Books like Troubled Blood — picked by fans

I’ve always been fascinated by the sea. I grew up near the gentle waters of England’s Kent coast, then went to St Andrews University, surrounded by the treacherous North Sea. Finally, I discovered the Devon shores, which inspired Agatha Christie. In island thrillers like hers, the power of the sea becomes overwhelming. It holds suspects at bay, becomes a murder weapon, and constrains both innocent and guilty until justice is done. For me, this is the ‘locked room’ mystery in its purest form: an isolated location and a limited number of suspects–causing unlimited amounts of tension. I hope you love these stories as much as I do.

I love to read mysteries, particularly those with recurring characters. As a lawyer with experience in criminal law and teaching college law courses, I particularly appreciate cerebral detectives and legal maneuvers, and active investigators doing legwork for cerebral types. When I write, my recurring characters come first, followed by the case plots that those characters would find interesting. I always have some ideas of where the case is going and what procedures would be followed from my legal experience. Still, my detectives seem to inspire scenes and activities that show off their particular virtues and personalities as the investigations proceed. This seems to be what happens in the detective stories I am recommending.

I’m a multi-genre writer, a passionate reader, and, like all of us, a flawed human being. The stories that truly speak to me are the ones with a main character who is imperfect. I may not like the protagonist at first, but as the author develops the story and the hero’s challenges, the character grows, we see inside them and learn to love them, as they also learn to love and accept themselves, flaws and all. They use this growth to make a better world. And that’s what fiction is all about. Of course, it helps if they’re funny too. I love humor.

I was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburbs. After a career at the University of Illinois, 150 miles downstate, I moved back to my hometown to recapture the urban vibe that I love. A historian, I love the stories that architecture tells me and wandering the streets of the city never stales. Having romance in my life is important and writing about how relationships can develop in the city is part of that. Everywhere I go in Chicago, I think of how my characters might interact with each other and the setting. Romance can be found in grand restaurants and in odd corners and Chicago has it all.

I adore the SFF genre for its scope of limitless creativity. In particular, I look to both read and write books that incorporate contemporary issues, represent marginalised sections of society, challenge stereotypes, and generally make you think – themes that don’t shy away from tough topics, while interspersed in plenty of colour. In my own epic fantasy series, Blood Gift Chronicles, themes include wildlife and the environment, social justice and marginalisation, magic, animism, and dragons. I have a definite soft spot for complex women and girl protagonists and am excited by the range of voices coming through in the genre. I hope you enjoy my recommendations as much as I have.

I have been fascinated by mysteries of all kinds for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I enjoyed Earl Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason books, which I found on my grandparents’ shelf, as well as the mysteries left to us by ancient cultures. The truth, for me, has always been something to be sought and treasured: mysteries and conundrums, things to be figured out and solved. But while credibility in all types of fiction is vital, it has to be about the characters for me, not just the plot. The people have to be real, no matter how unlikely the scenarios they are involved in.  

I am a writer, classical historian, and journalist. While there is no shortage of Roman historians in Britain and the US, I have long felt that English-speaking historians have had a blind spot as far as Roman Germany goes. Fascinated by the Battle of Teutoburg Forest for many years, while there were numerous accounts in German, it frustrated me that there was no general account of what happened in English. So I wrote it! I was clearly not alone in my interest in Roman Germany and have presented a number of documentaries on the battle on the History Channel and National Geographic since. 

As a child I was an avid reader, my brothers’ books, my mother’s magazines, and anything in the bookcase. The library was my favorite place to go and I was proud of my library card. Today, I am a romance and cozy mystery author who is passionate about writing books that feature strong, compassionate characters that I would want to be friends with in real life. I hope you enjoy the books I've recommended but remember to pace yourself as you read through these authors' extensive lists. Allow yourself to sink into their fictional worlds and save each story.

I’m a former rock writer turned television critic, but in my teens, I became hooked on Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled Philip Marlowe detective sagas. The plotting was intricate, the writing exquisite and poetic. I also loved the no-nonsense pulp fiction of Mickey Spillane and his Mike Hammer character. So I’m always on the lookout for authors who combine realism and pace with great prose–like James Crumley, whose writing was like Chandler crossed with Hunter S. Thompson. Through journalism and band management, I came into contact with real gangsters and have always aspired to reflect their three-dimensional reality rather than glorifying them as television and Hollywood tend to do.

I’ve been a dog owner my entire life, from my childhood mutt, Paddy, to our current nine-year-old cockapoo, Daffodil. To me, a home isn’t a home without a dog thumping its tail somewhere inside. When I started writing mysteries, I realized that some of my favorites featured dogs. The animal’s loyalty, joy, and unwavering love were a necessary counter to the darker themes mysteries often explore.