Have you ever read a book, put it down, think you’ve moved on, only to find you can’t shake it? That’s me with The Secret History by Donna Tartt. If you’ve read it, chances are you loved it or you loathed it—there doesn’t seem to be much in between. If, like me, you are the former, you’ve probably tried to find something similar for a follow up read, with varying levels of success. I’ve been there. In fact, I’m still there. Every book touted as being “for fans of Donna Tartt” has found its way into my hands at some point. I’m on an epic, Don Quixote-like search for the perfect Secret History read-alike*. Some would call this a fool’s errand, but I’m determined that one day I will find it (and I know I’m not alone!). But until that happens, there are some perfectly respectable efforts on offer, all reminiscent in some way of Tartt’s 1992 classic. So, how to determine which ones are worth the read? A good Secret History read-alike will be composed of some very specific ingredients.

First, the setting: stone buildings, leafy campuses, nostalgic but with a hint of menace. The book might take place in the 21^st century, but that doesn’t really matter; it should evoke a lost world of old-school academia (think Dead Poets Society). But the setting isn’t enough! The characters must live this aesthetic to the fullest. They should live in a romanticized bubble, apart from their more ordinary peers, studying something completely impractical like Classics or philosophy. Who needs the real world? Not these characters. I’d argue that Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series is the YA equivalent of The Secret History in spirit. Though more blatantly magical, and a bit more rose-coloured, its charms are much the same: the old, moneyed campus; the group of teens living mostly on their own, carving out a world for themselves (in this case literally); and a sense of danger lurking in the shadows. It makes sense that these books inspire the same devotion as Tartt’s classic, since they play with the same elements that make The Secret History so memorable. Try searching for “moodboards” of either and you’ll notice that the internet has basically fused them into one big, aesthetically-pleasing, morally questionable super-novel.

But what The Raven Cycle also shares with The Secret History is intense, obsessive relationships. Tight-knit doesn’t even begin to describe these friend groups. It’s an example of the “found family” trope, a staple in millennial media (have you noticed that all our TV shows are about close friends?), but turned up to eleven. And it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, either. There’s a sinister quality to the relationships in The Secret History—an uneasy feeling of being out of the loop—under the polished surface that any good Secret History read-alike needs. Messy personal lives are a trademark of this “genre”. In fact, it can be traced all the way back to Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited, who slowly falls apart for reasons unsaid. We know now that it was most likely a mix of his staunch Catholicism at odds with his repressed homosexuality (although the debate about this rages on). Though it might be less taboo in the 21^st century, this kind of complicated sexuality shows up in both The Secret History and The Raven Cycle (Ronan Lynch, anyone?), and pretty much any book following in Tartt’s footsteps. Tana French’s The Likeness captures the exclusionary group dynamics of The Secret History, as well as the tangled, troubled web of relationships spun from so few people being so close, as do Ryan Ruby’s The Zero and the One and Erin Kelly’s The Poison Tree.

But what about the biggest, most unavoidable plot point of these novels? I’m referring, of course, to the little issue of murder. Why do these books so bent on the pursuit of aesthetics all revolve around something so ugly? I think Tartt gives us a clue: “Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful […] than to lose control completely?” This is more or less the basis of all the best Secret History read-alikes. Murder is humanity at its most base; the opposite of the characters’ perfect, controlled aesthetic. That these two things exist at the same time is the point. In one way or another, somebody in these books needs to die, probably at the hands of one of their friends. But the books aren’t always whodunits; they’re whydunits. We know from the beginning that so-and-so is killed—what we’re reading is the build up to the event. We watch the cracks appear in the beautiful surface of these stories, and then we wait in anticipation as they deepen and spread, until the inevitable collapse.

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So while I excitedly dig into The Long Black Veil, hoping it’ll scratch that Secret History itch, I’ve compiled a list of other recommended read-alikes that Tartt fans might want to check out. Whether it’s got the murder aspect, the preppy school setting, the messy personal lives, or the general enjoyable pretentiousness (or all four!), these addictive reads will keep you up way past your bedtime. Check out the list below. And if you’re in the mood, share your own recs!

*a “read-alike” is a book that is similar in subject matter, tone, writing style, etc. to another book. Check out NoveList for all kinds of read-alikes for all kinds of books!