47 Books Like The Night Whistler

Tiverton, the setting for this book, is a typical outback small town—derelict houses, one pub, a harsh landscape, and a policeman back in uniform after a corruption scandal back in the big city. Hirsch’s patrol area is huge and he’s often as much a social worker as a police officer. He’s an outcast in all senses of the word, but his dogged determination to do his job right leads him into all sorts of trouble. I love the setting, the endless roads, the eccentricities of people living in the back of nowhere, and the murder mystery that takes you where you (and Hirsch) least expect it.

This is a story about women who are afraid to report rape and a female detective who is determined to change this.

Detective Antigone Pollard arrives at her small Australian hometown and is the victim of an attempted rape. She discovers that her boss and the other men in the town are protecting her assailant, as they have protected wife-beaters and rapists in the past.

I loved Antigone’s determination to change the poisonous town culture and to ensure her assailant is charged. One of the best moments in the story is when the browbeaten women of the town turn on their abusers. 

I’ve never been to Broome in northwest Australia, but it’s renowned for the heat, the flies, and the beaches—but look out for crocodiles. I enjoyed Warner’s previous novel based on a series of murders in Perth in the 90s that, back then, had never been solved, so it was great to see his two detectives get together on a case that eventually circles back to the Perth killings. There’s something about the past catching up with us that I enjoy as a plot and character strength, and this book moves between past and present really effectively. The landscape is so barren that it’s almost like being on another planet!

Humour done well in crime fiction is rare, I think, and this novel has plenty. I think you would call it a caper, with things constantly going wrong for Jac, the main character, in bizarre and amusing ways, but Draga, her Croatian housekeeper is hilarious. Draga’s solutions to fixing things are not what any sensible person might agree to, but Jac is desperate. She even resorts to using Draga’s favourite broom herself at one point. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat, yes, but you might also fall off it laughing. I’m hoping there will be a sequel.

An author knocks it out of the park with her debut and embarks on a book tour that should unfold like a dream come true. A stalker, however, is determined to destroy not just Tess Calloway’s newfound fame but also her entire life. Tess begins to question her sanity when no one believes she might be in danger.

Ryan does a fantastic job letting readers in and outlining just how vulnerable an author becomes when so much information about their tour is put on display. This will make writers and readers look at book signings in a whole new light.

Another aspect I enjoyed as a mother and an author is the way Tess feels torn between promoting her work and keeping up with her parenting responsibilities. I think writers who are parents often experience that tug-of-war between worlds, and Hank Phillippi Ryan does a stellar job of showing us… show more.

Five total strangers trapped in a car together, during a blizzard trying to get home against mounting impossible odds – what’s not to like? I love believable situations which you know as a reader have so much potential to take a deadly turn! 

When a storm strands Mira at the airport with no way to get home, she welcomes the kind offer of sharing a rental car with a woman from her flight. But when this also involves another three people, who all seem to have their own personal baggage and agendas, you know this is not going to be a smooth ride. As if driving in a storm isn’t enough of a problem, personal items keep going missing, and it soon becomes obvious that one of the five is trying to make sure they don’t all make it back alive! This is a fast-paced fun, twisty read, a perfect… show more.

Zoe commutes to her job every day on a crowded train on the London underground. She discovers that someone is posting advertisements in a local paper saying which women take which trains. And there's a photograph of herself, claiming she's up for some "discreet casual action." Who is behind this and why? Zoe becomes suspicious of everyone in her life—her boss, her significant other—wondering who is cruel enough to set up unsuspecting women that commute by train. She's shocked when she finds out the truth, part of which she never discovers. A final zinger.

Ok, so this is not technically midcentury (it was published in 1977), but I had to include one of those amazing 1970s yarns. I chose this one because I remember reading this as an adolescent and feeling it was sort of like a more adult, sophisticated Nancy Drew book, replete with cliffhangers at the end of each chapter.

This global potboiler, about a beautiful pharmaceutical heiress marked for murder, has enough twists and turns to keep anyone reading way past bedtime. I think it also planted the seed for me to write my own novels of courageous, Grace Kelly-style heroines caught up in the throes of romantic mystery and adventure. 

This was my favorite book the year I read it, and I will read it again, with no doubt the same result. The narrator is an anonymous 18-year-old woman navigating family, community, and romantic relationships in the midst of the Irish Troubles.

Almost every character is identified by a local nickname, part town culture and part a way to keep both authorities and rebels off track. I loved the strong writing and the surprising but always plausible twists. I’ve recommended it to every reader I know.

I love this book because the hero, Eric, has been in love with the heroine Piper since they were teenagers. However, the heroine is his brother’s best friend so he pulled back so as not to step on any toes. The entire time, Piper believed he hated her. I love when she realizes that not only doesn’t Eric hate her, but she loves him too.

This author is a master at romantic suspense, so while they are falling in love, there’s so much more going on in the background that when Piper realizes Eric loves her, it makes their story all the sweeter.