Recommendations based on A Simple Planby Scott Smith

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Let the Right One In

    by John Ajvide Lindqvist
    A vampire and preteen boy form an unlikely bond while struggling against loneliness and persecution.

    It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Ruins

    by Scott Smith
    A group of tourists stranded in a remote Mexican jungle, struggling to survive.

    Four American tourists — Eric, his girlfriend Stacy, her best friend and former roommate Amy, and Amy's boyfriend Jeff, a medical student — are vacationing in Mexico. They befriend a German tourist ... (Wikipedia)

  3. No Country for Old Men

    by Cormac McCarthy
    A gripping tale of violence and pursuit in Texas' desolate landscape.

    The plot follows the interweaving paths of the three central characters (Llewelyn Moss, Anton Chigurh , and Ed Tom Bell) set in motion by events related to a drug deal gone bad near the ... (Wikipedia)

  4. The Shipping News

    by Annie Proulx
    A man's attempt to rebuild his life in a small Newfoundland town, discovering compassion and joy.

    The story centers around Quoyle, a newspaper reporter from upstate New York , whose father had emigrated from Newfoundland . Shortly after his parents' joint suicide, Quoyle's unfaithful and abusive ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Red Dragon

    by Thomas Harris
    A serial killer stalks the night, and a former FBI agent is the only one who can stop him.

    In 1975, Will Graham , a brilliant profiler of the FBI , captured the serial killer Hannibal Lecter . However, Graham suffered serious injuries from the encounter and retired afterwards. Four years ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Pet Sematary

    by Stephen King
    A family's terrifying journey of life and death, as the line between the living and the dead blurs.

    Louis Creed, a doctor from Chicago , is appointed director of the University of Maine 's campus health service. He moves to a large house near the small town of Ludlow with his wife Rachel, their two ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Full Dark, No Stars

    by Stephen King
    Four suspenseful stories of retribution, exploring the depths of human darkness.

    "I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger..." writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up "1922." the first in this pitch-black quartet ... (Goodreads)

  8. Neuromancer

    by William Gibson
    A hacker's journey through a dystopian cyberpunk world, searching for a way to survive.

    Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City , Japan. Once a talented computer hacker , Case was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment for his theft, ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Eye of the Needle

    by Ken Follett
    A thrilling tale of espionage and wartime romance, set in the chaos of WWII.

    In 1940, Henry Faber, a German spy nicknamed 'die Nadel' ('The Needle') due to his trademark weapon being a stiletto , is working at a London railway depot, collecting information on troop movements. ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Just After Sunset

    by Stephen King
    Collection of short stories exploring the hidden secrets in everyday life.

    Just after sunset—call it dusk; call it twilight; it’s a time when human life takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Reader

    by Bernhard Schlink
    A man's journey of understanding, uncovering a dark secret from his past.

    Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Accidental Tourist

    by Anne Tyler
    A travel writer who hates traveling, Macon Leary, navigates life after his son's death and his wife's departure.

    Set in Baltimore, Maryland , the plot revolves around Macon Leary, a writer of travel guides whose son has been killed in a shooting at a fast-food restaurant. He and his wife Sarah, separately lost ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Snow Crash

    by Neal Stephenson
    A hacker's quest in a futuristic America dealing with a mysterious computer virus.

    Hiro Protagonist is a hacker and pizza delivery driver for the Mafia. He meets Y.T. (short for Yours Truly), a young skateboard Kourier ( courier ) who refers to herself in the third person , during ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Everything You Want Me to Be

    by Mindy Mejia
    A teenage girl is found dead in a small town, and the investigation reveals secrets and lies from those closest to her.

    People,’s Best New Books Pick *, The Wall Street Journal,’s Best New Mysteries *, Bustle,'s Best Fiction Books “Fans of Gillian Flynn's, Gone Girl, will devour this fast-paced story.”—,InStyle , No ... (Barnes & Noble)

  15. The Life We Bury

    by Allen Eskens
    College student Joe Talbert investigates a 30-year-old murder case for an English assignment, but uncovers more than he bargained for.

    College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines ... (Goodreads)

  16. Lonesome Dove

    by Larry McMurtry
    Epic tale of two former Texas Rangers on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana.

    It is the late 1870s. , Captain Woodrow F. Call and Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae, two famous retired Texas Rangers , run the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium in the small Texas border ... (Wikipedia)

  17. And the Mountains Echoed

    by Khaled Hosseini
    Interconnected stories of family and love, tracing the consequences of decisions made throughout life.

    The novel opens in the year 1952. Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three-year-old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul. ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Jaws

    by Peter Benchley
    A small beach town is terrorized by a great white shark, leading to a thrilling battle of man versus nature.

    The story is set in Amity, a fictional seaside resort town on Long Island , New York. One night, a massive great white shark kills a young tourist named Chrissie Watkins while she skinny dips in the ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Amityville Horror

    by Jay Anson
    A family's terrifying ordeal in a haunted house, where the supernatural lurks in the shadows.

    The book, purportedly based on a true story, describes the house at 112 Ocean Avenue as remaining empty for 13 months after the DeFeo murders . In December 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz bought the ... (Wikipedia)

  20. You've Been Warned

    by James Patterson
    A young woman's life spirals out of control after she begins experiencing terrifying visions.

    Kristin Burns has lived her life by the philosophy "Don't think, just shoot"–pictures, that is. Struggling to make ends meet, she works full-time as the nanny for the fabulously wealthy Turnbull ... (Goodreads)

  21. Rosemary's Baby

    by Ira Levin
    A woman's descent into darkness as she is unknowingly forced to carry a child of the Devil.

    The book centers on Rosemary Woodhouse, a young married woman who has just moved into the Bramford, a historic Gothic Revival-style New York City apartment building, with her husband, Guy, a ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Shutter Island

    by Dennis Lehane
    A U.S. Marshal investigates a psychiatric hospital on a remote island, uncovering chilling secrets and an unexpected truth.

    In 1954, widower U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, go on a ferry boat to Shutter Island, the home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate ... (Wikipedia)

  23. V for Vendetta

    by Alan Moore
    A dystopian future, where a mysterious vigilante fights for freedom and justice.

    On Guy Fawkes Night in London in 1997, a young girl goes to see her boss after curfew when she is sexually attacked by three men who are actually members of the state secret police , called "The ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Blessings

    by Anna Quindlen
    A baby is found on the doorstep of a wealthy family, changing their lives and those of the town. A story of love, loss, and redemption.

    Late one night, a teenage couple drives up to the big white clapboard home on the Blessing estate and leaves a box. In that instant, the lives of those who live and work there are changed forever. ... (Goodreads)

  25. I Am Legend and Other Stories

    by Richard Matheson
    A collection of sci-fi horror stories exploring themes of isolation, fear and the unknown.

    Robert Neville appears to be the sole survivor of a pandemic that has killed most of the human population and turned the remainder into " vampires " that largely conform to their stereotypes in ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Cobra Event

    by Richard Preston
    A bioterrorism thriller about a deadly virus that causes victims to bleed out from every orifice.

    The book is divided into 6 sections. The first section, called "Trial", starts with a teenage girl named Kate Moran who dies violently one day in school. The next section, titled "1969", describes ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Birdman

    by Mo Hayder
    A gritty crime thriller, delving into the dark depths of the criminal underworld.

    DI Jack Caffery gets involved in a frightening case of five mutilated bodies of women whose corpses are found on the outskirts of London. His investigation yields a treasure trove of abominations. ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Velocity

    by Dean Koontz
    A thrilling race against time to stop a serial killer before he strikes again.

    Not so long ago a promising young short story writer, Billy Wiles has not even turned on his PC since his fiancée Barbara fell into a coma several years ago. Leading the life of a recluse who spends ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Long Walk

    by Richard Bachman
    Fourteen boys face a grueling test of endurance and willpower as they compete in a life-or-death march.

    One hundred teenage boys join an annual walking contest called "The Long Walk" or just "The Walk". Each contestant, called a "Walker", must maintain a speed of at least four miles per hour; if he ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Meg

    by Steve Alten
    A deep sea thriller about a giant prehistoric shark that terrorizes a research team.

    Revised and Expanded. On a top-secret dive into the Pacific Ocean's deepest canyon, Jonas Taylor found himself face-to-face with the largest and most ferocious predator in the history of the animal ... (Goodreads)