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 Bottom Line: Inspired by harrowing true events and real-life people, Torched is a must-read. In the summer of 1964, newly minted Methodist preacher Sam Ransom drives from Atlanta to his summer post in rural Mississippi. From the start, he knows they’re going to work him to the bone, as he’s expected to preach five times each Sunday at various area churches as well as
Torched, a Must-Read Suspense Thriller by Joe Edd Morris READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: The best book yet about Japan’s relationship break-up industry. Japan’s “wakaresaseya” (literally “breaker-upper”) industry is hardly new, but few in the west are familiar with the service, which typically involves an agency hired by one spouse to seduce the other in order to gain the advantage in divorce proceedings. In Stephanie Scott’s immaculately research novel, unhappy husband Satō hires Kaitarō, a wakaresaseya
What’s Left of Me is Yours, a Romantic Suspense Novel by Stephanie Scott READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A pulse-pounding serial killer thriller that you soon won’t forget. Highly recommended. Lester, a delusional killer who runs a family-owned inn, preys on teenage girls on the Jersey Shore. He finds them in online chat rooms, then uses email to gain enough information to begin stalking them in the physical world. After abducting them, he fulfills his perverse desire to make them
Sincerely Yours, a Pulse-Pounding Serial Killer Thriller by Cathy Bevilacqua READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: Lush, evocative and gritty, Grey Daze is the gold standard for psychic detective novels. Psychic detective Lance Underphal has a long history of putting criminals behind bars in the great state of Arizona. But in Michael Allan Scott’s third series book, Grey Daze, his psychic abilities may be the very thing that puts him in the slammer. Years after his wife’s tragic death in a car accident,
Grey Daze, a Must-Read Psychic Detective Novel READ MORE >
The Bottom line: Fast-paced, evocative and urgent from the get-go, Express Intent is the best Gold & Courage series book yet. Inexplicable mysteries are afoot in West Texas. Just after midnight, a breach at a military research and development lab leaves a security guard dead, his finger amputated to get past the biometric security pad. The power has been cut, and a multi-million dollar prototype
Express Intent, a Mesmerizing Legal Thriller by Karen S. Gordon READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: An epic new take on serial killer fiction that is reminiscent of Stephen King’s best work. Set two decades before helicopter parenting went mainstream, 14-year-old Daniel Dixon plays from dawn until dusk in a Canadian mining town. Then, someone starts slaughtering the town’s pet cats and birds. Daniel turns amateur sleuth and attempts to recruit his friends to help find the killer.
Mad Dog, an Epic Serial Killer Thriller by David Wickenden READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A complex medical thriller that hits like a bombshell. Prepare to be up long past your bedtime. Esteemed neurosurgeon Dr. Ernie Girard seems to have it all. With a profile studded with prestigious institutions like Yale, UCLA and the Mayo Clinic, his neurological institute is about to be snapped up by a German conglomerate, which could net him more than $60 million.
Asesina, a Bombshell Medical Thriller by Craig Keffeler READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A fresh and timely take on the serial killer thriller that feels nearly as startling as American Psycho did decades ago. American Slaughterhouse: Confessions of a 911 Paramedic poses a terrifying question: what if a first-responder that we depended on to save lives has in fact been abusing their power to demean, degrade and commit mass murder? Doc Cage is the pseudonym
American Slaughterhouse, a Fresh and Timely Serial Killer Thriller by Doc Cage READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A deeply psychological crime thriller that perfectly captures the terrors of both murder and life itself. Highly recommended. Financial auditor Claire Chastain is sure she’s being followed as she drives to work. She remembers that days earlier, a man introducing himself as a police detective appeared at her door, asking about the last conversation she had with a close friend that she
The Friday Cage, A Premium-Grade Suspense Thriller by Andrew Diamond READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: This nervy, disturbing, gut-punch of a vigilante novel is unlike anything you’ve ever read. It’s also one of the year’s best thrillers. With few exceptions, the legal thriller genre exists to elevate fictional heroes of the justice system – attorneys, judges and others who go beyond the call of duty to ensure fairness in an otherwise unfair world. In his novel The
The American Strangler, One of the Year’s Best Thrillers READ MORE >
