We know about twin movies, what are some twin novels? (example below)

It's a lot more noticeable when two (or more) films with very similar premises release in the same year–Antz and Bug Story, Volcano and Dante's Peak, Deep Impact and Armageddon–but the same definitely happens in the book world. It's not hard to think of non-fiction titles on big events and political figures, but I'm wondering about twin fiction out there.

It's tricky because when it happens and one does break out, the other tends to disappear into obscurity. But maybe we can uncover a few lost gems this way.

One example is:
Defending Jacob by William Landay (2012), about a lawyer defending his son who may be a murderer

which was a big bestseller and overshadowed

The Good Father by Noah Hawley (2012), about a doctor whose son may be a murderer.

To be fair, these are not tomato/tomato and each book is very much its own unique animal–I am not arguing that either author knew of the other's work or in any way did anything underhanded. I'd say Landay's book is more 'commercial' in tone, and Hawley's more 'literary', and they do not follow the same beats. But in simple elevator pitch terms, they are similar enough for one to drink the other's milkshake among the relatively small book buying market.

It's a interesting coincidence to me, and wonder if it rings a bell for anyone out there!