Here are 64 books that The Wicked Boy fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’m an archivist, really, masquerading as a writer. For my day job, I am in charge of archives from across England’s Royal County of Berkshire, spanning from the twelfth century to the present day. I have care of collections from Reading Gaol – of Oscar Wilde fame, the conservators of the River Thames, and also Broadmoor Hospital. The latter was built in 1863 as the first criminal lunatic asylum for England and Wales. It’s a place where true crime and social history interact. My book tries to paint a picture of individuals who did dreadful things but also had a life beyond their mental illness.
This is another Victorian Broadmoor book and also one that lives well beyond the walls. William Chester Minor, a wealthy and educated New Englander, was a Broadmoor patient who dedicated his hospital life to assisting with the first Oxford English Dictionary. Simon Winchester weaves together Minor’s story with that of James Murray: two eccentric obsessives who bond over common labour. The book puts the idea of criminal lunacy into a wider perspective and also succeeds in making a potentially dry, academic topic into a page-turning read.
An extraordinary tale of madness, genius and obsession, discover the true story of the two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary - and literary history!
The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, begun in 1857, was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand of those words.
But when the committee insisted on honouring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, a millionaire and American Civil…
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…
I’m an archivist, really, masquerading as a writer. For my day job, I am in charge of archives from across England’s Royal County of Berkshire, spanning from the twelfth century to the present day. I have care of collections from Reading Gaol – of Oscar Wilde fame, the conservators of the River Thames, and also Broadmoor Hospital. The latter was built in 1863 as the first criminal lunatic asylum for England and Wales. It’s a place where true crime and social history interact. My book tries to paint a picture of individuals who did dreadful things but also had a life beyond their mental illness.
I like to write about public Victorian asylums – where the bulk of English people with mental illnesses were admitted. But the counterpoint is the private system, where the poor, rich mad spent their time in nice surroundings with wacky treatments. Sarah Wise captures this perfectly through a real-life investigation of the people in the attic – think Jane Eyre, or The Woman in White – and how the law sought to protect them.
“A must-read for those who work in the mental health industry, I think most people will find it both eye-opening and provocative.” ―The Guardian
The phenomenon of false allegations of mental illness is as old as our first interactions as human beings. But it took the confluence of the law and medical science, mad-doctors, alienists, priests and barristers, to raise the matter to a level of “science,” capable of being used by conniving relatives, “designing families” and scheming neighbors to destroy people who found themselves in the way, people whose removal could provide their survivors with money or property or…
I’m an archivist, really, masquerading as a writer. For my day job, I am in charge of archives from across England’s Royal County of Berkshire, spanning from the twelfth century to the present day. I have care of collections from Reading Gaol – of Oscar Wilde fame, the conservators of the River Thames, and also Broadmoor Hospital. The latter was built in 1863 as the first criminal lunatic asylum for England and Wales. It’s a place where true crime and social history interact. My book tries to paint a picture of individuals who did dreadful things but also had a life beyond their mental illness.
Long before the Victorian asylums, there was Bethlem – London’s ancient hospital for lunatics. Like Broadmoor, Bethlem also looked after high-profile criminals, but within a private and charitable institution that was mostly for the capital’s waifs and strays. Bedlam gives you a sense of how mental health developed as a concept from the medieval period to the present day.
'Bedlam!' The very name conjures up graphic images of naked patients chained among filthy straw, or parading untended wards deluded that they are Napoleon or Jesus Christ. We owe this image of madness to William Hogarth, who, in plate eight of his 1735 Rake's Progress series, depicts the anti-hero in Bedlam, the latest addition to a freak show providing entertainment for Londoners between trips to the Tower Zoo, puppet shows and public executions.
That this is still the most powerful image of Bedlam, over two centuries later, says much about our attitude to mental illness, although the Bedlam of the…
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…
I’m an archivist, really, masquerading as a writer. For my day job, I am in charge of archives from across England’s Royal County of Berkshire, spanning from the twelfth century to the present day. I have care of collections from Reading Gaol – of Oscar Wilde fame, the conservators of the River Thames, and also Broadmoor Hospital. The latter was built in 1863 as the first criminal lunatic asylum for England and Wales. It’s a place where true crime and social history interact. My book tries to paint a picture of individuals who did dreadful things but also had a life beyond their mental illness.
In England, the Victorian asylums were built as beacons of hope, infused with optimism. But by the late 20th century virtually all of them had gone, unloved and unmourned. So what happened? Peter Barham takes you through the rise and fall of England’s national mental health service.
Though they had mostly all been closed by the turn of the century, the passing of the old Victorian asylums is still a matter of enduring controversy. First published almost thirty years ago, in this acclaimed book Peter Barham draws on examples from history, the contemporary mental health scene, and his own extensive research, to examine the changing fortunes of mental patients in the era of the asylum and beyond. Barham argues that an obsession with severe and enduring mental health problems should be a matter of urgent social obligation and concern. In a prologue to this new edition, he…
I’m a former psychology professor, and I find that in both my reading and writing, I wonder about individuals’ backgrounds and motivations for their actions. I particularly enjoy novels that take a deep dive into what makes individuals behave as they do. And criminal behavior, with its violations of norms and laws, offers an especially rich opportunity for writers to delve into the reasons people resort to criminality. This is why I was drawn to the characters Celia and Ed Cooney and decided to write a novel about their crime spree.
I can’t help myself—I’m an author: I love an elegantly structured novel.
Ariel Lawhon’s novel is so entertaining and so well-paced that it was easy to lose myself in it. It all starts with the 1930 disappearance of Justice Joseph Crater.
Then we get chapters told from the points of view of his wife, maid, and mistress, with the chapters alternating and dovetailing in such a way as to provide a fascinating peek into the lives of the characters who revolve around the judge.
When I reached the final chapter, I felt like a big Rubik’s cube had clicked into place.
From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia comes a “genuinely surprising whodunit” (USA Today)that tantalizingly reimagines a scandalous murder mystery that rocked the nation.
One summer night in 1930, Judge Joseph Crater steps into a New York City cab and is never heard from again. Behind this great man are three women, each with her own tale to tell: Stella, his fashionable wife, the picture of propriety; Maria, their steadfast maid, indebted to the judge; and Ritzi, his showgirl mistress, willing to seize any chance to break out of the chorus line.
I’m a former psychology professor, and I find that in both my reading and writing, I wonder about individuals’ backgrounds and motivations for their actions. I particularly enjoy novels that take a deep dive into what makes individuals behave as they do. And criminal behavior, with its violations of norms and laws, offers an especially rich opportunity for writers to delve into the reasons people resort to criminality. This is why I was drawn to the characters Celia and Ed Cooney and decided to write a novel about their crime spree.
I love an atmospheric read, and this one is Gothic and foreboding.
It’s 1889 Liverpool, and Constance Sullivan has been accused of murdering her husband, a chronic consumer of arsenic. At the time, arsenic was thought to have many health benefits.
Mitchell’s novel kicks off with the arrest of Constance and then unfolds into a back-and-forth narrative about their marriage and her trial. I wondered at every turn how Constance could be guilty. Even though she claims she’s innocent, I couldn’t see how she could possibly overcome all the testimony against her.
I was drawn in from the first page and could hardly put the book down.
A woman is accused of killing her husband, but is she guilty? Inspired by a true historical case, this spellbinding novel will keep you guessing until the final heart-stopping revelation…
I’m on trial for the murder of my husband William. But no one knows the truth about my marriage.
I sit in the dock each day and listen to them tell their lies. That William wasn’t taking arsenic, that he was a nobleman who would never hurt anyone. That I’m a cunning, deceitful woman who should hang for what I’ve done.
Everyone betrayed me. My best friend, the family, the…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I’m a former psychology professor, and I find that in both my reading and writing, I wonder about individuals’ backgrounds and motivations for their actions. I particularly enjoy novels that take a deep dive into what makes individuals behave as they do. And criminal behavior, with its violations of norms and laws, offers an especially rich opportunity for writers to delve into the reasons people resort to criminality. This is why I was drawn to the characters Celia and Ed Cooney and decided to write a novel about their crime spree.
Everyone knows how the story of Bonnie and Clyde ends, but I loved how this novel delved into Bonnie’s background and life both before and after she met Clyde.
Bonnie grew up in a chaotic home, and when she met Clyde her whole life changed. She was so smitten with the charming Clyde that she just wanted to be with him—and that included tagging along on robberies and other ill-fated capers.
This novel doesn’t romanticize Bonnie and Clyde. It left me reflecting on the differences between male and female criminals—and the reasons they resort to crime.
“Absorbing...poignant, often heartbreaking...Schwarz is a vivid storyteller.” –The New York Times Book Review
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drowning Ruth vividly evokes the perennially fascinating true crime love affair of Bonnie and Clyde in this suspenseful, gorgeously detailed fictional portrait of Bonnie Parker, one of America's most enigmatic women.
Born in a small town in the desolate reaches of western Texas and shaped by her girlhood in an industrial wasteland on the outskirts of Dallas, Bonnie Parker was a natural performer and a star student. She dreamed of being a movie star or a singer or a…
I’m a former psychology professor, and I find that in both my reading and writing, I wonder about individuals’ backgrounds and motivations for their actions. I particularly enjoy novels that take a deep dive into what makes individuals behave as they do. And criminal behavior, with its violations of norms and laws, offers an especially rich opportunity for writers to delve into the reasons people resort to criminality. This is why I was drawn to the characters Celia and Ed Cooney and decided to write a novel about their crime spree.
I enjoy stories about unsolved crimes, and Emma Donoghue starts with a murder in 1876 San Francisco and builds a story around a character trying to solve the crime.
The main characters, Burlesque dancer Blanche and frog catcher Jenny, quickly drew me into the story. When Jenny is murdered, Blanche believes she knows who murdered Jenny—and thinks she is responsible. I loved how Donoghue captured the rough and gritty San Francisco of the times.
I’m a great fan of author’s notes at the end of historical novels, and Donoghue’s lengthy afterword reveals much about what parts of the novel are based on fact and which imagined—and how she went about researching the story.
Inspired by a true unsolved crime, Frog Music is a gripping historical novel by Emma Donoghue, author of the multi-million-copy bestseller Room.
San Francisco, 1876: a stifling heat wave and smallpox epidemic have engulfed the City.
Deep in the streets of Chinatown live three former stars of the Parisian circus: Blanche, now an exotic dancer at the House of Mirrors, her lover Arthur and his companion Ernest.
When an eccentric outsider joins their little circle, secrets unravel, changing everything - and leaving one of them dead.
A New York Times bestseller, Frog Music is a dark and compelling story of…
I trace my interest in true crime back to the early 1970s when I worked as a staff cartoonist for a weekly newspaper in Wichita, Kansas.A former cop lent me his vast collection of mugshots.Looking into the literal face of crime awakened in me a lasting interest.He also gave me a copy of the complete police file of an unsolved murder from years earlier. Scrutinizing it gave birth to my passion for real-life mysteries like Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, Mary Rogers, and the Black Dahlia.To my mind, questions are always more fascinating than answers.
This is the most detailed account we’re likely to get of what remains an enduring mystery: the 1996 murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey in her home in the affluent town of Boulder, Colorado.From the beginning, police and all other observers were baffled, although the victim’s parents remained under a cloud of suspicion.An added bizarre element was the mother’s grooming of her daughter to compete in child beauty pageants.
In Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, Lawrence Schiller thoroughly recreates every aspect of the complex case of the death of JonBenét Ramsey. A brilliant portrait of an inscrutable family thrust under the spotlight of public suspicion and an affluent, tranquil city torn apart by a crime it couldn't handle, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town uncovers the mysteries that have bewildered the nation.
Why were the Ramseys, the targets of the investigation, able to control the direction of the police inquiry?
Can the key to the murder be found in the pen and writing pad used for the ransom note?
Was it possible…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I am a British crime writer with a love of American crime fiction, particularly books with dark plots and quirky, unique characters. I am the author of the Sunday Times bestselling, multiple award-winning, Washington Poe series and the new Ben Koenig series but am first a reader—I read over a hundred books a year. I love discovering a new-to-me series that has a back catalogue for me to work through, and I appreciate recommendations. I’ve been a full-time author since 2015 and, as I suspected, it’s my dream job.
Stephen King introduced the innocent, unfiltered but extremely observant Holly Gibney in the phenomenal Mr. Mercedes.
King himself says, “...she more or less stole the book, and she stole my heart.” I completely agree, so much so she was a massive influence on Tilly Bradshaw, the super-sheltered, super-intelligent nerdy sidekick from my own Washington Poe series. She’s the first of three sidekicks in this list who will go on to get a book of their own.
Holly is out September 2023 and it’s the book I’m most looking forward to this year.
When an eleven-year-old boy is found murdered in a town park, reliable eyewitnesses undeniably point to the town's popular Little League coach, Terry Maitland, as the culprit. DNA evidence and fingerprints confirm the crime was committed by this well-loved family man.
Horrified by the brutal killing, Detective Ralph Anderson, whose own son was once coached by Maitland, orders the suspect to be arrested in a public spectacle. But Maitland has an alibi. And further research confirms he was indeed out of town that day.
As Anderson and the District Attorney trace the clues, the investigation expands from Ohio to Texas.…
