Books like 'Lightning Strike'
Readers who enjoyed Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical mystery small town action / adventure thriller historical-fiction suspense coming-of-age crime indigenous-mc
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The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsAlaska, 1974.Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier...Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction suspense -
The Tyrant’s Tomb by Rick Riordan
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 58 ratingsIn his penultimate adventure, a devastated but determined Apollo travels to Camp Jupiter, where he must learn what it is to be a hero, or die trying.It's not easy being Apollo, especially when you've been turned into a human and banished from Olympus...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship historical-fiction poc-mc family drama suspense action-adventure -
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsFrom the author of Me Before You, set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond.Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England...Categorized as:
crime drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century abuse -
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 87 ratingsA remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.“Treat yourself to this book, please - I can’t recommend it highly enough.” (Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love)“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers... -
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Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be.When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction action-adventure animals audiobook book -
Murder in the Crypt by Irina Shapiro
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen the body of a young man is found stuffed into the tomb of a medieval knight, Parish Constable Daniel Haze is tasked with investigating his first solo murder case. Suspicion instantly falls on the only stranger to arrive in the village of Birch Hill just before the crime took place, but the American captain proves to be an unexpected asset...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense whodunit action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsBridgerton meets Poldark in this sweeping LGBTQIA+ Regency romance from award-winning author KJ CharlesAbandoned by his father as a small child, Sir Gareth Inglis has grown up prickly, cold, and well-used to disappointment. Even so, he longs for a connection, falling headfirst into a passionate anonymous affair that's over almost as quickly as it began... -
Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLOVE IN A STRANGER'S EYES...ELLYIn town, they called her "Crazy Widow Dinsmore." But Elly was no stranger to their ridicule--she had been an outsider all her life, growing up in a boarded-up old house under the strict eye of her eccentric grandparents. Now she was all alone, with two little boys to raise, and a third child on the way... -
Fallow by Jordan L. Hawk
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Griffin’s past collides with his present, will it cost the lives of everyone he loves?Between the threat of a world-ending invasion from the Outside and unwelcome revelations about his own nature, Percival Endicott Whyborne is under a great deal of strain...Categorized as:
crime family historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Making of a Highlander by Elisa Braden
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn Elisa Braden's enchanting new Midnight in Scotland series, the unlikeliest matches generate the greatest heat. All it takes is a spark of Highland magic."Make me a lady, and I'll make ye a Highlander." –Mad Annie Tulloch, Scottish lass"Challenge accepted... -
The Lady Has a Past by Amanda Quick
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBeauty and glamour meet deception and revenge in this electrifying novel by New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick.Investigative apprentice Lyra Brazier, the newest resident of Burning Cove, is unsettled when her boss suddenly goes on a health retreat at an exclusive spa and disappears without another word...Categorized as:
crime drama historical-fiction investigator law-enforcement suspense 20th-century action-adventure -
Fated With Firelight by Ashe Moon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAs the shrine priest, omega Enry’s matehood is prized and sought after by the less-than-eligible alphas of his secluded human village. It’s the night of the claiming competition, and just when it seems like Enry’s fate is decided, a winged figure appears in the moonlit sky... -
Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFrom award-winning author Alan Bradley comes the next cozy British mystery starring intrepid young sleuth Flavia de Luce, hailed by USA Today as “one of the most remarkable creations in recent literature...Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime family historical-fiction law-enforcement literary-fiction suspense whodunit -
The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress comes The Wedding Shop. Two women separated by decades. Both set out to help others find their dreams when their own have crumbled...Categorized as:
family friendship historical-fiction action-adventure audiobook book christian female-mc -
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A Divided Loyalty by Charles Todd
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsScotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge is assigned one of the most baffling investigations of his career—a cold murder case with an unidentified victim and a cold trail with few clues to follow.Chief Inspector Brian Leslie, a respected colleague of Ian Rutledge’s, is sent to Avebury, a village set inside a great prehistoric stone circle not far from Stonehenge... -
The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe engrossing epic novel—a #1 bestseller in Norway-of a young woman whose fate plays out against her village’s mystical church bells As long as people could remember, the stave church’s bells had rung over the isolated village of Butangen, Norway. Cast in memory of conjoined twins, the bells are said to ring on their own in times of danger...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction -
Poison at the Village Show: The start of a BRAND NEW cozy murder mystery series from Catherine Coles for 2022 by Catherine Coles
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWestleham Village 1947. It’s the Westleham village show and with the war finally over, everyone is looking forward to a pleasant day.But newcomer, Martha Miller doesn’t share the excitement. Because since her husband Stan left for work one day and never returned, Martha has been treated as somewhat of an outsider in Westleham. The village gossip is that Martha must be to blame…...Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime family friendship historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense 19th-century -
Jackson's Justice by Maddie Taylor
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwenty-year-old Jenny Harper has been in love with Heath Jackson since the day she saw him leap from a galloping horse to save an old woman when she was eleven years old. Over the years, Jenny has watched the women swarm around Heath, but she has her heart set on him and she is not one to give up easily... -
Jed by Linda Devlin, Linda Winstead Jones
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJed Rourke has been a soldier, miner, cowhand, gambler, and most recently a Pinkerton detective. Stopping in Rock Creek to see his sister, Jed finds a compelling reason to stay--prim and sensible Hannah Winters. Hannah has come to comfort her sister, whose husband has been charged with murder. Hannah doesn't believe the claim and sets out to solve the crime--with Jed's help...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult book fiction historical industrial-era military -
Justin's Runaway Bride by Kit Morgan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMillie Porter was a smart girl, a good girl, and a grown one. In fact, she was no longer a girl, but a woman of marriageable age... -
The Unexpected Bride by Cynthia Woolf
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlice Carter found herself a widow, her doctor husband murdered as he left the hospital where he worked. Alice, too, is a doctor and thought she wouldn’t have any trouble finding a position with the hospital where her husband had been so well regarded. She was wrong. Seems no one wanted a female doctor, especially one in mourning...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction suspense 19th-century action-adventure adult book christian -
Sullivan by Linda Winstead Jones, Linda Devlin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEden Rourke bravely makes her way toward Rock Creek, Texas, determined to join the only family she has left. Her brother, Jed. As she’s making her way through a small town she finds herself rescuing a man who’s badly outnumbered and being beaten by ruffians...Categorized as:
historical-fiction indigenous-mc poc-mc action-adventure adult book fiction historical -
Seven Summer Nights by Harper Fox
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt’s 1946, and the dust of World War Two has just begun to settle. When famous archaeologist Rufus Denby returns to London, his life and reputation are as devastated as the city around him.He’s used to the most glamorous of excavations, but can’t turn down the offer of a job in rural Sussex. It’s a refuge, and the only means left to him of scraping a living...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult amnesia angst archaeology -
It Happened One Midnight by Julie Anne Long
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMore than one beautiful woman’s hopes have been dashed on the rocky shoals of Jonathan Redmond’s heart. With his riveting good looks and Redmond wealth and power, the world is his oyster—until an ultimatum from his father and a chilling gypsy prophesy send him hurtling headlong toward a fate he’ll do anything to avoid: matrimony...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult alpha-mc audiobook -
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In the Market for Murder by T.E. Kinsey
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsRevised edition: Previously published as The Spirit is Willing, this edition of In The Market For Murder includes editorial revisions.Spring, 1909, and Lady Hardcastle, amateur sleuth and all-round eccentric, is enjoying a well-deserved rest. But a week after a trip to the cattle market, Spencer Caradine, a local farmer, turns up dead in the pub, face-down in his beef and mushroom pie...Categorized as:
crime drama historical-fiction investigator law-enforcement literary-fiction whodunit thriller -
Fluke and the Frontier Farce by Sam Burns
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt’s been a long year for Sage and his friends, and all of Junction, California, and it’s not over yet.Freddie's school of magic is still a mystery, and figuring it out would be enough work, but the investigation leads them to the mysterious coded notes of Junction’s long-dead first magical artist, and then to the last place any of them ever expected to end up: the nineteenth century... -
Bride by Arrangement by Karen Kirst
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMail-Order Matchmaking Newly minted Cowboy Creek sheriff Noah Burgess doesn't want a wife—despite his friends insisting that he needs one. So when they send for a big-city single mother to be his mail-order bride, he's fit to be tied. Even if vivacious Grace Longstreet might just be the only person who can see past Noah's scars…and help him heal... -
Reese by Lori Handeland
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIf you liked the Magnificent Seven, you'll love the Rock Creek Six! Six elite Confederate soldiers band together after the War Between the States, hiring out their guns to protect lawless towns. Violence is all they know, until they make their way to Rock Creek, Texas... -
Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride by Eli Easton
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBeing a fugitive in the old west shouldn’t be this much fun.The year is 1860. Robby Riverton is a rising star on the New York stage. But he witnesses a murder by a famous crime boss and is forced to go on the run--all the way to Santa Fe. When he still hasn't ditched his pursuers, he disguises himself as a mail order bride he meets on the wagon train...Categorized as:
crime drama family historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense action-adventure adult -
Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA jaded spy and a shell shocked country doctor team up to solve a murder in postwar England. James Sommers returned from the war with his nerves in tatters. All he wants is to retreat to the quiet village of his childhood and enjoy the boring, predictable life of a country doctor...Categorized as:
crime friendship historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense whodunit 20th-century 21st-century -
The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsYoung, beautiful, and adventurous Nicola Ferris loves her life as a secretary at the British Embassy on the lush island of Crete. Then on her day off, she links up with two hiking companions who have inadvertently stumbledupon a scene of blood vengeance. And suddenly the life Nicola adores is in danger of coming to an abrupt, brutal, and terrifying end . -
The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratings"A marvelous debut...has everything a big, thick novel should have, and I hated to put it down." -- John Grisham "A page-turner." -- New York Times Book Review For readers of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, this is a dramatic and deeply moving novel about an act of violence in a small Appalachian town and the repercussions that will forever change a young man's view of human cruelty and compassion...Categorized as:
bildungsroman coming-of-age crime drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction -
A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLonglisted for the 2021 Booker PrizeA Town Called Solace--the brilliant and emotionally radiant new novel from Mary Lawson, her first in nearly a decade--opens on a family in crisis: rebellious teenager Rose been missing for weeks with no word, and Rose's younger sister, the feisty and fierce Clara, keeps a daily vigil at the living-room window, hoping for her sibling's return...Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction suspense -
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThe summer of 1963 begins like any other for nine-year-old Starla Claudelle. Born to teenage parents in Mississippi, Starla is being raised by a strict paternal grandmother, Mamie, whose worst fear is that Starla will turn out like her mother...Categorized as:
bildungsroman coming-of-age crime drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction -
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The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsPoland, 1909 Stanislaw is determined to escape the Russians and follow his brother to America, a land where anything seems possible.Wisconsin, 1941With all the men off to war, Fritzi and her sisters must learn men’s work -- from fixing flats to driving the tow truck and the All-Girl Filling Station is born...Categorized as:
drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThe movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future.Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship historical-fiction law-enforcement season-summer 20th-century -
Close Up by Amanda Quick
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWelcome to Burning Cove, California where 1930s Hollywood glamour conceals a ruthless killer… Vivian Brazier never thought life as an art photographer would include nightly wake-up calls to snap photos of grisly crime scenes or headshots for aspiring male actors. Although she is set on a career of transforming photography into a new art form, she knows her current work is what’s paying the bills...Categorized as:
crime family friendship historical-fiction investigator law-enforcement suspense 20th-century -
Summer of Night by Dan Simmons
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsIt's the summer of 1960 in Elm Haven, Illinois, and five 12-year old boys are forming the bonds that a lifetime of changes will never erase. But then a dark cloud threatens the bright promise of summer vacation: on the last day of school, their classmate Tubby Cooke vanishes. Soon, the group discovers stories of other children who once disappeared from Elm Haven... -
Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom internationally bestselling, acclaimed author Melinda Salisbury comes a darkly seductive story of murder, betrayal, love, and family secrets in a small town in the Scottish Highlands.Here are the rules of living with a murderer.One: Do not draw attention to yourself.Of course, when you live with a murderer, this is impossible. Even the subtlest of spectres is bound to be noticed... -
Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWarm-hearted and winsomely imaginative' Sunday TimesThe fish have been vanishing from the waters off Big Running, Newfoundland, and now the people are too . . .Amidst abandoned houses and closed schools, ten-year-old Finn and his sister Cora while away their nights counting the few remaining fishing boats on the coast...Categorized as:
bildungsroman family historical-fiction literary-fiction action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Silver by Krystal M. Anderson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsClara Early loves adventure. But when her outlaw uncle reappears after four years’ absence and threatens to kill her, Clara embarks by stagecoach on her wildest adventure yet… and unexpectedly finds love along the way... -
God's Handmaiden by Gilbert Morris
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA historical and romantic adventure woven around the story of Florence Nightingale. Gervase Howard is in her mid-teens when her working-class mother dies and she must go to live with relatives in service to a wealthy, noble family, outside of London. While learning various jobs, she is drawn to the eldest son, Davis...Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime family historical-fiction season-summer action-adventure animals audiobook -
The Cowboy Who Saved Christmas by Jodi Thomas, Sharla Lovelace
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn these Texas-set stories of romance and adventure, the Civil War is over, Christmas is coming—and it’s time for three rugged fighters to become lovers... FATHER GOOSE by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jodi ThomasDispirited by war, when Trapper Morgan accepts a job hauling five little rich girls to Dallas, all he cares about is the money...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult anthologies children fiction historical holidays -
The Copper Man by Debra Castaneda
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“The horrible figure from the Prestwich Tunnel hovered there. Not a ghost. Something between a badly disfigured man and a monster. There was a limit to what the human mind could comprehend, and the ghastly thing standing before her was beyond that limit.”In 1985, the Copper Man killed Leah Shaw’s twin brother, Liam, in the mining town of Tribulation Gulch... -
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Tightrope by Amanda Quick
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the Author's website: An unconventional woman and a man shrouded in mystery walk a tightrope of desire as they race against a killer to find a machine that could change the world.Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn moved to Burning Cove to reinvent herself, but things are not going well...Categorized as:
crime drama family friendship historical-fiction investigator law-enforcement suspense -
The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer, Daniel Hill
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCaptain John Staple’s exploits in the Peninsula had earned him the sobriquet Crazy Jack among his fellow Dragoons. Now home from Waterloo, life is rather dull. But when he finds himself lost and benighted at an unmanned toll-house in the Pennines, his soldiering exploits pale away besides an adventure — and romance — of a lifetime...Categorized as:
crime drama family historical-fiction suspense 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
Death in Daylesford by Kerry Greenwood
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSurrounded by secrets, great and small, the formidable Miss Phryne Fisher returns to vanquish injustice.When a mysterious invitation arrives for Miss Phryne Fisher from an unknown Captain Herbert Spencer, Phryne's curiosity is excited. Spencer runs a retreat in Victoria's spa country for shell-shocked soldiers of the First World War...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction investigator law-enforcement whodunit 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Treasure by Kim Fielding
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJulian Massey has always been sickly. When the young man's parents send him to the seaside town of Urchin Cove to recuperate, he finds himself stranded in a tiny cabin with only the quirky local inhabitants for company. Then a storm blows through, and he finds an unexpected discovery washed up on the beach: an unconscious man...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction suspense abuse action-adventure adult alternate-universe audiobook -
Their Captivated Bride by Vanessa Vale
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratings“When it was three against one, I was always going to be overwhelmed.” The Bridgewater way of two men marrying one woman is uncommon in the Montana territory. But three men marrying one woman? That is unheard of, especially for beautiful Olivia Weston. Her fate, it seems, will have her married to one man – a man she doesn’t love...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction historical industrial-era -
The Last Renegade by Jo Goodman
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSHE HIRED HIM TO PROTECT HER TOWN As the owner of the Pennyroyal Saloon and Hotel, Lorraine Berry is privy to almost everything that goes on in Bitter Springs, Wyoming—including the bloodshed plaguing its citizens. With all of the good men dying at the hands of a local rancher and his three sons, Raine hires a shootist to be the town’s protector...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction action-adventure adult book fiction historical humor
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