Recommendations based on The Cruelest Monthby Louise Penny

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. A Rule Against Murder

    by Louise Penny
    A murder mystery centered around a small Quebec town, unraveling its secrets along the way.

    "What happened here last night isn't allowed," said Madame Dubois. It was such an extraordinary thing to say it stopped the ravenous Inspector Beauvoir from taking another bite of his roast beef on ... (Goodreads)

  2. Still Life

    by Louise Penny
    A murder investigation leads to the discovery of secrets surrounding a small Canadian town.

    Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards., Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  3. A Fatal Grace

    by Louise Penny
    An intricate murder mystery set in a small Canadian town, as the investigating detective unravels truth and justice.

    Inspector Gamache investigates after CC de Poitiers, a sadistic socialite, is fatally electrocuted at a Christmas curling competition in the small Québécois town of Three Pines. CC, who had a ... (Wikipedia)

  4. The Beekeeper's Apprentice

    by Laurie R. King
    A young girl’s journey to becoming a detective apprentice, uncovering crime and solving mysteries.

    After losing her family in a tragic motor accident in California, fifteen-year-old Mary Russell goes to live with her aunt in Sussex, England. Wandering the Sussex Downs in April 1915, she literally ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Y is for Yesterday

    by Sue Grafton
    Private investigator searches for a missing teenage girl while uncovering the secrets of her past.

    On August 30, 2017, "Y" Is for Yesterday topped, USA Today, 's best-seller list. , On September 1, 2017, it topped, The New York Times, Best Seller list and was later placed on its Fiction Best ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Orphan Train

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A story of two women's intertwined lives, spanning generations and crossing continents.

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller “A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer Moving ... (Barnes & Noble)

  7. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

    by Rachel Joyce
    An elderly man's unexpected quest of faith, discovering the power of hope and love.

    Harold Fry, 65, has cut the lawn outside his home at Kingsbridge on the south coast of Devon when he receives a letter. A colleague of twenty years ago, Queenie Hennessy, has cancer and is in a ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Beartown

    by Fredrik Backman
    A small-town hockey team and its community grapple with the consequences of a traumatic event.

    Peter Andersson, in his forties, is the general manager of the ice hockey club in Beartown, a small town located somewhere in Sweden. Peter grew up in Beartown and was a junior hockey star. He went ... (Wikipedia)

  9. The Trespasser

    by Tana French
    A detective investigates a murder case, uncovering secrets, lies, and hidden motives.

    Being on the Murder Squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she’s there. The rest of her working life is a ... (Goodreads)

  10. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    An empowering story of female friendship, courage, and detective work in Botswana.

    Precious Ramotswe has only just set up shop as Botswana's No.1 (and only) lady detective when she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. However, ... (Goodreads)

  11. This Tender Land

    by William Kent Krueger
    Four orphans escape a cruel boarding school and embark on a journey down the Mississippi River during the Great Depression.

    INSTANT, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER! “If you liked, Where the Crawdads Sing, you’ll love, This Tender Land, ...This story is as big-hearted as they come.” —, Parade, The unforgettable story of four ... (Barnes & Noble)

  12. Busman's Honeymoon

    by Dorothy L. Sayers
    A newly married couple must put their honeymoon on pause to solve a murder mystery.

    After an engagement of some months following the events at the end of, Gaudy Night, , Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane marry. They plan to spend their honeymoon at Talboys, an old farmhouse in ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Rules of Civility

    by Amor Towles
    An ambitious young woman looks to make her mark in 1930s New York, learning the complex rules of high society.

    This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation. On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a ... (Goodreads)

  14. Crocodile on the Sandbank

    by Elizabeth Peters
    An intrepid female archaeologist uses her wits to solve a mysterious murder in the Nile Valley.

    Amelia Peabody is left a wealthy orphan after the death of her studious father, who has left her everything in his will because she is the only one of his children who shared his interests, namely ... (Wikipedia)

  15. In the Woods

    by Tana French
    A murder investigation reveals an unsolved childhood mystery.

    Twenty-two years prior to the novel's events, twelve year-old Adam and his two best friends failed to come home after playing in the familiar woods bordering their Irish housing estate . The Gardaí ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Faithful Place

    by Tana French
    A woman's search for the truth behind her childhood sweetheart's disappearance.

    When 19-year-old Frank Mackey was left waiting outside of an abandoned house one fateful night, he believed that his lover backed out on their plans of elopement. After finding a note inside the ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Serafina and the Black Cloak

    by Robert Beatty
    An imaginative adventure tale of a brave young girl who uncovers a dark secret in the Biltmore Estate.

    “Never go into the deep parts of the forest, for there are many dangers there, and they will ensnare your soul.” Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Mark of the Assassin

    by Daniel Silva
    CIA agent Michael Osbourne must stop a deadly assassin before he strikes again.

    When a commercial airliner is blown out of the sky off the East Coast, the CIA scrambles to find the perpetrators. A body is discovered near the crash site with three bullets to the face: the calling ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Man from Beijing

    by Henning Mankell
    A small Swedish village is rocked by a brutal murder, which leads to a global conspiracy. A thrilling mystery with political undertones.

    In January 2006 the police make the gruesome discovery of the bodies of 19 people who have been brutally murdered in the remote hamlet of Hesjövallen in northern Sweden . The protagonist Birgitta ... (Wikipedia)

  20. In the Presence of the Enemy

    by Elizabeth George
    A child is kidnapped and the mother is blackmailed into revealing a dark secret. Inspector Lynley investigates.

    Hailed as the "king of sleaze," tabloid editor Dennis Luxford is used to ferreting out the sins and scandals of people in exposed positions. But when he opens an innocuous-looking letter addressed to ... (Goodreads)

  21. Jayber Crow

    by Wendell Berry
    An exploration of life and faith, set in a small Kentucky town.

    "This is a book about Heaven," says Jayber Crow, "but I must say too that . . . I have wondered sometimes if it would not finally turn out to be a book about Hell." It is 1932 and he has returned to ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Mysterious Mr. Quin

    by Agatha Christie
    A mysterious gentleman assists a group of people to solve their own mysteries.

    Harley Quin is an enigma. Even his friend Mr Satterthwaite is unable to understand how the man seems to appear and disappear almost like a trick of the light - and when he does appear it's usually in ... (Goodreads)

  23. Winter Garden

    by Kristin Hannah
    A family drama that explores the complex relationships between a mother and her two daughters, set against the backdrop of World War II and the Leningrad Siege.

    Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother?, From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane, and, True Colors, comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Uncommon Reader

    by Alan Bennett
    A humorous look at the journey of a monarch who discovers the joy of reading.

    The title's "uncommon reader" ( Queen Elizabeth II ) becomes obsessed with books after a chance encounter with a mobile library . The story follows the consequences of this obsession for the Queen, ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Revenge of the Spellmans

    by Lisa Lutz
    A private investigator family must protect its secrets while solving a mystery.

    YOU THOUGHT YOUR LIFE WAS COMPLICATED Private investigator Isabel Spellman is back on the case and back on the couch – in court-ordered therapy after getting a little too close to her previous ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Book of Life

    by Deborah Harkness
    A journey of magic and science to unlock the secrets of eternal life.

    The #1, New York Times, bestselling series finale and sequel to, A Discovery of Witches, and, Shadow of Night, Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying ... (Goodreads)

  27. Everything Here Is Beautiful

    by Mira T. Lee
    The story of two sisters, one with a mental illness, and their journey through love, loss, and the complexities of family relationships.

    Two Chinese-American sisters—Miranda, the older, responsible one, always her younger sister’s protector; Lucia, the headstrong, unpredictable one, whose impulses are huge and, often, life changing. ... (Goodreads)

  28. Surprise Me

    by Sophie Kinsella
    Married couple Sylvie and Dan decide to spice up their relationship with surprises, but secrets from their past threaten to unravel everything.

    After being together for ten years, Sylvie and Dan have all the trimmings of a happy life and marriage; they have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls, and communicate so ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Kitchen House

    by Kathleen Grissom
    A young Irish girl is taken in by a plantation family in Virginia and becomes entangled in the lives of the slaves who work there.

    When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship ... (Goodreads)

  30. Lion in the Valley

    by Elizabeth Peters
    Amelia Peabody and her family encounter danger and intrigue while exploring the tombs of Egypt.

    The Emersons return to Egypt in 1895–96 to excavate at Dahshoor - finally, some real pyramids for Amelia! In looking for a keeper for Ramses , they find a demoralized Englishman named Donald Fraser. ... (Wikipedia)