Books like 'A Criminal Magic'
Readers who enjoyed A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy urban fantasy alternate history supernatural mystery action / adventure 20th century dark-fantasy historical-fiction
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Warbound by Larry Correia
18 ratingsNew York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author's gritty urban fantasy set in an alternate noir 1930s. A tough P.I. battles an interdimensional monster that wants to suck magic power out of the world. Sequel to Hard Magic and Spellbound. Book Three in the Grimnoir Chronicles... -
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
26 ratingsHer story begins on a train.The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo... -
Proper Scoundrels by Allie Therin
10 ratingsDon’t miss this spin-off from Allie Therin's acclaimed Magic in Manhattan universe! Their scandalous pasts have left them wounded and unworthy—and hopelessly perfect together. London, 1925Sebastian de Leon is adjusting to life after three years spent enthralled by blood magic...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Starcrossed by Allie Therin
12 ratingsWhen everything they’ve built is threatened, only their bond remains…New York, 1925Psychometric Rory Brodigan’s life hasn’t been the same since the day he met Arthur Kenzie. Arthur’s continued quest to contain supernatural relics that pose a threat to the world has captured Rory’s imagination—and his heart...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult age-gap -
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Hard Magic by Larry Correia
24 ratingsJake Sullivan is a licensed Private Eye—with a seriously hardboiled attitude. He also possesses raw magical talent and the ability to make objects in his vicinity light as a feather or as heavy as depleted uranium, all with a magical thought. It's no wonder the G-men turn to Jake when they need someone to go after a suspected killer who's been knocking off banks in a magic-enhanced crime spree...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction magic noir paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood
18 ratingsWith the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves... -
Spellbound by Allie Therin
15 ratingsTo save Manhattan, they’ll have to save each other first… 1925New YorkArthur Kenzie’s life’s work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
The Wolf's Hour by Robert McCammon
24 ratingsD-Day is threatened, but one man could rip the heart of the Nazis -- with his bare claws....He is Michael Gallatin, master spy, lover -- and werewolf. Able to change shape with lightning speed, to kill silently or with savage, snarling fury, he proved his talents against Rommel in Africa. Now he faces his most delicate, dangerous mission: to unravel the secret Nazi plan known as Iron Fist... -
The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey
24 ratingsMercedes Lackey returns to form in The Serpent's Shadow, the fourth in her sequence of reimagined fairy tales. This story takes place in the London of 1909, and is based on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs... -
The Plastic Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
24 ratingsWall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg returns to the enchanting world of The Paper Magician.Alvie Brechenmacher has arrived in London to begin her training in Polymaking—the magical discipline of bespelling plastic. Polymaking is the newest form of magic, and in a field where there is so much left to learn, every Polymaker dreams of making the next big discovery... -
Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
20 ratingsMercedes Lackey's magical Elemental Masters series recasts familiar fairy tales in a richly-imagined alternate Victorian worldEleanor Robinson’s life had shattered when Father volunteered for the Great War, leaving her alone with a woman he had just married... -
Declare by Tim Powers
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...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
16 ratingsNicholas Valiarde is a passionate, embittered nobleman with an enigmatic past. Consumed by thoughts of vengeance, he is consoled only by thoughts of the beautiful, dangerous Madeline. He is also the greatest thief in all of Ile-Rien.. -
The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey
24 ratingsBeauty Meets Beast in San FranciscoAccepting employment as a governess after hard times hit her family, medieval scholar Rosalind Hawkins is surprised when she learns that her mysterious employer has no children, no wife, and she is not to meet with him face to face. Instead, her duties are to read to him, through a speaking tube, from ancient manuscripts in obscure, nearly-forgotten dialects... -
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Arcadia by Iain Pears
18 ratingsIn Cold War England, Professor Henry Lytten, having renounced a career in espionage, is writing a fantasy novel that dares to imagine a world less fraught than his own... -
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
24 ratingsBrendan Doyle, a specialist in the work of the early-nineteenth century poet William Ashbless, reluctantly accepts an invitation from a millionaire to act as a guide to time-travelling tourists. But while attending a lecture given by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1810, he becomes marooned in Regency London, where dark and dangerous forces know about the gates in time...Categorized as:
dark dark-fantasy historical-fiction magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
24 ratingsA girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix.In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met... -
Ten Little Wizards: A Lord Darcy Novel by Michael Kurland
6 ratingsLord Darcy and Master Wizard Sean O Lauchlainn return in this authorized sequel to the stories of Randall Garrett. In 1988, in an alternate universe in which the Plantagenets still rule Britain, France, and the New World, and where magic has displaced science, King John IV's chief detectives are called in to investigate a series of impossible murders of accomplished sorcerers...Categorized as:
low-fantasy paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history book espionage -
The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
31 ratingsThree months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness... -
Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey
18 ratingsIn 1910, in an alternate London, a penniless young dancer is visited by a cat who communicates with her mind to mind. Though she is certain she must be going mad, she is desperate enough to follow the cat's advice and impersonates a famous Russian ballerina. The cat, it turns out, is actually an Elemental Earth Spirit, and leads her to minor stardom... -
The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro, Daniel Kraus
24 ratingsIt is 1962, and Elisa Esposito—mute her whole life, orphaned as a child—is struggling with her humdrum existence as a janitor working the graveyard shift at Baltimore’s Occam Aerospace Research Center. Were it not for Zelda, a protective coworker, and Giles, her loving neighbor, she doesn’t know how she’d make it through the day...Categorized as:
dark dark-fantasy historical-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal 20th-century action-adventure -
Breach by W.L. Goodwater
8 ratingsThe first novel in a new Cold War fantasy series, where the Berlin Wall is made entirely of magic. When a breach unexpectedly appears in the wall, spies from both sides swarm to the city as World War III threatens to spark.AFTER THE WAR, THE WALL BROUGHT AN UNEASY PEACE...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal
18 ratingsGhost Talkers: a new novel from beloved fantasy author Mary Robinette Kowal featuring the mysterious spirit corps and their heroic work in World War I.Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Hartshorne, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force... -
Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly
18 ratingsAlternate Cover Edition can be found here. At the turn of the twentieth century, a former spy is called into service to hunt down a vampire killer...Once a spy for Queen Victoria, James Asher has fought for Britain on every continent, using his quick wits to protect the Empire at all costs. After years of grueling service, he marries and retires to a simple academic’s life at Oxford...Categorized as:
crime dark dark-fantasy historical-fiction paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
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Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey
16 ratingsThe new novel in Mercedes Lackey’s bestselling series of an alternative Edwardian Britain, where magic is real—and Elemental Masters are in control.Lionel Hawkins is a magician whose act is only partially sleight of hand. The rest is real magic. He’s an Elemental Magician with the power to persuade the Elementals of Air to help him create amazing illusions...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal 20th-century abuse action-adventure alternate-history audiobook -
Unnatural Issue by Mercedes Lackey
18 ratingsA brand-new Elemental Masters novel from the national bestselling author Mercedes Lackey. Richard Whitestone is an Elemental Earth Master. Blaming himself for the death of his beloved wife in childbirth, he has sworn never to set eyes on his daughter, Suzanne... -
The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers
18 ratingsWorld Fantasy Award Winner Michael Crawford is forced to flee when discovers his bride brutally murdered in their wedding bed. Yet it is not the revengeful townspeople he fears but the deadly embrace of the malignant spirit that is claiming him as her bridegroom.Crawford will not travel alone; soon he is aided by his fellow victims, the greatest poets of his day—Byron, Keats, and Shelley...Categorized as:
dark dark-fantasy historical-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal 20th-century action-adventure -
Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett
16 ratingsIt’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown’s illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction magic noir paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
Dracula Cha Cha Cha by Kim Newman
14 ratingsWritten by award-winning novelist Kim Newman, this is a brand-new edition, with additional 40,000 word never-before-seen novella, of the popular third installment of the Anno Dracula series, Dracula Cha Cha Cha.Rome. 1959. Count Dracula is about to marry the Moldavian Princess Asa Vajda - his sixth wife...Categorized as:
historical-fiction paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
14 ratingsIn 1919, Ada Navarra—the intrepid daughter of immigrants—and Corinne Wells—a spunky, devil-may-care heiress—make an unlikely pair. But at the Cast Iron nightclub in Boston, anything and everything is possible... -
Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis
18 ratingsIt's 1939. The Nazis have supermen, the British have demons, and one perfectly normal man gets caught in betweenRaybould Marsh is a British secret agent in the early days of the Second World War, haunted by something strange he saw on a mission during the Spanish Civil War: a German woman with wires going into her head who looked at him as if she knew him...Categorized as:
dark dark-fantasy historical-fiction magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
24 ratingsIt is 1888 and Queen Victoria has remarried, taking as her new consort Vlad Tepes, the Wallachian Prince infamously known as Count Dracula. Peppered with familiar characters from Victorian history and fiction, the novel follows vampire Geneviève Dieudonné and Charles Beauregard of the Diogenes Club as they strive to solve the mystery of the Ripper murders...Categorized as:
crime dark dark-fantasy historical-fiction paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Ella, the Slayer by A.W. Exley
16 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Ella copes the best she can; caring for her war-injured father, scrubbing the floors, and slaying the undead that attack the locals. Vermin they're called, like rats they spread pestilence with their bite. Ella's world collides with another when she nearly decapitates a handsome stranger, who is very much alive... -
Dracula vs. Hitler by Patrick Sheane Duncan
12 ratingsA novel worthy of being called the true sequel to Bram Stoker s Dracula, and Patrick Sheane Duncan a writer rightfully deserving to be considered that author s successor. New York Journal of Books Ravaged by the Nazi Secret Service during World War II, Romanian resistance forces turn to one of their leaders, Professor Van Helsing for any way out...Categorized as:
historical-fiction paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
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The Inquisitor’s Apprentice by Chris Moriarty
12 ratingsThe day Sacha found out he could see witches was the worst day of his life. . . .Being an Inquisitor is no job for a nice Jewish boy. But when Sacha Kessler learns he can see witches, he’s yanked out of everyday life on Hester Street and apprenticed to the New York Police Department’s star Inquisitor, Maximillian Wolf.The Inquisitor’s mission is to stop magical crime...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction magic male-mc paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville
18 ratings"Beauty will be convulsive...."It's 1941. In the chaos of wartime Marseille, American engineer - and occult disciple - Jack Parsons stumbles onto a clandestine anti-Nazi group, including surrealist theorist André Breton. In the strange games of the dissident diplomats, exiled revolutionaries, and avant-garde artists, Parsons finds and channels hope... -
Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble
16 ratingsWhat really happened to Anastasia Romanov? Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her... -
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
26 ratingsNew York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake, orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side...
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