This is going to be, I think, not actually books that are like JS&MN in any way, but books where I feel the same way about the magic. If I aim for “like JS&MN” I get the sort of emotional roadmap of Shirley; the Nine Tailors; the Last Unicorn. I think at least one of those is even maybe a good answer? Anyway:
1. The Mysterious Mr. Quin – Agatha Christie; did you know that all Poirot novels take place in the same universe where an avatar of death walks around encouraging a little Victorian gentleman to solve romantic mysteries, because, that’s totally a thing.
2. The Merlin Conspiracy – Diana Wynne Jones; also… the second of two related yet different books… Deep Secret is also good and would sort of work? But this is mainly here because it’s got shades of Wild Hunt/I have a huge crush on its version of Gwyn ap Nudd.
3. I can’t decide which Frances Hardinge novel to say but my top two contenders are A Face Like Glass and The Lie Tree. Frances Hardinge is great at hitting the same… emotional resonances? … that keep me coming back to JS&MN. So.
Mr. Quin and Mr. Satterthwaite are awesome (as Deaths go, Mr. Quin is much more Hermes than Grim Reaper.)
Mooncustafer 