Crime Thriller Books

The best crime thriller book reviews. “Crime thriller” is a catch-all term for thriller subgenres that feature a struggle for dominance between criminals and law enforcement, such as mafia thriller, police procedural, detective fiction, true crime, serial killer fiction and others.

Stuntman

The Stuntman, an Impeccably Paced Action Thriller by Evan Graver

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The Bottom Line: Don’t miss this sharply funny, impeccably paced action thriller. Amidst an ocean of heroes who take themselves far too seriously, Luke Wesson is a breath of fresh air. The Stuntman opens on a Hollywood movie set as Luke Wesson – doubling for actor Jordan Reese – prepares to jump his motorbike onto the roof of a moving train. After a bee sting triggers […]

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The Best C.J. Box Books, Ranked in Order

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What are the best CJ Box books? For newcomers to Box’s work, deciding which book to pick up first is a serious challenge. That’s because Box has been incredibly prolific in the years since the publication of his first novel. Box is best known for his Joe Pickett series, featuring an honest, upright, hardworking and faithful Wyoming Game and Fish warden. Pickett’s famous flaw is

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Don’t Look Down, a Surprise-Filled Murder Mystery by Matthew Becker

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The Bottom Line: Brimming with strong personalities, Don’t Look Down is a surprising and propulsive murder mystery, as well as a worthy follow-up to Run.  The follow-up to Matthew Beckers’ must-read debut novel Run opens on Theodore Roosevelt Island with the murder of a United States Senator. As homicide Detective Emilia Brown and her new partner begin investigating the Senator’s disappearance, she interviews Ben Walsh in an attempt to get insight into a

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Psychopathic, a Highly Recommended Psychological Thriller

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The Bottom Line: Melby reinvigorates the psychological thriller with a peerless heroine, masterclass pacing and a judicious sense of foreboding throughout.  Psychiatrist Faith Galloway is the epitome of resilience. The blind physician, accompanied by a German Shepherd named Zeus, seems to have a heightened sense of awareness, moving easily through city streets and train stations. She enjoys a strong professional reputation for treating especially troubled patients,

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Black Yéʼii, a Must-Read Small Town Crime Thriller by Joseph Lewis

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The Bottom Line: A must-read small town crime thriller that will please new and old fans. Black Yéʼii opens in Waukesha, Wisconsin, as Carmen Benevides finds three terrifying strangers on her doorstep. The trio is searching for her teenage son, Angel, and they won’t take no for an answer. Minutes later, Angel receives a text message from his mother’s phone: I need you to come home right away. It’s

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The Girl Goes Home, an Edge-of-Your-Seat Murder Mystery by Dorian Box

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The Bottom Line: The Girl Goes Home delivers an edge-of-your-seat murder mystery years in the making, along with explosive courtroom drama and a compelling emotional arc for the series’ favorite duo. For fans who have followed Emily Calby’s plight after the brutal murder of her mother and sister in the series’ first installment, the book’s opening feels like a triumph in itself. This, the fourth book in Dorian Box’s Emily Calby series, finds our heroine

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Manic Edge, a Riveting Mafia Thriller by C.J. Simone

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The Bottom Line: Music stardom meets mafia meddling in this riveting continuation of the Children of the Mob series.  The second installment in C.J. Simone’s Children of the Mob series continues the story of Gabe Giordano, Savannah Fletcher and their up-and-coming band, Shine. In Manic Mission, Gabe, an Italian-American heartthrob, was determined to break from his abusive environment and make a living in the music business. As Manic Edge opens, Shine has a song climbing

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Spy Thriller of the Year: The Spy Who Hated Me by Haris Orkin

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The Bottom Line: Voted the year’s best spy thriller in the 2024 BestThrillers.com Book Awards. Since the debut of the wildly funny You Only Live Once, the first book in Haris Orkin’s James Bond satire series, Orkin has been far more prolific than the material that originally inspired him. The latest installment in Orkin’s James Flynn Escapade series, The Spy Who Hated Me, is Orkin’s fifth since the

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NIGHTMARE BEFORE MARDI GRAS, an Unflinching Police Thriller by Robert Sterling Hecker

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The Bottom Line: A fast-paced, unflinching police procedural about a detective’s personal mission to solve a heinous child sex crime. In Robert Sterling Hecker’s debut novel, The Accidental Vigilante, detective Jeremy Porter quickly transformed from a rookie in New Orlean’s Child Abuse Section into an unstoppable force for justice. Hecker’s second novel featuring Porter, who is now the squad supervisor for the New Orleans Police Department’s Child

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