Mystery · Similar reads
Books like The Maltese Falcon
The best books like The Maltese Falcon are In Cold Blood, The Devil in the White City, and No Country for Old Men. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is about greed and deception, moral ambiguity, loyalty and betrayal. 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.
- In Cold Blood
01
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 Devil in the White City
02
Erik Larson · History
The Devil in the White City tells two stories that unfolded simultaneously in Chicago in 1893.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - No Country for Old Men
03
Cormac McCarthy · Literary fiction
No Country for Old Men begins in the Texas desert in 1980 where a Vietnam veteran named Llewelyn Moss stumbles on the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong: a ring of dead men, trucks, a cache of heroin, and two million dollars in a case.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - Blood Meridian
04
Cormac McCarthy · Literary fiction
Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West is set along the Texas-Mexico border in the 1840s and loosely follows a teenage runaway known only as the kid, who falls in with the Glanton gang — a historical band of scalp hunters hired by the Mexican government to kill Apache raiders.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
05
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry · Memoir
Helter Skelter is the account of the Tate-LaBianca murders of August 1969 written by Vincent Bugliosi, the Los Angeles deputy district attorney who prosecuted Charles Manson, with journalist Curt Gentry.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - Murder on the Orient Express
06
Agatha Christie · Mystery
A man is found stabbed in his sleeping compartment on the snowbound Orient Express somewhere in Yugoslavia.
Shares moral ambiguity and identity and performance with The Maltese Falcon.
Read the summary → - The Cuckoo's Calling
07
Robert Galbraith · Mystery
The Cuckoo's Calling was published in 2013 under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith and received modest but positive reviews before an anonymous tip revealed the author was J.K.
Shares loyalty and betrayal and identity and performance with The Maltese Falcon.
Read the summary → - A Darker Shade of Magic
08
V.E. Schwab · Fantasy
A Darker Shade of Magic is set across four parallel versions of London — Red, Grey, White, and the long-destroyed Black — each existing in the same location but separated by the barriers between worlds.
Shares loyalty and betrayal and power and corruption with The Maltese Falcon.
Read the summary → - A Game of Thrones
09
George R.R. Martin · Fantasy
A Game of Thrones is the first volume of George R.R.
Shares loyalty and betrayal and power and corruption with The Maltese Falcon.
Read the summary → - True History of the Kelly Gang
10
True History of the Kelly Gang
Peter Carey · Historical fiction
Ned Kelly, the infamous Australian bushranger executed in 1880, writes a long confession to his infant daughter that explains — from his point of view — everything that led him to outlawry, armor, and the gallows.
Shares loyalty and betrayal and identity and performance with The Maltese Falcon.
Read the summary → - Death on the Nile
11
Agatha Christie · Mystery
A luxury Nile cruise becomes the setting for one of Agatha Christie's most accomplished locked-room puzzles.
Both dig into identity and performance.
Read the summary → - An Ember in the Ashes
12
Sabaa Tahir · Fantasy
An Ember in the Ashes is set in a Roman Empire-inspired world where the Martial empire has conquered and brutalized the Scholar people for centuries.
Both dig into loyalty and betrayal.
Read the summary →
Books like The Maltese Falcon: quick answers
What are the best books like The Maltese Falcon?
The best books like The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett are In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Maltese Falcon, such as greed and deception, moral ambiguity, loyalty and betrayal.
What should I read after The Maltese Falcon?
A natural next read after The Maltese Falcon is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. A kindred mystery read. Other strong choices are The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
What books are similar to The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett?
The Maltese Falcon centers on greed and deception, moral ambiguity, loyalty and betrayal. Books with a similar feel include In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
