Recommendations based on Playing for the Ashesby Elizabeth George

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

  1. In the Presence of the Enemy

    by Elizabeth George
    A child is kidnapped and the mother is blackmailed into revealing a dark secret. Inspector Lynley investigates.

    Hailed as the "king of sleaze," tabloid editor Dennis Luxford is used to ferreting out the sins and scandals of people in exposed positions. But when he opens an innocuous-looking letter addressed to ... (Goodreads)

  2. Missing Joseph

    by Elizabeth George
    A vicar's disappearance leads to a tangled web of secrets and lies in a small English village.

    Deborah and Simon St. James have taken a holiday in the winter landscape of Lancashire, hoping to heal the growing rift in their marriage. But in the barren countryside awaits bleak news: the vicar ... (Goodreads)

  3. Payment in Blood

    by Elizabeth George
    A wealthy playwright is murdered during a dress rehearsal, and Inspector Lynley must navigate the secrets and lies of the theater world to find the killer.

    The career of playwright Joy Sinclair comes to an abrupt end on an isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands when someone drives an eighteen-inch dirk through her neck. Called upon to investigate the ... (Goodreads)

  4. The Black Tower

    by P.D. James
    Commander Adam Dalgliesh investigates a murder at a psychiatric clinic, uncovering dark secrets and personal demons.

    Commander Dalgliesh is recuperating from a life-threatening illness when he receives a call for advice from an elderly friend who works as a chaplain in a home for the disabled on the Dorset coast. ... (Goodreads)

  5. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

    by P.D. James
    Young detective Cordelia Gray investigates the apparent suicide of a Cambridge dropout, uncovering dark secrets and danger.

    Young private detective Cordelia Gray walks into the London office she shares with former police detective Bernie Pryde to find her partner has committed suicide. Pryde has left everything, including ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Private Patient

    by P.D. James
    A gripping crime-mystery of murder and secrets, set in a rural English village.

    Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate a murder at a private nursing home for rich patients being treated by the famous plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell. A welcome ... (Goodreads)

  7. Break No Bones

    by Kathy Reichs
    Forensic anthropologist uncovers secrets of a long-forgotten crime while investigating a murder.

    Brennan and her students are working on a site of prehistoric graves on Dewees Island , South Carolina (a barrier island ), when a decomposing body is uncovered in a shallow grave off a lonely beach. ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Deadly Decisions

    by Kathy Reichs
    Forensic anthropologist investigates a serial murder case, uncovering a web of deception.

    Brennan is called back to Montréal, Quebec , Canada from teaching at the FBI Academy in Quantico when a biker gang war turns violent. Excavating at a biker clubhouse reveals the bones of a young girl ... (Wikipedia)

  9. The Man Who Smiled

    by Henning Mankell
    A story of revenge and redemption, as a Swedish detective unravels a mystery spanning three generations.

    The Man Who Smiled begins with Inspector Kurt Wallander deep in a personal and professional crisis after killing a man in the line of duty; eventually, he vows to quit the Ystad police force for ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Big Sleep

    by Raymond Chandler
    Private eye investigates a complex case involving a wealthy family and blackmail.

    Private investigator Philip Marlowe is called to the home of the wealthy and elderly General Sternwood, in the month of October. He wants Marlowe to deal with an attempt by a bookseller named Arthur ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Mysterious Affair at Styles

    by Agatha Christie
    A classic murder mystery, uncovering the truth behind a suspicious death.

    On the morning of 18 July, the household at Styles Court wakes to the discovery that Emily Inglethorp, the elderly owner, has died. She had been poisoned with strychnine . Arthur Hastings, a soldier ... (Wikipedia)

  12. The House at Riverton

    by Kate Morton
    A family saga spanning generations, uncovering secrets and lies of a mysterious house.

    Ninety-eight-year-old Grace Bradley, a maid at Riverton Manor in the 1920s, has long hidden a terrible secret. A film is being made about a famous incident at Riverton when well-known poet Robbie ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Fifth Witness

    by Michael Connelly
    A lawyer must defend an innocent man accused of murder, uncovering a complicated web of deceit.

    Haller is called on to defend a long-standing client, Lisa Trammel, when she is suspected of murdering wealthy Mitchell Bondurant. , According to forensic evidence, the victim, who was six-foot-two, ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Source

    by James A. Michener
    A historical novel spanning 12,000 years, exploring the history of Israel through the eyes of various characters and their descendants.

    In the grand storytelling style that is his signature, James Michener sweeps us back through time to the very beginnings of the Jewish faith, thousands of years ago. Through the predecessors of four ... (Goodreads)

  15. Kane & Abel

    by Jeffrey Archer
    Two rival men, from different backgrounds, fight for success and power in a cutthroat world.

    The book tells the stories of two men born worlds apart. They have nothing in common except the same date of birth (18 April 1906 in the book, and 1901 in the miniseries based on it) and a zeal to ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Postmortem

    by Patricia Daniels Cornwell
    Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner, investigates a serial killer in Richmond, Virginia.

    The novel opens as Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia, receives an early-morning call from Sergeant Pete Marino, a homicide detective at the Richmond Police ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Déjà Dead

    by Kathy Reichs
    An action-packed mystery featuring a female forensic anthropologist as she investigates a series of mysterious murders.

    When the meticulously dismembered body of a woman is discovered in the ground of an abandoned monastery in Montreal , Canada , which is too "decomposed for standard autopsy ", an anthropologist is ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Woman in White

    by Wilkie Collins
    A thrilling mystery of secrets and hidden identities, with a hero on a quest for the truth.

    Walter Hartright, a young art teacher, encounters and gives directions to a mysterious and distressed woman dressed entirely in white, lost in London; he is later informed by policemen that she has ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Eleventh Plague

    by Jeff Hirsch
    A post-apocalyptic world where a deadly virus has wiped out most of humanity. A boy and his father struggle to survive in a harsh new reality.

    Jeff Hirsch's stunning debut is now in paperback! In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. ... (Barnes & Noble)

  20. Deep Dish

    by Mary Kay Andrews
    A culinary competition between two rival chefs turns into a personal feud, with secrets and scandals revealed.

    Gina is a 30-year-old chef obsessed with using fresh, wholesome, high-quality ingredients in the food she prepares. Her cooking show is cancelled when a big sponsor pulls out after seeing the show's ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Dancing at Midnight

    by Julia Quinn
    Lady Arabella Blydon and Lord John Blackwood's love story unfolds amidst the glittering ballrooms of Regency London.

    Lady Arabella Blydon has beauty and a brain, and she’s tired of men who can see only one without the other. When a suitor tells Arabella he’s willing to overlook her appalling bluestocking tendencies ... (Goodreads)

  22. Savannah Breeze

    by Mary Kay Andrews
    A woman inherits a beach house in Georgia and discovers secrets about her family's past while navigating new friendships and romance.

    “A sheer delight and will have readers laughing out loud by the second page.” — Daytona Beach News-Journal “The perfect mix of comedy, action and romance makes this book nearly impossible to put ... (Barnes & Noble)

  23. Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

    by Chris Bohjalian
    After a nuclear disaster, a teenage girl navigates a dangerous world alone, haunted by her past and struggling to survive.

    A heartbreaking, wildly inventive, and moving novel narrated by a teenage runaway, from the best-selling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls. Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is the story of Emily ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Art of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire

    by Patricia Meredith
    A visual exploration of the world of Westeros, featuring concept art, sketches, and paintings from the popular book series.

    Some of the greatest talents in fantastic art invite you to explore the lands of Westeros and beyond as never before. From the frozen wilderness beyond the Wall to sun-kissed Dorne, and from the ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Phantom Tollbooth

    by Norton Juster
    A whimsical adventure through a magical land, searching for a way out of the boredom of everyday life.

    Milo is a boy bored by the world around him; every activity seems a waste of time. He arrives home from another boring day at school to find a mysterious package. Among its contents are a small ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Chaos

    by Patricia Cornwell
    Forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta investigates a series of murders with a mysterious connection to her past.

    “When it comes to the forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell.” —,New York Times Book Review, [PLEASE BOX:] CHAOS, From the Ancient Greek (χάος or kháos), A vast chasm or void. Anarchy. The ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. The World According to Garp

    by John Irving
    A humorous and heart-wrenching journey of life, love and literature.

    This is the life and times of T. S. Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields—a feminist leader ahead of her times. This is the life and death of a famous mother and her almost-famous son; theirs is a ... (Goodreads)

  28. Before the Frost

    by Henning Mankell
    A young girl's disappearance leads to a complex investigation that uncovers dark secrets in a small Swedish town.

    In this latest atmospheric thriller, Kurt Wallander and his daughter Linda, just graduated from the police academy, join forces to search for a religious fanatic on a murder spree and soon find ... (Goodreads)

  29. Fall of Giants

    by Ken Follett
    Epic historical fiction recounting the tumultuous events of World War I and its aftermath.

    The novel begins with the thirteen-year-old Billy Williams, nicknamed 'Billy With Jesus', going to work his first day in the coal mine underneath the fictional Welsh town of Aberowen in 1911. Three ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Little Black Lies

    by Sharon J. Bolton
    A psychological thriller set on the Falkland Islands, where three friends are haunted by a tragic event from their past.

    In such a small community as the Falkland Islands, a missing child is unheard of. In such a dangerous landscape it can only be a terrible tragedy, surely... When another child goes missing, and then ... (Goodreads)