Hello everyone,
It is time for another look back at the books I read over the past five years, and this time I am on the letter ‘C’. When preparing this post, it became apparent that this is a very common letter for character names, book titles, and settings!
So as this will be a long list…let’s get straight to it.
C.L. Taylor
A prolific author of thrillers, which are all fast-paced and have short, snappy titles. I have read five of her books so far and they have been a somewhat mixed bag, but my favourite was The Escape.
Cadman
A social media expert who sat on the government panel in The Passengers by John Marrs. He was annoying but his character was a clever and relevant concept.
Call Me Charles
Stevie Bell’s tutor in the Truly Devious series. Known for his casual attire, he asks students to call him Charles, hence the nickname.
Call Me Star Girl
A claustrophobic mystery by Louise Beech, where a local radio presenter is at the centre of a sequence events involving the recent murder of a woman, while presenting her final show.
Calla
One of the members of the mysterious commune in A History Of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw. Her memories are hazy and all she knows is that she cannot leave.
Calliope
The Greek muse of epic poetry, who acts as the narrator in the wonderfully feminist A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes.
Camilla Way
Another author of thrillers, Camilla Way’s novels are tense and full of twists. I have read three of her books, and easily the best one was The Lies We Told.
Camino
One of the two main characters in Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. From the Dominican Republic, a tragic plane crash that kills her father leads to her meeting Yohaira, the sister she did not know she had.
Camp Nightingale
The main setting for Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager, a place where three teenagers vanished years ago during a summer school, and history looks set to repeat itself in the present.
Cara Hunter
The author of the brilliant DI Adam Fawley police procedural crime thrillers. I also interviewed her in a blog post back in 2019.
Cara Ward
Pippa Fitz-Amobi’s best friend in the A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder trilogy.
Carfax
One of the scholars at Montverre in The Betrayals by Bridget Collins. He is clever and brilliant, but is hiding a secret.
Caroline Parcewell
The main character in The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. A historian whose marriage is collapsing, she researches a vial that she finds while mudlarking next to the River Thames.
Cassandra
The tragic daughter of Greek mythology who forecast the Trojan War but was condemned to the fact nobody would believe her pronouncements. She has appeared in a few retellings I have read, most notably Elektra by Jennifer Saint.
Catalina
The sister of Noemi in Mexican Gothic, who has been left isolated at the mysterious house of her new husband Virgil.
Cathy Rentzenbrink
The author of Dear Reader, a non-fiction book detailing Cathy’s lifelong love of books and her career as a London bookseller.
Celestial Kingdom
One of the main settings for Daughter Of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. The Celestial Kingdom is ruled by the Emperor and Empress, which has jurisdiction over the Immortal Realm.
Celia
The name of two significant characters I read about in 2022. First there is the famous actress in The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo, and then one of the competitors in The Night Circus, who has the ability to create magical illusions.
Chang’ee
The Moon Goddess in the Daughter Of The Moon Goddess duology. A very peaceful character who has been banished from the Celestial Kingdom after stealing an elixir to become immortal.
Changeling
The third book in the Six Stories series by Matt Wesolowski. This was actually the first book I read in the series and it blew me away, especially with a jaw-dropper of a twist at the end.
I have also read a few books featuring children who are said to be changelings, such as The Good People by Hannah Kent and The Cottingley Cuckoo by A.J. Elwood.
Charles England
The seemingly amiable homeowner who governess Ruby May works for in Mrs England by Stacey Halls, but he is intriguing and not what he initially seems.
Chase
The murder victim in Where The Crawdads Sing. Main character Kya Clark is the main suspect and it turns out she had a connection to him.
Chauncey
One of the children at the home Linus Baker visits in The House In The Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Chauncey is a shapeshifter and quite anxious due to negative experiences in past homes.
Chava
The Golem who is created in The Golem And The Jinni by Helene Wecker. She is hunted but her peaceful nature and desire to help people make her adorable.
Chelsea
The expensive house that Libby inherits in The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell is in the expensive Chelsea area of London. Elsewhere, DS Gislingham in the DI Adam Fawley series is a massive fan of Chelsea FC.
Cheshire Cat
One of the more memorable characters in Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and the subject of one of my favourite literary quotes:
“Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,’ thought Alice ‘but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!”
The Chestnut Man
An edge of the seat Danish crime thriller by Soren Svelstrup; one of the best thrillers I have read and one of my top books of 2021. It was adapted by Netflix the same year.
Child Brunswick
A child involved in a series of historical murders by his father in Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson. He was given a new identity by the authorities.
China
The setting for some of my favourite books! Of course, there is the These Violent Delights duology in particular, while Daughter Of The Moon Goddess is based on Chinese mythology.
The early 20th century Chinese Exclusion Act is also a key plot device in Luck Of The Titanic by Stacey Lee, where most Chinese people were not allowed to enter the United States.
Chloe Gong
The author of the These Violent Delights duology and several follow-ups, Chloe Gong is arguably my favourite author at this moment. Given her young age, what she has achieved is inspiring and stunning – the quality of her storytelling and their attention to detail. I could read just about anything she writes.
Chris Hudson
The Detective Inspector in the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman, who befriends the residents of Cooper’s Chase and often gets thrust into their schemes.
Christmas
Just for fun. I do not read many Christmas-themed books, but some of the books I have read do feature Christmas in some capacity.
Circe
A Greek goddess who gets banished to a remote island by her father Helios. She is the subject of an iconic book by Madeline Miller, which I read in 2020.
Claire Allan
An author of thrillers which are usually set in her native Northern Ireland. Her writing is taut and she is adept at creating a sinister atmosphere. I have read three of her novels to date.
Clap When You Land
A brilliant novel by Elizabeth Acevedo which is written in verse. Telling the story of two sisters who are brought together following a plane crash that killed their father, it was one of my top reads of 2020.
Clare Mackintosh
One of the most highly respected and successful UK thriller authors of recent years, Clare Mackintosh made her name with the outstanding I Let You Go in 2016. I have read that and all her subsequent novels since. Her most recent. The Last Party, is actually my current read.
Cleo
A Salem journalist in The Once And Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, whose relationship with Beatrice was one of the many highlights.
Climate Change
Several of the books I have read over the past five years explore the very current and relevant topic of climate change. These are often in dystopian novels, and Kristin Ward is a frequent exponent with books such as After The Green Withered and Rise Of Gaia.
Close To Home
The fantastic first book in the DI Adam Fawley series by Cara Hunter. It introduces you to great characters and storytelling, and is still arguably the best one of the lot.
Clytemnestra
The wife of Agamemnon, who takes her deadly revenge upon his return from fighting in the Trojan War. I have seen her represented in a few books, and she is one of the three narrators in Elektra by Jennifer Saint.
Colin
A naval soldier in the Second World War who miraculously survived several weeks in a lifeboat. His story is beautifully told in the semi-biographical How To Be Brave by Louise Beech.
Concrete Rose
Written by Angie Thomas, this is the sequel to The Hate U Give, which focuses on Starr Carter’s father Maverick during his childhood. It was a great read that I picked up during the summer of 2022.
The Confession
A compelling book by Jessie Burton that I read at the start of 2021, which tells the story of a woman who seeks out an elusive author to find out more about her lost mother.
The Confessions Of Frannie Langton
A very powerful historical fiction by Sara Collins, which I read in the summer of 2020. Frannie has one of most unique voices I have ever come across. It was adapted for television in 2022.
Connie
The most notable character called Connie that I have read is the elusive author mentioned above in The Confession by Jessie Burton. She is fascinating in both timelines. There is also a career criminal in the Thursday Murder Club series called Connie, who is very entertaining to read.
Connor/Conor
The name has two different spellings, but I will include it on this list as one entry. Conor is the name of the main protagonist in A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, and there is also a boy called Connor in The Mountain In My Shoe by Louise Beech who spends his childhood in foster care.
Cooper Clay
One of the Bayview Four in One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, suspected of killing Simon Kelleher. A baseball pitcher with hopes of making it as a professional, he is reluctant to reveal his sexuality.
Cornelia
The maid who works at Nella and Johannes Brandt’s house in The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. Emotional yet tactful, she is one of my favourite characters in the book and its sequel.
Cornelius Locke
January’s guardian in The Ten Thousand Doors Of January by Alix E. Harrow, and the head of the secretive archaeological society that study the doors.
Cornwall
A county in South West England which is the setting for several books I have read. The most famous example is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but there are others including Bone China by Laura Purcell and Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas.
The Corset
A brilliant Gothic novel by Laura Purcell, which I read in 2020. The writing was outstanding and the plot so clever, and it had a memorable ending to cap it all off.
Corwin
One of the two siblings in The House At The Edge Of The World by Julia Rochester, who along with his sister Morwenna looks for his long lost father.
Cottingley
The place where two young girls apparently captured photographs of fairies in a famous hoax in the 1920s. This was explored in The Cottingley Cuckoo by A.J. Elwood, which I read in 2022.
The Couple Next Door
The debut thriller by Shari Lapena, and one of the most widely recognised in the genre over the past few years. Although Lapena has published several novels since, this is the one she is still best known for.
Courtroom
A number of books I have read contain scenes that take place in a court room – some more than others. There are the legal thrillers such as Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh and No Further Questions by Gillian McAllister, and books where a main character goes through a trial, like Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
The Cousins
A young adult thriller by Karen M. McManus, published in 2020. I took part in the blog tour for this one and it was good, although the twists were a bit repetitive.
Crooked Kingdom
The second part of the Six Of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. This one is relatively slow paced, yet the character development is extraordinary.
Cult
A few of the books I read in the past five years have featured cults. The ones that stand out are The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell and A History Of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw.
And there we have it – that was a long list!
Have you come across any of these books, authors, or characters? Let me know in the comments!
Happy reading 🙂
Stephen Reads Books 