Books to Read Now the The Traitors is Over and Your Life Has No Purpose Again

If you are still following me on social media at this point, I can assume you are either a fan of The Traitors or like me enough to somehow overlook my excited memes about murder, banishments and breakfasts. 

The BBC reality series returned to brighten up our January after becoming a national obsession in late 2022. The show came from nowhere to become a word-of-mouth hit, with Traitors Amanda and Wilf ascending to national heroes, alongside faithful 'Maddie Marple' and - of course - Claudia Winkleman's knitwear.

In what is essentially Werewolf, meets Among Us, meets The Crystal Maze, twenty-two players arrive at a Scottish castle in the hope of winning £120k. A number of them are secretly assigned 'traitors' and must meet every night to 'murder' a faithful. After the death is announced at breakfast, the whole group must work together to win money in folk horror-themed challenges, and then gather at the round table to evict a member of the group.

It's a game designed to generate huge amounts of drama and paranoia, which makes it spectacular TV. As one commenter said recently, there are moments when OFCOM is all that stands between the accused and actual blood sacrifice. 

This season delivered on the first's dramatic promise, with 'Paul couldn't be my son... but Ross is' becoming the most iconic TV moment of the year just six days into January, not to mention Diana's gothic funeral, Harry's coup over Paul, and Ross's late stage Shakespearean pratfall.

But now that it's over... how will we cope? There are still weeks of bitter, Traitorless winter left, followed by an equally Traitorless spring, summer and autumn. (Don't tell me that I can watch the other versions, we all know it's not the same.) 

Well, I am here to help you remain faithful to The Traitors just a bit longer, with some book recs that will keep the drama alive... 

The Books

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

This is the book that inspired The Traitors and every country-house-party-with-people-being-picked-off-one-by-one plot that's ever been written. If you haven't read it (or watched the excellent BBC adaptation) it's going to fulfil all your Traitors needs. 

Considered a masterpiece and a technical triumph, the book follows a group of ten who arrive on a remote island for what they believe to be an ordinary house party. With their hosts not present, a mysterious recording informs them that they are all murderers who have gotten away with their crimes and must now face justice. 

Over the course of the novel they begin to die, and with nowhere on the island for a killer to hide, and no way of escaping, they descend into very familiar suspicion and paranoia. 

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

But what if you are already familiar with And Then There Were None? Try this Japanese novel, which is a clever twist upon (and love letter to) Christie's book. 

A group of Kyoto university students are part of a detective-fiction club, inspired by the golden era of detective writers. As a summer trip, the club visits a remote island where a famous murder took place, staying in the strange decagon shaped guesthouse. They plan to write some stories and 'investigate' the island, but it's really just a slightly nerdy summer holiday. Soon enough real murders start happening - but unlike And Then There Were None, these people know the tropes inside out. 

Think of this as The Traitors' second series, where everyone is a bit more genre savvy. 

Hide by Kiersten White

If you prefer reality TV thrills over mystery, Hide is the perfect choice. A group is invited to play hide-and-seek in an abandoned theme park. They must make it to sunset without being found for seven days in a row. Much like The Traitors, the group is a mix of ordinary people who still aren't sure how they got invited, and wannabe media stars who are confused at the lack of cameras. 

Despite the large cast, the players are all likeable and easy to root for, each made desperate in their own way. Of course, as the book progresses it becomes clear that being found doesn't just mean losing the money... and leaving the game is not an option. 

If you often feel sorry that Millennials and Gen Zs in these sort of shows are competing for once-attainable things like a family home... this book has a lot to offer. 

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

A quirky feminist icon invites a bunch of talented young writers to her remote lodge with the offer of fame and fortune. But when they arrive they soon find that there is more than a fancy library and incredible breakfasts waiting for them - there are traitors in their midst and cameras watching their every move. Sound familiar?

Also, there is a brutal daily challenge that is far worse than jumping out of a helicopter - writing three thousand words.

If you like high-camp horror (and if you are reading this, then you probably do) this is going to be a good time for you. And much like series two, four people spend a lot of time in a dungeon. 

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

If you feel that there hasn't been enough knitwear and tartan on this list, then this book has you covered. 

A group of uber-wealthy friends stay at a luxury lodge deep in the Scottish countryside for New Year. One of their number goes missing and is found dead. But with a blizzard closing in, and outside help virtually impossible, it's up to them (and the much nicer lodge employees) to figure it out. 

This has lots of rural Scotland and luxurious interiors that will make you crave a Traitor's Tipple. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

What if you want the whole 'trapped together with killers' vibes... but as a gothic space-fantasy epic with added Hunger Games theming? Gideon the Ninth is going to be your jam. 

Gideon - the lowest-of-the-low in the gothic household of the Empire's gravekeepers - is press-ganged into being the champion sent to aid her lady on a mystery quest that will bring their house to greatness. Only when they arrive it becomes clear that they have been tricked by mysterious higher forces (like a godly Claudia Winkleman) and will have to form alliances, solve puzzles, and compete for their survival. 

Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie

RIP to Ar Di. Gay icon. People's Princess. Maker of dubious roast dinners. 

Diane may take comfort in the fact that she isn't the only one to have been betrayed by a 'glass of fizzy', as Agatha Christie's tale of murder-by-champagne proves. Unfortunately cyanide is somewhat faster acting than whatever poison Claudia knocked up, so the victim didn't get to join in on their own funeral procession. 

Bonus Read: Macbeth/Hamlet/Othello

(Providing you can actually find them.) 

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