Books like 'Plastic'
Readers who enjoyed Plastic by Doug Wagner, Daniel Hillyard & Laura Martin also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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Love Will Tear Us Apart by C.K. McDonnell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLove can be a truly terrible thing.Marriages are tricky at the best of times, especially when one of you is dead.Vincent Banecroft, the irascible editor of The Stranger Times, has never believed his wife died despite emphatic evidence to the contrary... -
Relight My Fire by C.K. McDonnell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSome comebacks can be murder . . .Stella is enjoying life as an almost student, or at least she is until a man falls from the sky right in front of her, leaving a big old hole in the pavement for Manchester Council to fill. The obvious question of how he ended up in the sky in the first place has no obvious answers, which is where The Stranger Times come in... -
This Charming Man by C.K. McDonnell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsVampires do not exist. Everyone knows this. So it's particularly annoying when they start popping up around Manchester . . .Nobody is pleased about it. Not the Founders, the secret organisation for whom vampires were invented as an allegory, nor the Folk, the magical people hidden in plain sight who only want a quiet life... -
Hookah by Cameron Jace
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA Plague Scarier than Death Alice and the Pillar have to stop a Wonderland Monster who'd lashed out an incurable disease onto the world. Their biggest challenge is that the world loves this monster so much. A Cure Larger than Life The only way to save the world is to travel to the other side of the globe, and peek into one of Lewis Carroll and the Pillar's darker pasts... -
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The Stranger Times by C. K. McDonnell, Brendan McDonald
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThere are Dark Forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular) and so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them. A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but more often the weird) of modern life, it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable...At least that’s their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious... -
Bad Wolf by Lauren Dawes
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA rookie cop. A team of supernatural detectives. A shifter with some impulse control issues.My name is Cat McKenzie, and I thought wood sprites weren’t a thing.Apparently, they are. Fun fact: they enjoy eating carrion which was how I discovered the body of a hunter in the woods. The local werewolf pack confirms it’s a bad wolf doing the biting... -
Deader Still by Jordaina Sydney Robinson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBridget Sway has survived the first week of her afterlife – but only just. Working a job that still doesn’t pay, wearing a uniform that’s still a fashion disaster and now facing a week-long assessment, things can only get better … right? Wrong. And there’s another dead ghost in her locker to prove it... -
Dead and Buried by Jordaina Sydney Robinson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBridget Sway is happy … because Bridget Sway is shopping! At long last she has new clothes. New shoes. New makeup. Bridget is about to add some much needed underwear to her purchases but, instead of finding a frilly knicker and bra set, she finds a matching alive dead body and its ghost... -
MARKED by DARKNESS: Gripping, psychological serial killer adventure thriller by Dawn Merriman
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA gritty and raw serial killer thriller with hints of the supernatural. . Two years ago, Detective Maribeth Johansen’s family was murdered by the killer she hunted. Maribeth now lives alone in the woods with her grief, the ghosts of her family in her mind. -
Bangkok Warlock by John P. Logsdon, Noah K. Sturdevant
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhy sell your soul when you can rent it? Mark Vedis is an average cop. Average for a mage in the Paranormal Police Department (PPD), anyway. After years of doing the jobs nobody else wanted, his career, and life, seemed to be on hold... -
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBook by Hugh Wheeler Introduction by Christopher... -
Autumn Bleeds Into Winter by Jeff Strand
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings1979. Somebody has been abducting children in Fairbanks, Alaska. One of the victims was fourteen-year-old Curtis Black's best friend Todd.Curtis saw it happen. He knows exactly who did it. But he can't prove that it was his neighbor Gerald Martin. The authorities find no evidence of the crime. There's nothing they can do.So he's going to confront Mr. Martin himself... -
Lone Wolf by L.T. Vargus, E.M. Smith
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe package arrives first class. A manila envelope bulging with bubble wrap. With the top slit open, what lies within can just faintly be seen: A swath of human flesh sealed in plastic.When a popular podcaster receives a disturbing package in the mail, FBI profiler Victor Loshak heads to Denver to investigate. The grisly contents of the bubble mailer are unlike anything he’s seen... -
The Best of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGodzilla’s in a twelve-step program. A soul-sucking Mummy stalks Elvis and John F. Kennedy. Joe Bob Briggs has a moral dilemma: If your girlfriend turns zombie on you, what do you do?And that’s the tame stuff.In this red-hot collection from world-champion Mojo storyteller Joe R. Lansdale, you’ll find his best, most outrageous stories... -
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Dial D for Deadman by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Space Team Universe just got a whole lot darker. In an alien city torn apart by crooked cops and ruthless criminals, private detective, Dan Deadman, specializes in cases unusual and bizarre... -
Wolf Hunt 2 by Jeff Strand
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGeorge and Lou used to be thugs for hire. Now they're living in a shack in Costa Rica, hiding from the crime lord who wants them dead. Their last job, to deliver him a werewolf in a cage, went...badly. But they can't hide out forever, and when they're finally captured, it seems as if George and Lou's ultimate fate will involve being doused in gasoline and set aflame... -
Unhinged Cain by Brooklyn Cross
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsContemporary/MF/Thriller-Horror/Serial Killer/Captive/DarkKirby wished for a new life, but the Devil sent her Cain.I knew what my calling in life was at a young age. I was the embodiment of death. The scent of blood and watching the life fade from something’s eyes was more delicious than any dessert... -
Dead Head by C.J. Skuse
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCan a serial killer ever lose their taste for murder?Since confessing to her bloody murder spree Rhiannon Lewis, the now-notorious Sweetpea killer, has been feeling out-of-sorts.Having fled the UK on a cruise ship to start her new life, Rhiannon should be feeling happy. But it’s hard to turn over a new leaf when she’s stuck in an oversized floating tin can with the Gammonati and screaming kids... -
Writer of the Purple Rage by Joe R. Lansdale
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsContaining stories from the dark side, the light side, and all shades in between, this is a masterful collection by one of America's rising storytellers. Storylines include that of a woman who discovers grisly horror on a mountain road, a plastic love doll who becomes liberated, and a baby's diaper that is possessed by aliens... -
Chasing Shadows by Lila Bruce
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAvery Smith, who returned to her hometown of Bethel Springs after time spent away in the big city, is finally beginning to absorb the culture shock and settle into her job at the local Sheriff's Department... -
The Complete Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Nineteen Other Tales by Robert Louis Stevenson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe complexity and range of Robert Louis Stevenson's short fiction reveals his genius perhaps more than any other medium. Here, leading Stevenson scholar Barry Menikoff arranges and introduces the complete selection of Stevenson's brilliant stories, including the famed masterpiece Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr... -
Bubba Ho-Tep by Joe R. Lansdale, Don Coscarelli
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe companion book to the popular movie starring Bruce Campbell as Elvis and Ossie Davis as JFK. Stuck in an East Texas old folks home, they must face off against a redneck mummy... -
The Thornthwaite Inheritance by Gareth P. Jones
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOvid and Lorelli Thornthwaite have been trying to kill each other for so long that neither twin can remember which act of attempted murder came first. But whoever struck first, trying to take each other's lives is simply what they do... -
I Know What You Did Last Wednesday by Anthony Horowitz, Nickolas Grace
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen the Diamond Brothers receive an invitation to a school reunion on a remote Scottish island, things seem to be looking up. But Nick’s got a bad feeling, and it’s not indigestion... -
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A Snowball in Hell by Christopher Brookmyre
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEach society gets the serial killers it deserves...How sick are you of our vapid celebrity culture, reality TV shows and tawdry talent contests? Not as sick as Simon Darcourt—but let’s face it, nobody is as sick as Simon Darcourt... -
Be My Enemy by Christopher Brookmyre
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt was a junket, a freebie. A 'team-building' weekend in the highlands for lawyers, advertising execs, businessmen, even the head of a charity. Oh, and a journalist, specially solicited for his renowned and voluble scepticism - Jack Parlabane... -
Thorn In My Side by C.J. Skuse
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSometimes, you can be your own worst enemy…Rhiannon Lewis thought she finally had it all: thanks to the pandemic she’s had to keep a much lower profile but has found happiness with her fiancé Rafael and his family. For once, she is surrounded by people who love her for who she is (or who they think she is)... -
The Last of the Loudens by Robin Alexander
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsTaryn Louden has inherited her father’s family home and more money than she ever thought she’d see in a lifetime. There are just a few problems with it all. The house is expensive to maintain, local kids entertain themselves by pulling pranks on her, and there might be a few departed Loudens still hanging around... -
Bloody Mary by J.A. Konrath
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsStart with a tough but vulnerable Chicago cop. Stir in a psychopath with a unique mental condition that programs him to kill. Add a hyperactive cat, an ailing mother, a jealous boyfriend, a high-maintenance ex-husband, and a partner in the throes of a mid-life crisis. Mix with equal parts humor and suspense, and enjoy Bloody Mary... -
Devil of the Highlands by Lynsay Sands
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThey call him the Devil . . .He is the most notorious laird of Scotland: fierce, cold, deadly . . . and maybe even worse. Yet Evelinde has just agreed to wed him. Anything, she thinks, is better than her cruel stepmother. Though Evelinde should be wary of the rumors, she can't help but be drawn to this warrior . . -
Cosmos by Witold Gombrowicz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA dark, quasi-detective novel, Cosmos follows the classic noir motif to explore the arbitrariness of language, the joke of human freedom, and man’s attempt to bring order out of chaos in his psychological life.Published in 1965, Cosmos is the last novel by Witold Gombrowicz (1904–1969) and his most somber and multifaceted work... -
Rumble Tumble by Joe R. Lansdale
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHap Collins and Leonard Pine are in for an action-packed adventure when they cross paths with a towering Pentecostal preacher, a midget with a giant attitude, and a gang of bikers turned soldiers of fortune... -
Interlude with Tattoos by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsA short story set just after the end of The Magpie Lord. Stephen Day and Lord Crane return to London. Neither is quite sure where their fledgling relationship is going. It seems unlikely that there can be much of a future for them, under the circumstances, with Stephen going back to work and Crane returning to China. Until they encounter an unexpected moment of magic.. -
Vanilla Ride by Joe R. Lansdale
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"There's no bullshit in a Joe Lansdale book. There's everything a good story needs, and nothing it doesn't. Joe pulls up the truck, says, 'Get in the back, we're going for a ride.'You know it might get a little scary and it might get a little crazy, but you get in, because you know in the end, it's going to be a fun ride... -
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Blister by Jeff Strand
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThey call her Blister. She’s a hideously disfigured twenty-three year-old woman, living in a shed next to her father’s house, hidden away from the world.Jason Tray is a successful cartoonist, banished to his agent’s lakeside cabin for a few days of mandatory rest and relaxation... -
The Blurred Man by Anthony Horowitz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe man in the photo is so blurry, it's impossible to make out what he really looks like... -
The Red Mohawk by Anonymous
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe new book from the anonymous author of the international bestselling Bourbon Kid series. Everything seems peaceful in the small town of B Movie Hell until a mysterious serial killer in a skull mask topped with a red mohawk shows up and starts butchering the locals. Government agents Jack Munson and Milena Fonseca are sent to track down and eliminate the masked psychopath... -
Carved in Flesh by Tim Waggoner
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsAfter Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious supernatural force as young children, their father taught them how to hunt and destroy the paranormal evil that exists in the dark corners of America. After their father’s demonic death, they discovered that they are descended from a long line of hunters and chose to continue their mission... -
Spirit by John Inman
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJason Day, brilliant designer of video games, is not only a confirmed bachelor, but he’s as gay as a maypole. One wouldn’t think being saddled with his precocious four-year-old nephew for four weeks would be enough to throw him off-kilter. Wrong. Timmy, Jason’s nephew, is a true handful... -
Strawberries by Casey Bartsch
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStrawberries is the name he has been given. When they let him out, they had no way of knowing what he was. A psychopath. A killer. The body count is at twenty already, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Agent Harry Bland can’t see one anyway. He doesn’t have a single clue to go on. It doesn’t help that his mind won’t focus. His heart just isn’t in it anymore... -
Driving to Geronimo's Grave and Other Stories by Joe R. Lansdale
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the Dusty Great Depression to the far future, to the wild west, to the era of big fin automobiles, soda shops and double features, as well as dark journey on an icy ocean full of ravenous sharks and a fantastic shipwreck that leads its survivors into a nightmarish Lovecraftian world of monsters and mystery, Joe R. Lansdale returns with a pack of stories for your consumption and enjoyment... -
Single White Psychopath Seeks Same by Jeff Strand
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe second book in the wildly popular series of horror/comedy novels featuring Andrew Mayhem!"Sometimes you wake up in the morning and you just know it’s going to be the kind of day where you end up tied to a chair in a filthy garage while a pair of tooth-deprived lunatics torment you with a chainsaw. So as I struggled against the ropes, I can’t say I was all that surprised... -
Osbert the Avenger by Christopher William Hill, Chris Riddell
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe first book in the gruesomely funny Tales from Schwartzgarten series. Meet Osbert Brinkhoff, the unlikeliest of avengers. His is a tale of dark delights and ghastly goings-on, of injustice and revenge. The villains are vicious. The settings are sinister. And good does NOT always prevail...If you prefer cleavers to kittens and fiends to fairies.. -
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 64 ratingsThis whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.Or a diagram of some kind.A flow chart would have been nice.Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light... -
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I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsA standalone darkly humorous thriller set in modern America's age of anxiety, by New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin.Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.But there are rules:He cannot look inside the box.He cannot ask questions... -
Captains Outrageous by Joe R. Lansdale
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHapless chicken-plant guard Hap Collins gets into trouble when he takes his best friend Leonard on a Caribbean cruise. The two find themselves abandoned in Mexico, saved from armed attackers by a geriatric fisherman and his lovely daughter, who's currently having to fend off a Mexican mobster who is also a practising nudist.. -
Graverobbers Wanted: No Experience Necessary by Jeff Strand
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen you're desperate for money, searching for a little adventure, and aren't the most responsible person in the world, you can end up doing some outrageous things. Which is how Andrew Mayhem, an extremely married father of two, ends up accepting $20,000 to find a key ... a key buried with a body in a shallow grave... -
Soul Kitchen by Poppy Z. Brite
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIf you can't stand the heat...Get the hell out of New Orleans!Liquor has become one of the hottest restaurants in town, thanks in part to chefs Rickey and G-man’s wildly creative, booze-laced food... -
Bring Her Back by Jeff Strand
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrank knows that he's creepy. There's nothing he can do about it. His creepiness--along with the fact that his father once killed eleven people in an office shooting—has kept him from ever having a girlfriend. When he finally works up the nerve to ask Abigail out on a date, after buying flowers from her every day for the past three months, he's sure she'll say no... -
Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsIn Switch Bitch four tales of seduction and suspense are told by the grand master of the short story, Roald Dahl.Topping and tailing this collection are The Visitor and Bitch, stories featuring Dahl's notorious hedonist Oswald Hendryks Cornelius (or plain old Uncle Oswald) whose exploits are frequently as extraordinary as they are scandalous...
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