The recommendations below are drawn from Tamora’s favorite book lists, starting with her Favorite Books of 2016. For her previous recommendations, compiled from reading lists from 2005 through 2015, click here. The archives also include fantasy recommendations that extend beyond White-Medieval-European settings, recommendations for aspiring writers, and more!

Mainstream/Contemporary | Mystery & Thriller | Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Miscellaneous

Mainstream/Contemporary

• Jo Baker – Longbourn (2013, Historical: Reimagining of Pride & Prejudice from the servants’ point of view).
• James Lee Burke – House of the Rising Sun (2015, Historical: Western).
• Ariana Franklin & Samantha Norman – The Siege Winter (2014, Historical).
• John Grisham – Gray Mountain (2014, Contemporary).
• Barbara Hambly – Hagar (2015, Historical).
• Jody Hedlund – A Daring Sacrifice (2016, Romance: Historical).
• Gabrielle Pina – Bliss (2002).

Mystery & Thriller

• Pamela Beason – The Only Witness (2011).
• J. L. Bryan – Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper (2014, Paranormal).
• James Lee Burke – Sunset Limited (1998, Mystery).
• C. J. Carmichael – Buried (2015, Mystery).
• Kate Flora – Playing God (2006) and sequel: The Angel of Knowlton Park (2008).
• Richard C. Hale – Frozen Past (2012, Thriller).
• Charlaine Harris – An Ice Cold Grave (2007, Psychological Thriller, Reread).
• John Hart – The Last Child (2009).
• Tami Hoag – Cold Cold Heart (2014).
• Alex Kava – Breaking Creed (2014, Thriller).
• Erin Kelly & Chris Chibnall – Broadchurch (2014).
• Lawrence H. Levy – Second Street Station (2015).
• Jack Mars – Situation Room (2016).
• Becky Masterman – Rage Against the Dying (2012).
• Dale Mayer – Tuesday’s Child (2011, Psychological Thriller) and sequel: Hide’n Go Seek (2011).
• Jodi Picoult – Leaving Time (2014).
• Lisa Unger – Fragile (2010, Thriller).
• Hester Young – The Gates of Evangeline (2015, Thriller).

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

• Daniel Abraham – The Spider’s War (2016, Fantasy): final book in the Dagger & the Coin series.
• Ilona Andrews – Clean Sweep (2013, Contemporary Fantasy).
• Robert Jackson Bennett – Mr. Shivers (2010, Fantasy), City of Stairs (2014, Fantasy).
• Deborah Blake – Dangerously Charming (2016, Fantasy).
• Rachel Caine – Paper and Fire (2016, Steampunk).
• Gregory Frost – Shadowbridge (2007, Fantasy).
• Barbara Hambly – And Pretty Maids All In A Row (2015, Fantasy).
• Charlaine Harris – Night Shift (2016, Fantasy).
• Elicia Hyder – The Soul Summoner (2015, Fantasy: Occult).
• Robert McCammon – Swan Song (1987, Horror: Post-Apocalyptic).
• Brian McClellan – Promise of Blood (2013, Fantasy: Historical) and sequel: The Crimson Campaign (2014).
• Seanan McGuire – Every Heart a Doorway (2016, Fantasy).
• Scott Nicholson – Drummer Boy (2010, Horror).
• Nnedi Okorafor – Binti (2015, Sci-Fi), The Book of Phoenix (2015, Sci-Fi Fantasy).
• Daniel José Older – Midnight Taxi Tango (2016, Fantasy).
• Rick Robinson – Catherine of Lyonesse (2014, Fantasy: Historical).
• Nilanjana Roy – The Wildings (2012, Fantasy).
• Shanna Swendson – Rebel Mechanics: All Is Fair in Love and Revolution (2015, Steampunk) and sequel: Rebel Magisters (2016).
• Jodi Taylor – Just One Damned Thing After Another (2013, Sci-Fi: Time Travel) and others in the Chronicles of St. Mary’s series: A Symphony of Echoes (2013), When a Child is Born (2013), Roman Holiday (2014), A Trail Through Time (2014), No Time Like the Past (2015), What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (2015).

Miscellaneous (Non-fiction, Graphic Novels, Poetry)

• Dennis L. Breo, William J. Martin & Bill Kinkle – The Crime of the Century: Richard Speck and the Murders That Shocked a Nation (2016, Non-Fiction: True Crime).
• Joseph J. Ellis – His Excellency: George Washington (2004, Biography).
• Jesse J. Holland – The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House (2016, Non-Fiction: History).
• Gilbert King – Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America (2012, Non-fiction: History).
• John Lewis (Author), Andrew Aydin (Author) & Nate Powell (Illustrator) – March: Book One (2013, Graphic Novel: History of the Black Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s-1960s in the US South) and sequels: March: Book Two (2015) and March: Book Three (2016).
• Sy Montgomery – The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness (2015, Non-Fiction: Nature).
• Jack Olsen – Predator: Rape and Injustice in Seattle (2015, Non-fiction: True Crime).
• Gitta Sereny – Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell (1998, Non-Fiction: True Crime).