With the series revival just around the corner, every Twin Peaks fan is dusting off her cherry pie recipe as we speak. Because the series is bound to end — again — eventually, I've got 10 books for you to read if you like Twin Peaks, because you know you'll want something to pass the time in the wake of David Lynch's return to television on May 21.
For those of you not in the know, Twin Peaks aired in 1990 and 1991 before being unceremoniously canceled. Ratings declined in the second season as producers pushed up the series' big reveal: Who killed Laura Palmer? Regardless, everyone's psyched to see their favorite characters on screen again.
Twin Peaks takes place in the titular Washington logging town, where everyone has a few secrets lurking in their closets. The story centers on F.B.I. Agent Dale Cooper, who arrives to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer, the homecoming queen next door. Cooper's examination reveals that all is not well in Twin Peaks, where local business-owners run across-the-border brothels, and mystic visions haunt receptive outsiders.
Twin Peaks is a series like no other, which is why it has had a lasting influence on creatives of a certain niche. The 10 books for Twin Peaks fans below capture the essential elements of Lynch's short-lived show, from small town intrigue to brushes with the unknown. Check out my recommendations, and share your favorite Twin Peaks-esque books with me on Twitter!
1
'Pines' by Blake Crouch
Openly inspired by Twin Peaks, Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines Trilogy came to television as the 2015 FOX series Wayward Pines. The story centers on Ethan Burke, a Secret Service agent who wrecks his car in a town he cannot escape.
2
'The Hearing Trumpet' by Leonora Carrington
A 92-year-old woman discovers that her family plans to place her in a retirement home, but it's unlike any institution you've ever seen. Operated by a married couple of cult members, the Well of Light Brotherhood's Institution for Senile Females houses a number of fascinating old ladies, including a murdering abbess in search of the Holy Grail.
3
'Under the Harrow' by Flynn Berry
Londoner Nora journeys to the English countryside for a visit with her sister Rachel, only to find both the woman and her dog murdered in their home. Even though the village appears untouched by the vicious crime, Nora elects to remain in town for the duration of the investigation, which uncovers secrets from the sisters' collective past.
4
'Behind Her Eyes' by Sarah Pinborough
In the way of The Girl on the Train, Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes shifts between two female narrators connected by one man. Louise is a single mother who kisses David in a bar, only to find out the next day that he's her new boss. Adele is David's wife, in love with him, but also afraid. Their triangle deepens when Louise inserts herself into their marriage, cozying up to both husband and wife.
5
'Welcome to Night Vale' by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Based on the podcast of the same name, Welcome to Night Vale takes place in an isolated desert town haunted by inexplicable events. The novel focuses on Jackie Fierro, a pawn shop owner who cannot rid herself of a mysterious note, and Diane Crayton, a PTA mom whose shapeshifting son has taken a renewed interest in his long-lost father.
6
'Dancing with the Tiger' by Lili Wright
After traveling from New England to Mexico to recover Montezuma's death mask, Anna finds herself competing for the artifact against an untrustworthy expat, a drug lord, and a meth-addled excavator. Friends and lovers connect these major players, who rely on disguises and intrigue to achieve their goals.
7
'Gun, with Occasional Music' by Jonathan Lethem
This hardboiled novel follows a P.I. named Conrad Metcalf, hired to investigate a doctor's wife before the doctor himself turns up dead. In a dystopian noir populated with karma cops, Babyheads, and a literal kangaroo in a dinner jacket, Gun, with Occasional Music feels like a dream Agent Cooper can't wake up from.
8
'The Orange Eats Creeps' by Grace Krilanovich
Set in the Pacific Northwest of the 1990s, Grace Krilanovich's The Orange Eats Creeps paints a dark portrait of that time and place, with a cast full of addicted and addled vampires and drifters. At the center of it all, a girl who has ESP when she's high searches for a sister taken by "The Highway That Eats People."
9
'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami
After his wife tasks him with recovering their lost cat, Toru discovers a dry well that leads to a hotel room in a parallel world. Toru comes back marked, and bearing healing powers, but continues to spend time in the well, until he's not sure which of his two worlds is the real one.
10
'A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain' by Adrianne Harun
When First Nations girls start disappearing in a British Columbia logging town, five teenagers with issues of their own work to clean up adults' messes. The inclusion of a refuge called the Peak and Pine Motel is an obvious reference to Twin Peaks and Wayward Pines, but A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain features more cut-and-dry heroes and villains than either of its predecessors.
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