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.

The Lumbermill, a Compelling LA Noir Crime Novel by Laya V Smith

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The Bottom Line: This tasty 1950s L.A. noir crime novel goes down smoother than an Old Fashioned. Highly recommended. Start with an intriguing balance of icy underworld, a down-on-his luck detective and his bitter past. Add tart and zesty characters that you can’t help but root for from the get-go, and stir vigorously. Veteran fighter pilot-turned-detective Augy Small is down on his luck with no […]

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The Cry of the Lake, an Unforgettable Crime Thriller by Charlie Tyler

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The Bottom Line: An unforgettable small town crime thriller by one of the genre’s most exciting new voices. Charlie Tyler’s debut novel begins as six-year-old Lily discovers a dead body and, with the help of her sister, dumps it in a lake. The deceased is Amelie Townsend, a student of Lily’s father, who is a teacher at the local village school. Ten years later, she

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Dangerous Bureau, a Dark Psychological Thriller by Roger Williams

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The Bottom Line: A highly original dark psychological thriller that will delight fans of serial killer fiction. In a small California town, where ten children have been molested and murdered in the past year, five-year-old Cindy Helms is abducted at a mall after her teenage babysitter leaves her alone for a few minutes to slip away and have sex with her boyfriend. The little girl

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Darkness Drops Again, a Stunning Legal Thriller by Melissa E. Manning

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The Bottom Line: A stunning debut legal thriller that deftly combines white-knuckled courtroom action with hard-hitting personal drama. Attorney Maeve Shaw has a beautiful family and a thriving law career. But when she’s forced to represent a mother accused of killing her opioid-addicted daughter, her entire life teeters on the edge of disaster. Maeve has never practiced criminal law. That doesn’t matter to her boss,

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The Brains of the Operation, a Highly Recommended Prison Thriller

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The Bottom Line: A must-read for crime fiction fans. In Jason Palmer’s long-awaited follow-up to his excellent prison thriller The Big Guy, supersized Seamax prison inmate Percy Croft is at a crossroads. With only a few months left on his sentence, he wants nothing more than to just keep his nose clean and get released. Unfortunately, a powerful inmate named Bread has other ideas. Bread plans

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Trading Secrets, an Absolute Page Turner by Rachael Eckles

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The Bottom Line: A stylish, fierce, globetrotting crime thriller that fans of Janelle Brown and Kimberly McCreight will fall for. Finance executive Celeste Donovan can have most anyone and anything she wants within reason. But behind the facade lies a history of domestic abuse, financial crime and a trail of anonymous lovers. A war with sadistic ex-boyfriend Omar resulted in a miscarriage and a sabotaged

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Saving Grace, a Witty Whodunnit by D.M. Barr

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The Bottom Line: A witty whodunnit that fans of Janet Evanovich will love. Saving Grace opens with a bang as hacker Joe “Hack” Hackford is on the phone with his sister, novelist Lynn Andrews. Both are mixed up in a wacky extortion scheme with paranoid heiress Grace Pierrepoint Rendell, who has recently gone off a cocktail of strong psychotropic medication. During a critical point in

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Death on the High Seas, a Globetrotting Crime Thriller by Richard V Rupp

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The Bottom Line: An escapist, globetrotting crime thriller that is as fun as it is sophisticated. When FBI special agent Dick Hartmann accepts the offer of a free Caribbean cruise, he seems to understand that in crime fiction, there are no real vacations for criminal investigators. Upon boarding the ship, he pays a courtesy call to the captain to let him know that he and

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Our Song, Memento Mori: A Novel by PG Lengsfelder

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The Bottom Line: A searing murder mystery about a priest whose spiritual mission uncovers a community’s dark secrets. In Father Blu, Lengsfelder has created a series-worthy amateur sleuth. PG Lengsfelder’s novel begins as Father Jamie Bluterre’s commitment to his faith and mission is challenged by his superior, who risked his own reputation to bring troubled “Father Blu” to New York. To prove his worthiness, Father

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The Entitled, a Mesmerizing Murder Mystery by Nancy Boyarsky

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The Bottom Line: A mesmerizing murder mystery that is impossible to put down. Just weeks into Abigail Fletcher’s study abroad program at King’s College in London, her parents want the 17-year-old high school senior back in Los Angeles. Private investigator Nicole Graves is sent to escort her home. But why? Almost immediately after meeting Abigail, Nicole’s straightforward plan begins to unravel. The teenager is noncommittal

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