Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Secrecy
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown
An adventure to uncover a secret Catholic society's plan to destroy the Vatican.
CERN director Maximilian Kohler discovers one of the facility's top physicists, Leonardo Vetra, murdered, his chest branded with an ambigram of the word " Illuminati ." Kohler contacts Robert ... (Wikipedia)
The Murder on the Links
by Agatha Christie
Detective Hercule Poirot solves a mysterious murder on a golf course in France.
Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings travel to Merlinville-sur-Mer, France, to meet Paul Renauld, who has requested their help. Upon arriving at his home, the Villa Genevieve, local police greet them ... (Wikipedia)
Enemy of the State
by Kyle Mills
A political thriller about the fight against governmental surveillance and corruption.
Mitch Rapp returns in the #1, New York Times, bestselling series in this timely thriller as a Saudi prince is discovered using his fortunes to fund ISIS, re-opening secrets about the Saudi ... (Goodreads)
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
A thrilling mystery involving secret societies, hidden clues, and an ancient conspiracy.
Louvre curator and Priory of Sion grand master Jacques Saunière is fatally shot one night at the museum by an albino Catholic monk named Silas, who is working on behalf of someone he knows only as ... (Wikipedia)
His Dark Materials
by Philip Pullman
An epic fantasy adventure across multiple universes, pitting good against evil.
In Jordan College, Oxford , 11-year-old Lyra Belacqua and her dæmon Pantalaimon witness the Master attempt to poison Lord Asriel , Lyra's rebellious and adventuring uncle. She warns Asriel, then ... (Wikipedia)
The Dead Key
by D.M. Pulley
An engineer's investigation of an abandoned bank reveals long-buried secrets.
2014 Winner — Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award — Grand Prize and Mystery & Thriller Fiction Winner, It’s 1998, and for years the old First Bank of Cleveland has sat abandoned, perfectly preserved, its ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
by Kate Summerscale
A gripping true-crime story centred around the mysterious murder of a young boy.
The dramatic story of the real-life murder that inspired the birth of modern detective fiction. In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat ... (Goodreads)
Every Which Way But Dead
by Kim Harrison
A supernatural adventure story, exploring the consequences of a complicated past.
T here's no witch in Cincinnati tougher, sexier, or more screwed up than bounty hunter Rachel Morgan, who's already put her love life and soul in dire jeopardy through her determined efforts to bring ... (Goodreads)
No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State
by Glenn Greenwald
Exposé of the US government's massive surveillance system, detailing the dangers of pervasive state power.
By Glenn Greenwald, star of, Citizenfour, the Academy Award-winning documentary on Edward Snowden In May 2013, Glenn Greenwald set out for Hong Kong to meet an anonymous source who claimed to have ... (Goodreads)
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)
A Morbid Taste for Bones
by Ellis Peters
A 12th-century monk and his quest to uncover the truth behind a cult's mysterious relic.
In May 1137, Prior Robert of Shrewsbury Abbey is determined that the Abbey must have the relics of a saint. Finding no suitable local saint, Robert finds one in nearby Wales. Brother Cadfael has two ... (Wikipedia)
Smiley's People
by John le Carré
Retired spy Smiley is thrust back into the world of espionage to uncover a deadly conspiracy.
John le Carre's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge and have earned him – and his hero, British ... (Goodreads)
The Looking Glass War
by John le Carré
Cold War espionage, involving a small British intelligence unit in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
During the early 1960s, the formerly renowned British military intelligence organisation known colloquially as "The Department" is floundering. Surviving on long past memories of its aerial ... (Wikipedia)
The Puppet Masters
by Robert A. Heinlein
Aliens have invaded Earth, and a small group of agents must stop them from taking control.
First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa. Then came the announcement that the whole thing was a hoax. End of story. Case closed. Except that two agents of the most secret ... (Goodreads)
The Prestige
by Christopher Priest
Two rival magicians use deception and misdirection to outwit each other in a dangerous game of one-upmanship.
The events of the past are related through the diaries of 19th century magicians Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden. The diaries are read by their great-grandchildren, Kate Angier and Andrew Westley ... (Wikipedia)
The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
by Denise Kiernan
The true story of the women who worked in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during the Manhattan Project.
The incredible story of the young women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who unwittingly played a crucial role in one of the most significant moments in U.S. history., The Tennessee town of Oak Ridge was ... (Goodreads)
The Odessa File
by Frederick Forsyth
The uncovering of a sinister Nazi plot, while searching for the truth of a young boy's death.
In November 1963, shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy , Peter Miller, a German freelance crime reporter, follows an ambulance to the apartment of Salomon Tauber, a Holocaust survivor ... (Wikipedia)
The Fourth Protocol
by Frederick Forsyth
A thrilling espionage story set in the Cold War, and a race against time to prevent a nuclear disaster.
On New Year's Eve 1986, professional thief James Rawlings breaks into the apartment of a senior civil servant and inadvertently discovers stolen top secret documents. Despite being a notorious and ... (Wikipedia)
Dark Fire
by C.J. Sansom
A lawyer investigates a mystery surrounding the death of a famous scientist, unearthing secrets of the past.
It is 1540, and Henry VIII has been on the throne for thirty-one years when Matthew Shardlake, the lawyer renowned as " the sharpest hunchback in the courts of England," is pressed to help a friend's ... (Goodreads)
Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter
by Kate Clifford Larson
An exploration of the life of Rosemary Kennedy, uncovering the heartbreaking story of her family's secret.
One of, People,’s Top Ten Books of 2015, "[Larson] succeeds in providing a well-rounded portrait of a woman who, until now, has never been viewed in full.",—Boston Globe, “A biography that chronicles ... (Barnes & Noble)
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
by Lawrence Wright
An investigative look into the controversial religion of Scientology, its origins, practices, and impact on its followers.
A clear-sighted revelation, a deep penetration into the world of Scientology by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the now-classic study of al-Qaeda's 9/11 attack, the Looming Tower . Based on more ... (Goodreads)
Among the Impostors
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
A young boy's desperate attempt to discover his true identity amidst a world of secrets and lies.
Twelve-year-old Luke Garner is brought to Hendricks School for Boys by Mr. Talbot, the father of his dead best friend Jen. Luke is his parents’ third child and so is illegal under the country's ... (Wikipedia)
Child 44
by Tom Rob Smith
A gripping tale of a police detective's investigation of a series of child murders in Stalinist Russia.
MGB officer Leo is a man who never questions the Party Line. He arrests whomever he is told to arrest. He dismisses the horrific death of a young boy because he is told to, because he believes the ... (Goodreads)
The Client
by John Grisham
A young boy is thrust into a legal battle, as he tries to protect himself and his family.
Boyd Boyette, a United States Senator from Louisiana, goes missing. Because of his vocal opposition to a proposed major toxic landfill project by a company known to be Mafia-backed, murder is ... (Wikipedia)
Passing
by Nella Larsen
A story of a woman caught in a racial dilemma, struggling to define her own identity.
The story is written as a third person narrative from the perspective of Irene Redfield, a black woman with a European or near-European appearance, who lives in the Harlem neighborhood of New York ... (Wikipedia)
A Legacy of Spies
by John le Carré
A former spy must confront the consequences of his past actions.
Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, otherwise known as the Circus, is living out his old age on the family farmstead on the south coast of ... (Goodreads)
If We Were Villains
by M.L. Rio
A group of friends, studying Shakespeare at a private university, become entangled in a mystery.
The evening before he is due to be released on parole after serving ten years for an unspecified crime, Oliver Marks is approached by the lead investigator on his case, Detective Colborne. Suspicious ... (Wikipedia)
The Dead Girls' Dance
by Rachel Caine
A dangerous game of secrets and lies brings two friends together, while they try to figure out the truth of what happened.
Claire Danvers has her share of challenges–-like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains, dealing with the homicidal girls in her dorm, and above all, finding out that her college ... (Goodreads)
The Woman in Black
by Susan Hill
A Victorian lawyer is tasked with investigating a mysterious and frightening ghost.
The novel is narrated by Arthur Kipps, the young lawyer who formerly worked for Mr. Bentley. One Christmas Eve he is at home with his wife Esme and four stepchildren, who are sharing ghost stories. ... (Wikipedia)
Dark Symphony
by Christine Feehan
A magical story of love, secrets and suspense as two worlds collide.
Blinded and scarred in a terrible accident, Antonietta Scarletti made music that thrilled the world with its beauty and passion. Descended from a long line of psychics, Antoinetta has learned to rely ... (Goodreads)
Deception Point
by Dan Brown
A thrilling political conspiracy involving a discovery made in the Arctic Ocean.
When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory, a victory with profound implications for NASA ... (Wikipedia)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
by James M. Cain
A crime drama of forbidden passion, deception and murder.
The story is narrated in the first person by Frank Chambers, a young drifter who stops at a rural California diner for a meal and ends up working there. The diner is operated by a beautiful young ... (Wikipedia)
Hallowe'en Party
by Agatha Christie
Detective attempts to solve the mysterious death of a child at a Hallowe'en party.
At a Hallowe'en party held at Rowena Drake's home in Woodleigh Common, thirteen-year-old Joyce Reynolds tells everyone attending she had once seen a murder, but had not realised it was one until ... (Wikipedia)
The Third Secret
by Steve Berry
An investigative journalist unravels the secrets of the Catholic Church with unexpected consequences.
The story takes us behind the Vatican walls during the reign of a dying pope. Clement XV, , a gentle, poetic German, keeps visiting the archives where the Third Secret of Fatima is kept. He is ... (Wikipedia)
At Bertram's Hotel
by Agatha Christie
An elderly woman investigates a mysterious hotel, uncovering a web of deception and intrigue.
Miss Marple is taking a two-week vacation in London, at Bertram's Hotel, courtesy of her nephew Raymond West . In her youth, she had stayed at this hotel. Since the war , the hotel has been renovated ... (Wikipedia)
The Gods of Guilt
by Michael Connelly
A lawyer's pursuit of justice in a criminal case, uncovering secrets and revealing the truth.
Mickey Haller gets the text, "Call me ASAP - 187," and the California penal code for murder immediately gets his attention. Murder cases have the highest stakes and the biggest paydays, and they ... (Goodreads)
Odd Apocalypse
by Dean Koontz
A suspenseful tale of a man who is thrust into a mysterious world of conspiracies and danger.
Odd Thomas and his traveling companion Annamaria have been invited by a reclusive billionaire to be his guests at his sprawling, pristine estate, Roseland. However, something is deeply wrong within ... (Wikipedia)
The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal
by David E. Hoffman
A gripping true story of espionage, betrayal, and the struggle against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
From the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning history, The Dead Hand, comes the riveting story of a spy who cracked open the Soviet military research establishment and a penetrating portrait of the ... (Goodreads)
The Pelican Brief
by John Grisham
A law student's investigation into a political assassination, uncovering a deadly conspiracy.
The story begins with the assassinations of two ideologically divergent Supreme Court Justices. Both murders are committed by Khamel, the most wanted hitman in the world. Justice Rosenberg, a ... (Wikipedia)
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)
The Camel Club
by David Baldacci
A group of conspiracy theorists investigate a series of mysterious events, uncovering secrets at the highest levels of government.
The exciting beginning of a talked-about series. Existing at the fringes of Washington D.C., the Club consists of four eccentric members. Led by a mysterious man known as "Oliver Stone," they study ... (Goodreads)
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
by Ben Macintyre
The true story of a legendary British spy, who betrayed his country and family.
Master storyteller Ben Macintyre’s most ambitious work to date brings to life the twentieth century’s greatest spy story. Kim Philby was the greatest spy in history, a brilliant and charming man who ... (Goodreads)
The Maze Runner
by James Dashner
A group of teens must solve a deadly maze to escape a mysterious and dangerous world.
Thomas wakes up in a metal elevator that brings him to the Glade. He has no memory of who he is or how he got there. He gradually discovers that the Glade is run by two boys: Alby, the leader, and ... (Wikipedia)
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography
by Simon Singh
A comprehensive history of cryptography and its role in shaping our world.
In his first book since the bestselling Fermat’s Enigma , Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, ... (Goodreads)
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
by Tim Weiner
A critical look at the history of the CIA, exploring its successes and failures.
For the last sixty years, the CIA has managed to maintain a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, burying its blunders in top-secret archives. Its mission was to know the world. When ... (Goodreads)
Whiteout
by Ken Follett
An international web of intrigue and espionage, as a journalist races against time to uncover the truth.
Toni Gallo, head of security, knows she has failed when a test rabbit for research on a more dangerous form of the Ebola virus is stolen from a lab in Scotland. But things are soon much worse when ... (Wikipedia)
The Russia House
by John le Carré
An espionage mission filled with suspense and intrigue set during the Cold War.
In 1987, Bartholomew "Barley" Scott Blair, a British publisher , is at a book fair in Moscow . With business friends he goes on a drunken retreat to a secluded dacha in the forest near Peredelkino . ... (Wikipedia)
The Golden Egg
by Donna Leon
A young man's body is found in a canal, and Commissario Brunetti investigates the case, uncovering corruption and secrets in Venice's art world.
"In The Golden Egg, as the first leaves of autumn begin to fall, Vice Questore Patta asks Brunetti to look into a minor shop-keeping violation committed by the mayor's future daughter-in-law. ... (Goodreads)
The Men Who Stare at Goats
by Jon Ronson
An exploration of strange military experiments, exposing the hidden world of military intelligence.
From the bestselling author of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry and So You've Been Publicly Shamed . In 1979 a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within ... (Goodreads)
The Apocalypse Codex
by Charles Stross
A secret agent's mission to protect humanity from a powerful cult and its apocalyptic agenda.
For outstanding heroism in the field (despite himself), computational demonologist Bob Howard is on the fast track for promotion to management within the Laundry, the supersecret British government ... (Goodreads)
The Black Book
by James Patterson
A gripping murder mystery, exploring justice and the power of secrets.
This novel goes back and forth between present events involving Chicago detective Billy Harney and past events involving him. The novel starts with three people being found dead in an apartment ... (Wikipedia)
Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base
by Annie Jacobsen
A comprehensive history of the top-secret military base, Area 51, and its involvement in the development of advanced military technology.
It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn’t exist. Located a mere seventy-five miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada’s desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the ... (Goodreads)
Gods in Alabama
by Joshilyn Jackson
A woman's journey of self-discovery, facing her ghosts while unearthing her family secrets.
For 10 years Arlene has kept her promises, and God has kept His end of the bargain. Until now. When an old schoolmate from Possett turns up at Arlene's door in Chicago asking questions about Jim ... (Goodreads)
The Dinner
by Herman Koch
A tense family dinner that unravels a series of secrets and lies.
The story is narrated by Paul Lohman, a former history teacher. He and his wife Claire meet at a fancy restaurant in Amsterdam with his elder brother Serge, a prominent politician and contender for ... (Wikipedia)
The Sandman
by Lars Kepler
A gripping story of suspense, as a detective has to unravel the secrets of a mysterious serial killer.
The #1 internationally best-selling thriller from the author of, The Hypnotist, tells the chilling story of a manipulative serial killer and the two brilliant police agents who must try to beat him ... (Goodreads)
Conspiracy in Death
by J.D. Robb
Detectives investigate a murder in a world of technological advances and high-tech crime.
Lt. Eve Dallas and her assistant, Delia Peabody , are called to a crime scene by Officer Ellen Bowers and Officer Troy Trueheart . A homeless man is killed, and his heart is removed with the skill of ... (Wikipedia)
Restless
by William Boyd
A thrilling spy novel of international espionage, secrets, and espionage.
Eva, a young Russian woman, is recruited after her brother's death to work for the British secret service . During this time she falls for her mentor and boss, Lucas Romer. But all is not as it seems ... (Wikipedia)
The Good People
by Hannah Kent
A suspenseful tale of superstition and secrets in a rural Irish village.
From the bestselling author of the multi-award-winning, Burial Rites, County Kerry, Ireland, 1825., The fires on the hills smouldered orange as the women left, pockets charged with ashes to guard ... (Goodreads)
The Janus Stone
by Elly Griffiths
When a child's bones are found on a construction site, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway is called to investigate. Emotions: Suspense, Intrigue, Curiosity, Unease
It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old ... (Goodreads)
Into the Gauntlet
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
A group of teenagers must save the world from a powerful secret organization.
Into the Gauntlet begins as Amy and Dan Cahill enter a London hotel tired and with no lead whatsoever. They receive another lead, but this is stolen by Isabel Kabra via a pet monkey, who leaves them ... (Wikipedia)
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