No author writes in a vacuum, although we do our best to avoid blatant duplication wherever we can. I’m no exception to this rule. As such, I wanted to give credit where it is due to the books that have most impacted me over the years and that have helped inform the types of stories I tell.
If you find that you enjoy my work, you may also find that you enjoy these authors (or vice versa).
Drift by Sharon Carter Rogers (Mike Nappa)
This book is my ideal crime story. It’s the kind of book that I wish I wrote. It’s the kind of plot that my mind comes up with, so stumbling upon it “in the wild” made me realize there was a market (even if it was small) for the kinds of stories I hoped to tell. It blends my favorite tropes and storylines (adopted by kidnapping, supernatural elements, healing abilities, organized crime, small-town intrigue, forced proximity) all into one high-action adventure that’s just off-beat enough to feel unique.
It follows a mob boss’s daughter and an invisible supernatural creature as they begrudgingly work together to take down her father’s organization.
Run Away by Harlan Coben
This was the first book by Harlan Coben that I ever read, and it caught me for a few reasons. First, Coben is an amazing writer. He’s been in the industry for a while and it’s clear why. This book follows a father looking for his daughter. Coben often explores how unwanted or unexpected fame can push a normal person over the edge or expose personal secrets, and that is absolutely a component in this book. His plots, high-stakes and yet intimate, bring crime into the shadow-cells of personal lives instead of focusing on grand international stakes. This component of his storytelling is one that I find myself trying to emulate often.
Rather than focusing on a large-scale case with international visibility, his characters are always personally connected and involved, and their motives run deep. This is true in both Run Away and The Match.
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
You can’t read a mystery like this and walk away without being impacted by it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this book knows that it is a book. The main character is an author, so the book is full of writing-related humor. The pacing and the style of the reveals and storytelling is something I aspire to, including memorable chapters which feature only one sentence but that will live in my mind forever. Stevenson’s other books in the series (notably Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret, which is an advent calendar in book form) have heavily impacted how I’ve begun to view books as a physical product as well as story, and the intermingling of those two factors to create a memorable experience for the reader heavily impacted the art direction I gave my publisher when I signed my contract for The Regulars of Amanda Lexie. I had the opportunity to create something fun and unique and atmospheric like these books created, and thankfully my publisher was on board.
Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose
This is the only book by Jeneva Rose that I’ve read, but it made me an instant fan. The story focuses on three siblings in the midst of settling affairs after their mother passes away. When they discover a home video featuring their father holding a kid (covered in blood) who went missing when they were young, each sibling gets caught up in the mystery for their own reasons.
This book also offers many profound reflections on death and grief, and the complications and healing nature of going back to where things began. Featuring an ensemble cast and a few unreliable narrators, I learned a lot about craft and storytelling from this book. Rose excels at making the story personal and weaving a literary tone with the intensity of a suspense plot in ways I can only dream of. But if I’ve succeeded at all in adding depth and meaning and message to my own fiction, it’s because this book inspired me to do so.
Honorable Mentions
Mystery/Thriller is not the only genre I read, and I’m sure I’ve been influnced by these as well. They deserve a mention, even if not a highlight. So here, in rapid fire, are the other notable influences on how I view stories, characters, and writing:
- Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson)
- J.R.R. Tolkein
- C.S. Lewis
- Hank and John Green
- Suzanne Collins
The works these authors have created have informed my work and career in pacing, humor, theme, style, and in the deepest and most important element: they created in me a love of reading and a love of books.
I would love to know which authors and books inspired you and fostered a love of reading and an understanding of the power of words in you.
Until next time!
J. J. Hanna is a writer and reader from Colorado. She loves suspense stories above all else. Her debut novel, The Regulars of Amanda Lexie releases August 2026. When she’s not writing, you can find her making YouTube videos or reading up-and-coming thrillers and mysteries. Find her on social media @authorjjhanna and @jjhannaacademy to keep track of her most recent reads and current adventures.