Stuck in a reading rut? Want to expand your reading horizons in 2026? You’re in luck! Every month this year, we will be delving deep into popular genres at the library. If you’re already a fan, find readalike suggestions for popular authors and ideas for similar genres to explore. If you’re brand new to the genre in question, you will find a helpful explanation of the hallmarks of the genre, a breakdown of its most common subgenres, and explanations of what readers find so appealing about the most popular authors writing those types of books. First up, suspense!
If you were to guess the most popular genre in our system, would you guess suspense? Our patrons love suspense novels, and finding new suspense authors is a common request in reader’s advisory, the service we offer that provides tailor-made suggestions for people based on their own personal reading history and preferences.
In our suspense booklet, we preview suspense in general, as well as 3 popular suspense subgenres–psychological suspense, romantic suspense, and Christian romantic suspense.
Whether you’re a complete newbie to suspense or a veteran suspense reader, there should be something new for everyone in the booklet.
But if not (or you are not interested in suspense), use our Google Form or contact the library in person or by phone or email to request a reader’s advisory consultation. I will write you a personalized list of suggested authors and titles.
We also have a lot of cool suspense handouts and recommendation lists already uploaded on our Readers’ And Viewers’ Advisory Resources page on the right-hand sidebar.
You can find recommendation lists there specifically for Christian romantic suspense, gory suspense, gritty suspense, and even YA suspense (which isn’t covered in the booklet) and more.
Happy reading!
What’s your favorite genre? What new-to-you genre are you exploring in 2026? Who’s your favorite suspense writer? Tell us in the comments! As always, please follow this link to our online library catalog for more information on any of our items or to place them on hold.
The following resources have been especially helpful in preparing this booklet and post:
NoveListPlus. Ebsco.
Joyce G. Saricks. Reader’s Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. ALA: Chicago and London, 2001.
Joyce G. Saricks. Reader’s Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. 2nd edition. ALA: Chicago, 2009.
Syndetics Unbound library catalog enrichment service.
Berryville Book Buzz 