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.

Devoted, a Brilliant New Novel by Dean Koontz

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The Bottom Line: One of the year’s best thrillers. Following up on his brilliant Nameless story collection, Koontz once again proves that age continues to make his work even more spellbinding and potent. Devoted is a towering achievement that is both suspenseful and full-bodied in terms of character development. Of all the characters Koontz has created in his storied career, canine Kipp is top five. Woody

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Tokyo Traffic, a First-rate Crime Novel by Michael Pronko

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The Bottom Line: A first-rate hardboiled crime novel set at the nexus between porn, human trafficking, crypto-currency fraud and murder. Michael Pronko’s third Detective Hiroshi series novel begins with a bang as Sukanya, a drugged Thai teenager, narrowly escapes a brutal mass murder at a well-known porn studio. In shock, she flees with a bag, an iPad and a computer containing damning evidence. When Detective

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The Cumal Files, a Fast-Paced Crime Thriller by James Keegan

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The Bottom Line: A fast-paced crime thriller featuring a memorable crime syndicate readers will never forget. James Keegan’s debut novel centers around an Australian secret society that uses a pagan belief system to justify sexual slavery and other criminal activities. Enter Sydney police investigator Dan Porter, who becomes obsessed with the disappearance of dozens of teenage girls, and soon finds himself on the trail of

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Murder LLC, a High-Octane Conspiracy Thriller by Bryan Cassiday

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The Bottom Line: LA Noir meets International Espionage in this high-octane, edge-of-your-seat gem. Highly recommended for Michael Connelly fans. For fans of hard-boiled crime fiction, it’s hard to imagine a better opening than what Bryan Cassiday delivers in the first chapter of Murder LLC: three hitmen dressed as nuns blowing up a small Catholic church south of the border. The audacious move is masterminded by

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Heirs Apparent, One of the Year’s Best Thrillers

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The Bottom Line: One of the year’s best thrillers. Fans of Matthew FitzSimmons will love Thorson’s meticulous, deliberate style. Heirs Apparent begins in Chicago as an assassin enters his target’s 18th-floor apartment, only to find that his intended victim has just been executed by someone else. A quick look around the apartment indicates that it was a professional hit by someone who knew the victim.

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The Glass Hotel, a Riveting Financial Thriller by Emily St. John Mandel

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The Bottom Line: A challenging, riveting and heavily textured psychological thriller. In a five-star hotel on Vancouver Island, Jonathan Alkaitis writes a terrifying messaging on the lobby’s glass wall: “Why don’t you swallow broken glass.” Jonathan is running an international Ponzi scheme. When the financial empire collapses, it obliterates countless fortunes and devastates lives. A female bartender named Vincent has been posing as Jonathan’s wife. Years later, a

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Terror in My Arms, a Fast-Paced Psychological Thriller by John T. Cullen

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Bottom Line: A fast-paced novella that will appeal to fans of serial killer fiction looking for a quick fix. Set in the decade before dating apps, social media and the #metoo movement changed romantic relationships forever, Terror in My Arms begins as attractive San Diego software engineer Sylvie Bancroft is propositioned by stranger Rob Turlock. He presents her with a bouquet of flowers and says,

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If It Bleeds, a Phenomenal New Thriller Collection by Stephen King

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The Bottom Line: A phenomenal collection of stories that rank among King’s best work and one of the year’s best thrillers so far. If It Bleeds delivers more proof that Stephen King has only gotten better with age. The book’s eponymously named story features eccentric investigator Holly Gibney, the character who stole some of King’s best scenes in the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and in The

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A Killer’s Wife, a Compelling Legal Thriller by Victor Methos

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The Bottom Line: A compelling legal thriller that will have you turning the pages well into the night. Victor Methos, author of An Invisible Client (one of our picks for the Best Legal Thriller Books of the Century So Far), is back with a bone-rattling read just in time for summer. A Killer’s Wife is the story of prosecutor Jessica Yardley, who has rebuilt her career

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The Dead Girl’s Stilettos, a Stylish, Sexy and Smart Crime Thriller by Quinn Avery

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The Bottom Line: A stylish, sexy and smart crime thriller with an amateur sleuth that readers will fall in love with. Bexley Squires has made a name for herself as a top investigative journalist, but her critical success hasn’t yet translated into a cash windfall. Living in a Brooklyn loft, she finds herself brilliant and beautiful, but also broke. The pitiful state of her bank

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