Pithy Books

Books like Defending Jacob

If you liked Defending Jacob by William Landay, start here: 12 similar summaries, with why each one matches.

  1. The Locked Door

    Freida McFadden · 2021

    Because shares tags: crime, suspense, mystery.

    Surgeon Nora Davis hides serial killer father while patients die.

  2. The Family Upstairs

    Lisa Jewell · 2019 · The Family Upstairs #1

    Because shares tags: mystery, suspense, family.

    Libby Jones inherits a Chelsea mansion and a past tied to a cult house, two runaways, and a baby left waiting.

  3. A Flicker in the Dark

    Stacy Willingham · 2022

    Because shares tags: mystery, suspense, crime.

    Psychologist Chloe Davis faces copycat disappearances in Baton Rouge twenty years after her father confessed to murders.

  4. Killing Floor

    Lee Child · 1997 · Jack Reacher #1

    Because shares tags: mystery, crime, suspense.

    Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is arrested for murder in Margrave, Georgia, then learns the victim was his brother.

  5. Wrong Place Wrong Time

    Gillian McAllister · 2022

    Because shares tags: mystery, crime, family.

    Jen sees her son Todd kill a stranger, then wakes the day before, slipping back in time to stop the murder.

  6. The Only One Left

    Riley Sager · 2023

    Because shares tags: mystery, suspense, crime.

    Caregiver Kit tends mute Lenora Hope accused of 1929 family murders.

  7. The Maidens

    Alex Michaelides · 2021

    Because shares tags: mystery, suspense, crime.

    Therapist Mariana hunts Cambridge professor Edward Fosca after a Maidens murder.

  8. The Coworker

    Freida McFadden · 2023

    Because shares tags: mystery, suspense, crime.

    When odd accountant Dawn vanishes, star salesperson Natalie becomes the prime suspect in a tense office thriller with turtles, lies and…

  9. Mr. Mercedes

    Stephen King · 2014 · Bill Hodges Trilogy #1

    Because shares tags: crime, mystery, suspense.

    Retired Hodges hunts Mercedes killer Brady Hartsfield concert plot.

  10. In a Dark, Dark Wood

    Ruth Ware · 2015

    Because shares tags: mystery, suspense, crime.

    Writer Nora joins hen party Clare in glass house where a murder happens.

  11. 1st to Die

    James Patterson · 2001 · Women's Murder Club #1

    Because shares tags: crime, mystery, suspense.

    Lindsay, Claire, Cindy and Jill hunt a honeymoon killer terrorizing San Francisco.

  12. The Pelican Brief

    John Grisham · 1992

    Because shares tags: legal thriller, crime, suspense.

    Law student Darby Shaw writes a brief on murdered justices and becomes a target, fleeing with a reporter.

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