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Do you also love reading thriller fiction? If yes, you must have at least two or three books at the top of your list that you go back to whenever bored. But you do not need to keep re-reading the same works out of boredom.
This blog will introduce you to 18 novels identical to the murder mystery fiction, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. If you have read this best-selling non-fiction, you must agree it is a masterpiece. It delves into the personality and adventures of a youthful girl who is raised in solitude in the wetlands.
However, it is only the initial setup. The other timeline pursues an inquiry into the homicide of a regional figure. As the narrative progresses, we see how the two timelines slowly intervene. It is amusing to see how the story unfolds as we experience a feeling of forsaking, endurance, faith, and consideration, all in one work.
However, its suspense is what the readers must watch out for. If you have already read the thriller and are keen on reading more works identical to it, here are 18 books like where the crawdads sing.
The Kingdoms of Savannah By George Dawes Green
Published in July 2022, The Kingdoms of Savannah is a spine-chilling work exploring the city, its individuals, and thrillers. It is a wicked fable of the past, the today, and a flawed home, fulfilling the necessities of every genre – distinctive idols and devils, strange milieus, terrible mysteries, unexpected twists, and delighting turns. Its characters and realistic settings make this extraordinary Southern narrative stand out among the finest.
Here is a brief overview of a novel that takes readers from destitute campsites to luxurious homes while unfolding horrid crimes.
Morgana is an arrogant and arduous mom whose kids are weary of her ruses. But she manages to take their aid in an investigation. However, not long after, the family discovers appalling revelations that shock Savannah to its core.
The Four Winds By Kristin Hannah
If you loved binge-reading Where the Crawdads Sing, give this work a chance. Published in 2021, it is an award-winning work exploring 1930s Texas. It takes us back to the stock market collapse when people experienced misery, homelessness, and famine. They lost their desires and were grief-stricken, watching to lose all the things they had labored diligently for!
Elsa Martinelli must decide: she may stay in the town and resist or go far abroad to lead a more promising life. In such precarious times, Elsa has to make a tough decision. The Four Winds is the record of a mother enduring tough times. It throws light on the hardships people encounter when sorrow, starvation, and helplessness assess their mental and physical endurance.
Carolina Moonset By Matt Goldman
If you are searching for a twisted saga of how remembrances don’t remain submerged and come to light eventually, give this work a chance. It portrays the account of a guy named Joey Green who comes back to his house to assist his mom and care for his dad suffering from progressive dementia. Although his dad’s short-term recollection has disappeared, his primitive recollections are sharp.
Initially, it sounds like a miracle. But soon, learn that the past can alter the present and future of the small town. He grows progressively distressed about his dad’s illusory disputes with people from his childhood, suggesting a deadly riddle, wrongdoings, and suspicions. Carolina Moonset is a captivating work shedding light on a household and mysteries too ugly to stay tucked away eternally.
It is a surprise for anyone keen to read a text identical to Where the Crawdads Sing. Its characters seem authentic, and Matt Goldman has accomplished an outstanding job representing the coastal town. Its pace is well-flowed with no lags and multi-layered riddles, picking up sleuthing and time with the various figures to complete.
Before We Were Yours By Lisa Wingate
Before We Were Yours is established on the reality of desire and defeat. Published in June 2017, its plot is established in 1939, recounting the accounts of powerful and prosperous Avery Stafford in the present and a youthful child, Rill Floss in depression-era Memphis. As the plot progresses, it links Avery’s grandma to Rill and her relatives, abducted from their riverboat residence.
Through this narrative, Lisa Wingate penetrates the town’s indescribable terrors. The author takes us on a course to show how Tann took kids from the distressed and sold them. The work also shows how he ignored, abused, and even molested the children.
American Dirt By Jeanine Cummins
Another fine book like where the crawdads sing that will keep the readers hooked until the final chapter is American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. It is a fictional work depicting the account of a mother and her child residing in Mexico. She is a journalist wedded to a guy in the same domain. But she is compelled to flee to the US as an immigrant after her spouse exposes a local drug cartel.
It will keep the readers hooked from the initial page and is probably the most pleasing start given to a novel. Anyone wanting to read a fast-paced, captivating work, give this book a try.
The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls
Released in 2005, The Glass Castle is an intriguing account of resilience. It tells the narrative of an intensely flawed and uniquely spirited family. Though it is a story and a real account, the writing style and how the writer recollects her youth makes it seem almost dreamy.
The book also takes us through the complicated and paradoxical images of the writer about her parents and youth. When not drinking, her dad was chivalrous and appealing. He instructed them on how to deal with life courageously. But when he was drinking, he was the opposite – a corrupt and vicious guy. On the other hand, her mom was a free spirit who detested the idea of raising a family.
If you are looking for a read that will touch the readers to the core, guide you to battle against injustices, and make you comprehend the significance of resilience, patience, and perseverance, it will not disappoint you.
Lightning Strike (Cork O’Connor Series #18) By William Kent Krueger
This book is a masterpiece story of a youthful guy and a village on the verge of transition, Kent Krueger depicts we can figure out riddles even as others outweigh our knowledge. It is a suspenseful, spine-chilling, and historical story describing the accounts of Aurora, a tiny town in the old woods. Although tiny, it is the world of Cork O’Connor as he had various memories attached to it.
But one fine day, when he discovers the dead body of a guy hanging from a tree, it makes him to re-think every aspect of life he did not value about his neighborhood, family, and himself.
Although it is an installment of a long-running series, it takes the readers back to the initial novel. However, in this installment, the writer portrays that the past never erases. It is always there and some imperfections will never mend. He has thrown light on the past, injustice, and malice with which the American Indians were treated in America in the past.
Where the Line Bleeds By Jesmyn Ward
Although it was the debut work of Jesmyn Ward, she has perfectly set up a tale in a rural village on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It throws light on the fraternal twins finishing school. While one of them discovers a job as a laborer, the other cannot find a job and falls into famine. He starts selling drugs, which ultimately affects their bond.
But the story shifts when their long-missing dad comes back and initiates a disturbing dispute among the family members. In this novel, the writer perfectly depicts the poverty of those in these forgotten communities and shows us the talent for handling complex subjects with ease.
The Marsh King’s Daughter By Karen Dionne
Another mind-gripping thriller that will keep the readers hooked to their beds is this international bestseller by Karen Dionne. It recounts the account of a lady living a happy life with her husband and daughters. But she is the product of abduction. She has managed to conceal the truth from her husband but is alarmed when her dad flees the jail.
Although the police began their hunt right after, she knows they won’t ever capture him. The only person skilled enough to locate The Marsh King is his daughter – herself. We know this masterwork and Karen Dionne’s fine storytelling will keep the readers gripped until the end.
A Land More Kind than Home By Wiley Cash
Imitating the plot of When the Crawdads Sing, A Land More Kind also illustrates a household drama while hinting the readers at a terrifying mystery. It is a beautifully crafted, slow read that makes readers sense the stress and pressure floating as they keep reading. It depicts the bond between the two brothers. But it does not stop at that.
As you continue reading, you will notice a sinister mystery unfolding with all the elements of a gothic novel. So, if you are looking for intense suspense, we recommend this book!
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance By Ruth Emmie Lang
If you are looking for a novel that will take you to the world of magic, natural wonders, and romance, give this one a chance. As its title suggests, the novel tells the tale of a young boy who lives with a pack of wolves when he is orphaned at a young age. He loves living with animals and hates the constraints of a traditional society.
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance is a story told by the people who got to know him and felt the impact the protagonist had on their lives while he made his way across the country.
All the Light We Cannot See By Anthony Doerr
All the Light We Cannot See is the conqueror of the Pulitzer Prize. It is a hauntingly beautiful narrative depicting how the past entangles with imagination to produce a convincing, bittersweet work. It is a work to live in, learn from, and feel bereft when turning the final page.
Anthony Dread masterfully depicts the forgotten civilian state of war-torn France and the closely watched lives of military occupiers. It compels the bookworms to immerse in the past. But when they turn to the last chapter, it makes them recognize a world outside the book also exists. We hope reading these books like where the crawdads sing will help you release the built-up stress in the mind and experience a catharsis by the end.
The Girls in the Stilt House By Kelly Mustian
Another best-selling work on our list is this amazing masterpiece by Kelly Mistian. It is a saga of loss, perseverance, and redemption in which the author has woven two girls from different backgrounds, who become partners after being in a horrifying event – a murder.
If you like adventurous fiction filled with mysteries, give this novel a read. The main characters are so realistic and lovable that you will surely relate to them. The trials they face leave a smile on your face but also hurts them at times.
The Tilted World By Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly
The plot of The Tilted World carries us back to April 1927, when the water of the Mississippi River became hazardous due to a long duration of continuous rains. The increasing levels of water place the small village of Hobnob in danger. But the book is not about the downpours and rains.
As you turn the pages, the story of The Tilted World becomes wild with grit. Its story is conveyed in such poetical language that you will keep pushing yourself to keep the book away. But won’t be able to.
The Tilted World is a brisk yet soulful blend of a love story and a criminal tale with provocative protagonists and a mysterious backdrop.
Rebecca By Daphne Du Maurier
Published in 1938, Rebecca is among the best international bestsellers, conveying the gothic saga of passion, murder, and secrets. It is an addictive and breathtaking creation that has woven its course into the fabric of our culture with the strength of myth and fantasy. From its initial sentence to the final, it is a creation that will keep you hooked.
If you would like to binge-read a psychologically astute but disturbingly romantic work of art where the people are incredibly striking and the twists superb, don’t skip Rebecca.
The Wildlands By Abby Geni
If you are fond of nature and thrill, don’t skip binge-reading this environmental thriller by Abby Geni. This work centers around the lives of the survivors of a typhoon that destroyed an Oklahoma farm and killed the father of a household. The storm instantly demolished its only source of livelihood and left three sisters orphaned.
But when the situation made it to the media headlines and attracted national attention, their brother disappears.
The Wildlands is a haunting literary thriller that dives deep into human relationships with nature and explores what drives a person to fanaticism. Every scene of the book is cleverly plotted, drawing complex prose, rich detail, and an authorial voice that wisely observes the mortal animal.
The Silent Patient By Alex Michaelides
Anyone searching for the perfect psychological cliffhanger must give The Silent Patient a read. We are sure it won’t disappoint them. It is a swarming plot with a climax fated to become the most stunning, mind-blowing twist in history.
With this creation, Alex Michaelides has composed an authentic, captivating psychological riddle so strange and remarkable that it must have a separate genre.
Cormorant Lake By Faith Merino
The last installment on our list is this classic fiction by Faith Merino, famous for her brilliant short stories that have won her several prestigious awards and honorable mentions. In this work of hers, Faith has included everything: dogs, babies, ghosts, delicious foods, and caves!
This work is the saga of mothers whose eagerness for employment measures their suitability for motherhood. It might appear too abrupt to some bookworms. But it perfectly depicts the unfulfilled need for closure by the central characters.
Although it is Faith’s debut book, it is engrossing, haunting, terrifying, and beautifully crafted.
Wrapping Up
If you are in the mood for suspense, don’t think twice before picking any of these texts whose narrative is identical to your favorite Where the Crawdads Sing. There is no better way to get your heart pumping while delivering an oddly satisfying uneasiness than reading a good thriller.
Reading a thriller, crime, or horror gothic might seem odd to some people. But it is the most effective way to release dopamine. As we need to exercise to keep our body in good shape, we need a dose of good thriller fiction to keep the brain in its best state. So, look no further and add these works to your to-be-read pile.
