Secret societies are intriguing and fascinating – they add a layer of mystery and suspense to any fiction novel. And a lot of writers experiment with this in their novels. Sometimes, this is based on real facts, as in Dan Brown’s works, but others are purely fictitious figments of the author’s imagination, as in fantasies. Regardless, the air of elusiveness and the feeling that only the reader has access to these secretive elements in the book makes the reader swoon over the book. Remember Dumbledore’s Army in Harry Potter? Here’s a list of books with secret societies that will captivate you, specially curated for you.
Books With Secret Societies That Will Captivate You:
Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Set in a typical dark academia school, the Cambridge University, this book follows a very controversial professor. Edward Fosca teaches Greek tragedies at this school, and both his lovers and haters are ardent. The secret society in question is a group of female students, The Maidens, besotted with the professor. But when a member of this elite secret society is murdered, Cambridge alum Mariana Andris is hell bent on bringing Edward down, thinking he is behind all of this. The dark academia vibe, the complex characters and of course the secret society element take this book to a new level.
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
This is a book in the Langdon series by Brown, which shows the life and adventures of symbiologist Robert Langdon. The symbiologist in every book finds himself entangled in a murder and on the chase from the cops to find the perpetrator. And all of the books in this series take place over a day and a night. This book, in particular starts with Robert being called by the Museum of Louvre. Here, he must investigate the signs embedded on a dead man in the Louvre. Together with the man’s granddaughter Sophie, Langdon sets off on a trail. This leads him to the secret brotherhood of The Priory of Sion.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Pulitzer Prize winning Donna Tartt’s book is the epicentre of the dark academia world. The best part about it is that it gives strong Dead Poets’ Society vibes. It follows a secret society of misfits at Vermont’s Hampden College, under the tutelage of Classics professor. The narrator of the book is Richard Papen. He recounts his entry into the Hampden College and the events that follow. The professor of Classics accepts on a select few people into his course and denies Richard admission, almost like a cult. But with a twist in the tale, he somehow joins the exclusive student group. From here things spiral downwards as he gets to know of the evil brewing in the secret society, and the murders that stem from it.
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
This is an espionage thriller with elements of a secret history. The novel begins with Myfanwy Thomas waking up in a London Park full of dead bodies with no memory of what preceded this eerie event. Soon she gets a set of mysterious instructions, telling her that she is now a secret agent called Rook and tasked with protecting the world from the supernatural. And to top it off, someone wants her dead. This book deals with an exclusive group of secret agents who protect the world and try their utmost to keep their anonymity.
The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
Many people know of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Christie’s brilliant detective creations. However, this book features Superintendent Battle, and takes place in an eerie and chilling murderous world. The plot of this book begins with a harmless joke. Gerry Wade is known to sleep like a baby, and his houseguests set eight alarms throughout the morning. But after the seventh one goes off, they realize that the eighth one is missing, and this devolves into a tragic mess involving several murders.
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