Mystery · Similar reads
Books like The Dry
The best books like The Dry are The Bat, The Silent Patient, and In Cold Blood. The Dry by Jane Harper is about drought and desperation, small-town secrets, guilt and complicity. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Bat
01
Jo Nesbø · Thriller
The Bat is the first Harry Hole novel, published in Norwegian in 1997 and set almost entirely in Sydney, Australia.
Both dig into guilt and complicity.
Read the summary → - The Silent Patient
02
Alex Michaelides · Thriller
Alicia Berenson, a celebrated painter, shoots her husband five times in the face and then never speaks another word.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - In Cold Blood
03
Truman Capote · Memoir
Truman Capote's account of the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas — and of the investigation, capture, trial, and execution of the killers Perry Smith and Richard Hickock — is the founding document of the true crime genre and one of the most admired works of American nonfiction of the twentieth century.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - The Monster of Florence
04
Douglas Preston · Memoir
Between 1974 and 1985, a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence murdered sixteen people — couples parked in cars in the hills outside the city — and was never conclusively identified.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - The Cartel
05
Don Winslow · Thriller
The Cartel is the second installment in Don Winslow's trilogy about the Mexican drug war, picking up years after The Power of the Dog left off.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - Faceless Killers
06
Henning Mankell · Mystery
Faceless Killers is the first Kurt Wallander novel, published in Swedish in 1991 and translated to English in 1997.
Both dig into rural isolation.
Read the summary → - The Long Call
07
Ann Cleeves · Mystery
The Long Call opens a new series from Ann Cleeves, best known for the Vera and Shetland books, set on the remote north Devon coast.
Both dig into guilt and complicity.
Read the summary → - The Poisonwood Bible
08
Barbara Kingsolver · Literary fiction
In 1959, Baptist missionary Nathan Price moves his wife and four daughters from Georgia to a remote village in the Belgian Congo.
Both dig into guilt and complicity.
Read the summary → - The Secret History
09
Donna Tartt · Literary fiction
The Secret History opens with its ending: the narrator, Richard Papen, tells us on the first page that his friend Bunny is dead, and that he and four other students killed him.
Both dig into guilt and complicity.
Read the summary → - A Fatal Grace
10
Louise Penny · Mystery
A Fatal Grace is the second novel in Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in the fictional Quebec village of Three Pines.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - A Is for Alibi
11
Sue Grafton · Mystery
Kinsey Millhone is a private investigator in Santa Teresa, California — Grafton's fictionalized Santa Barbara — recently divorced for the second time and living alone in a small apartment she describes with genuine affection.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - And Then There Were None
12
Agatha Christie · Mystery
Ten strangers are invited to an island off the Devon coast under various pretexts.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary →
Books like The Dry: quick answers
What are the best books like The Dry?
The best books like The Dry by Jane Harper are The Bat by Jo Nesbø, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston, The Cartel by Don Winslow, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Dry, such as drought and desperation, small-town secrets, guilt and complicity.
What should I read after The Dry?
A natural next read after The Dry is The Bat by Jo Nesbø. Both dig into guilt and complicity. Other strong choices are The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston.
What books are similar to The Dry by Jane Harper?
The Dry centers on drought and desperation, small-town secrets, guilt and complicity. Books with a similar feel include The Bat by Jo Nesbø, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston, The Cartel by Don Winslow, Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
