the Murphy Shepherd series from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin.

Murphy Shepherd's last rescue mission very nearly cost him his life. He'd like nothing more than to stay close to his wife and daughters for a while. But Bones's nemesis must be stopped, and there are so many who still need to know they are worth rescuing.

As the cat-and-mouse game moves into the open, Murphy is tested at every turn-both physically and mentally. Then the unthinkable happens: his beloved mentor and friend is taken. Gone without a trace.…


Book cover of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Michele C. Hollow Author Of Jurassic Girl: The Adventures of Mary Anning, Paleontologist and the First Female Fossil Hunter

From Michele's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Michele's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Michele C. Hollow Why Michele loves this book

I loved everything about this book, which was inspired by true events. I didn’t know about the Pack Horse Library initiative, which brought books, newspapers, and magazines to people in remote communities in Kentucky during the Great Depression.

The central character is Cussy Mary Carter, a 19-year-old librarian with a genetic condition that turned her skin blue. Blues, as they were called, often faced bigotry and were blamed for many problems in the community.

She faced fierce prejudice. That didn’t stop her. Her love of books and her determination to bring stories to people in isolated communities was stronger than her fears.

Carter believed books unite people from all walks of life and that literature leads to hope and change.
President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) created this program to help lift Americans out of the Great Depression; by 1933, unemployment had risen to 40 percent in Appalachia. Carter…

By Kim Michele Richardson ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER
A LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
AN OKRA PICK
The bestselling historical fiction from Kim Michele Richardson, this is a novel following Cussy Mary, a packhorse librarian and her quest to bring books to the Appalachian community she loves, perfect for readers of Lee Smith and Lisa Wingate. The perfect addition to your next book club!
The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything-everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome's got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter.
Cussy's not only…


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Book cover of The Guardian of the Palace

The Guardian of the Palace by Steven J. Morris,

The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is real—but hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.

When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to act…

Book cover of Where the Crawdads Sing

J. Baird Callicott Author Of Greek Natural Philosophy: The Presocratics and Their Importance for Environmental Philosophy

From J.'s 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

J.'s 3 favorite reads in 2024

J. Baird Callicott Why J. loves this book

Delia Owens’s Crawdads was a smashing success as both a novel (her first) and a motion picture. ’Buked, beaten, and scorned by her feckless father, abandoned by her mother and older siblings, an illiterate girl of ten lives alone on the marshy coast of North Carolina. Befriended by a boy who teaches her to read with the compelling prose of A Sand County Almanac, Kya comes to see her world through the eyes of its author, Aldo Leopold. Kya and Tate grow up and fall in love, but he goes off to college—and she is again abandoned. She becomes a renowned naturalist, artist, and author, but falls sexual prey to a scoundrel, who winds up dead. It’s a murder mystery, but also a story of triumph and a beautiful portrayal of an environment often as reviled by polite society as its once feral celebrant.

By Delia Owens ,

Why should I read it?

58 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…


Book cover of The Mountain Between Us

Elizabeth Bromke Author Of Home to Brambleberry Creek

From my list on women’s fiction with gorgeous heartland settings.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love drawing gorgeous, interesting settings. Ever since my parents drove my brother and me across America to visit our cousins in Michigan, I have found myself enchanted by everything from sweet small-towns to pit stops with lots of potential for drama. I have always felt that setting can be its own character. With its bright, sunny suburbs and its dark, shadowy back-alleys, the setting is the centerpiece of any great story.

Sarah's book list on women’s fiction with gorgeous heartland settings

Elizabeth Bromke Why Sarah loves this book

This book was a surprise hit for me. I’d never read Martin before, but my husband knew I appreciated adventure stories. What I got instead, was a little bit of everything. Adventure, romance, excitement, and more—The Mountain Between Us was unputdownable for me. I think, though, that its dangerous, snowy setting was the one thing that upped the stakes the most. When reading this book, I felt trapped in the snowy mountains, myself. I felt cold and hungry, thirsty, and…totally swept away. 

By Charles Martin ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba. An atmospheric, suspenseful and gripping story of two people finding love while fighting to survive.
 
When a blizzard strands them in Salt Lake City, two strangers agree to charter a plane together, hoping to return home; Ben Payne is a gifted surgeon returning from a conference, and Ashley Knox, a magazine writer, is en route to her wedding. But when unthinkable tragedy strikes, the pair find themselves stranded in Utah’s most remote wilderness in the dead of winter, badly injured and miles from civilization. Without food or shelter, and…


Book cover of The Lucky One

Elizabeth Bromke Author Of Home to Brambleberry Creek

From my list on women’s fiction with gorgeous heartland settings.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love drawing gorgeous, interesting settings. Ever since my parents drove my brother and me across America to visit our cousins in Michigan, I have found myself enchanted by everything from sweet small-towns to pit stops with lots of potential for drama. I have always felt that setting can be its own character. With its bright, sunny suburbs and its dark, shadowy back-alleys, the setting is the centerpiece of any great story.

Sarah's book list on women’s fiction with gorgeous heartland settings

Elizabeth Bromke Why Sarah loves this book

You might not think about Sparks as a go-to for sweeping countryside settings… and yet his treatment of the North Carolina lends itself so sweetly to this romance, that I bet the story wouldn’t be the same without it. There is something so sexy about a handsome man in blue jeans ambling down a country lane.

By Nicholas Sparks ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A U.S. Marine's brush with death leads him to the love of his life in this New York Times bestseller of destiny, luck, and the redemptive power of romance.
After U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman buried in the dirt during his tour of duty in Iraq, he experiences a sudden streak of luck -- winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph -- his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can't seem to get the woman…


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Book cover of Oaky With a Hint of Murder

Oaky With a Hint of Murder by Dawn Brotherton,

Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New York’s wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, it’s time to dig into the details and see…

Book cover of Virgin River

Marie Jones Author Of Those We Trust

From my list on leave you breathless with love, danger, and suspense.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love romance, a true romantic from the day I was born. I also love crime/thriller/twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting to turn the page. As a writer, it was the most natural choice to combine all of these to bring to you as a reader love, passion, danger, shady criminal underworld, and jaw-dropping cliffhangers mixed in with twists you never saw coming. A love story that has you hopelessly entwined with them. A beautiful backdrop of the highlands of Scotland that creates its own unique story –mystical, mighty, and carrying its own hidden dangers.

Marie's book list on leave you breathless with love, danger, and suspense

Marie Jones Why Marie loves this book

Quite simply, Robyn is a masterclass at writing beautiful romances and nothing comes better than her Virgin River series. 

Her characters are full of depth and conflicts, and the setting of the stories are in beautiful landscapes I want to travel to. There are many great sub-stories to be drawn happily into and of course, who can resist a HEA?

By Robyn Carr ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Virgin River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Netflix Original Series

Read the book that started it all!

13 Million Copies Sold

Sometimes all you need is a fresh start

When recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees an advert for a midwife in the remote town of Virgin River, she decides this is the perfect place to escape her heartache.

However, her hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving: the cabin is uninhabitable, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. But when a tiny baby is abandoned on a front porch, Mel must decide whether to stay and help or…


Book cover of I'll Be Seeing You

B.D. Lawrence Author Of An Angel and a One-Armed Man

From my list on crime fiction books without profanity, on page sex, or gratuitous violence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved crime fiction, especially those where justice is served. I love crime stories where ordinary people doing their jobs triumph over evil. But so many crime stories are riddled with profanity, sex, and gratuitous violence. Over the last few years, I’ve searched for books that satisfy my need to read about justice but do it cleanly and in such a way that the story is not compromised. Oh, by the way, I’m also a writer of crime fiction and try to stay true to both justice over evil and telling stories in a clean but realistic way.

B.D.'s book list on crime fiction books without profanity, on page sex, or gratuitous violence

B.D. Lawrence Why B.D. loves this book

I love complex, multi-threaded mysteries that keep me guessing, and this book is one of those that was hard to put down.

This mystery kept me enthralled from beginning to end. And I did not figure it out until Ms. Clark wanted me to. Ms. Clark paints fascinating characters caught up in difficult circumstances. There are several twists, the biggest being at the end, which I immensely appreciated.

I usually have things figured out halfway or three-quarters of the way through. Not this one. 

By Mary Higgins Clark ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I'll Be Seeing You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark, a gripping and twisting mystery featuring a television news reporter who finds herself drawn into a terrifying web of treachery, where nothing is as it seems and the truth may be too devastating to pursue...

The murdered woman could have been her double. When reporter Meghan Collins sees the sheet-wrapped corpse in a New York City hospital, she feels as if she's staring into her own face. And Meghan has troubles enough already without this bizarre experience. Nine months ago, her much-loved father's car spun off a New York bridge. Now, investigators…


Book cover of Moonlight Awakens

B.D. Lawrence Author Of An Angel and a One-Armed Man

From my list on crime fiction books without profanity, on page sex, or gratuitous violence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved crime fiction, especially those where justice is served. I love crime stories where ordinary people doing their jobs triumph over evil. But so many crime stories are riddled with profanity, sex, and gratuitous violence. Over the last few years, I’ve searched for books that satisfy my need to read about justice but do it cleanly and in such a way that the story is not compromised. Oh, by the way, I’m also a writer of crime fiction and try to stay true to both justice over evil and telling stories in a clean but realistic way.

B.D.'s book list on crime fiction books without profanity, on page sex, or gratuitous violence

B.D. Lawrence Why B.D. loves this book

This book is raw, brutal, and a tough read, but it’s also clean, and that’s what I appreciated most about Walker’s telling of a girl’s story who is stuck in sex trafficking. Yes, it is another sex-trafficking book, but for me, it is a masterful insight from the point of view of those caught in it or caught by it.

Besides being a raw account of sex trafficking trauma, it’s also a compelling story that kept me wanting to read to find out what would happen. It’s a thriller and has many moments of high suspense. Watching Emma move through the phases of “the life” broke my heart but also opened my eyes.

I applaud Mr. Walker for this book. It could not have been easy to write, but I’m glad he did.

By John Matthew Walker ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

At only seventeen, Emma is used, abused, and discarded. She runs a thousand miles away from shame and judgment and falls into a stranger's arms. One careless mistake, and she plummets into the hellish world of sex-trafficking. "The life" takes everything from her, starting with her name. Deep in that darkness, Emma must find herself and find a way out. Her story is a tantalizing suspense that awakens hope.


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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…

Book cover of Calculated Risk

B.D. Lawrence Author Of An Angel and a One-Armed Man

From my list on crime fiction books without profanity, on page sex, or gratuitous violence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved crime fiction, especially those where justice is served. I love crime stories where ordinary people doing their jobs triumph over evil. But so many crime stories are riddled with profanity, sex, and gratuitous violence. Over the last few years, I’ve searched for books that satisfy my need to read about justice but do it cleanly and in such a way that the story is not compromised. Oh, by the way, I’m also a writer of crime fiction and try to stay true to both justice over evil and telling stories in a clean but realistic way.

B.D.'s book list on crime fiction books without profanity, on page sex, or gratuitous violence

B.D. Lawrence Why B.D. loves this book

This is an intense story and kept me on edge while reading, wondering what would happen next. Shannon upped the thrills as the book went on.

I really appreciated the two main characters, Jason and Addison, who are Christians. Unlike many Christian novels, not everyone around them was also a Christian. This book was a realistic example of people who try to live a Christ-like life, but can get caught up in things out of their control.

The romance between Jason and Addison is fascinating as both come into it with so much baggage. I found myself rooting for them and Shannon does a great job building that suspense as well.

By Lynn Shannon ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

He carries the burden of his mistakes.

The wounds on Jason Gonzalez’s body are nothing compared to the ones on his heart. The former Marine avoids getting close to anyone new, especially his gorgeous next-door neighbor. Until he hears a scream coming from her house in the middle of the night.

Her enemies are too numerous to count.

Addison Foster escaped an abusive marriage and has become an advocate for others. When an intruder breaks into her home and nearly kills her, Addison is rescued by an unlikely protector. But the threats against her aren’t over and she needs help.…


Book cover of The Water Keeper
Book cover of The Record Keeper
Book cover of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

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