Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier, 1938
A young bride arrives at the great house Manderley and finds it still ruled by the memory of her husband's first wife.
Consider: Where in Rebecca does love show itself through action rather than words?
A note from the concierge
Welcome
Six books of mystery and suspense for the darkest month of the reading year, from a gothic Cornish manor to a murder on the Nile.
Best read after dark, with the lamp low. Follow our October Thrillers collection on Instagram for the daily picks.
The Concierge
6 books
The List
The Secret History
Donna Tartt, 1992
At a small New England college, a clique of classics students is drawn into a crime that slowly unravels them. The reader knows the ending from page one and cannot look away.
Consider: What does friendship demand of the people in The Secret History?
The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco, 1980
In 1327, a Franciscan friar and his young novice investigate a string of deaths in a secretive Italian abbey with a labyrinthine library.
Consider: What does The Name of the Rose suggest faith is for?
The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 2001
In postwar Barcelona, a boy discovers a forgotten novel in a secret library of books and sets out to learn what became of its author.
Consider: What does The Shadow of the Wind suggest about the way we choose what to remember?
Death on the Nile
Agatha Christie, 1937
A glamorous cruise down the Nile turns deadly when a young heiress is murdered, and Hercule Poirot is among the passengers.
Consider: Where in Death on the Nile does love show itself through action rather than words?
The Alice Network
Kate Quinn, 2017
In 1947 a young American searching for her missing cousin is drawn into the story of a woman who spied behind enemy lines in occupied France during the First World War.
Consider: What keeps the people in The Alice Network going when they might stop?
Practical
How to Read This List
Read together, these 6 books come to about 71 hours. That is a comfortable month at roughly 18 hours a week.
- Begin with the book that appeals most. There is no required order.
- Keep a pencil nearby for the questions in each entry.
- Finish one book before opening the next.
- When a book is not working, put it down without guilt and move on.
If you want more
Beyond the List
Readers who love this list tend to enjoy the following. Each is chosen for how closely it shares the mood and themes of the books above.
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë, 1847
An orphaned governess with fierce independence takes a post at Thornfield Hall and finds a secret at its heart. Shares classics and gripping with Rebecca.
My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante, 2011
Two girls grow up in a rough Naples neighbourhood in the 1950s, bound by a fierce friendship and rivalry that will shape both their lives. Shares literary fiction and gripping with The Secret History.
The Sun Also Rises
Ernest Hemingway, 1926
A circle of disillusioned expatriates drifts from Paris to the fiestas and bullrings of Pamplona, chasing a feeling they cannot name. Shares classics and atmospheric with Rebecca.