Books like Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
Set in 19th‑century Seattle—then known as Rapid City and surrounded by airships and steam‑powered machines—Karen, an orphaned young woman, works in Madame Damnable’s upscale brothel. Through her eyes readers meet a resourceful group of girls, the city’s poor and powerful, and a night when a badly injured girl seeks refuge. The threat escalates when her protector’s machine, capable of controlling the mind, becomes involved. The next night, a murdered streetwalker is found, deepening the danger.
First publish date: 2015
Genre: General Fiction/General Fiction
Authors: Elizabeth Bear
★
★
★
★
★
4.3 (3 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to Karen Memory (18 similar books)
Gavin Guile, the powerful Prism who governs as high priest and emperor, must complete five impossible goals in five years while concealing a son’s existence that threatens the fragile peace of his world.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Detective Inspector Liz Kavanaugh leads the high‑tech Rule 34 Squad, unearthing the sinister ties between three ex‑convict spammers and their murders.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A desperate orphan wife of a murdered scientist teams with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to hunt a fugitive murder suspect, uncover secret societies, and confront monstrous experiments in a thrilling mystery.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Detective Lindsay Boxer faces two intertwined murders in San Francisco, racing against time to solve a brutal shooting and a jewel heist while her personal life teeters.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Dr. Temperance Brennan must confront a resurfacing child‑murderer as the Charlotte PD Cold Case Unit investigates a new victim in Vermont and North Carolina, risking her own demons to stop the relentless psychopath.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Detective Erika Foster follows a chilling trail from a frozen body in a South London park to the strangulated remains of three prostitutes, uncovering a sinister network beneath the city’s glittering surface.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A former high‑school best friend, now a Seattle PI executive, uncovers the truth about her missing friend’s murder, a serial killer tied to a past obsession, and new bodies that echo a chilling crime.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Claire Banning, a beautiful debutante, marries a wealthy nobleman only to discover he is a dissolute wastrel. Forced to take her place in society, Claire is abducted and captured by a dangerous nobleman named Hugh Battancourt who leads a life dedicated to his country's service. When they are separated, Claire realizes she can never be happy with her husband, and Hugh realizes he can never be happy with his captive. Their bond grows stronger, and they are forced to overcome their differences to protect each other from a dangerous enemy.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Henrietta Bennett, a Southern heiress, thrives as a jazz‑era socialite and publishing heir before her fierce lesbian romances provoke scandal and a life of addiction. Her story blends glamour, alcoholism, and LGBTQ history.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Alison Smith returns to Dublin after ten years away when a new murder in the Grand Canal forces her to confront the past she left behind—an investigation that could expose the darkest truth about the notorious Canal Killer, Will Hurley.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A Civil War veteran turned novelist becomes an unlikely detective in Edwardian London, confronting serial murders that expose the city's hidden horrors.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Vanessa Tower, a cautious college teacher, meets the daring crash of a daredevil, Christopher "Crash" Dunmoor, and finds her world turning upside down.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Virginia state trooper Riley Tatum returns to a grisly crime scene that forces her past to surface as a serial killer known as the Shark hunts her.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Detective Wolf races against time to capture the elusive Black Lotus Killer, confronting a cold case from his past while avoiding an Internal Affairs investigation.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
The Angel of the Crows by Karen MillerThe City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
The Red Queen's War Trilogy by Mark Lawrence
Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs
The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!