Books like 'Absent'
Readers who enjoyed Absent by Katie Williams also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy mystery supernatural horror urban fantasy paranormal ghosts high-school realistic
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As Dead As It Gets by Katie Alender
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn the terrifying final installment of the Bad Girls Don't Die series, Alexis battles a more powerful ghost than she's ever faced before... and one whose fate is tied to hers in ways she couldn't possibly imagine... -
The Crawling Darkness by J.L. Bryan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsGhost removal specialist Ellie Jordan must face a dangerous, shape-shifting entity that she and Calvin have encountered once before, with tragic results. The spirit has the power to reach into the minds of living and feed on their fears, taking the shape of their worst nightmares, and it has awoken in search of new victims... -
Deep and Dark and Dangerous (A Ghost Story) by Mary Downing Hahn
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsJust before summer begins, 13-year-old Ali finds an odd photograph in the attic. She knows the two children in it are her mother, Claire, and her aunt Dulcie...Categorized as:
friendship ghosts law-enforcement paranormal realistic suspense action-adventure audiobook -
Odd Thomas: You Are Destined To Be Together Forever by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe singular journey of Odd Thomas is approaching its unforgettable conclusion in Saint Odd. But before Odd’s destiny is revealed, this exclusive eBook short story looks back — way back — to where it all began for Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn, two souls who are destined to be together forever... -
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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...Categorized as:
bullying coming-of-age friendship high-school magical-realism paranormal realistic suspense -
The Counseling by Marley Gibson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKendall has just discovered who Emily really is, lost her boyfriend, and nearly died doing the thing she loves most--ghost hunting. It's time to take a break and try to reconcile all the changes she's going through. So Kendall heads to the Sierra Mountains, where there's a camp especially for young people with gifts such as hers. It's a time for reflection and self-discovery... -
Dead Serious Case #1: Miz Dusty Le Frey by Vawn Cassidy
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the business of unfinished business...Tristan Everett had always preferred the company of the dead because they were quiet and didn’t talk back. As a slightly awkward introvert working as a pathologist at the Hackney Public Mortuary suited him just fine. That is, until a freak accident with a rogue ice cube and suddenly he can see ghosts... -
Cold Shadows by J.L. Bryan
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsParanormal investigator Ellie Jordan faces a difficult new case. Her new clients are a family haunted by multiple ghosts and a poltergeist that wrecks their home at night. Their seven-year-old son's invisible friends may not be imaginary at all, but the restless spirits of dead children... -
Deadly Little Lessons by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCamelia Hammond's trying junior year of high school is finally over...but her troubles aren't. After she discovers a painful truth about her family, she escapes to a summer arts program in Rhode Island. Determined to put family - and boyfriend - drama behind her, she throws herself into her artwork.At the arts school, she gets caught up in the case of Sasha Beckerman, a local girl who is missing...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship high-school law-enforcement paranormal suspense action-adventure book -
Deadly Little Voices by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHigh school junior Camelia thought her powers of psychometry only gave her the ability to sense the future through touch. But now she’s started to hear voices. Mean voices. Berating her, telling her how ugly she is, and that she’d be better off dead... -
The Back Door of Midnight by Elizabeth Chandler
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPsychic...or psychotic? Anna knows her family is crazy. But when she goes to visit her aunt and uncle for the summer and learns that her uncle’s charred body has been found, her life reaches a new level of insanity. Her erratic aunt’s “psychic” abilities are exaggerated by her grief, and have become borderline violent... -
From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAlexis is the last girl you'd expect to sell her soul. She already has everything she needs--an adorable boyfriend, the perfect best friend, and a little sister who's finally recovering after being possessed by an evil spirit, then institutionalized. Alexis is thrilled when her sister joins a club; new friends are just what Kasey needs... -
Subtle Bodies by Jordan Castillo Price
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“It’s probably nothing….”Usually, when Victor Bayne is called upon to investigate a ghostly apparition, the “haunting” can be chalked up to a perfectly mundane cause. When he’s sent to check out some suspicious phenomena in small-town Iowa—and no one seems unduly alarmed—he’s hoping for more of a weekend getaway. Especially since he’s bringing along Jacob as his Stiff... -
Long Lost by Jacqueline West
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEleven-year-old Fiona has just read a book that doesn’t exist. When Fiona’s family moves to be closer to her older sister’s figure skating club—and far from Fiona’s close-knit group of friends—nobody seems to notice Fiona’s unhappiness. Alone and out of place, Fiona ventures to the town’s library, a rambling mansion donated to the town by the long-dead heiress...Categorized as:
paranormal ghosts magical-realism suspense dark realistic law-enforcement middle-grade -
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Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWelcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company.There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again. It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. And it isn't as safe... -
The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsIN THE END, ALL THAT'S LEFT IS AN ECHO.Before, Violet's morbid ability to sense the dead led her to uncover dark murders and long-buried secrets in her small town. Now that she's working with a special investigative team, Violet hopes she can help even more people - whether by saving a life or catching a killer...Categorized as:
dark friendship ghosts high-school law-enforcement paranormal suspense action-adventure -
Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer, Z Brewer
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsHigh school totally bites when you’re half human, half vampire. Freshman year sucks for Vlad Tod. Bullies still harass him. The photographer from the school newspaper is tailing him. And failing his studies could be deadly...Categorized as:
bullying coming-of-age dark friendship high-school paranormal suspense action-adventure -
Ghost Huntress: The Journey by Marley Gibson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTeen psychic Kendall Moorehead is about to embark on the most dangerous and shocking ghost hunt of her life. After all, it isn't every day that the ghost of Princess Diana steps in as a personal spirit guide. But Shy Di isn't the only surprise awaiting Kendall and her team of teen paranormal superstars as they begin a whirlwind tour of Europe with renowned TV medium Oliver Bates... -
Discovering by Wendy Corsi Staub
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter finally learning who was behind her mother's death, Calla still doesn't understand why it happened. Somewhere out there, someone seems to share the powerful psychic abilities that allow Calla to see not only into the past, but to the Other Side-someone who apparently doesn't want to be found... -
Shadow Mirror by Richie Tankersley Cusick
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsUnsettling. There's no better word to describe Miranda Barnes's ability to hear the cries of the dead, feel the wind move her hair when they run by, and - dare she look into a mirror - see the reflection of a ghostly woman behind her. There's only one person to turn to for support: Etienne. As sexy as he is mysterious, Miranda can't help but be drawn to him. He believes her; he wants to help her... -
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? by Paul Cornell
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe ghost of Sherlock Holmes is dead, but who will solve his murder?The Great Detective's ghost has walked London's streets for an age, given shape by people's memories. Now someone's put a ceremonial dagger through his chest. But what's the motive? And who - or what - could kill a ghost?When policing London's supernatural underworld, eliminating the impossible is not an option... -
Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat really happened to Mother? Lauren has come home seven years after her famous mother's mysterious drowning. They said it was an accident, but the tabloids screamed murder. Her father, a senator, hadn't protected her. Aunt Jule was her only refuge, the beloved godmother she's returning to see... -
The Mortician's Daughter: One Foot in the Grave by C.C. Hunter
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe first exciting novel in a brand-new series from New York Times bestselling author C. C. Hunter! Her dad's job is with the dead... and he's bringing his work home with him. Once again, seventeen-year-old Riley Smith is the new kid in school and her dad's career has her back to being dubbed a freak. Truth is, she's a much bigger freak than her classmates think... -
The Haunting of Highdown Hall by Shani Struthers
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Good morning, Psychic Surveys. How can I help?"The latest in a long line of psychically-gifted females, Ruby Davis can see through the veil that separates this world and the next, helping grounded souls to move towards the light - or 'home' as Ruby calls it. Not just a job for Ruby, it's a crusade and one she wants to bring to the High Street. Psychic Surveys is born... -
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The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories by Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom acclaimed YA authors Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff comes The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories.- A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck.- Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing.- A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream)...Categorized as:
dark friendship ghosts high-school magical-realism paranormal action-adventure anthologies -
Dead Voices by Katherine Arden, Катрин Арден
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBestselling author Katherine Arden returns with another creepy, spine-tingling adventure in this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Small Spaces.Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark friendship ghosts magical-realism paranormal suspense action-adventure -
Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsRestless souls and empty hearts Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams. Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca... -
The Ghost Files by Apryl Baker
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsSoon to be a major motion picture!Cherry blossom lipstick: check Smokey eyes: check Skinny jeans: checkDead kid in the mirror: check For sixteen year old Mattie Hathaway, this is her normal everyday routine. She’s been able to see ghosts since her mother tried to murder her when she was five years old. No way does she want anyone to know she can talk to spooks... -
Remember Me by Christopher Pike
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsSHE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT SHE WAS DEAD.When Shari Cooper awoke at home after being at her girlfriend's birthday party, her family acted like she wasn't there. They didn't hear a thing she said. They wouldn't even look at her. Then the call came from the hospital. Her father and brother paled. Her mother started to cry. Shari didn't know what was wrong. Not until she followed them to the hospital... -
Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLast fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark friendship high-school law-enforcement paranormal realistic suspense -
Deadly Little Games by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHigh school juniors Camelia and Ben have discovered a powerful bond: They both possess the power of psychometry, the ability to see the future through touch. For Ben, the gift is a frightening liability. When he senses a strong threat or betrayal, he risks losing control. Camelia's gift is more mysterious. When she works with clay, her hands sculpt messages her mind doesn't yet comprehend...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark friendship high-school paranormal realistic suspense action-adventure -
Rogue by Gina Damico
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLex is a teenage Grim Reaper with the power to Damn souls, and it’s getting out of control. She’s a fugitive, on the run from the maniacal new mayor of Croak and the townspeople who want to see her pay the price for her misdeeds. Uncle Mort rounds up the Junior Grims to flee Croak once again, but this time they’re joined by Grotton, the most powerful Grim of all time...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark ghosts law-enforcement magical-realism paranormal suspense action-adventure -
The Light by D.J. MacHale
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMarshall Seaver is being haunted. It begins with mysterious sounds, a fleeting face outside a window, a rogue breeze - all things that can be explained away. That is, until he comes face-to-face with a character who only exists on the pages of a sketchbook - a character Marshall himself created...Categorized as:
friendship ghosts high-school law-enforcement paranormal suspense action-adventure audiobook -
Gangs And Ghosts by Katie May
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen I was three-years-old, I was found homeless in the woods, alone and feral. When asked how I survived all of those years by myself, I had one answer: the Shadow Man. I have no memory of that time. No memory of anything, really, before the accident. I rely on stories from my fathers about this supposed imaginary friend. Got into a fight at school? The Shadow Man made me... -
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The Thread That Binds the Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTom Renfield, janitor-cum-taxi driver, has always had some weird abilities - seeing ghosts, perceiving other 'currents' of energy... but he's always tried to ignore them. Running from himself seems to be a large part of how he ended up in the tiny town of Arcadia... -
Connecting by Wendy Corsi Staub
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNow that Calla has accepted her ability to communicate with the Other Side, she's desperate to connect with the spirit of her late mother. But she gets more than she bargained for when she stumbles across a shocking secret that will change her future forever... -
Midnight Taxi Tango by Daniel José Older
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThe author of Half-Resurrection Blues returns in a new Bone Street Rumba Novel—a knife-edge, noir-shaded urban fantasy of crime after death.The streets of New York are hungry tonight... Carlos Delacruz straddles the line between the living and the not-so alive. As an agent for the Council of the Dead, he eliminates New York’s ghostlier problems... -
Paranoia by J.R. Johansson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the aftermath of the events that nearly killed him, Parker Chipp is trying to learn to cope better with life as a Watcher. And it seems to be working...until he wakes up in jail with a hangover and 12 hours of missing time. Darkness has somehow taken control and Parker doesn't have a clue how to stop him... -
The Chalice: A Glastonbury Ghost Story by Phil Rickman, Dion Fortune
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGlastonbury, legendary resting place of the Holy Grail, is a mysterious and haunting town. When Diane Ffitch returns home, it’s with a sense of deep unease. As the town becomes increasingly split by violence and death, Diane and her friends face up to the worst of all possibilities: the existence of an anti-Grail—the Dark Chalice... -
Bridge of Souls by Victoria E. Schwab
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsWhere there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows ... unless it's the other way around?Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. After all, she and her ghost best friend, Jacob, have survived two haunted cities while travelling for her parents' TV show.But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve...Categorized as:
dark friendship ghosts magical-realism paranormal realistic suspense action-adventure -
The Invoker by Jon F. Merz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMEET LAWSON.A cynical, wise-cracking vampire charged with protecting the Balance - the secret existence of a race of LIVING vampires that have evolved alongside humanity for thousands of years.A FIXER.Part-spy, and part-commando -- James Bond with fangs. Lawson mixes shrewd cunning with unmatched lethality to get his job done... -
Cursed by Lizzy Ford
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Red Man is coming ... Five years after her sister disappeared, seventeen-year-old Adrienne finds the strength to return to her father’s home in New Orleans. But soon after she arrives, the mark of a curse appears on her, leaving her worried. Will she be the next victim of a four-hundred-year old family curse .. -
Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsAlexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger... -
Between by Jessica Warman
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsElizabeth Valchar-pretty, popular, and perfect-wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family's yacht, where she'd been celebrating with her six closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she finds will change everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and everything in between...Categorized as:
bullying friendship ghosts high-school law-enforcement paranormal realistic suspense -
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All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue, Stefanie Caponi
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMaeve’s strangely astute tarot readings make her the talk of the school, until a classmate draws a chilling and unfamiliar card—and then disappears. After Maeve finds a pack of tarot cards while cleaning out a closet during her in-school suspension, she quickly becomes the most sought-after diviner at St. Bernadette’s Catholic school...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark friendship high-school lgbtq magical-realism paranormal audiobook -
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn enchanting urban fantasy middle-grade debut―the first book in a trilogy―set in a magical hotel full of secrets.Orphan Elizabeth Somers’s malevolent aunt and uncle ship her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel, owned by the peculiar Norbridge Falls. Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms―most notably its massive library...Categorized as:
friendship ghosts law-enforcement magical-realism paranormal realistic suspense 21st-century -
All Seeing Eye by Rob Thurman
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsPicking up a small pink shoe from the grass forever changed young Jackson Lee’s life. Not only did its presence mean that his sister Tessa was dead—murdered and stuffed in the deep, black water of a narrow well—but the shoe itself told him so... -
Legacy of Lies by Elizabeth Chandler
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSomething is haunting Megan... She had seen Scarborough House only in her dreams. Now Megan was here, visiting the grandmother she'd never met, and her newfound cousin Matt, too handsome by far, who wanted her to disappear. Grandmother was so cold, so distant... -
Battle Hill Bolero by Daniel José Older
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the third in the richly detailed and diverse (io9) urban fantasy series, the time has come for the dead to rise up against the shady powers-that-be... "The time has come for the dead to rise up..." Trouble is brewing between the Council of the Dead and the ghostly, half-dead, spiritual, and supernatural community they claim to represent... -
The Seduction of James Gray by Colette Rivera
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMystery, temptation, and risking it all.James Gray lives a life free of complications. Even in Moonlight Falls, a town known for supernatural activity, he stays away from the more sinister magical arts, preferring the simple work of a magical electrician. Sebastian Storm is a man James hasn’t thought about in years until he hears Sebastian inherited the haunted house north of town...
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