Books like 'Valley of Shadows'
Readers who enjoyed Valley of Shadows by Rudy Ruiz also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical horror magical-realism western indigenous-mc kidnapping crime industrial-era poc-mc
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Beasts of Babylon by E.A. Copen
6 ratingsGunslinger Anastasia Thorne won’t stay dead. Ten years ago, monsters murdered Anastasia and her children. Now, she’s back to hunt down the creatures responsible. She knows their names, their faces, and even where they’re hiding. There’s just one problem. No one in town believes her... -
Red Runs the River (Life of the Dead) by Tony Urban
8 ratingsThis is how the end begins. In the thrilling conclusion of the LIFE OF THE DEAD series, the men and women who survived the initial days of the zombie apocalypse are faced with new challenges and epic adventures and every decision is the difference between life and death... -
Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
40 ratingsAn epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, Blood Meridian brilliantly subverts the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the "wild west...Categorized as:
crime indigenous-mc industrial-era poc-mc western 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Wuthering Frights by Elise Sax
6 ratingsMatilda Dare has a ring on her finger, a thriving business, a beautiful, historical home, two dogs, and an amazing group of friends. She should be happy. But her fiancé might be a serial killer, the sheriff’s dead wife is visiting her, and her husband has escaped from prison. All of that is throwing a wrench into Matilda’s celebrations... -
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Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
21 ratingsKai and Caleb Goodacre have been kidnapped just as rumors of a cult sweeping across the reservation leads Maggie and Hastiin to investigate an outpost, and what they find there will challenge everything they've come to know in this action-packed sequel to Trail of Lightning... -
A Doom with a View by Elise Sax
8 ratingsMatilda Dare still can’t sleep. Since she’s arrived in Goodnight, New Mexico, she’s solved one murder and had more than one conversation with a dead woman. Obsessed with finding the woman’s killer, she has to put that on hold when her newspaper receives a mysterious, coded letter. When the author of the letter winds up dead, Matilda is thrust into a mystery that puts her new friends into danger... -
Wraiths of the Broken Land by S. Craig Zahler
12 ratingsA brutal and unflinching tale that takes many of its cues from both cinema and pulp horror, Wraiths of the Broken Land is like no Western you've ever seen or read. Desperate to reclaim two kidnapped sisters who were forced into prostitution, the Plugfords storm across the badlands and blast their way through Hell... -
Mojado by R. Allen Chappell
12 ratingsChappell takes a bold new direction with this thriller, raising storytelling and knowledge of the Navajo culture to an entirely new level. When Mexico's bloodiest predator invades the Reservation it's up to Charlie Yazzie and his friends to take charge the Navajo way... -
John by Annie Baker
12 ratingsThe week after Thanksgiving.A bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.A cheerful innkeeper.A young couple struggling to stay together.Thousands of inanimate objects, watching... -
Shaman by Noah Gordon
24 ratingsRobert Jeremy Cole, the legendary doctor and hero of The Physician, left an enduring legacy. From the 11th century on, the eldest son in each generation of the Cole family has borne the same first name and middle initial and many of these men have followed the medical profession...Categorized as:
indigenous-mc industrial-era poc-mc western 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
28 ratingsFollowing All the Pretty Horses in Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy is a novel whose force of language is matched only by its breadth of experience and depth of thought.In the bootheel of New Mexico hard on the frontier, Billy and Boyd Parham are just boys in the years before the Second World War, but on the cusp of unimaginable events...Categorized as:
indigenous-mc industrial-era poc-mc western 20th-century action-adventure adult animals -
Death Rides Alone by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone
6 ratingsThe Greatest Western Writers Of The 21st Century Mountain Man Smoke Jensen's long-lost brother Luke Jensen is a dead shot scarred by war--the perfect formula for a bounty hunter. And he's cunning, and fierce enough to bring down the deadliest outlaws of his day. . . Law Of The Gun Luke Jensen has earned this bounty, hunting down the violent man charged with murdering a preacher's daughter... -
Apex Magazine Issue 56, January 2014 by Sigrid Ellis, Ursula Vernon
8 ratingsApex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released on the first Tuesday of every month. We are a 2013 Hugo Award nominee for Best Semiprozine! FICTION Pale Skin, Gray Eyes by Gene O'Neill Jackalope Wives by Ursula Vernon [pseudonym: T...Categorized as:
indigenous-mc industrial-era magical-realism poc-mc western adult animals anthologies -
The Darker Arts by Oscar de Muriel
10 ratingsMadame Katerina, Detective 'Nine Nails' McGray's most trusted clairvoyant, hosts a séance for three of Edinburgh's wealthiest families.The following morning everyone is found dead, with Madame Katerina being the only survivor. When questioned she alleges a tormented spirit killed the families for revenge... -
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The Dollhouse by Sara Ennis
14 ratingsAlfred needs Dolls. Blonde, blue-eyed human dolls that will help him rewrite his past and change his future.When Peter Baden's daughter Olivia was abducted nearly a year ago, he left his career as a respected journalist to find her... -
The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale
18 ratingsLove and vengeance at the dark dawn of the East Texas oil boom from Joe Lansdale, "a true American original" (Joe Hill, author of Heart-Shaped Box). Jack Parker thought he'd already seen his fair share of tragedy. His grandmother was killed in a farm accident when he was barely five years old...Categorized as:
crime industrial-era kidnapping western action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age -
The Headless Horseman by Thomas Mayne Reid
20 ratingsTexas in the 19th century. The War with Mexico is still a recent memory, marauding Comanches are a daily threat for new settlers of the Lone Star State. Louise Poindexter, a beautiful newcomer, is courted by two men - the arrogant and vindictive Cassius Calhoun and the dashing but poor mustanger Maurice Gerald... -
Driving to Geronimo's Grave and Other Stories by Joe R. Lansdale
6 ratingsFrom the Dusty Great Depression to the far future, to the wild west, to the era of big fin automobiles, soda shops and double features, as well as dark journey on an icy ocean full of ravenous sharks and a fantastic shipwreck that leads its survivors into a nightmarish Lovecraftian world of monsters and mystery, Joe R. Lansdale returns with a pack of stories for your consumption and enjoyment... -
The Devil's Mouth by Matt Kincade
6 ratingsThe only things Alex Rains cares about are rock ’n’ roll, classic cars, and killing vampires—that is, until he meets Carmen, a tough-as-nails cop who's hot on the trail of her missing little sister... -
It Dreams in Me by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
6 ratingsSora, the High Chieftess of the Black Falcon Nation, has been banished by her own people until she can find healing for her broken spirit. Her seductive, murderous rampages have led to war with nearby clans and caused dissension in her own, as well. If another body was to turn up, Sora will certainly be blamed--even her own clan will demand her death... -
Sunshield by Emily B. Martin
6 ratingsA lawless wilderness. A polished court. Individual fates, each on a quest to expose a system of corruption.The desolate canyons of Alcoro - and the people desperate enough to hide there - couldn’t be more different from the opulent glass palace and lush forests of Moquoia... -
The Night Janitor by T.F. Allen
6 ratingsAnnamaria Gabor can kill with a whisper and a touch. Her victims never realize she’s given them a deadly disease. The cops will never arrest her. No jury will ever convict her. And no one can stop her—no one except her brother. Luke Johnson can heal by touch. He works as a night janitor in hospitals and nursing homes, healing patients as discretely as he can... -
High Lonesome Sound by Jaye Wells
6 ratingsIn the sleepy mountain town of Moon Hollow, Virginia, there is a church with a crooked steeple. No one will say for sure how it got that way, but it’s the reason the whole town gathers every Decoration Day to honor the dead.But this year, there are two fresh graves up on Cemetery Hill, a stranger’s come to town, and the mountain’s song is filled with dark warnings... -
Ghostly Murders by Paul Doherty
6 ratingsPilgrim Poor Parson tells the tale of Brothers Philip and Edmund, who are appointed priests of the small Kentish village of Scawsby, where they quickly decide to build a new church and graveyard for the town. When the two relocate the graves to the new site, some coffins are uncovered empty and others with the remains of townsfolk buried alive... -
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The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic by Nick Joaquín, Gina Apostol
6 ratingsNick Joaquin is widely considered one of the greatest Filipino writers, but he has remained little-known outside his home country despite writing in English. With the post-colonial sensibilities of Junot Diaz, Teju Cole, and Jhumpa Lahiri and an ironic perspective of colonial history resonant with Marques and Llosa, Joaquin is a long-neglected writer ready to join the ranks of the world classics...Categorized as:
indigenous-mc magical-realism poc-mc 20th-century adult anthologies classics fiction -
Ghost Maker by Robin D. Owens
6 ratingsClare Cermak has a gift for speaking to ghosts of the Old West, but in the latest from the author of Ghost Talker, she may soon join their ranks.. -
Colter's Journey by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone
6 ratingsTHE GREATEST WESTERN WRITERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY In this thrilling epic of the American West, bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone capture the human side of the frontier experience in all its glory, grit, and grandeur—through the eyes of one remarkable teenage boy .. -
The High House by James Stoddard
8 ratingsEvenmere, the High House, a Victorian mansion of infinite size, is the mechanism that runs the universe; the lamps must be lit or the stars fail; the clocks must be wound lest Time cease; the Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved or Existence crumbles... -
Last Train from Perdition by Robert McCammon
8 ratingsEver on the hunt for LaRouge, Lawson still travels by night, but no longer alone. Crack-shot, whip-smart Ann has become his companion, on her own search for her vampire-taken father and sister. Lawson has been summoned from New Orleans and the Hotel Sanctuaire to Omaha by a wealthy man who needs his son retrieved from a band of outlaws... -
The Old Man's Back in Town by Ann Charles
8 ratingsA sizzling, suspenseful SHORT STORY wrapped in a puzzling mystery that will leave you hungry for more. **It’s “Groundhog Day” meets the modern day Old West!** In the lonely mining ghost town of Goldwash, Nevada, Christmas has come early... -
The Star of New Mexico by Seanan McGuire
9 ratingsAlmost twenty years ago, Jonathan Healy rode a train across the country to investigate reports that something was killing people in the wake of a small family circus. Almost twenty years ago, he brought home the woman who would be his wife, the mother of his children, and his partner in the endless quest to protect the cryptids of the world...Categorized as:
western industrial-era urban-fantasy fantasy paranormal fiction ghosts historical-fiction -
Wall by Tom Abrahams
10 ratingsHE SURVIVED THE SCOURGE. HE ESCAPED THE CARTEL. NOW HE FACES THE WALL. In the chaos of a global plague, evil took hold. Governments fell, the good became servants, and the Cartel rose to power. A wall was built to contain the wasteland and keep the evil at bay. Now an organized resistance wants change. They're willing to fight for it and they've asked Marcus Battle to help... -
High Cotton by Joe R. Lansdale
10 ratingsThis collection of Joe R. Lansdale stories represents the best of the “Lansdale” genre—a strange mixture of dark crime, even darker humor, and adventure tales. The stories are varied in setting and theme, but they are all pure Lansdale—eerie, amusing, and occasionally horrific. In “The Pit,” modern gladiators square off against one another using Roman methods...Categorized as:
crime industrial-era western action-adventure adult alternate-history anthologies apocalyptic -
Grandmother Spider: A Charlie Moon Mystery by James D. Doss
10 ratingsA lawman with a hardy appetite for life and an unshakable faith in the explicable, Southern Ute Acting Chief of Police Charlie Moon is not prepared to accept a purely supernatural explanation for the recent strange events of April 1... -
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The House of Closed Doors by Jane Steen
20 ratingsIn Nell Lillington's small Midwestern town of the 1870s, marriage is the obvious fate of a young woman of some social standing. Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark... -
Nymphomation by Jeff Noon
14 ratingsSet both in a real and imaginary Manchester, Jeff Noon's story concerns a revolutionary lottery game that is engulfing the city in a tide of gambling fever. As a group of mathematics students look at the mind-numbing probabilities involved, they soon find more sinister realities... -
Tin Swift by Devon Monk
12 ratingsIn steam age America, men, monsters, machines and magic battle to claim the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, one man fights to hold on to his humanity--and his honor. . . Life on the frontier is full of deceit and danger, but bounty hunter Cedar Hunt is a man whose word is his bond. Cursed with becoming a beast every full moon, Cedar once believed his destiny was to be alone...Categorized as:
industrial-era magical-realism western action-adventure adult alternate-history book female-author -
Resurrectionist by James McGee
10 ratingsBow Street Runner Matthew Hawkwood brings his own form of justice to the salons and slums of Regency London in the gripping sequel to 'Ratcatcher'. For the body snatchers, death is a lucrative business. But it's the corpse they leave behind, horribly mutilated and nailed to a tree, which sets Bow Street Runner Matthew Hawkwood on their trail...Categorized as:
crime industrial-era action-adventure adult book fiction historical historical-fiction -
Punktown by Jeffrey Thomas, Michael Marshall Smith
8 ratingsIn the city they call Punktown, on a planet where a hundred sentient species collide, you can become a creator of clones. You can become a piece of performance art. You might even become a library of sorrows.. -
The Hollow Girl by Hillary Monahan
8 ratingsFor fans of Asylum, Anna Dressed in Blood, and The Haunting of Sunshine Girl comes a new feminist horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Mary: The Summoning. Five boys attacked her. Now they must repay her with their blood and flesh. Bethan is the apprentice to a green healer named Drina in a clan of Welsh Romanies... -
The Rifles by William T. Vollmann
8 ratingsThe story of John Franklin’s doomed 1845 attempt to discover a Northwest Passage, from the National Book Award-winning author of Europe CentralVaulting through time to another flashpoint in the long struggle between Indians and Europeans, William T. Vollmann's visionary fictional history now focuses on the white explorers of the mid-1800s, desperately dreaming of forging a Northwest Passage... -
The Candle Man by Alex Scarrow
8 ratingsLocked in an eerily quiet room on the Titanic, a dying man tells a young girl his life story as the ship begins to sink. It all starts in Whitechapel, London in 1888, as the Ripper murders began... -
Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood
8 ratingsA Vintage Shorts “Short Story Month” SelectionThe author of such towering novels as The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin, and Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood proves her imaginative prowess dazzles just as vividly in her short fiction... -
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When the Dark Wins by Jennifer Bene, Addison Cain
8 ratingsInside these pages lurks the stuff of nightmares, the inky blackness of our world captured by the top authors of dark romance. Except in these stories there is no romance. No heroes. No happy endings. This is a book that has been crafted, twisted, and deformed to shred you, scare you, and possibly traumatize your mere mortal mind. Here is your last warning.. -
The Mask of Red Death by Harold Schechter
6 ratingsSuspense, intrigue, atmosphere, and vivid historical detail combine into a thrilling ride through nineteenth-century New York City in The Mask of Red Death. Harold Schechter delivers both a wonderfully accurate portrait of a city in turmoil and an irresistibly appealing depiction of his amateur sleuth Edgar Allan Poe, mirroring the master's writing style with wit and acumen... -
The Night Silver River Run Red by Christine Morgan
6 ratingsSome things, according to Cody McCall, are worth risking a whipping. Such as, sneaking out with your friends after dark for a peek at the traveling show setting up just outside of town. Oddities, the signs promise. Marvels. Grotesqueries. Exotic attractions and mysterious magics.Not as if they'd be allowed to attend otherwise, not with parents and preacher and schoolmarm all disapproving... -
The Purchase by Amy Cross
6 ratingsTwo very different men meet in a remote cabin. One is looking for gold. The other is transporting a very special purchase back to his home. As a snowstorm rages all around them, these two men are about to come face to face with an evil they can't possibly comprehend.Richard Garrett is a man on a mission... -
The Coyote by Michael McBride
6 ratingsThe new novel of suspense from the category bestselling author of Burial Ground and Vector Borne!They’re the perfect victims.Arizona shares nearly four hundred miles of international border with Mexico, thirty-six of which are completely unfortified. On one side lies desperation; on the other, opportunity.There’s no record of their destinations... -
Where They Burn Books, They Also Burn People by Marcos Antonio Hernandez
6 ratingsTwo standalone books with alternating chapters—the way the combination is meant to be read.They’re devoted to God. But will doing the Lord’s work lead them into darkness?1549. Convinced he’s destined to fulfill a whispered prophecy, Friar Diego de Landa labors to convert the Maya of the Yucatán Peninsula...Categorized as:
poc-mc indigenous-mc magical-realism historical-fiction fiction horror historical literary-fiction
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