16+ Books with Unforgettable Duos
If you love the connections and chemistry of great literary duos, the books on this list are for you.
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An unforgettable duo can make a good story great. It’s why “buddy movies” are a thing, and these novels with excellent duos bring that same energy.
We love a compelling character, but there’s something about the chemistry between a captivating duo that speaks to us.
As humans, we crave connection with others. So as readers, it’s so satisfying to be let in on special connections between characters.
It can help us understand what makes our own connections so special, and it can just be entertaining when an author really gets what makes two characters click.
If you, too, enjoy a great literary duo, you’ll love these books.
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Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
Author: Elle Cosimano
Publish Date: 2021
Genres: Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers
Author Finlay Donovan is struggling. Her book isn’t finished, she needs to make some money, and her ex-husband is threatening to sue for full custody of her kids. When she’s mistaken for a contract killer while discussing her book with her agent, she finds herself in the path of the local mob, dodging the police, and stealing the too-weird-to-be-true events for her novel.
I don’t typically rate a book like this five stars, but it was just so absurd, so fun and funny that I couldn’t put it down and loved every minute. Finlay and her nanny/friend Vero are the perfect bumbling duo–I adore them.
Now Is Not the Time to Panic
Author: Kevin Wilson
Publish Date: 2022
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.
This is the phrase that 16-year-old Frankie writes on the poster that she makes with Zeke, who adds his art. The two add their drops of blood, make copies, and post it all over their small Tennessee town. This act–this phrase–defines their summer, and the years after. The mystery of the posters captivates the town and it soon becomes a phenomenon that spreads far beyond their town, beyond anything they can control–and the repercussions are devastating.
Everything about this had me hooked, from the way the art spread (long before the internet and things went viral) to how Wilson perfectly captures life in a small town. One of my favorites of 2022.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Publish Date: 2022
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
I love it when books take me into worlds that normally wouldn’t interest me and makes them compelling. In this case, it’s gaming. Sam and Sadie have been friends since childhood, brought together by chance in the hospital. After years apart, they run into one another at the Harvard Square T-stop and strike up a collaboration. Before graduating, they, with the support of their friend Marx, build a video game that propels them to success.
This is the story of their friendships, told over decades, complicated by and held together by their professional partnership. Zevin has created a full collection of wonderful characters, but her main duo of Sam and Sadie shine even more with the addition of Marx. I loved watching their love stories grow and evolve, and how their connections hold through illness, failure, and tragedy.
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A Gentleman in Moscow
Author: Amor Towles
Publish Date: 2016
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
In 1922 Russia, aristocrat Count Alexander Rostov has been sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol hotel. As he makes a home in his small attic room, he builds relationships and finds his place and purpose from inside the hotel, as decades of history unfold literally outside his door.
Rostov’s charm and wisdom shine as he builds family and community with the vivid characters who share space in the Metropol, but his friendship with 9-year-old Nina brings him to life.
The Sign for Home
Author: Blair Fell
Publish Date: 2022
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Arlo Dilly is a DeafBlind man in his twenties. He is bright and curious, but also isolated within his Jehovah’s Witness community and by his controlling uncle. When Arlo decides to take a college writing course, interpreter Cyril reluctantly agrees to the assignment, uncertain of his tactile sign language skills. Cyril and Arlo soon open new worlds to one another, as Cyril teaches Arlo about the rights he never knew he had, and Arlo shows Cyril what it means to be brave and take risks for love.
I loved this story for so many reasons. I was not familiar with tactile signing or much about deafblindness at all, and I learned so much by reading both Arlo’s and Cyril’s points of view. Aside from all I learned, the characters were fantastic, with rich backstories, flaws, and so much heart. There are many serious themes in this book, but the relationships and quirky characters (including an elderly guide dog and an eccentric Belgian) added levity and delight.
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
Author: Marianne Cronin
Publish Date: 2021
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Lenni is 17 and she is dying. She lives on the terminal ward in a hospital in Glasgow, but she is determined to eke life of the time she has left, in the place she is. When she joins the hospital’s arts and crafts class, she meets Margot. Together, they’ve lived for 100 years, and they decide to embark on a project to create 100 paintings to celebrate their century of life.
I loved Lenni’s thoughtful determination, Margot’s vibrant personality, and how their friendship in the present grows as they reflect on their pasts. Bittersweet and wonderfully narrated.
Razorblade Tears
Author: S.A. Cosby
Publish Date: 2021
Genres: Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers
Ike and Buddy Lee are two ex-cons with a mission: find who killed their sons (who were married to one another) and get revenge. They are an unlikely pair; Ike is a Black man on the straight-and-narrow for 15 years, while Buddy is a white redneck who is rarely sober for a full day. Both fathers struggled to accept their sons, but both are grieving hard and regretting their own failures following their deaths.
Their search for the killer leads them back into the violent world they left behind–and they slip back in comfortably. Cosby has created two unforgettable characters who could have been drawn as endearing men who simply made past mistakes, but the gruesome and cavalier violence makes it clear: they are hardened criminals who will do whatever it takes to fulfill their end.
The story is gripping, the violence is gruesome, and Ike and Buddy Lee’s relationship and journey will stay with you. Highly recommended.
Meet Me in Another Life
Author: Catriona Silvey
Publish Date: 2020
Genres: Fiction, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Thora and Santi meet at a clock tower as college students in Cologne, but their bond is cut short by a tragic accident…Until they find each other again, in another life, when Santi is a teacher and Thora is a young child in his class. And then another, in which they are married. And another, and another. With each subsequent life, they remember more of their past lives. Soon, they are on a mission to understand and end the loop.
A genre-bender with a bit of magic and sci-fi together.
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The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
Author: Dawnie Walton
Publish Date: 2021
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Opal and Nev were a provocative rock due in the 70s, joining Nev’s folksy songwriting with Opal’s loud, flamboyant, and political performances. When Opal protests the brandishing of the Confederate flag by another band at her label’s showcase performance, the event turns violent. Decades later, a music journalist with a personal interest in the story is writing a book about Opal and Nev, bringing to light what really happened.
This fictional oral history of Opal and Nev–the band is fictional and so is the story–is just as riveting as any history you might read about your favorite band. It’s less about the debauchery of rock life than about the constant inequalities, racism, and sexism Opal faced as a Black woman in the music industry, and how it affected the trajectory of her and Nev’s careers.
We Begin at the End
Author: Chris Whitaker
Publish Date: 2021
Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers
Walk is chief of police in his small town, and he worries endlessly about his destructive childhood friend and her neglected children. Duchess, 13 and a self-declared outlaw, is ready to defend her brother with all she has. As the troubles of the past meet the present and come to a head, Walk and Duchess are powerless to stop the damage.
This started slow, but soon had me riveted. There’s hope and resilience here, but it broke my heart in a million different ways. Don’t miss this one.
Boop and Eve’s Road Trip
Author: Mary Helen Sheriff
Publish Date: 2012
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
College student Eve is worried about her best friend and cousin, Ally. She hasn’t heard from her, and all signs point to trouble. Eve’s grandmother, Boop, is in turn worried about Eve–all of her signs point to major depression, which Boop knows something about. The two set off on a road trip, with Eve hoping to find Ally and Boop struggling with whether to share a long-held secret that may upend her family.
I initially thought this would be a light read about a goofy road trip–and Boop’s very Southern witticisms will definitely bring a few chuckles–but it was much more than that. I appreciated that Boop is a fully developed older character who has a wonderful dynamic with Eve. Delightful and heartfelt.
A Star Is Bored
Author: Byron Lane
Narrators: Noah Galvin
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Charlie lands the job as eccentric actress Kathi Kannon’s assistant by chance. He starts as a fan–and an employee desperate to keep his job. He soon becomes essential and as she depends on him more, he wonders where he starts and she ends–and whether he can save her from herself.
This was a fun audiobook listen, filled with snark and Hollywood absurdities. It’s fiction, but a great choice if you love a good tell-all (the author is Carrie Fisher’s former assistant, though he makes clear this is not a memoir).
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The River
Author: Peter Heller
Publish Date: 2020
Genres: Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers
The River begins slowly: college friends Wynn and Jack drifting down a Canadian river in their canoe. But soon the two men spot a wildfire in the distance, then encounter two other pairs on the river and try to warn them. Their leisurely journey turns into a race to safety, where the fire is not the only threat they face.
Heller is obviously a skilled outdoorsman; he doesn’t ignore the beauty and brutality of the setting or what it takes to survive in it, even as he builds the tension of this fast-paced nature story. Wynn and Jack are an unforgettable pair that you’ll want to root for.
My Sister the Serial Killer
Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite
Publish Date: 2018
Genres: Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers
Korede would do anything for her sister, Ayoola–and she does, when Ayoola starts killing her boyfriends. As Korede realizes that her sister is veering into serial killer territory, Ayoola sets her sights on the doctor Korede is in love with herself. Korede struggles with how to protect both the man and the sister she loves–but she may have to choose.
Filled with dark humor and a little absurdity, this book is hard to classify but is a good choice if you’re looking for a quirky mystery or thriller audiobook. Ayoola and Korede aren’t exactly a lovable duo like many in this list, but their sisterly bond and destructive path will have you hooked.
My Brilliant Friend
Author: Elena Ferrante
Publish Date: 2012
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
The first in The Neapolitan Novels series, My Brilliant Friend tells the story of the friendship of two girls growing up in a poor, rough neighborhood in 1950s Naples, Italy. Lila especially is compelling in her impulsive magnetism, and I related to the bookish reserve of Elena (the narrator), always trying to keep up with her friend even as she, in many ways, surpasses her.
As they follow different paths and forge their own identities, the girls weather the push and pull of adolescence amidst the changing political and cultural landscape that surrounds them. You’ve likely seen the New York Times list this as the top book of the century; now is a great time to pick it up.
News of the World
Author: Paulette Jiles
Publish Date: 2016
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Captain Jefferson Kidd travels the west, reading the news from around the world to the small hamlets scattered across the yet-untamed land. At one stop, he is asked to return a young girl who the Kiowa held captive for years after killing her family. Johanna has almost no memory of her previous life, including how to speak English, but she soon comes to trust Kidd. The two become an unlikely team as they face threats on their journey.
I loved Kidd and Johanna, their journey, and how their relationship unfolded. Kidd’s newsreading events that drew entire towns felt both foreign and charmingly innocent in contrast with today’s information overload.
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