Books like 'The Wrestler's Cruel Study'
Readers who enjoyed The Wrestler's Cruel Study by Stephen Dobyns also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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Charms & Witchdemeanors by Amanda M. Lee
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTillie Winchester’s past is about to come back to haunt her, and what she sees as fun and games someone else sees as a recipe for murder. When a local woman is poisoned at Hemlock Cove’s senior center, Aunt Tillie is the prime suspect. Bay, Thistle and Clove don’t believe their great-aunt is guilty – although Thistle is fine if the police want to haul her away for a long weekend... -
Dead Serious Case #3: Mr Bruce Reyes by Vawn Cassidy
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTristan Everett was finally getting used to the strangeness that was his life. Being able to see the dead and helping them solve their unfinished business and cross into the light wasn’t so bad after all, especially when he was accompanied by his best friend, dead drag queen Dusty Le Frey... -
Market Forces in Gretna Green by Linzi Day
Rated: 4.79 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOK, I admit it. I didn’t think it through when I kidnapped the king. But it seemed like a good idea at the time—even Rollo agreed.Cut me some slack? The idiotic Galician emperor’s latest act of cowardice coming at the same time as the life changes my best mate was juggling—so badly—had thrown me off balance.Aysha’s always been my rock... -
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsIn this new Zamonian adventure, Optimus Yarnspinner, a young writer, inherits from his beloved godfather an unpublished short story by an unknown author. His search for the author’s identity takes him to Bookholm the so-called City of Dreaming Books. On entering its streets, our hero feels as if he has opened the door of a gigantic second-hand bookshop...Categorized as:
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The Last Present by Wendy Mass
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDon't miss the latest entry in the incredible Willow Falls series by Wendy Mass!Amanda and Leo have a history with birthdays. Now their friend's little sister, Grace, has fallen into a strange frozen state on her birthday, and Amanda and Leo must travel in time in order to fix whatever's wrong. As they journey back to each of Grace's birthdays, they start seeing all sorts of patterns . .Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure audiobook book children children-books -
Dead Serious Case #2: Mrs Delores Abernathy by Vawn Cassidy
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the business of unfinished business...It’s been over six months since a freak accident left pathologist Tristan Everett able to see ghosts, something he has yet to confess to his boyfriend... -
Neverwhere: BBC Dramatisation by Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsBeneath the streets of London there is another London. A subterranean labyrinth of sewers and abandoned tube stations. A somewhere that is Neverwhere.An act of kindness sees Richard Mayhew catapulted from his ordinary life into a subterranean world under the streets of London...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles comes the final book in the Ink & Sigil series, as an ink-slinging wizard pursues the answer to a very personal mystery: Who cast a pair of curses on his head? Al MacBharrais has a most unusual job: He’s a practitioner of ink-and-sigil magic, tasked with keeping order among the gods and monsters that dwell hidden in the... -
This Book Is Not Good for You by Pseudonymous Bosch
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsBetween the pages of this book lies the secret to the best-tasting chocolate in all the world. I promise, your taste buds will tingle. Your palette will sing! Oh no, have I accidentally tempted you to read this book? I will warn you, however, the most delicious things are never good for you.. -
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsGhost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker.It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks, chasing unicorns, Abigail is chasing her own mystery...Categorized as:
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Witch Way Down Under by Jane Hinchey
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTick Tock. Time is running out.My parents are missing in outback Australia. Only they’ve left me clues. Clues that tell me they were close to a significant discovery – the location of a copper scroll that leads to untold treasures. A scroll that treasure hunters would kill for.Now I’m in a race against time...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism suspense action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth animals -
Close Encounters of the Witchy Kind by Amanda M. Lee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe truth is out there … probably. Hemlock Cove may be a town where real witches are pretending to be humans pretending to be witches, but something legitimately strange is afoot. What looks to be an aircraft of some sort goes down in Potter’s Field and, of course, every looky-loo in the area turns out to watch it burn... -
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe complete volume of Robertson Davies's acclaimed trilogy, featuring Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders, with a new foreword by Kelly Link Fifth Business Ramsay is a man twice born, a man who has returned from the hell of the battle-grave at Passchendaele in World War I decorated with the Victoria Cross and destined to be caught in a no man's land where memory, history, and...Categorized as:
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This Isn't What It Looks Like by Pseudonymous Bosch, Robert Petkoff
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe Secret Series continues in this dangerous and daring fourth adventure. Cass finds herself alone and disoriented, a stranger in a dream-like, medieval world. Where is she? Who is she? With the help of a long-lost relative, she begins to uncover clues and secrets--piecing together her family's history as she fights her way back to the present world... -
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The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase by Wendy Mass, Mark Turetsky
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe highly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Candymakers by beloved author Wendy MassIt has been a few months since the nationwide New Candy Contest, and Logan, Miles, Philip, and Daisy have returned to their regular lives. But when the winning candy bar comes down the conveyor belt at the Life is Sweet candy factory, Logan realizes something's very wrong...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure audiobook book children children-books -
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsHere is a handsome edition of one of Borges' "ficciones," in a translation first published in "Labyrinths" in 1962. It's an important story in the Borges' canon, incorporating most of the author's philosophical and esthetic preoccupations in a typically brief compass...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult book classics -
The Good Troll Detective by Ramy Vance, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHalf-troll. Half-human. All badass.Maine doesn’t like her father. It doesn’t help that he’s a troll. As in a literal, lives-under-a-bridge troll.When her father is killed, Maine returns home to settle his estate and learns that he wasn’t any ordinary troll, but the town hero.Seems trolls can be superheroes, too...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure book coming-of-age contemporary fiction -
A House for Keeping: an urban fantasy by Matteson Wynn
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat would you give to add some magic to your life? Finn Foster is done with the dismal, dusty desert of the Southwest, and is determined to add a little excitement to her existence...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism suspense action-adventure animals book contemporary -
Dark Debt by Chloe Neill
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsA vampire never gets old. But neither do his enemies. When a figure from Ethan's dark past makes a splashy debut in Chicago, Merit and her Master don't know whether he's friend or foe. But they'll have to figure out soon, because trouble is brewing in the Windy City...Categorized as:
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The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsYears ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.“Clever, dark, and hopeful . . -
Charlie Foxtrot 101 by Martha Carr, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIdina Moorfield is officially a soldier in the army – with a little extra firepower. Her dark and magical little secret.Can she keep the new powers under control?Jump School may be her undoing.It takes focus, determination, and steely courage to face her fears and jump out of a C-130 aircraft from 1,200 feet. That’s exactly what brings Idina’s abilities forward at inconvenient moments...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism suspense action-adventure book coming-of-age contemporary -
Get Smoked or Go Home by Martha Carr, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIt’s been so long, Warrior… I can feel you…Is Idina Moorfield going crazy or has an ancient magic found its source?Her family says she’s not a true Moorfield and will never be good enough for the family business.Sometimes what looks like the worst day ever, is the beginning of our best adventure.Idina takes that first step into a new life and gets the hell away from them to forge her own future...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism suspense action-adventure aliens book coming-of-age -
Demon Dentist by David Walliams
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThis New York Times bestseller from David Walliams, the UK’s #1 bestselling children’s author and “the heir to Roald Dahl” (The Spectator), launched his books stateside in a big way!Walliams makes going to the dentist a wacky adventure with his signature humor—this is one dentist appointment you don’t want to miss.Something strange is happening in Alfie's town...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure audiobook book children children-books -
Finally by Wendy Mass
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA humorous look at what it means to FINALLY turn twelve years old.NARRATOR: TBAFORMAT: 5 CDs, UnabridgedYou can pierce your ears when you're twelve. You can go to the mall with your friends when you're twelve. You can babysit little Timmy next door when you're twelve. You can get a cell phone when you're twelve. Hey, you can even ride in the front passenger-side seat when you're twelve...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure audiobook book children children-books -
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The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction by Neil Gaiman, Marlon James
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn outstanding array—52 pieces in all—of selected fiction from the multiple-award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, curated by his readers around the world, and introduced with a foreword by Booker Prize-winning author Marlon JamesSpanning Gaiman’s career to date, The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction is a captivating collection from one of the world’s most beloved... -
If You're Reading This, It's Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsBeware!Dangerous secrets lie between the pages of this book.OK, I warned you. But if you think I'll give anything away, or tell you that this is the sequel to my first literary endeavor, The Name of This Book is Secret, you're wrong... -
A Trip to the Stars by Nicholas Christopher
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA young boy and his adopted aunt become separated when the youngster is kidnapped by his wealthy, eccentric great-uncle, but mysterious ties continue to link the two unknowingly over the fifteen-year separation... -
Grim Tidings by Amanda M. Lee
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsGrim(ace) while you work ...Aisling Grimlock is having a bad week. Well, actually, she’s having a bad life -- not that she's complaining. Okay, she's totally complaining.After being laid off from her secretarial position, she has no choice but to join the family business, and now she’s a full-time grim reaper. That’s right. She collects and transfers souls to the hereafter.Cool, huh? Not quite... -
Paper & Blood by Kevin Hearne
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsKevin Hearne returns to the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles in book two of a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.There’s only one Al MacBharrais: Though other Scotsmen may have dramatic mustaches and a taste for fancy cocktails, Al also has a unique talent. He’s a master of ink and sigil magic... -
The Overcoat, and Other Tales of Good and Evil by Nikolai Gogol
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsWith the publication of "The Overcoat" in 1842, Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) inaugurated a new chapter in Russian literature, in which the underdog and social misfit is treated not as a figure of fun or an object of charity, but as a human being with as much right to happiness as anybody else...Categorized as:
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The Seductive Impostor by Janet Chapman
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe first in a dazzling duo of romances featuring two sisters from the ruggedly beautiful Maine coast...and the men who sweep them away. Rachel Foster wishes Sub Rosa -- the seaside mansion she helped her father build and the scene of a terrible tragedy -- would crumble into the sea. But Keenan Oakes, Sub Rosa's new owner, is moving in and stirring up the dark secrets of the cliff-perched manor. -
The Phantom of Barker Mill by Steve Higgs
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTempest Michaels never could refuse a woman in distress. The owner of Barker Steel Mill has died. The coroner says natural causes, but the tearful widow is convinced otherwise and the Mill has a Phantom that has been held responsible for accidents and deaths dating back to 1912... -
The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsHarry Mulisch's magnum opus, is a rich mosaic of twentieth-century trauma in which many themes—friendship, loyalty, family, art, technology, religion, fate, good, and evil—suffuse a suspenseful and resplendent narrative.The Discovery of Heaven begins with the meeting of Onno and Max, two complicated individuals whom fate has mysteriously and magically brought together...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins? by Liz Kessler
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJessica Jenkins has always been a perfectly ordinary girl—until one day part of her arm vanishes in the middle of geography class! Jessica’s friends Izzy and Tom are determined to help her develop her newfound invisibility, though Jessica is more concerned with discovering where the ability came from...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure book children children-books contemporary -
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What Lies Beyond The Stars by Michael Goorjian
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Something in me knows of a life I was meant to live but for whatever reason, I have not . . . ”Words that ring painfully true for Adam Sheppard, a San Francisco programmer who has spent the vast majority of his 30-something years lost in the dim glow of a computer screen...Categorized as:
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Hunting a Mate by Celia Kyle, Mina Carter
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDoes love at first sniff exist? Archer and Paige seem to think so. Well, more like Archer says yes and Paige says no. But don’t worry, they’ll work it out in the bedroom.Wereferret Paige Baxter has an itty-bitty shifting problem. Mainly she spontaneously shifts, and that’s a problem... -
The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSophie loves the hidden shop below her parents' bookstore, where dreams are secretly bought and sold. When the dream shop is robbed and her parents go missing, Sophie must unravel the truth to save them. Together with her best friend—a wisecracking and fanatically loyal monster named Monster—she must decide whom to trust with her family’s carefully guarded secrets... -
What Not to Do If You Turn Invisible by Ross Welford
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA surprising, stunningly beautiful, and funny novel about a girl who turns invisible and, in the process, discovers who she really is, from the author of TIME TRAVELING WITH A HAMSTER Twelve-year-old Ethel Leatherhead only meant to cure her acne, not turn herself invisible. But that's exactly what happens when she combines herbs bought on the Internet with time spent in a secondhand tanning bed... -
The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage, Lauren Fortgang
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe eagerly anticipated followup to the Newbery honor winner and New York Times bestseller, Three Times LuckySmall towns have rules. One is, you got to stay who you are -- no matter how many murders you solve.When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified owner of an old inn, she doesn't realize there's a ghost in the fine print... -
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsImaginary friend Budo narrates this heartwarming story of love, loyalty, and the power of the imagination—the perfect read for anyone who has ever had a friend . . . real or otherwise.Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends...Categorized as:
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The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWarning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch. As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances... -
Redwood by Mark Z. Danielewski
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Season One finale of this riveting multisensory masterpiece from the visionary author of House of Leaves...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction low-fantasy fiction fantasy horror mystery contemporary -
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsShades of Grey tells of a battle against overwhelming odds. In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level House of Red and can see his own color—but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all just shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means... -
The Frame-Up by Wendy McLeod MacKnight
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGreenwillow has bought Wendy McLeod MacKnight's second novel. Twelve-year-old Sargent Singer is sent away from home to reconnect with his estranged father, who is the director of an art gallery. During his visit, Sargent sees a portrait of a girl named Mona Dunn stick out her tongue and the secret of the gallery is revealed...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magical-realism suspense action-adventure audiobook book children children-books -
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Lover's Intuition by Noelle Greene
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA psychic must use her gift to save the skeptic she loves.Camille Jorgensen is starting over in a small town after a heartbreaking loss. On the night she meets reclusive billionaire Will Holloway, her sixth sense suddenly goes haywire. Although Camille’s intuition whispers that evil will strike, she doesn’t know when, why, or where... -
Twisted Lies 2 by Sedona Venez
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTheir feelings for one another could be their undoing Sinthia Michaels has nearly lost everything. Unwittingly, she’s signed over the majority of her couture fashion line and lost the support of her retailers in one fell swoop. Behind it all is the one man she is undeniably attracted to. Core McKay , a wealthy and legitimate businessman, is after one thing only—his mother’s murderer... -
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsInspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction low-fantasy fantasy fiction contemporary magic lgbtq -
Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSharing stories we love with one another is one of the most magical forms of connection there is. This is especially so for Meigan, who develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious borrower of books from her Little Free Library.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure adult anthologies contemporary female-author female-mc -
I’m Glad You’re Dead by Hunter Blain
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter helplessly witnessing the execution of his family, John is approached by a strange man that promises the power of revenge, for a price; his life for the ability to walk the mortal plane for eternity. Fast forward several hundred years where John finds himself with an unlikely ally, Father Thomes Philseep... -
Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection by Ben Aaronovitch
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsReturn to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from #1 Sunday Times bestselling author, Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism suspense action-adventure adult alternate-history anthologies
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