18 books like City of Stairs

What to read after City of Stairs — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

A Burial at Sea Charles Finch · 2011 · 314p · ≈ 10h · Moderate In March 1873 aristocratic sleuth Charles Lenox undertakes a delicate espionage mission to Egypt, where five British agents have been killed, apparently by the French. But soon after Charles's ship sets sail, the captain calls on him to dust off his deductive skills when a crew member is murdered and left eviscerated on the deck. Shares: Investigation, Murder

Ghost Shadow Heather Graham · 2010 · ★ 4.0 · 400p · ≈ 13h · Moderate "There are those who walk among us who are no longer alive, but not yet crossed over. They seek retribution, vengeance, to warn. Among the living, few intuit their presence. Katie O'Hara is one who can. As she's drawn deeper and deeper into a gruesome years-old murder, whispered warnings from a spectral friend become more and more insistent. But Katie must uncover the truth: could David Beckett… Shares: Investigation, Crime, Murder

A Stranger in Mayfair Charles Finch · 2010 · 336p · ≈ 11h · Moderate In Charles Finch's A Stranger in Mayfair, the next enthralling installment in the Charles Lenox Mysteries, detective Lenox tries to resist the lure of a case and focus on his new career in Parliament. Returning from a continental honeymoon with his new wife, Lady Jane, Lenox is asked by a colleague in Parliament to consult in the murder of a footman, bludgeoned to death with a brick. His… Shares: Investigation, Crime, Murder

Murder at the Brightwell Ashley Weaver · 2014 · 352p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman who regrets her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband, Milo. Looking for a change, she accepts a request from her former fiancé, Gil Trent, and accompanies him to the Brightwell Hotel to help circumvent his sister's marriage to a disreputable ladies' man. When the groom-to-be is murdered and Gil is arrested, Amory works to clear his name. But… Shares: Investigation, Crime, Murder

The King of Diamonds Simon Tolkien · 2011 · ★ 4.2 · 336p · ≈ 11h · Moderate David Swain has spent two years of his life sentence for murdering the lover of his ex-girlfriend, Katya Osman. On the night he escapes from prison, Katya is found murdered in her uncle's home. Inspector Trave heads the manhunt for David, but his personal life becomes entangled in case because his ex-wife his having an affair with Katya's uncle. Shares: Investigation, Crime, Murder

Murder on the Mediterranean Alexander Campion · 2014 · ★ 4.4 · 384p · ≈ 12h · Moderate Even on a well-deserved Mediterranean cruise, murder follows Commissair Capucine Le Tellier. Shares: Investigation, Crime, Murder

The Redbreast Jo Nesbø · 2007 · ★ 4.5 · 448p · ≈ 14h · Moderate Don’t Miss the Netflix series Detective Hole, based on Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, premiering March 26, 2026!“An elegant and complex thriller….Harrowingly beautiful.” —New York Times Book Review“The Redbreast certainly ranks with the best of current American crime fiction.” —Washington PostJo Nesbø, the New York Times bestselling author of The Snowman, has solidified his spot as one of the most… Shares: Investigation, Murder

Mysterious Mr. Sabin Edward Phillips Oppenheim · 1900 · 370p · ≈ 12h · Challenging "The mysterious Mr. Sabin is an unscrupulous French royalist who aids the German government in a conspiracy of war against England. His part in the plot is that of securing valuable papers recording the coast defenses of England, for which services he demands Germany's conquest of France and the restoration of the monarchy in the person of Prince Henri and his cousin, Helene of… Shares: Spy Fiction

Pray for Brave Heart Helen MacInnes · 1955 · 256p · ≈ 8h · Moderate About the undeclared and ever-waging war of our time, the war for men's minds, and the action takes place in Switzerland. Shares: Spy Fiction

Windmills of the gods Sidney Sheldon · 1987 · ★ 3.9 · 384p · ≈ 12h · Moderate A college professor, a naive Kansan, becomes the US ambassador to Romania and learns a lot about life. Shares: Spy Fiction

The Whip Hand Victor Canning · 1965 · ★ 4.0 · 271p · ≈ 9h · Moderate A 1960s London PI's search for a missing au pair leads to sinister evil in this classic spy series opener by the author of The Rainbird Pattern.Meet Rex Carver, the suave and laconic private investigator.His job is to track down a German au pair, Katerina Saxmann, who has gone missing in Brighton. But when the security services show up at his apartment within hours of him accepting the… Shares: Spy Fiction

If you can't be good Ross Thomas · 1973 · ★ 4.1 · 249p · ≈ 8h · Moderate An old CIA connection brings trouble for a Washington, DC, barman in this thriller from "America's best storyteller" (The New York Times Book Review).   As the saying goes, you can't pick your friends. If you could, Mac McCorkle would disown Padilla. They owned a bar together in Bonn, the West German capital, and stayed partners even after Padilla's sideline as a CIA operative got the bar… Shares: Spy Fiction

The man who lost the war W. T. Tyler · 1980 · ★ 3.5 · 434p · ≈ 14h · Moderate Set in post-war Berlin, a disillusioned former CIA operative and a Russian spy cross paths in their search for an elusive double agent. Shares: Spy Fiction

The second lady Irving Wallace · 1980 · ★ 3.9 · 383p · ≈ 12h · Moderate On a state visit to Moscow, Billie Bradford, the beautiful and brilliant wife of the President of the United States, is abducted by the Soviets and replaced by Vera Vazilova, a superbly trained Russian undercover agent and actress who is the First Lady's physical double.The impostor's mission--to induce the President to reveal a U.S. secret that will drastically tip the world balance toward… Shares: Spy Fiction

Family Trade James Carroll · 1982 · ★ 3.5 · 400p · ≈ 13h · Moderate A New York Times Notable Book"A rich, seductive meld of characters real and fictive, of history and fancy."  — New York Times Book ReviewIn this compelling family saga set during a tumultuous era in Boston history, 1960-1984, acclaimed author James Carroll chronicles the lives of two brothers, Nick and Terry Doyle, as they strive to move beyond the strictures of their working-class… Shares: Spy Fiction

The devil's half mile Paddy Hirsch · 2018 · ★ 3.5 · 300p · ≈ 10h · Moderate "Seven years after a financial crisis nearly toppled America, traders chafe at government regulations, racial tensions are rising, gangs roam the streets and corrupt financiers make back-door deals with politicians... 1799 was a hell of a year. Thanks to Alexander Hamilton, America has recovered from the panic on the Devil's Half Mile (aka Wall Street), but the young country is still finding its… Shares: Investigation, Crime, Murder

Find The Lady Roger Silverwood · 2008 · 224p · ≈ 7h · Moderate When gangster Mike Spagliotti is found shot through the head inside his locked New York hotel suite, it is a perplexing problem for Detective-Inspector Flannel. And when newspaper reporter Anita Curzon begins to interfere, Flannel's temper does not improve ... In THE EGYPTIAN TOMB Tony Gilmour and his friends Ron and Alan travel to Egypt to investigate the suspicious death of Ron's father - but… Shares: Investigation, Crime, Murder

Private James Patterson & Maxine Paetro · 2008 · ★ 3.9 · 387p · ≈ 12h · Moderate The police can't help you Former CIA agent Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily--and his staff of investigators uses the world's most advanced forensic tools to make and break their… Shares: Investigation, Crime, Murder

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