Read-alikes and related books

Books like Once Upon a River

24 books recommended for fans of Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield, tied together by themes of Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology, Mystery & Detective, Fantasy, and Literary.

Top related books to Once Upon a River

Curated picks selected for thematic resonance, narrative overlap, and author diversity.

The Mists of Avalon

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

Goddess of the River

Vaishnavi Patel

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

Chimera

John Barth

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

Stone Blind A Novel

Natalie Haynes

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

The Ghost Tree

Barbara Erskine

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Mystery & Detective • Literary

Babel Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

R. F. Kuang

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

A Scandal in Battersea

Mercedes Lackey

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Mystery & Detective • Fantasy

We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat

Syou Ishida

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Mystery & Detective • Literary

Finding Camlann: A Novel

Sean Pidgeon

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Mystery & Detective • Fantasy

#10

Kaikeyi A Novel

Vaishnavi Patel

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#11

Lapvona A Novel

Ottessa Moshfegh

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#12

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride A Novel

Roshani Chokshi

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#13

Circe

Madeline Miller

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#14

Beowulf A Translation and Commentary : Together with Sellic Spell

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#15

The Secret Market of the Dead

Giovanni De Feo

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Mystery & Detective • Fantasy

#16

A Wild Winter Swan A Novel

Gregory Maguire

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#17

Moon Witch, Spider King

Marlon James

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#18

Ithaca

Claire North

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#19

Resurrection of the Phoenix’s Grace (Book Four) Phoenix Teen & Young Adult Epic Fantasy with Phoenixes

LRW Lee

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Mystery & Detective • Fantasy

#20

Orphia and Eurydicius

Elyse John

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#21

Gods and Fighting Men by Lady I. A. Gregory, Fiction, Fantasy, Literary, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology

Lady I. A. Gregory

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#22

Tolkien Myths and Legends Box Set Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, the Fall of Arthur, Beowulf

J. R. R. Tolkien

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#23

Gods and Fighting Men

Lady I. A. Gregory

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

#24

Galatea A Short Story

Madeline Miller

Themes: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology • Fantasy • Literary

The 24 books on this list are tied together by themes of Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology, Mystery & Detective, Fantasy — the same threads that run through Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. Among the authors featured: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Vaishnavi Patel, John Barth, Natalie Haynes, and others.