Police Procedural Books

The best police procedural book reviews. A subgenre of crime fiction, police procedurals focus on the methods and tactics used by law enforcement to solve cases and catch criminals.

Blaze In, Blaze Out – The Year’s Best Crime Thriller

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The Bottom Line: The year’s best crime thriller (Winner, The BestThrillers.com Book Awards). A superb crime drama simmering with suspense and deep character studies en route to an explosive finale. Joseph Lewis’ latest novel tells the story of two lawmen who find themselves hunted by killers loyal to an Ukranian kingpin. The book opens in Chicago’s Cook County Criminal Court, as a jury finds Dmitry Andruko […]

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In Danger of Judgment, a Well-Crafted Gangland Crime Thriller

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The Bottom Line: A well-crafted gangland crime thriller with a fascinating military subplot and a deliciously mysterious villain. Set on the mean streets of Chicago in 1987, In Danger of Judgment follows two police officers as they work eight drug-related murders. All were professional hits with no witnesses.  Chicago Police Detective Marcelle DeSantis isn’t afraid of using her good looks to attract the attention of

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Family Curse, a Fast-Paced Crime Thriller by Bruce Lewis

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The Bottom Line: A fast-paced and relentlessly ominous crime thriller that readers can devour on a long flight.  Bruce Lewis, author of the terrific thriller Human Strays, returns with his second Kim Jansen novel. Like its predecessor, Bloody Pages is largely set in Oregon and is centered around one of society’s most troubling social ills. Here Lewis explores the theme of intergenerational violence, and he

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When You Leave Me, an Irresistible Small Town Murder Mystery by Susan Wingate

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The Bottom Line: An intense, irresistible small town murder mystery that crackles with twists.  When You Leave Me dangles its delicious first clue in the opening sentence: a shoe containing a human foot, one of several that have washed ashore on the San Juan Islands over the past year. Does it belong to Larry Michaels, whose footless body was found months earlier?  Susan Wingate’s fifth Friday Harbor novel – which

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Gag Me, a Must-Read Whodunnit by Susan Wingate

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The Bottom Line: A must-read whodunnit that is fresh, funny and truly innovative. Gag Me transports readers into the fragile psyche of a small-town waitress whose best friend, Winsey, is murdered. She works at a diner in tiny Friday Harbor, Washington, and had the misfortune of being the last person seen with Winsey. As such, she’s called in for questioning, and soon after, taken to

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Threads, a Mesmerizing Crime Thriller by Bryan Cassiday

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The Bottom Line: A fast-paced, mesmerizing blend of classic LA noir and contemporary whodunnit. Bryan Cassiday’s fourth Scott Brody thriller finds the private investigator framed for the the murder of a controversial LA fashion designer. It doesn’t look good for Brody. The explosion that killed designer Max Reed happens not long after Brody delivers a package from local mobster Sal Andrasi, and he knows the

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Vice & Virtue, a Smart Police Procedural by Justin M. Kiska

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The Bottom Line: This smooth-as-whiskey police procedural proves Kiska’s already smart series is only getting better. Recommended. The trouble with skeletons is that they never stay buried for too long. And novelist Justin Kiska unearths them literally and figuratively in his sophomore novel and continuation of the Parker City Mystery series. Detective Ben Winters and his partner Tommy Mason are back. When we first met

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FREEZE BEFORE BURNING, a riveting whodunnit by Nikki Stern

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The Bottom Line:  A riveting whodunnit featuring a truly creative killer and one of the most compelling new sleuths in the genre. A serial killer is at work in New York City. The three seemingly unrelated victims – a priest, a librarian and a bartender – have been forced to swallow dry ice. And we’re not talking about a trace amount. Somehow, investigators believe, the

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The Best Crime Thriller Books of the Decade

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The 2010s was a decade chock full of amazing mysteries and thrillers. In particular, the crime thriller genre – inclusive of detective fiction, FBI thrillers, serial killer fiction, heist thrillers, police procedurals and many other whodunnits – has burned brightly. While the genre’s old guard continued to crank out plenty of winners, the decade’s best crime thrillers arguably came from relative newcomers like Gillian Flynn,

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Tokyo Zangyo, the Year’s Best Mystery Novel

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The Bottom Line: Pronko’s best Hiroshi series book yet. Hiroshi is now as synonymous with Tokyo crime fiction as Harry Bosch is to LA noir. Voted the Best Mystery of 2021. Detective Hiroshi’s latest case revolves around the likely suicide of a Japanese media executive who appears to have jumped from the roof of a 20-story building. He died in the exact same spot as

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