Books Like The Lies of Locke Lamora
If you finished The Lies of Locke Lamora and want more found family, revenge, morally gray, start here. Each pick shares at least two tropes with it, and we've rated every one for spice and darkness so you know what you're getting into.
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The picks
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1. Six of Crows
Shares: found family, morally gray
Kaz Brekker and five other teenage criminals take a job breaking a prisoner out of the most secure fortress in the world. Heist structure, rotating narrators, and every single one of them is carrying something awful. Skip Shadow and Bone if you want, this stands alone fine.
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Human trafficking, Graphic violence, Murder, Torture
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2. Babel
Shares: found family, morally gray, revenge
Robin is taken from Canton as a child and raised to study at Oxford's translation institute, where silver bars powered by mistranslation run the British Empire. Long, footnoted and furious about colonialism. The friendship at the center is the part that hurts.
- Dark Academia
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one, Physical or emotional abuse
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3. The Cruel Prince
Shares: morally gray, revenge
A mortal girl raised in Faerie after the man who murdered her parents adopted her. Jude wants power, Cardan wants her gone, and nobody in this court is nice. No spice, all knives.
- Fae
- Enemies to Lovers
- Court Intrigue
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one
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4. Godkiller
Shares: found family, morally gray
Kissen kills gods for a living, which is a good trade in a kingdom that banned worship. Then she's stuck escorting a girl bound to a tiny god of white lies. Grumpy found family, small sharp book, easy entry into darker fantasy.
- Gods and Mythology
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one, Harm to children
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5. Jade City
Shares: morally gray, revenge, found family
The Godfather with martial arts magic. The Kaul family's warriors draw power from jade, a rival clan wants their territory, and a new drug lets anyone use it. Slow start while it builds the city, then the clan war hits and it doesn't let up.
- Morally Gray
- Court Intrigue
- Revenge
- Found Family
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Drug or alcohol abuse, Death of a loved one
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6. The Justice of Kings
Shares: morally gray, found family
Sir Konrad Vonvalt is a travelling Justice, judge, jury and executioner with the power to make people tell the truth. His clerk Helena narrates as a murder in a backwater town turns into a conspiracy. A legal procedural that keeps getting grimmer.
- Court Intrigue
- Morally Gray
- Found Family
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Torture, War
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7. The Warded Man
Shares: found family, morally gray, revenge
Every night demons rise from the ground, and people survive behind magic wards. Arlen watches his mother die because his father froze, and decides he'll fight back. Great first half. The handling of sexual violence in the back half is a common complaint.
- Demons
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one, Physical or emotional abuse
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8. This Savage Song
Shares: found family, morally gray
In Verity, violence literally breeds monsters. Kate wants to be as ruthless as her father, who runs half the city, and August is a monster who'd rather be human. No romance to speak of. YA and the best of Schwab's books for teens.
- Demons
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Murder, Suicide or suicidal thoughts, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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9. A Darker Shade of Magic
Shares: found family, morally gray
Four Londons, one magician who can travel between them and a thief who wants to be a pirate. Lighter than most on this list but White London is properly nasty.
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Assassins
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Torture
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10. Ninth House
Shares: revenge, morally gray
Yale's secret societies do real magic, and Alex can see the ghosts who watch them. Bardugo for adults: grimy, angry and a lot darker than Grisha.
- Dark Academia
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Drug or alcohol abuse, Murder, Harm to children
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11. Red Sister
Shares: found family, revenge
Nona is eight, about to be hanged, and gets rescued by a convent that trains nuns to kill. Murder nuns, friendship and some very nasty politics. Gentler than Prince of Thorns but still Lawrence, so nobody is safe.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Assassins
- Found Family
- Revenge
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Harm to children, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse
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12. The Shadow of the Gods
Shares: found family, revenge
Norse-flavored and set in a land where the gods killed each other and their bones still litter the land. Three narrators: a mother hunting her stolen son, a thrall with a dangerous secret, and a mercenary. The shield walls are the best in the genre.
- Gods and Mythology
- Found Family
- Revenge
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, War, Human trafficking, Death of a loved one
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13. The Sword of Kaigen
Shares: found family, morally gray
Misaki gave up her fighting life to marry into a warrior family on a remote peninsula. Then the empire she serves sends an invasion fleet. The first third is quiet family drama, and the payoff for sticking with it is brutal.
- Arranged Marriage
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
War, Death of a loved one, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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14. Interview with the Vampire
Shares: morally gray, found family
Louis tells a reporter how Lestat made him a vampire in 1791 New Orleans, and how they turned a dying five-year-old into a daughter. Lush, mournful and very homoerotic for 1976. Louis whines a lot, and Claudia is the real horror.
- Vampires
- Morally Gray
- Found Family
Content warnings
Murder, Harm to children, Gore, Death of a loved one
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15. Prince of Thorns
Shares: revenge, morally gray
Jorg is fourteen and leads a band of murderers. He's the narrator and he's awful, and you'll keep reading anyway. Short chapters and no mercy.
- Grimdark
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Harm to children, Gore
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