Books like 'Joyland'
Readers who enjoyed Joyland by Stephen King also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary horror mystery supernatural serial killer thriller north-america usa north-carolina crime
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Something Wicked by Lily Morton
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter powerful psychic Blue Billings fell in love with Levi Black, he believed their biggest challenges would arise from Blue’s ability to see and speak to the dead. So it’s rather alarming when he and Levi are confronted with a spate of new—and frightening—problems that have to do with the realm of the living... -
![MESSAGE in the BONES: A small town murder mystery with a psychic twist by Dawn Merriman]()
MESSAGE in the BONES: A small town murder mystery with a psychic twist by Dawn Merriman
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEscape the usual small town murder story with this quirky, page turning mystery. With long-buried bones, psychic visions, a tattoo with messages from above, and a clown-masked murderer chasing through a corn maze, this story will keep you on edge until the very last word. -
![The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn downtown Manhattan, a gruesome discovery has just been made-an underground charnel house containing the bones of dozens of murder victims. Research reveals that a serial killer was at work in New York's notorious Five Points neighborhood in the 1880s, bent on prolonging his lifespan by any means...Categorized as:
crime drama historical-fiction law-enforcement paranormal suspense thriller 21st-century -
![Memories of Tomorrow by Dean Koontz]()
Memories of Tomorrow by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat strange science made Nameless who he is? What catastrophes have been erased from his memories? In the stunning conclusion of this series, the dark past comes flooding back, and Nameless must decide how much he really wants to know.In Indiana, a murderous psycho has kidnapped his own six-year-old stepson, Jamie, and secreted him away in a subterranean cave. It’s become their bunker... -
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![Message in the Grave by Dawn Merriman]()
Message in the Grave by Dawn Merriman
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA psychic suspense thriller The darker the secret, the harder it is to keep buried I’m finally accepting that my psychic talents serve a purpose, that I can use them to help people. But two mysteries plague me... -
![Message in the Fire by Dawn Merriman]()
Message in the Fire by Dawn Merriman
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA daring escape, psychic visions, a terrifying cult and a burning ritual. . Blood stained her back and her hands were bound. She’d crumpled on her side under a tree, wrapped around her crying newborn. My psychic abilities would show me what happened to the young woman, but the horror can scar. Fear stopped me from touching her. I scooped the infant up and the young woman moved. She was alive. -
![Shadow Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff]()
Shadow Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor thousands of years, women have been prey. This time, the predators lose.Does Fate connect us?Mass killer Cara Lindstrom is in the wind, after a deadly encounter which leaves FBI Special Agent Antara Singh questioning her own sanity and fitness to serve... -
![I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells]()
I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsJohn Cleaver has called a demon—literally called it, on the phone, and challenged it to a fight. He’s faced two of the monsters already, barely escaping with his life, and now he’s done running; he’s taking the fight to them...Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime dark law-enforcement paranormal suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper, Dick Hill]()
Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper, Dick Hill
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHe's no ordinary kidnapper. Not only does he strike again and again, but he collects the ransom, gets away safely, and leaves his helpless hostages dead. Now, after months of eluding the best that law enforcement can put against him, this monster has left nothing in his wake but a cold trail of unconnected victims. He's no ordinary cop... -
![Touching Evil by Kay Hooper, Alyssa Bresnahan]()
Touching Evil by Kay Hooper, Alyssa Bresnahan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThis is the story of Seattle police artist Maggie Barnes, whose remarkable artistic talents are the focus of an even more extraordinary psychic gift that she is determined to keep secret: a gift that has allowed her to work with crime victims, to feel what they feel, to create perfect portraits of their attackers... -
![Out of the Shadows by Kay Hooper]()
Out of the Shadows by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTo catch this killer, she must break every rule and cross every line.Out Of The ShadowsA picture-perfect Tennessee town has just become a monster's hunting ground. Two bodies are found tortured to death. A third person goes missing. What little evidence is left behind defies all explanation... -
![San Francisco Night by Stephen Leather]()
San Francisco Night by Stephen Leather
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJack Nightingale fights his battles in the shadows – in the grey areas where the real world meets the supernatural. But when he arrives in San Francisco to take on a group of Satanists bent on opening a doorway to Hell, the danger is out in the open and all too real... -
![Whisper of Evil by Kay Hooper]()
Whisper of Evil by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSomeone is stalking the little town of Silence...Three victims have fallen to a killer’s savage vengeance. Each of the dead men was a successful and respected member of the community — yet each also harbored a dark secret discovered only after his murder... -
![Watchers by Dean Koontz]()
Watchers by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsOn his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods.That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life... -
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![Changeling by Matt Wesolowski]()
Changeling by Matt Wesolowski
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsOn Christmas Eve in 1988, seven-year-old Alfie Marsden vanished in the Wentshire Forest Pass, when a burst tyre forced his father, Sorrel, to stop the car. Leaving the car to summon the emergency services, Sorrel returned to find his son gone. No trace of the child, nor his remains, have ever been found. Alfie Marsden was declared officially dead in 1995... -
![Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground.Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America's heartland.No one is safe... -
![Sleeping with Fear by Kay Hooper]()
Sleeping with Fear by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFear has never been so close...New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper returns with a relentless thriller that brings her readers face-to-face with fear itself. In this terrifying new novel, a psychic special agent finds herself caught up in a tangled web of secrets, lies... and evil.Riley Crane woke up fully dressed, a gun under her pillow, and covered in blood... -
![Blood Sins by Kay Hooper, Joyce Bean]()
Blood Sins by Kay Hooper, Joyce Bean
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsYoung, vulnerable, attractive, Tessa Gray made the perfect victim. Which was why Noah Bishop of the FBI’s Special Crimes Unit recruited her to play the role of grieving widow. As the supposed new owner of property coveted by the Church of the Everlasting Sin, she’d be irresistible bait for the reclusive and charismatic Reverend Samuel... -
![Dark Hollow by John Connolly]()
Dark Hollow by John Connolly
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsDark Hollow is a masterful second novel from a young Irish writer whose storytelling skills were established with Every Dead Thing. Now his fiery, ingenious detective, Charlie Bird Parker, returns to uncover a legacy of evil that has haunted Maine citizens for decades... -
![When by Victoria Laurie, Whitney Dykhouse]()
When by Victoria Laurie, Whitney Dykhouse
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsPretty Little Liars meets Medium in this fast-paced thriller and fantastic YA debut from a New York Times bestselling author.Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters... -
![The Secrets of the Shadows by Helen Phifer]()
The Secrets of the Shadows by Helen Phifer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSophie was afraid of the man in the shadows. He terrified her, but he would always disappear when someone else came. But one day in June 1984, she didn't escape. He took her. When a young woman is found draped over a gravestone in a chilling murder, police officer Annie Graham experiences a familiar sense of dread... -
![The Forgotten Cottage by Helen Phifer]()
The Forgotten Cottage by Helen Phifer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Forgotten Cottage, the eagerly-awaited and chillingly terrifying new book in Helen Phifer’s best-selling ‘Annie Graham’ series. Annie Graham has fought her demons, and is ready to leave them behind. Her new cottage seems like the new start she’s craved: quiet and quaint, it’s empty of the memories which have haunted her for so long... -
![Dance of Death by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
Dance of Death by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsTwo brothers on opposite sides of the law battle it out on the streets of New York in this chill-inducing thriller, a follow-up to BRIMSTONE. — As the previous installment came to a close, vicious dogs and armed men surrounded FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast and his demise seemed certain. Nevertheless, he did leave behind a legacy: a letter for his friend, NYPD Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta... -
![Voice of Fear by Heather Graham]()
Voice of Fear by Heather Graham
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA killer is looking to silence them, once and for all.FBI agent Jordan Wallace is close to cracking the human trafficking case she’s been working, when she does the one thing she should never do: let her guard down. The botched undercover mission is semi-salvaged by the last-minute appearance of criminal psychologist Patrick Law, but Jordan can’t imagine making a worse first impression... -
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![Verses for the Dead by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
Verses for the Dead by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIn this #1 New York Times bestseller, FBI Agent Pendergast reluctantly teams up with a new partner to investigate a rash of Miami Beach murders . . . only to uncover a deadly conspiracy that spans decades.After an overhaul of leadership at the FBI's New York field office, A. X. L... -
![Chill of Fear by Kay Hooper, Dick Hill]()
Chill of Fear by Kay Hooper, Dick Hill
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFor twenty years FBI agent Quentin Hayes has been haunted by an unsolved murder that took place at a secluded Victorian-era resort in Tennessee when he was little more than a boy. Now part of Noah Bishop's Special Crimes Unit, he's returned to the scene of that long-ago crime to find answers.Diana Brisco has come to The Lodge hoping to unlock the mystery of her own troubled past... -
![The Dirty South by John Connolly]()
The Dirty South by John Connolly
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn an Arkansas jail cell sits a former NYPD detective, stricken by grief. He is mourning the death of his wife and child, and searching in vain for their killer. Obsessed with avenging his lost family, his life is about to take a shocking turn... -
![Famous Last Words by Katie Alender]()
Famous Last Words by Katie Alender
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHollywood history, mystery, murder, mayhem, and delicious romance collide in this unputdownable thriller from master storyteller Katie Alender.Willa is freaking out. It seems like she's seeing things. Like a dead body in her swimming pool. Frantic messages on her walls. A reflection that is not her own. It's almost as if someone—or something—is trying to send her a message... -
![The Unquiet by John Connolly]()
The Unquiet by John Connolly
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratings"But that is the nature of revenge. It escalates. It cannot be controlled. One hurt invites another, on and on until the original injury is all but forgotten in the chaos of what follows."John Connolly's originality and talent for storytelling have quickly made him one of today's preeminent thriller writers... -
![Blood Ties by Kay Hooper]()
Blood Ties by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA series of grisly murders has left a trail of blood across three states, bringing the Special Crimes Unit to a small Tennessee town. There, two more brutal killings lure Noah Bishop and the SCU into what may be the ultimate trap, and lead Special Agent Hollis Templeton into a dangerous attraction—and a serial murder investigation that turns very, very personal... -
![The Mercy of Snakes by Dean Koontz]()
The Mercy of Snakes by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA series of suspicious deaths in a retirement home draws Nameless into the confidence of a terrified former resident—and into the dark heart of a shocking conspiracy. In part five of the Nameless series, it’s time to hunt.Oakshore Park is Michigan’s most exclusive assisted-living community. Presided over by two killer angels of mercy, it’s also the go-to facility in assisted dying... -
![End of Watch by Stephen King]()
End of Watch by Stephen King
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe spectacular finale to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes (winner of the Edgar Award) and Finders Keepers—In End of Watch, the diabolical “Mercedes Killer” drives his enemies to suicide, and if Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney don’t figure out a way to stop him, they’ll be victims themselves... -
![Brimstone by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
Brimstone by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsArt critic Jeremy Grove is found dead, his face frozen in a mask of terror. His body temperature is grotesquely high; he is discovered in a room barricaded from the inside; the smell of brimstone is everywhere... and the unmistakable imprint of a claw is burned into the wall... -
![The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup]()
The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsThe heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing.If you find one, he’s already found you.A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene... -
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![Stranger Still by Michaelbrent Collings]()
Stranger Still by Michaelbrent Collings
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsYour sins are Legion… and now you belong to him.Legion is a teacher. An avenging angel. A murderer. A madman. Born in the blood of a dying mother, raised in the underground lair of an insane father, he travels the world looking for those who keep secrets and sins. He finds those who have fallen short, and teaches them the lessons they need to leave their mistakes behind... -
![The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes]()
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie... -
![The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsAn FBI agent, rotting away in a high-security prison for a murder he did not commit...His brilliant psychotic brother, about to perpetrate a horrific crime...A young woman with an extraordinary past, on the edge of a violent breakdown...An ancient tomb with an enigmatic curse, about to be unveiled at a celebrity-studded New York gala.. -
![The Haunting of Rachel Harroway by J.S. Donovan]()
The Haunting of Rachel Harroway by J.S. Donovan
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn 1983, a family of four was murdered in their nineteenth century Queen Anne manse. There were no witnesses, no real investigation, and no survivors. The discovery of a serial killer's burial ground rocks the peaceful town of Highlands, North Carolina. Rachel Harroway, a tragic detective with the ability to see the dead, and her brilliant atheistic partner, Jenson Peak, are put on the case... -
![Deity by Matt Wesolowski]()
Deity by Matt Wesolowski
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA shamed pop starA devastating fireSix witnessesSix storiesWhich one is true?When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator, who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls... -
![In the Heart of the Fire by Dean Koontz]()
In the Heart of the Fire by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsA bloodthirsty sheriff is terrorizing a small Texas town where justice has been buried with his victims. Until Nameless arrives—a vigilante whose past is a mystery and whose future is written in blood.Anyone who crosses Sheriff Russell Soakes is dead, missing, or warned. One of them is a single mother trying to protect her children but bracing herself for the worst. Nameless fears the outcome...Categorized as:
crime drama historical-fiction law-enforcement paranormal suspense thriller action-adventure -
![The Lost Children by Helen Phifer]()
The Lost Children by Helen Phifer
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLizzy pulled the covers over her head. Then she realised what was being dragged behind the person with the torch. She rammed her fist into her mouth to stop herself from screaming…For decades, The Moore Asylum was home to the forgotten children of Brooklyn Bay. But ever since a scandal forced its closure, the abandoned building has cast an imposing shadow... -
![Dying Breath by Heather Graham]()
Dying Breath by Heather Graham
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBuried alive... As a teenager, Vickie Preston survived an attack by a serial killer. That was the first time she saw a ghost. Now the city of Boston is being terrorized—someone is kidnapping women and burying them alive, but cruelly leaving a glimmer of hope for the authorities by sending a clue about their location... -
![Come with Me by Ronald Malfi]()
Come with Me by Ronald Malfi
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA masterful, heart-palpitating novel of small-town horror and psychological dread from a Bram Stoker nominee.Aaron Decker's life changes one December morning when his wife Allison is killed. Haunted by her absence--and her ghost--Aaron goes through her belongings, where he finds a receipt for a motel room in another part of the country... -
![Shadows by Kristen Proby]()
Shadows by Kristen Proby
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom New York Times Bestselling Author, Kristen Proby, comes an all new paranormal romance set in the mystical city of New Orleans… I am never alone. Not even when I am alone. I see the unquiet dead, the souls that wander through the French Quarter. They can’t move on, and I can’t stop seeing them. I wear malachite for protection, and I control what I let in. It’s the only way to stay sane... -
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![Wolf by Mo Hayder, Jot Davies]()
Wolf by Mo Hayder, Jot Davies
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen a vagrant - the Walking Man - finds a dog wandering alone with the words “HELP US” written on its collar, he’s sure it’s a desperate plea from someone in trouble and calls on Detective Inspector Jack Caffery to investigate. Caffery has no idea who or what he is searching for, but one thing he is sure of: it's a race against time... -
![This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong]()
This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn This Fallen Prey, the next installment of New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrongs thriller series, Casey Duncan is about to face her toughest job as police detective in Rockton yet... -
![Blood Dreams by Kay Hooper]()
Blood Dreams by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTHIS KILLER DREAMS IN SHADES OF DEATH... He’s the kind of killer we instinctively fear the most. A killer without boundaries, without conscience, without any fear of being caught. And his latest victim is terrifying proof that no one is safe: the daughter of a powerful U.S. senator... -
![Born To Die by Lisa Jackson]()
Born To Die by Lisa Jackson
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn Lisa Jackson's thrilling new novel detectives Alvarez and Pescoli investigate a murderer who nearly makes his killings look like accidents - until a small-town doctor notices something disturbing. At first Kacey Lambert thinks it's a sad, strange coincidence. Two women with an amazing resemblance to her have died suddenly. But detective Selena Alvarez suspects otherwise...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook -
![The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea]()
The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCharlie Donlea, one of the most original new voices in suspense, returns with a haunting novel, laden with twists and high tension, about two abducted girls one who returns, one who doesn t and the forensics expert searching for answers. Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are both high school seniors in the small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina... -
![Mr. Monster by Dan Wells]()
Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies.But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary and a new mystery to solve...
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