Books like 'The Pier Falls: And Other Stories'
Readers who enjoyed The Pier Falls: And Other Stories by Mark Haddon also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary horror literary-fiction crime myths magical-realism
-
A Time of Torment by John Connolly
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDangerous and driven private investigator Charlie Parker returns in the latest gripping thriller of internationally bestselling author John Connolly’s series, in which ungodly fears haunt a strange and isolated community.Jerome Burnel was once a hero. He intervened to prevent multiple killings, and in doing so destroyed himself. His life was torn apart. He was imprisoned, brutalized...Categorized as:
crime literary-fiction magical-realism action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff]()
Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAndy Gage was born in 1965 and murdered not long after by his stepfather. . . . It was no ordinary murder. Though the torture and abuse that killed him were real, Andy Gage's death wasn't. Only his soul actually died, and when it died, it broke in pieces. Then the pieces became souls in their own right, coinheritors of Andy Gage's life. . . -
![Del tiempo y sus demonios by Diego Armando Arciniegas Malagón]()
Del tiempo y sus demonios by Diego Armando Arciniegas Malagón
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDEL TIEMPO Y SUS DEMONIOS: PERSIGUIENDO LA VERDADEsta novela se desarrolla en un pequeño y misterioso pueblo. En un territorio hermoso, inhóspito a la luz de aquellas certezas que las mayorías consideran irrefutables. Lejos del tiempo que, arbitrariamente, tomara la sabia decisión de separar el bien del mal...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction crime mystery fiction horror classics psychological -
![Hades by Mark Z. Danielewski]()
Hades by Mark Z. Danielewski
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen a viral video puts twelve-year-old Xanther under a spotlight of scrutiny at school, her little white cat—still slumbering, still unnamed—offers the only escape, though it comes at a price. Not even Xanther’ parents can deny the strange currents now shuddering around their eldest, touching off inexplicable happenings. Entities troubling the dreams of the twins seem to have singled out Freya... -
-
![The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies]()
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:
crime literary-fiction magical-realism myths 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
![Angelica And Francesca by Kenneth Jarrett Singleton]()
Angelica And Francesca by Kenneth Jarrett Singleton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAngelica and Francesca are the identical twin daughters of Pellrue, Duke of Doretay. Doretay is a state within a kingdom called Vidien, which Angelica's and Francesca's great uncle, King Oscar, rules. Pellrue attempts to keep control of his wicked, evil daughters as they keep entering his city and raising havoc by torturing and murdering the common citizens within...Categorized as:
crime literary-fiction anthologies contemporary drama fiction historical-fiction horror -
![Burning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories by Angela Carter, Salman Rushdie]()
Burning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories by Angela Carter, Salman Rushdie
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOne of our most imaginative and accomplished writers, Angela Carter left behind a dazzling array of work: essays, citicism, and fiction. But it is in her short stories that her extraordinary talents—as a fabulist, feminist, social critic, and weaver of tales—are most penetratingly evident...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths 20th-century adult anthologies classics contemporary -
![Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias]()
Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn Gabino Iglesias’ second novel, ghosts and old gods guide the hands of those caught up in a violent struggle to save the soul of the American southwest.A man tasked with shuttling children over the border believes the Virgin Mary is guiding him towards final justice. A woman offers colonizer blood to the Mother of Chaos... -
![The Silver Dark Sea by Susan Fletcher]()
The Silver Dark Sea by Susan Fletcher
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn the island of Parla some believe in the ancient tale of the Fishman, others believe in nothing. All carry with them the mourning and sadness for what the sea has taken away. But when a man with no name is washed up on the stones of Sye, it appears the mythical figure has returned... -
![The Lime Works: A Novel (Vintage International) by Thomas Bernhard]()
The Lime Works: A Novel (Vintage International) by Thomas Bernhard
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor five years, Konrad has imprisoned himself and his crippled wife in an abandoned lime works where he’s conducted odd auditory experiments and prepared to write his masterwork, The Sense of Hearing. As the story begins, he’s just blown the head off his wife with the Mannlicher carbine she kept strapped to her wheelchair... -
![The Dead Girls by Jorge Ibargüengoitia]()
The Dead Girls by Jorge Ibargüengoitia
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThis is the first appearance in English of a Mexican novelist of enormous talent. His brilliant novel is based on fact: the discovery in the yard of a small-town brothel of the corpses of six prostitutes... -
![Redwood by Mark Z. Danielewski]()
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... -
![Over the Edge/An Edge in My Voice by Harlan Ellison]()
Over the Edge/An Edge in My Voice by Harlan Ellison
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Razor Sharp Beyond the Edge. Harlan Ellison's stories and essays have been on the cutting edge of contemporary American Literature for over 40 years, but he stubbornly refuses to abandon the use of a manual typewriter. He's involved in every medium from television drama to comic books, and his works have been translated into 26 languages... -
![The Ice Cream Man and Other Stories by Sam Pink]()
The Ice Cream Man and Other Stories by Sam Pink
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Pink is a keen observer of the culture of minimum-wage jobs and low-rent studio apartments that is the reality of life for all those who don't find a cog space in today's hyper-capitalist economy." —The GuardianIt was maybe the first job I'd ever had where people were happy to see me. An odd feeling indeed, to wield this kind of power. To be this kind of force... -
-
![By the Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends by J. David Osborne]()
By the Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends by J. David Osborne
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBy the Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends is the story of four prisoners who must escape from a Siberian gulag overrun by violent gangsters circa 1952. In order to successfully make it across the tundra, they must trick a fellow prisoner into following them, so that they can cannibalize him when they run out of food... -
![The Man in the Moss by Phil Rickman]()
The Man in the Moss by Phil Rickman
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPerfectly preserved in black peat, the Man in the Moss is one of the most fascinating finds of the century. But for the isolated community of Bridelow, his removal is a sinister sign—a danger to the ancient spiritual tradition. In the weeks approaching the Celtic feast of the dead, tragedy strikes again and again in Bridelow... -
![What You Make It by Michael Marshall Smith]()
What You Make It by Michael Marshall Smith
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe first ever collection of Michael Marshall Smith’s award-winning short stories. The first piece of fiction Smith ever wrote – a short story called The Man Who Drew Cats – won the World Fantasy award. It’s included here along with many others, some unpublished, which show the incredible versatility of one of the most exciting writers working in Britain today... -
![The Amateurs: A Novel by John Niven]()
The Amateurs: A Novel by John Niven
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Brilliant.” —GQ "Hilarious.” — The Times (London) “A novel about golf that is not only hilarious, but gripping, sexy, violent, and outrageous. . . . Niven combines his increasingly bizarre plots, and some shocking behavior, with considerable skill and, of course, large helpings of humor... -
![The Past Is Never by Tiffany Quay Tyson]()
The Past Is Never by Tiffany Quay Tyson
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA compelling addition to contemporary Southern Gothic fiction, deftly weaving together local legends, magical realism, and the search for a missing child.Winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction, the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Fiction Award, and Mississippi Author Award for Adult fiction...Categorized as:
crime literary-fiction magical-realism adult audiobook book coming-of-age contemporary -
![Long Gone by Paul Pilkington]()
Long Gone by Paul Pilkington
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe brand new mystery series from the author of the bestselling Emma Holden Trilogy and Kindle Number One Someone to Save You...A missing girl... Natalie Long is missing. About to board a high speed train from London’s Paddington station, she has vanished without a trace.Just two days earlier, things were so different... -
![If It Bleeds by Stephen King]()
If It Bleeds by Stephen King
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsIf it Bleeds is a collection of four new novellas —Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story If It Bleeds— each pulling readers into intriguing and frightening places.A collection of four uniquely wonderful long stories, including a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider.News people have a saying: 'If it bleeds, it leads'...Categorized as:
crime literary-fiction magical-realism 21st-century adult anthologies audiobook contemporary -
![The Simple Art of Killing a Woman by Patrícia Melo]()
The Simple Art of Killing a Woman by Patrícia Melo
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom best-selling Brazilian crime novelist Patrícia Melo comes a genre-defying tale of women in the Amazon and their reckoning with brutal oppression―by turns poetic, humorous, dark, and inspiring...Categorized as:
literary-fiction crime magical-realism feminism fiction contemporary audiobook mystery -
![2666, Part 1: The Part About The Critics by Roberto Bolaño]()
2666, Part 1: The Part About The Critics by Roberto Bolaño
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsComposed in the last two years of Bolaño's life, 2666 has been greeted as his greatest achievement, surpassing even his previous work in its strangeness,beauty, and scope. Its throng of unforgettable characters include academics and convicts, an American sportswriter, an elusive German novelist, and a teenage student caring for her widowed, mentally unstable father... -
![The Threads of the Heart by Carole Martinez]()
The Threads of the Heart by Carole Martinez
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThey say Frasquita knows magic, that she is a healer with occult powers, that perhaps she is a sorcerer. She does indeed possess a remarkable gift, one that has been passed down to the women in her family for generations... -
-
![D.O.G.S by M.A. Bennett]()
D.O.G.S by M.A. Bennett
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter the dramatic events of the last few weeks, Greer Macdonald is trying to concentrate on her A levels. Stuck for a play to direct for her drama exam, she gets help from an unexpected quarter . . .A priceless lost play, buried by time, is pushed under her door. It is Ben Jonson's The Isle of Dogs, a play considered so dangerous in Elizabethan times that every copy was burned . . . except one...Categorized as:
crime literary-fiction action-adventure audiobook book contemporary dark-academia fiction -
![The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai]()
The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA luminous meditation on sons and fathers, ghosts of war, and living history that moves between modern-day Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction fiction horror war contemporary audiobook anthologies -
![Catastrophe: And Other Stories by Dino Buzzati]()
Catastrophe: And Other Stories by Dino Buzzati
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn Catastrophe, the renowned Italian short story writer Dino Buzzati brings vividly to life the slow and quietly terrifying collapse of our known, everyday world. In stories touched by the fantastical and the strange, and filled with humor, irony, and menace, Buzzati illuminates the nightmarish side of our ordinary existence...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult anthologies classics contemporary fiction -
![Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu]()
Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsPart visceral dream-memoir, part fictive journey through a hallucinatory Bucharest, Mircea Cărtărescu's BLINDING was one of the most widely heralded literary sensations in contemporary Romania, and a bestseller from the day of its release...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult book contemporary family fiction -
![In the Penny Arcade by Steven Millhauser]()
In the Penny Arcade by Steven Millhauser
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe seven stories of In the Penny Arcade blend both the real and the fantastic in a seductive mix that illuminates the full range of Steven Millhauser's gifts, from 'August Eschenburg', the story of a clockmaker's son whose extraordinary talent for creating animated figures is lost on a world whose taste for the perverse and crude supersedes that of the refined and beautiful, to 'Cathay', a...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult anthologies contemporary fiction horror -
![Papeles de Pandora: cuentos by Rosario Ferré]()
Papeles de Pandora: cuentos by Rosario Ferré
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAvailable in Spanish for the first time in the United States.From Rosario Ferré (nominated for the National Book Award for The House on the Lagoon), her first work of fiction, long out of print in any edition, in the original Spanish and including a previously unpublished story and two poems...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism adult anthologies contemporary feminism fiction horror -
![Weathercock by Glen Duncan]()
Weathercock by Glen Duncan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe confession of Dominic Francis Hood - Roman Catholic, sadist, conspirator to murder, witness to a miracle. His childhood had the usual benefits, but after watching a miracle performed by Father Malone, Dominic realises a part of him is skewed, and that mere fantasy will never be enough... -
![Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz]()
Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn unholy predator on the prowl! The small town of Lakeview offers little excitement for Duane, Savannah, and their friends. They're about to endure their ten-year high school reunion when their lives are shattered by the arrival of an ancient, vengeful evil. The werewolf. The first attack leaves seven dead and four wounded (2 men and 2 women)... -
![Girl Like a Bomb by Autumn Christian]()
Girl Like a Bomb by Autumn Christian
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAutumn Christian's third novel is a dark journey of self-discovery. An existential labyrinth of love, sex, and self-actualization where the only way out is through. When high schooler Beverly Sykes finally has sex, her whole life changes. She feels an explosion inside of her that feels like her DNA is being rearranged, and she discovers a strange power within...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism adult audiobook book contemporary female-author female-mc -
![Under the Cover of Darkness by Emma Luna]()
Under the Cover of Darkness by Emma Luna
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA dark contemporary romanceADDYI thought the suffocating loneliness of the last two year were bad, but then I was sent to Lakeridge Psychiatric Facility.On the outside it’s disguised as helpful brochures and friendly doctors who have vowed to help, but the real truth is just below the surface, lurking in the shadows, and haunting my dreams.At night he comes—taunting and abusing me...Categorized as:
myths literary-fiction crime dark mental-illness retellings suspense friends-to-lovers -
-
![Verdigris by Michele Mari]()
Verdigris by Michele Mari
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAt the tail end of the 1960s, the thirteen-year-old Michelino spends his summers at his grandparents’ modest estate in Nasca, near Lake Maggiore, losing himself in the tales of horror, adventure, and mystery shelved in his grandfather’s library... -
![A Child Across the Sky by Jonathan Carroll]()
A Child Across the Sky by Jonathan Carroll
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLibrarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 071263441X / 9780712634410.Just as the the word "weird" has many implications and shades of meaning, so too does the latest--weird--work by this gifted and perplexing writer. As Carroll ( Bones of the Moon ; Sleeping in Flame ) himself says, "Life has a habit of turning dark corners... -
![Viskningar i mörkret by Amanda Stevens]()
Viskningar i mörkret by Amanda Stevens
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWork is a welcome refuge for New Orleans homicide detective Evangeline Theroux. Feeling suffocated by her new baby, in whose eyes she sees only her dead husband, she throws herself into a high-profile murder case. Reclusive writer Lena Saunders offers Evangeline a provocative theory about the crime: it is the work of a lunatic vigilante... -
![Sticky Fingers by J.T. Lawrence]()
Sticky Fingers by J.T. Lawrence
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDiverse, dark-humoured, and deliciously bite-sized, this compelling collection of 12 short stories by JT Lawrence include:'Escape' -- a story about about a suicidal baby who knows he was born into the wrong life, and has to get creative to take measures correct the mistake, much to his mother¹s horror...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 21st-century adult anthologies contemporary dark female-mc -
![Beside the Sea by Véronique Olmi]()
Beside the Sea by Véronique Olmi
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA single mother takes her two sons on a trip to the seaside. They stay in a hotel, drink hot chocolate, and go to the funfair. She wants to protect them from an uncaring and uncomprehending world. She knows that it will be the last trip for her boys... -
![Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey, محمد غفوری]()
Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey, محمد غفوری
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOnce the Orme family’s magnificent ancestral estate, Observatory Mansions is now a crumbling apartment complex, home to an eccentric group of misfits. One of them is Francis Orme, who earns his livelihood as a living statue. When not practicing “inner and outer stillness,” Francis steals the cherished possessions of others to add to his private museum... -
![The Ascent by Jeff Long]()
The Ascent by Jeff Long
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn a novel set in the majestic Himalayas, ten men and two women brave the treacherous "dark side" of Mount Everest--a high-stakes adventure that pits climbers against their own fears... -
![Swansong by Kerry Andrew]()
Swansong by Kerry Andrew
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn this stunningly assured, immersive and vividly atmospheric first novel, a young woman comes face-to-face with the volatile, haunted wilderness of the Scottish Highlands.Polly Vaughan is trying to escape the ravaging guilt of a disturbing incident in London by heading north to the Scottish Highlands...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths adult book contemporary female-author female-mc -
![Poe: New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe by Ellen Datlow, Gregory Nassif St. John]()
Poe: New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe by Ellen Datlow, Gregory Nassif St. John
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTo coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, this anthology celebrates the depth and diversity of one of the most important figures in literature. Compiled by multi-award winning editor Ellen Datlow, it presents some of the foremost talents of the genre, who have come together to reimagine tales inspired by Poe.Sharyn McCrumb, Lucius Shepard, Pat Cadigan, M... -
![Rag: Stories by Maryse Meijer]()
Rag: Stories by Maryse Meijer
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne of Vol. 1 Brooklyn and Tor.com's Books to Read in February From the author of Heartbreaker, a disquieting collection tracing the destructive consequences of the desire for connectionA man, forgotten by the world, takes care of his deaf brother while euthanizing dogs for a living. A stepbrother so desperately wants to become his stepsibling that he rapes his girlfriend... -
-
![Things You Would Know if You Grew Up Around Here by Nancy Wayson Dinan]()
Things You Would Know if You Grew Up Around Here by Nancy Wayson Dinan
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsManaging editor for Iron Horse Literary Review Nancy Wayson Dinan's THINGS YOU WOULD KNOW IF YOU GREW UP AROUND HERE, about the 2015 Texas floods, an uncannily empathic young woman's search for her missing friend, and the paper-thin line between the past and the present, to Lea Beresford at Bloomsbury, at auction, for publication in summer 2020...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism adult audiobook book contemporary female-author fiction -
![Me, Myself and Them by Dan Mooney]()
Me, Myself and Them by Dan Mooney
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA heart-wrenching, funny and fresh debut about human connection and the power of friendshipStruggling to cope with a tragic loss, Denis Murphy has, for the past seven years, learned to live differently. His friends are used to his strict routines, like ironing his socks and lighting his fireplace every Sunday (even in the summer)...Categorized as:
crime literary-fiction fiction mental-illness contemporary realistic audiobook social-commentary -
![The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo]()
The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsAlready a #1 international bestseller, this tautly written and gripping psychological thriller forces a police inspector to reluctantly return to her hometown in Basque Country—a place engulfed in mythology and superstition—to solve a series of eerie murders... -
![Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman]()
Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA whirlwind romance between an eccentric archivist and a grieving widow explores what it means to be at home in your own body in this clever, humorous, and heartfelt novel.When archivist Sol meets Elsie, the larger than life widow of a moderately famous television writer who's come to donate her wife's papers, there's an instant spark...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism adult anthologies contemporary fiction horror lgbtq -
![Road Seven by Keith Rosson]()
Road Seven by Keith Rosson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings2021 IPPY Award Bronze Medalist - Best Fantasy NovelMark Sandoval—resolutely arrogant, covered head to foot in precise geometric scarring, and still marginally famous after Hollywood made an Oscar-winner based off his memoir years before—has been strongly advised by his lawyer to leave the country following a drunken and potentially fatal hit and run... -
![A Natural History of Hell by Jeffrey Ford]()
A Natural History of Hell by Jeffrey Ford
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEmily Dickinson takes a carriage ride with Death. A couple are invited over to a neighbor's daughter's exorcism. A country witch with a sea-captain's head in a glass globe intercedes on behalf of abused and abandoned children. In July of 1915, in Hardin County, Ohio, a boy sees ghosts. Explore contemporary natural history in a baker's dozen of exhilarating visions...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism adult anthologies contemporary fiction ghosts horror
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
