Books like 'The Boy Who Didn't Come Home'
Readers who enjoyed The Boy Who Didn't Come Home by Melissa Albert also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
fantasy urban fantasy mystery horror action / adventure magical-realism fairy-tale magic portal-travel retellings
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Nine Souls by Shayne Silvers
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOVER 500,000 COPIES SOLD. DRAGON AWARD NOMINATED AUTHOR Nate Temple has an appointment in Hell. One he can’t reschedule… After recent events, Nate took some much-deserved time off for a little rest and relaxation. But when he finally returns home to attend what should have been a celebration of love, he finds insidious fear infecting the streets of St. Louis.Paranoia. Chaos. Anarchy... -
![Piranesi by Susanna Clarke]()
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsPiranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal portal-travel retellings 21st-century -
![Brief Cases by Jim Butcher]()
Brief Cases by Jim Butcher
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsBrief Cases is the sequel anthology of Side Jobs, and will be released before Peace TalksSet to include the following stories:An exclusive novellette from the perspective of Maggie and Mouse.“Curses” — from The Naked City, edited by Ellen DatlowTakes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat... -
![Salty Dog by Shayne Silvers, Cameron O'Connell]()
Salty Dog by Shayne Silvers, Cameron O'Connell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAbductions rarely go as planned…but this is just ridiculous. Torn from the Faeling Games on the beaches of Scotland, Quinn MacKenna suddenly finds herself doggie-paddling in a turbulent sea of blood with no land in sight.And that’s the highlight of her day so far, because her abductors seem perfectly content to simply leave her in this strange Otherworld... -
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![Lies Ripped Open by Steve McHugh]()
Lies Ripped Open by Steve McHugh
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsOver a hundred years have passed since a group of violent killers went on the rampage, murdering innocent victims for fun. But even back then, sorcerer Nate Garrett, aka Hellequin, knew there was more to it than simple savage pleasure—souls were being stolen.Nate’s discovery of the souls’ use, and of those supporting the group’s plan, made him question everything he believed... -
![To Haunt a Witch by Juliette Harper]()
To Haunt a Witch by Juliette Harper
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStill recovering from their adventure into the Middle Realm, Jinx, Tori, and the gang have settled down to enjoy some "normal" time in Briar Hollow. Then Cezar Ionescu walks in the front door asking for a favor. An abandoned house owned by the local Strigoi clan is attracting the attention of the Haunted Briar Hollow web series... -
![The Amulet of Caorunn: A Jinx Hamilton Adventure Book 7 (The Jinx Hamilton Mysteries) by Juliette Harper]()
The Amulet of Caorunn: A Jinx Hamilton Adventure Book 7 (The Jinx Hamilton Mysteries) by Juliette Harper
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCreavit wizard Irenaeus Chesterfield is back, with a bigger, badder plan to go after Jinx and company. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Jinx starts having dream visions about the mysterious Amulet of Caorunn. Trying to get more details, she and Tori try a dicey double enchantment with shocking results... -
![What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch]()
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:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings 21st-century action-adventure -
![Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun by Guillermo del Toro, Cornelia Funke]()
Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun by Guillermo del Toro, Cornelia Funke
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsFans of dark fairy-tales like The Hazel Wood and The Cruel Prince will relish this atmospheric and absorbing book based on Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed movie... -
![The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch]()
The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe Hanging Tree was the Tyburn gallows which stood where Marble Arch stands today. Oxford Street was the last trip of the condemned. Some things don't change. The place has a bloody and haunted legacy and now blood has returned to the empty Mayfair mansions of the world's super-rich. And blood mixed with magic is a job for Peter Grant.Peter Grant is back as are Nightingale et al... -
![Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch]()
Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA mutilated body in Crawley. Another killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil - an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man? Or just a common garden serial killer?Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case, a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load.So far so London... -
![Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint]()
Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom World Fantasy Award-winning author Charles de Lint, a tale of love, courage, and the transforming power of imagination Isabelle Copley's visionary art frees ancient spirits. As the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, she discovered she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life...Categorized as:
fairy-tale low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings action-adventure -
![The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud, Simon Jones]()
The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud, Simon Jones
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIt is 950 B.C.E., and King Solomon rules Jerusalem with a steely hand; a hand on which gleams a magic ring of immense and unforgiving power. Solomon has just begun work on his marvelous temple, charging Khaba, a formidable magician in his royal court, to oversee its construction. The workforce is an ill-behaved bunch of demons, a particularly unruly djinni named Bartimaeus among them...Categorized as:
fae low-fantasy magic myths paranormal retellings action-adventure alternate-history -
![Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch]()
Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIn Tufnell Park, North London, a pair of railway tracks diver under a school, taking train to and from Kings Cross. Wet, filthy, dangerous. Lovely place. And one Sunday before Christmas a sweet (sort of) kid called Abigail took me and my long suffering colleague Lesley May down there to look for a ghost.We found one... -
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![The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction by Neil Gaiman, Marlon James]()
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...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings 21st-century action-adventure -
![In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire]()
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThis fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise...Categorized as:
fairy-tale low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal portal-travel retellings action-adventure -
![Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire]()
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsTwin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.This is the story of what happened first…Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline...Categorized as:
fairy-tale magic magical-realism paranormal portal-travel retellings action-adventure audiobook -
![The Missing Librarian by Raven Snow]()
The Missing Librarian by Raven Snow
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRowen Greensmith has been through a lot with her boyfriend, Eric Richardson. Greensmiths don’t have the best luck with men, but Rowen may prove the exception to that rule. She and Eric have stuck it out through thick and thin. No one is surprised when it looks like Eric is going to propose. Even so, it’s terrifying! Rowen isn’t sure if she’s wife material... -
![The Girl with No Face by M.H. Boroson]()
The Girl with No Face by M.H. Boroson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe adventures of Li-lin, a Daoist priestess with the unique ability to see the spirit world, continue in the thrilling follow-up to the critically-acclaimed historical urban fantasy The Girl with Ghost Eyes.It’s the end of the Nineteenth Century. San Francisco’s cobblestone streets are haunted, but Chinatown has an unlikely protector in a young Daoist priestess named Li-lin...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings action-adventure adult -
![Shadowghast by Thomas Taylor, Tom Booth]()
Shadowghast by Thomas Taylor, Tom Booth
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the third mysterious tale of Eerie-on-Sea, it’s almost Ghastly Night, and the Shadowghast—an ancient spirit in a lantern—lurks in wait for the power to enslave the town... -
![Promise the Moon by Hailey Edwards]()
Promise the Moon by Hailey Edwards
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLorimar Pack, Book 1War is a constant threat on Dell Preston's horizon. As beta of the Lorimar pack, her job is to maintain the peace on the new border between Faerie and Earth at all costs... -
![Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near]()
Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA deliciously dark bubblegum-gothic fairytale from a stunning new Australian talent.‘He's gone the same way as those little birds that bothered me with their awful songs! And you will too, you and your horrible heart-music, because you won't stay out of my woods!'There's a dead girl in a birdcage in the woods. That's not unusual. Isola Wilde sees a lot of things other people don't... -
![Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs]()
Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsBefore Miss Peregrine gave them a home, the story of peculiars was written in the Tales. Wealthy cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars. A fork-tongued princess. The origins of the first ymbryne...Categorized as:
fairy-tale low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings 21st-century -
![Reflections by Seanan McGuire]()
Reflections by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 26 ratings“For her to love me, she had to be willing to kill me. Anything else would show that her heart was untrue.”The struggle against not-so-charming storybook narratives isn’t the only complicating factor in Henrietta “Henry” Marchen’s life... -
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![Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire]()
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...Categorized as:
fairy-tale low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal portal-travel retellings action-adventure -
![Weaveworld by Clive Barker]()
Weaveworld by Clive Barker
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsClive Barker has made his mark on modern fiction by exposing all that is surreal and magical in the ordinary world --- and exploring the profound and overwhelming terror that results...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal portal-travel retellings 20th-century -
![Ballistic Kiss: A Sandman Slim Novel by Richard Kadrey]()
Ballistic Kiss: A Sandman Slim Novel by Richard Kadrey
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 25 ratings"I loved where Kadrey started with this series, but I love where he's going even more."-- NYT Bestselling author Cory DoctorowSandman Slim is back in Los Angeles and kicking more supernatural ass in this inventive, high-octane page-turner—the next to last volume in the popular and acclaimed fantasy adventure series from New York Times bestselling author Richard Kadrey... -
![The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch]()
The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThere have been ghosts on the London Underground, sad, harmless spectres whose presence does little more than give a frisson to travelling and boost tourism. But now there's a rash of sightings on the Metropolitan Line and these ghosts are frightening, aggressive and seem to be looking for something... -
![Shallow Grave by E.A. Copen]()
Shallow Grave by E.A. Copen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDead men tell no tales...Unless you're a necromancer. Then they never shut up. Life is finally going right for Lazarus Kerrigan, necromancer and Pale Horseman. Business is booming, and no gods have tried to kill him for a whole month. But the past is catching up to him.There's a serial killer on the loose in New Orleans, one that targets children and leaves behind only bones... -
![Cold Case by Jim Butcher]()
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![Wendigo Rising by James A. Hunter]()
Wendigo Rising by James A. Hunter
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsBigfoot is real. Yancy Lazarus—mage, bluesman, and rambler—knows because there happens to be a nine-foot-tall, walking myth standing in the road, flagging him down. Yancy just can’t escape his reputation as a supernatural Fix-it man even when cruising through the forgotten backwoods of Montana... -
![Changeling by William Ritter]()
Changeling by William Ritter
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMagic is fading from the Wild Wood. To renew it, goblins must perform an ancient ritual involving the rarest of their kind—a newborn changeling. But when the fateful night arrives to trade a human baby for a goblin one, something goes terribly wrong. After laying the changeling in a human infant’s crib, the goblin Kull is briefly distracted from his task... -
![Soul by Claire Farrell]()
Soul by Claire Farrell
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLibrarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found here.A novel inspired by the short story collection, One Night with the Fae. Soul is the first in a brand new series by Claire Farrell. Cara Kelly’s life is going nowhere when she’s lured to a faery festival... -
![The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark]()
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe Haunting of Tram Car 015 returns to the alternate Cairo of Clark's short fiction, where humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings; the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane... -
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![The Glass God by Kate Griffin]()
The Glass God by Kate Griffin
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSharon Li: apprentice shaman and community support officer for the magically inclined. It wasn't the career Sharon had in mind, but she's getting used to running Magicals Anonymous and learning how to Be One With The City.When the Midnight Mayor goes missing, leaving only a suspiciously innocent-looking umbrella behind him, Sharon finds herself promoted. Her first task: find the Midnight Mayor...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings action-adventure adult -
![Coyote's Kiss by Christa Faust]()
Coyote's Kiss by Christa Faust
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA truck full of illegal Mexican immigrants slaughtered with supernatural force is found by the side of a road. Trying to find answers, Sam and Dean are plunged into the dangerous world that exists along the Mexican border. They encounter a tattooed, pistol-packing bandita on a motorcycle who seems be everywhere they go before they get there... -
![Evil Star by Anthony Horowitz]()
Evil Star by Anthony Horowitz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsMatt thought his troubles were over when he closed Raven's Gate . . . but in fact they were just beginning. His fate -- and the fate of the world -- is tied to four other kids across the globe. The second is a street kid in Peru. He and Matt have never met; they don't even speak the same language. But destiny is going to throw them together as the evil threat of the Old Ones grows . . -
![The Little Country by Charles de Lint]()
The Little Country by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWhen folk musician Janey Little finds a mysterious manuscript in an old trunk in her grandfather's cottage, she is swept into a dangerous realm both strange and familiar. But true magic lurks within the pages of The Little Country, drawing genuine danger from across the oceans into Janey's life, impelling her--armed only with her music--toward a terrifying confrontation... -
![Declare by Tim Powers]()
Declare by Tim Powers
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAs a young double agent infiltrating the Soviet spy network in Nazi-occupied Paris, Andrew Hale finds himself caught up in a secret, even more ruthless war. Two decades later, in 1963, he will be forced to confront again the nightmare that has haunted his adult life: a lethal unfinished operation code-named Declare... -
![Tales From the Hinterland by Melissa Albert]()
Tales From the Hinterland by Melissa Albert
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve fairy tales by the author of The Hazel Wood and The Night Country!Journey into the Hinterland, a brutal and beautiful world where a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice―and still lives...Categorized as:
fairy-tale low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings action-adventure -
![Demon Road by Derek Landy]()
Demon Road by Derek Landy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe mind-blowing new supernatural thriller from bestselling author DEREK LANDY, creator of international sensation Skulduggery Pleasant.Full of Landy’s trademark wit, action and razor-sharp dialogue, DEMON ROAD kicks off with a shocking opener and never lets up the pace in an epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings action-adventure audiobook -
![Moonheart by Charles de Lint]()
Moonheart by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen Sara and Jamie discovered the seemingly ordinary artifacts, they sensed the pull of a dim and distant place. A world of mists and forests, of ancient magics, mythical beings, ageless bards...and restless evil... -
![Last Call by Tim Powers]()
Last Call by Tim Powers
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsTwenty years ago Scott Crane abandoned his career as a professional poker player and went into hiding, after a weird high-stakes game played with Tarot cards. But now the cards - and the supernatural powers behind them - have found him again.Crane's father killed gangster Bugsy Siegel in 1948 to become the Fisher King, and to keep that power he is determined to kill his son...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths paranormal retellings 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Witch’s Lens by Luanne G. Smith]()
The Witch’s Lens by Luanne G. Smith
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsAs World War I rages, there are evils—both living and dead—that only a witch can see in a spellbinding novel by the Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of The Raven Spell.With her husband off fighting at World War I’s eastern front, Petra Kurková embraces her fleeting freedom, roaming the city at night with her camera...Categorized as:
paranormal magic magical-realism myths low-fantasy retellings fantasy historical-fiction -
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![The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm by Ellen Datlow, Holly Black]()
The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm by Ellen Datlow, Holly Black
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFaeries, or creatures like them, can be found in almost every culture the world over--benevolent and terrifying, charming and exasperating, shifting shape from country to country, story to story, and moment to moment... -
![Carniepunk: The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Kevin Hearne]()
Carniepunk: The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Kevin Hearne
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratings(This story takes place six years after Tricked, the fourth book of the Iron Druid Chronicles, and two weeks after the events of the novella Two Ravens and One Crow.)The ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan gets more than greasy corn dogs and flat soda when he visits a carnival in Kansas to which his apprentice, Granuaile, drags him... -
![The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loftin]()
The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loftin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsWhen Lorelei's old school mysteriously burns down, a new one appears practically overnight: Splendid Academy. Rock-climbing walls on the playground and golden bowls of candy on every desk? Gourmet meals in the cafeteria, served by waiters? Optional homework and two recess periods a day? It's every kids's dream.But Lorelei and her new friend Andrew are pretty sure it's too good to be true... -
![A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark]()
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsEgypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine... -
![Monster War by Dean Lorey]()
Monster War by Dean Lorey
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCharlie is in big troubleDangeroos, Mimics, Netherstalkers, and worse are everywhere, and the danger to our world has never been greater. The Named have succeeded in summoning the Queen of Nightmares, a villain so terrible that only one person can stop her--Charlie Benjamin, armed with the Sword of Sacrifice... -
![The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain]()
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsWhen the djinn king Melek Ahmar wakes up after millennia of imprisoned slumber, he finds a world vastly different from what he remembers. Arrogant and bombastic, he comes down the mountain expecting an easy conquest: the wealthy, spectacular city state of Kathmandu, ruled by the all-knowing, all-seeing tyrant AI Karma...
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