Sign in with Facebook
Best Served Cold: New and Classic Books About Revenge
As story engines go, the classic revenge tale is a sturdy piece of narrative equipment. Shakespeare was fond of the theme (Othello). Emily Brontë got a Gothic fiction classic out of it (Wuthering Heights). In recent years, the vengeance template has powered hugely successful popular novels�Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, say.
In honor of this noble, disturbing, and occasionally funny literary theme, we’ve put together a specially curated package of great revenge stories. These ten books are designed to be a kind of tasting menu of revenge, which—as you may be aware—is best served cold. We’ve included books both old (!) and new (this month!) and have attempted to cover a wide range of styles, tones, and genres.
As always, please bear in mind that this is not intended to be a complete collection or any kind of ranked list. It’s just a chance to celebrate the good old revenge story. We’ve even added some extra reading recommendations at the bottom of the page. Feel free to make additional suggestions in the comments field, and if you see anything here that you like, add it to your Want to Read shelf.
In honor of this noble, disturbing, and occasionally funny literary theme, we’ve put together a specially curated package of great revenge stories. These ten books are designed to be a kind of tasting menu of revenge, which—as you may be aware—is best served cold. We’ve included books both old (!) and new (this month!) and have attempted to cover a wide range of styles, tones, and genres.
As always, please bear in mind that this is not intended to be a complete collection or any kind of ranked list. It’s just a chance to celebrate the good old revenge story. We’ve even added some extra reading recommendations at the bottom of the page. Feel free to make additional suggestions in the comments field, and if you see anything here that you like, add it to your Want to Read shelf.
Author S.A. Cosby has earned a fierce reputation as an ace writer of violent-but-thoughtful Southern noir thrillers. His 2021 novel, Razorblade Tears, follows the revenge story of Ike and Buddy Lee, two semiretired criminals hunting the men who killed their sons. The twist? Their sons were gay, and married, and neither father was particularly thrilled about any of this. Like the great Walter Mosley, Cosby writes crime fiction of uncommon depth, with sharp insights concerning the Black experience in America.
Revenge stories don’t have to be heavy. Sometimes they’re wicked fun. Case in point: Author Amalie Howard clearly had a good time writing Queen Bee, a tale ofretribution set in Regency-era London. After a cruel betrayal by her former BFF, 18-year-old Lady Ela Dalvi plots an elaborate revenge by infiltrating London society. Howard’s romance is technically a YA book, but adults may appreciate its instructional value. Teenagers can be vicious in ways that grown-ups can only sit back and admire.
This ambitious debut novel from author Tom Lin is epic in scope, cinematic in detail, and loads of fun. Protagonist Ming Tsu is a deadly assassin in the Old West, out to settle several scores with the men who abducted his wife and conscripted him to work on the Transcontinental Railroad. Along with his found family—a blind prophet, a deaf-mute orphan, and a “fireproof woman”—Ming Tsu takes the revenge fantasy to entirely new places.
Author and journalist Steph Cha (the Juniper Song series) approaches the revenge theme from ground level by reminding us that, in real life, vengeance is an awful and tragic business. Based in part on the 1991 and its aftermath, Cha’s novel profiles two families—one Black, the otherKorean American—as they navigate terrible racial tensions in Los Angeles. Cha is unafraid to tackle the difficult stuff. By employing fiction’s powers of empathy, she explores the real-life consequences of revenge.
Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but it turns out that the tropical variety is pretty delicious, too. This sly debut thriller from British writer Sian Gilbert follows four female friends who are invited to a luxe bachelorette party on a private island in the Bahamas. As the weekend turns slowly but decidedly sinister, the guests learn that the bride-to-be has some issues she’d like to work out. Besides boasting a hall-of-fame thriller novel title, She Started It explores the dark-side psychology of competitive female relationships.
Author Alison Gaylin has won a loyal readership and several industry awards for her intricately plotted mystery novels and crime fiction. With The Collective, she profiles a secret society of grieving mothers who avenge their daughters� deaths by staging elaborate revenge killings. With a nod to Patricia Highsmith’s classic Strangers on a Train, the book digs deep into those psychological depths where the thirst for justice curdles into a darker bloodlust. Good times!
Perhaps the most famous story of revenge gone haywire in the history of American literature, Herman Melville’s 1851 novel, Moby Dick, is a stone-cold classic. Everyone knows the general outline: Obsessed mariner Captain Ahab chases down the giant whale that bit off his leg. But what a tragic number of people don’t know is that the book is a genuinely exciting read, even 170 years later. Melville pioneered several storytelling techniques with his masterpiece, but you don’t need to be a recovering English major to enjoy the tense nautical adventure.
For several years running now, Blackfoot author Stephen Graham Jones has been innovating in the horror genre like an especially mad scientist. His bestselling book, The Only Good Indians, is a supernatural revenge story that follows four childhood friends who are haunted—and hunted—by an impossibly creepy spectral entity known as the Elk Head Woman. Oh, it’s a trip, man. The book brings the classic revenge tale up and out into extra-dimensional spheres of horror.
Leesa Cross-Smith’s Goodbye Earl targets a particularly vile specimen: abusive men who think they can get away with it. Turns out, they can’t. The Kentucky author’s novel is already getting great reviews for its heartfelt and edgy approach to the subject matter, which combines techniques of the classic mystery-thriller atop a fundamentally inspiring tale of friendship and sisterhood. Bonus trivia: Cross-Smith’s book is based on a country made famous by the musical group now known as and their totally bananas music video (look it up!).
Classic fiction fans should appreciate this one. Like Moby Dick, the 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo is a great option for readers seeking some literary nourishment with their revenge story. Set in France, Italy, and several Mediterranean islands, author � timeless adventure tale features a wrongly accused sailor, a pile of hidden treasure, and some sweet Parisian revenge. Dumas provides a tour of 19th-century Europe as he explores themes of justice, vengeance, and mercy.
Further Reading
Now it's your turn! Have you read any of these books above? Do you have other favorite revenge books to add to the list? Sound off in the comments below.
Comments Showing 1-12 of 12 (12 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Mariangel
(last edited Jul 26, 2023 01:47PM)
(new)
Jul 26, 2023 01:46PM
The return home of Odysseus is one of the most masterfully told revenges! And way older than 1844.
flag
“A Study in Scarlet�, “And Then There Were None�, “Lost Apothecary�, “The Devil and the Dark Water�, “He Started It�, and “A Sinister Revenge�, to name a few. Currently reading “The Bone Hunter’s Revenge�.
Also “The Sign of the Four� and “Where the Crawdads Sing�.
The Count of Montecristo is literally my favorite book ever. It's a masterpiece.
Jessica wrote: "Also recommend Confessions by Kanae Minato"yeess!! This one!!
I'm a little bit dissapointed that Joe Abercrombie book with perfect naming "Best Served Cold" is absent here :)
Funnily enough Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie would have been a good fit.
How about Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn?
Joe Abercrombie's book is a must-read for fantasy readers.
Thanks for the list. I've read a few, but just discovered a whole bunch I'd like to read.
I thought The Collective by Alison Gaylin was very good.
