18 books like Needful Things

What to read after Needful Things — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Cujo Stephen King · 1981 · ★ 3.9 · 327p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Cujo (/ˈkjuːdʒoʊ/) is a 1981 psychological horror novel by American writer Stephen King about a rabid Saint Bernard. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982 and was made into a film in 1983. Shares: Maine, American Horror tales, Horror, Thriller

Under the Dome Stephen King · 2009 · ★ 3.9 · 991p · ≈ 33h · Moderate Under the Dome is a 2009 science fiction novel by the American author, Stephen King. Under the Dome is the 58th book published by Stephen King, and it is his 48th novel. The novel focuses on a small Maine town, and tells an intricate, multi-character, alternating perspective story of how the town's inhabitants contend with the calamity of being suddenly cut off from the outside world by an… Shares: Maine, City and town life, Good and evil, Thriller

Strange Weather Joe Hill · 2017 · ★ 3.9 · 448p · ≈ 14h · Moderate "Snapshot" is the disturbing story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by "The Phoenician," a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories, snap by snap. In "Loaded," a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights,… Shares: Good and evil, American Horror tales

Gwendy's button box Stephen King · 2017 · ★ 4.3 · 176p · ≈ 5h · Moderate The little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told... until now. There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by… Shares: Castle Rock, Horror, Thriller

Insomnia Stephen King · 1994 · ★ 3.8 · 764p · ≈ 25h · Moderate Insomnia is a 1994 horror/fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It follows retired widower Ralph Roberts whose increasing insomnia allows him to perceive auras and other hidden things, leading him to join a conflict between the forces of the Purpose and the Random. Like It and Dreamcatcher, the story is set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine. It includes connections to other Stephen… Shares: Maine, Horror, Thriller

The Missing Sarah Langan · 2007 · ★ 3.9 · 416p · ≈ 13h · Moderate 2007 Bram Stoker Award winner. A remote and affluent Maine community, Corpus Christi was untouched by the environmental catastrophe that destroyed the neighboring blue-collar town of Bedford. But all that will change in a heartbeat . . .The nightmare is awakened when third-grade schoolteacher Lois Larkin takes the children on a field trip to Bedford. There in the abandoned woods, a small, cruel… Shares: Maine, Horror

The Malefactor Edward Phillips Oppenheim · 1906 · 148p · ≈ 4h · Challenging Tall and burly, with features and skin hardened by exposure to the sun and winds of many climates, he looked like a man ready to face all hardships, equal to any emergency. Already one seemed to see the clothes and habits of civilization falling away from him, the former to be replaced by the stern, unlovely outfit of the war correspondent who plays the game. They crowded round him in the club… Shares: Good and evil, Thriller

Gerald's Game Stephen King · 1992 · ★ 3.6 · 448p · ≈ 14h · Moderate Gerald and Jessie Burlingame have gone to their summer home on a warm weekday in October for a romantic interlude. After being handcuffed to her bedposts, Jessie tires of her husband's games, but when Gerald refuses to stop she lashes out at him with deadly consequences. Still handcuffed, she is trapped and alone. Painful memories from her childhood bedevil her. Her only company is a hungry stray… Shares: Castle Rock, Horror

'Salem’s Lot Stephen King · 1975 · ★ 4.1 · 427p · ≈ 14h · Moderate Author Ben Mears returns to ‘Salem's Lot to write a book about a house that has haunted him since childhood only to find his isolated hometown infested with vampires. While the vampires claim more victims, Mears convinces a small group of believers to combat the undead. (source) --- Also contained in: Night Shift / Carrie / 'Salem's Lot / Shining 'Salem's Lot: Illustrated Edition Works (Danse… Shares: Maine, City and town life, Horror

Haunted James Patterson & James O. Born · 2017 · ★ 4.5 · 368p · ≈ 12h · Moderate "Detective Michael Bennett is ready for a vacation after a series of crises push him, and his family, to the brink. He settles on an idyllic, small town in the beautiful Maine woods, a recommendation from a former colleague. But just when Bennett thinks he can relax, he gets pulled into a case that has shocked the tight-knit community. Kids are disappearing left and right with no explanation --… Shares: Maine, Thriller

Danse Macabre Stephen King · 1980 · ★ 3.8 · 480p · ≈ 16h · Moderate This is a non-fiction study of the horror genre including books, movies, television, etc. ([source][1]) ---------- Also contained in: Works (Danse Macabre / Salem's Lot / Shining [1]: https://stephenking.com/library/nonfiction/danse_macabre.html Shares: Horror, Thriller

Dolores Claiborne Stephen King · 1992 · ★ 4.0 · 307p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Suspected of killing Vera Donovan, her wealthy employer, Dolores Claiborne tells police the story of her life, harkening back to her disintegrating marriage and the suspicious death of her violent husband, Joe St. George, thirty years earlier. Dolores also tells of Vera's physical and mental decline and of her loyalty to an employer who has become emotionally demanding in recent years.… Shares: Maine, Horror

Poe's Children Peter Straub · 2008 · ★ 3.5 · 534p · ≈ 17h · Moderate The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Story—and 8-time Bram Stoker Award winner—gathers 24 bone-chilling, nail-biting, frightfully imaginative stories that represent the best of contemporary horror writing. “Revelatory.... A remarkably consistent, frequently unsettling book.” —The Washington Post“[Straub] collects the best scary short stories out there.” —TimeDan Chaon “The… Shares: American Horror tales, Horror

Roadwork Stephen King · 1981 · ★ 3.6 · 350p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Roadwork is a thriller novel by American writer Stephen King, published in 1981 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books. The story takes place in an unnamed Midwestern city in 1972–1974. Grieving over the death of his son and the disintegration of his marriage, a man is driven to mental instability when he… Shares: American Horror tales, Horror, Thriller

The Cleft and Other Odd Tales Gahan Wilson · 1998 · ★ 4.0 · 333p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Collection of stories and drawings by Gahan Wilson. Shares: American Horror tales, Horror

Persuader Lee Child · 2003 · ★ 4.5 · 496p · ≈ 16h · Moderate Jack Reacher. The ultimate loner. An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, he’s moved from place to place…without family…without possessions…without commitments. And without fear. Which is good, because trouble—big, violent, complicated trouble—finds Reacher wherever he goes. And when trouble finds him, Reacher does not quit, not once…not ever. But some unfinished business has… Shares: Maine, Thriller

The Damned Algernon Blackwood · 2002 · ★ 4.0 · 110p · ≈ 3h · Moderate The Damned is a chilling tale of supernatural horror from one of the great masters of horror fiction, Algernon Blackwood. Shares: Horror

Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories Ambrose Bierce · 1913 · 67p · ≈ 2h · Challenging This book is about stories that encounters with the ghosts of the dead and dying. The spirits of the dead reach out to the living, to pass on a message or to pursue a killer. Shares: Horror

About the book Needful Things →