What This Website is All About:

I first read Janet Evanovich's One for the Money in January 2002, and was immediately hooked. I hadn't been a big mystery reader up until that point, but having liked the Stephanie Plum series so much I decided to seek out other mysteries. Remembering an "If You Like Harry Potter" handout my library provided with recommendations for patrons, I searched the internet for "If You Like Janet Evanovich" lists. I found 12 on my initial search in February 2002, another 6 during a second search in July 2002, and then found a final list in September 2002 at a website I often visit for other reasons (the lists are provided below). This website is a collection of those recommendations, and my reactions to those recommendations, with the idea that the information may help other Evanovich fans find books to read while we all wait for her next release.

What's Here:

The Recommendations from the Lists section provides a list of every author recommended by any of the "If You Like" lists, organized into a table. It also includes more detailed information regarding the most-recommended authors and a page with statistics about the list recommendations.

The My Recommendations section includes my reviews of authors from the recommendations lists, reviews of other books I think might appeal to Evanovich fans, my summary list of recommended books, and some statistics about my reaction to what I've read from the lists so far.

There is also a Links page, and a Site Map.

What's New: (Click here for a list of the most recent reviews)

January 2007 - I added reviews for MaryJanice Davidson, Suzanne Enoch, Charlaine Harris, Linda Howard, Sharyn McCrumb, and Vicki Lewis Thompson. I need to write a review for recent books from Deborah Donnelly, once I read her just-released Bride and Doom. After that, I am inclined to try and finish up some of the series I haven't entirely read from good, Evanovich-like authors discoved through the process documented here, with key "targets" being Sparkle Hayter's Robyn Hudson series and the smaller series from Trocheck and Gillian Roberts.

Sources for the Recommendations:

Santa Fe (NM) Public Library's list of "Really Funny" mysteries, which as of 4/2005 appears to now located here (reproduced from a handout by the San Francisco Mystery Bookstore)
From bookbrowser.com, a list of "seriously humorous mysteries" [no longer exists as of 4/2005]
Results when searching for "evanovich" on Hennepin County's (MN) "If you Like" database [now appears to be under "Mysteries: Humorous" as of 4/2005]
Compleate Mystery Bookshop's list of "amusing mysteries." [whole site is down as of 7/2002]
Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library's "If You Like...Janet Evanovich" recommendation list [link doesn't quite work anymore as of 4/2005, but does take you to a search page where you can type in "Evanovich"]
The Fiction_L "Janet Evanovich Readalikes list," as posted on Morton Grove (IL) Public Library's website
Davenport (IL) Public Library's "If you like Janet Evanovich" list, which as of 4/2005 appears to have moved to here
Anoka County (MN) Library's "if you like Janet Evanovich" page, which now appears to be here as of 4/2005
State Library of Tasmania's Readalike Service for Janet Evanovich
New City (NY) Library's "Waiting for Janet Evanovich" page [page gone as of 4/2005]
Mayo County (Ireland) Library's"If you like ? Try" list (crime)
Wakefield (MA) Public Library's "If you like..." list for Janet Evanovich
Multnomah County (OR) Library's "If you like Evanovich" List
Mesa (AZ) Library's "If you like Evanovich" list
Kent (MI) District Library's"If you like Evanovich" list [page gone as of 4/2005]
Salina (KS) Library's "If you like Evanovich" list, which as of 4/2005 appears to be here
Penticton (Canada) Public Library's "If you like funny mysteries" list [page gone as of 4/2005]
Mysterynet.com's "If you like" list
The "If you like" list from All About Romance

Created 2/17/2002, last modified 1/13/2007.

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