100 Books Like The Silver Pigs

Just like the Falco mysteries showed me that you could have fun with your historical detectives, this book showed me that there’s more drama in Ancient Roman history than in any daytime soap opera, and this novelisation of Marius and Sulla packs a lot more of an emotional punch than any textbook ever could. 

I don’t know enough about Marius and Sulla to say how much poetic license the author took, but this really does read as a seamless and in-depth exploration of the bloody power struggles between two very different but equally ambitious men in the time of the Roman Republic.   

The whole series is fantastic!

I had my doubts about reading this because, well… Tudor history.

I love Mantel’s work but…another trot through Henry VIII’s marriages and murders? I wasn’t sure it was for me. But within moments of opening the book, I was away with Mantel and Thomas Cromwell.

Even the title, Wolf Hall, demonstrates her gift. It was the name of the Seymour family’s seat, and the book never takes us there—but it was Jane Seymour who replaced Anne Boleyn and gave monstrous Henry his heir. The title hangs over the action, echoing, Man is wolf to man.

Mantel’s Cromwell is complex, often kind as well as ruthless, but Mantel herself said that she presents only one possible view of him. Read it and make up your own mind!

This has to be one of–if not the–greatest single book I’ve ever read about war in the ancient world. I read the first ten pages, and I was interested; then I read the next forty, and I was utterly hooked. As a description of an elite military force holding out against overwhelming odds it fascinated me, but as a human story of the way Spartan society worked to produce those warriors, imbued with heroism, honour and humour in equal amounts I was simply blown away.

It’s fair to say that this book has been my greatest influence all the way through my writing career. I dare anyone with an interest in the genre to read this and then deny that they were informed, entertained, and (perhaps darkly) amused by the story and its payoff. This is God-tier writing, plain and simple, and, not for no reason, the closest thing the… show more.

I admit it: I underestimated Flavia de Luce.

She is 11 years old, self-schooled, and lives outside a small English town in the 1950s. She is overlooked and underestimated by everyone. Deep inside, I’m still 11 years old, underestimated, and overlooked. I had an insatiable desire to learn about my environment, and I often saw things others didn’t. Flavia also reminds me of my childhood living in the country in the 1980s. I ran unchecked, safe, and constantly delighted in discovering new things about my corner of the world. I wince at the de Luce family politics. I cheer Flavia’s investigations and her fearlessness. I want nothing more than to stay in Flavia’s 11-year-old world forever. She is the kick-ass kid I wanted to be. 

I was living in Madrid, Spain, when one of my friends and fellow English-language teachers, Heather, nudged me and said, “James, you have to read this.”

I was in my “James only reads highbrow literature” era, so I told her that the cover looked too pulpy (yes, I was guilty of judging a book by its cover). Thankfully, my respect for Heather forced me to overlook my biases and give Pillars a shot. I’m so glad I did.

The prose style is simple and accessible (obeying Animal Farm author George Orwell’s advice to write prose as transparent as a “windowpane”). And that’s good, because the content draws you in completely.

A village in Medieval England decides to build a cathedral. The characters range from evil knights to noble monks to savvy businesswomen to scheming clerics. The world is rich with detail and the pages are addicting, almost turning themselves. It’s… show more.

This book made me fall in love with ancient Egypt. It might not take place in the past but the findings of the main characters take you straight back in time. The descriptions of the places and the way of living in ancient Egypt-Ethiopia-The blue Nile, easily trigger your imagination and you find yourself creating pictures in your head. Also, the adventure is breathtaking. 

If you love ancient Rome and a good murder mystery then this is the book you should read. The author has studied history and is considered an expert on ancient Rome, and judging by how accurate his descriptions are, it must be true. I am in love with this book (and the rest of the Roma Sub Rosa series) because it made me feel like I was walking down the Appian Way myself. Plus the mystery is so well given. A true must if you are in love with ancient Rome. 

I had no special interest in Alexander the Great, but happened on Fire From Heaven in the library. It was set in Ancient Greece. I liked historical novels, so I read it. Became a fan!

This first book takes that world-bestriding conqueror and imagines him as a lonely child in a fraught palace—and as a teenager, his father assassinated, his world breaking up around him. It follows him as time changes him into a brilliant, daring general. In the series’ succeeding books, he becomes a lover and then half-mad with bereavement, and we see his "empire" quickly dissolve after his early death.

Time changes everything; nothing stays the same. But in the pages of these books, Alexander’s world is brilliantly recreated.

Charlotte Holmes is everything I adore in a protagonist—unapologetically brilliant, unconventional, and always one step ahead. I couldn’t put this book down because it reimagined Sherlock Holmes in a way that felt fresh and exciting while keeping all the intellect and intrigue I crave in a mystery.

I loved watching Charlotte dismantle society’s expectations while outwitting everyone around her. If you love fiercely independent women and clever mysteries, this series is addictive.

Norah Lofts was my mother’s favourite author.

I read the books "because they were there," but I was soon a fan. Lofts came from an old farming family and had a deep sense of being rooted in a place. The Town House tells how "The Old Vine" came to be built. The House at Old Vine and The House at Sunset travel on through their history. Each book is a collection of longish short stories, spanning time from the 1400s to the 1950s (when the books were written).

Lofts shows heartbreak lingering for centuries, haunting the house. A later character feels despair in certain rooms. They don’t know why, but the reader is spookily aware of the reason. Books for everyone who’s ever wondered, "What happened here in this place?"