19 Books Like The Wrong Side of the Glass

If mystery and suspense are your thing, this is a who-dun-it that will suck you in quickly. This book totally captivated me from start to finish. I think what hooked me was the way the author took the prologue to actually show the past, and then when the novel started, all the threads of the story were sewn together so beautifully. Full of twists and turns which make a great suspense experience. There is some romantic drama tossed in which is always the icing on the cake for me as well.

I could actually list all of Fisher’s romances or her newer psychological thrillers under this banner of writing that is outside the box. She has taken the idea of “writing fearlessly” and run with it. Lives by it. There is nothing typical about Mud Vein, with prose that feels like mild electric shocks to the brain one minute and brings you to tears the next. It reads as though Fisher doesn’t waste time questioning herself or second-guessing her words—they’re alive and vibrant, and that’s highly aspirational. I have "write fearlessly" literally tattooed on my body, so I take it seriously. ;) 

So I read this book back in the late 1970s and when the title of a book that I read so long ago still floats through my mind, demanding a re-read, then that is a great suspense mystery read. Yes, as I re-read this recently, the book captures the 1970s prior to cell phones, internet, etc., but it still holds up with the twisty events of a woman haunted by a past she does not remember. You will have a challenge in trying to figure out exactly which character to believe! A young woman wakes up on the desert floor with nothing but the clothes on her back. No clue as to who she is, where she is, how she came to be there and how she can find any of the answers to those questions. So she does the only thing she can do: she walks. She finds a… show more.

I personally love twisted relationship books, especially when the antihero is hard to distinguish. This book deals with a marriage that is far from typical. I can't say more without spoilers, but take my word that this makes for a fabulous suspenseful read. If you read a book that makes you want to kick and scream when you finally "get it" then this is a perfect read for you. All I can say about Black Lies is expect the unexpected!

Sometimes I don’t have time for my steamy military fixes. In those cases, I like to read novellas or even short stories. Naughty Heroes is just that. Sitting in the doctor’s office (free, guilt-free reading time), I can get through at least one of these sexy stories. Have just half an hour to yourself at lunch? One of these tales will fit neatly into that time frame. I like killing two birds with one stone if it means I can enjoy a naughty Marine at break time…

Major Jane McMurty is a complex character trying to work through PTSD acquired under fire in Afghanistan while integrating back into civilian society. Her “sidekick” is a dog named Shady who epitomizes the independence and intelligence of a working dog. As a past breeder of working GSDs, the interactions between woman and dog are quite realistic, and quickly pull me into the story.

This is a woman used to standing on her own two feet, but now they aren’t there. The love she has for the K-9 who went through the war with her, Shadow, shines through her actions, and in the way that she fights to bring Shadow home. Even though this novel highlights several very real issues faced by returning veterans and amputees, this is far from a “sob story.”

I love the strength the main character shows and the way she treats her current dog, Shady. That… show more.

We don’t usually hear about the toll that incarcerating a mother, a daughter, or a sister takes on the family left behind. Michelle Horton’s beautiful memoir gives us access to that experience. Horton’s life was upended after her sister, Nicole Addimando, was arrested for killing her partner in self-defense.

Horton documents the next several years of their lives as she, her parents, her son, and Nicole’s children (who Horton took guardianship of while Nicole was in prison) navigated Nicole’s arrest, trial, and imprisonment. Illustrative in the mechanics of putting together a successful survivor-defense campaign, it is heartbreaking and infuriating in its description of the toll Nicole’s prosecution took on the family.

Apollo is a god who refuses to take his position as god of the sun.

Until his father forces him to either ascend immediately, or spend the year being mentored under the obnoxious Prince Hyacinth. Forced together, Apollo and Hyacinth grapple with their mutual disdain for each other, but eventually irritation turns into love.

Apollo and Hyacinth are the sweetest opposites attract couple. One is an uptight responsible prince, the other is a rebel demi-god. They get together, they give the other what they’ve lacked, and make each other better.

These are two good-natured characters who love humanity and work hard to make life better, while in the process falling in love.

This is for me and for anyone who loves to see a pure, natural, slow-burn attraction.

I love this book because it is so beautifully written—lyrical, poetic, vivid, moving, and engaging. I find this book to be a thing of beauty, from sentence to sentence, from page to page. This is the way I write. I would encourage others who love prose stylists to read this book.

I love the straightforward style of this book. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the silent or near-silent character, which helped me with a script I was writing at the time.

I also loved his emphasis on listening to dialogue before you can ever write it. ‘Listen,’ he says, ‘Don’t talk. Listen.’ He tells the reader to train themselves to be a ‘conscious listener’ and to use overheard dialogue as starting points. Great advice.