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.

Birds of Prey Don’t Sing, a Bold Assassination Thriller by Joe Cary

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The Bottom Line: A bold assassination thriller about a perfect kill that refuses to stay buried. Highly recommended. Birds of Prey Don’t Sing opens on the African savanna in 1988 with sixteen-year-old Michael Harrier lying prone on a ridge. As poachers rake an elephant with automatic fire, Michael calmly picks them off with a sniper’s rifle. Just as he muses about the seduction of self-righteousness, he swears the poachers’ […]

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Sayonara, My Sweet, a Sophisticated Crime Thriller by Lea O’Harra

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The Bottom Line:  A gritty, compact and emotionally sophisticated crime thriller that should win over plenty of Michael Pronko fans. Sayonara, My Sweet opens with a Nippon Daily evening-edition newspaper report announcing the mysterious death of twenty-three-year-old Kaori Hirakata in Murota after she collapses from poisoned chocolates. Set in a quiet town where violent crime is rare, author Lea O’ Harra’s framing is immediately effective.  The

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The Fires of Rubicon, an Unforgettable Crime Novel by Robert Allen Stone

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The Bottom Line: For fans of police procedurals, The Fires of Rubicon is an unforgettable rust belt noir that lingers long after the last page. Set in 1971, The Fires of Rubicon opens in Cleveland Police Headquarters, where Lieutenant Alex Wesner and Detective Sergeant Benjamin Friedman question a troubled young man whose account of steelworker Anton Wojcik’s disappearance feels sprawling and unreliable. Anton’s job places him beside

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Bloody Deeds novel

Bloody Deeds, a Tense and Twisty Murder Mystery by Stephen Kronwith, M.D.

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The Bottom Line: A tense, twisty murder mystery built on false evidence, fierce loyalties and a heroine worth following anywhere. As Bloody Deeds opens, Nassau County homicide detective sergeant Jane Rieger-Franklin is at home with her wife, Anna, talking about artificial insemination and the future shape of their family. Then the phone rings, and the novel swerves hard into crisis. CPA Jeremy Summers, husband of Detective Vivian Summers,

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Full Circle, a Darkly Clever Murder Mystery by Stephen Kronwith, MD

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The Bottom Line: Darkly clever, fiercely human and utterly engrossing. Kronwith has created another original gem. Full Circle opens with an unforgettable prologue: a young policewoman witnesses a fatal hit-and-run, and her sharp observations and quick action lead to the conviction of the driver, a brilliant but unrepentant physicist named Liam Martin. Ten years later, the same officer, Detective Sergeant Jane Rieger-Franklin, has built an

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Tokyo Juku, a New Detective Hiroshi Murder Mystery by Michael Pronko

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The Bottom Line: Five Stars. Tokyo Juku exposes the devastating cost of academic success in an exquisitely crafted murder mystery. Tokyo Juku opens in the dead of night inside a Tokyo cram school, where Mana, a sleep-deprived student, is pulling an all-nighter in hopes of acing her university entrance exams and being accepted to an elite school. After falling asleep despite guzzling caffeine drinks, she wakes to find

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Nightshade, an Absorbing New Detective Thriller by Michael Connelly

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The Bottom Line: Connelly proves once again why he is the king of the modern detective thriller. Michael Connelly’s Nightshade introduces readers to a new detective while delivering the hallmarks that have made his Bosch and Ballard series so addictive. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been “exiled” from his homicide desk on the mainland to the quieter beat of Catalina Island. His new

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Vanishing Act, a Riveting Criminal Biography by Jerry Jamison

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The Bottom Line: One of the most riveting criminal biographies of the 21st century. Fans of Mindhunter and The Wolf of Wall Street will fall hard for Vanishing Act.  Vanishing Act begins with a deadly road trip from Minnesota to California. A promising engineering student, his mother and another man were heading west to take positions at a wartime defense factory. They had advertised for a fourth traveling companion to share in gas money

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Never Flinch, a New Holly Gibney Crime Thriller by Stephen King

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The Bottom Line: A propulsive crime thriller that intertwines obsession, morality and the fragile line between justice and revenge. In Never Flinch, Stephen King returns to the crime thriller format that has produced some of his most brilliant novels – Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, The Institute (see where the novel ranks among King’s best books). As usual, he reveals the identity of his villain early

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Sua Sponte: The Minneapolis ADOZ, a Must-Read by Mikael Carlson

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The Bottom Line: A must-read. Sua Sponte is both a high-concept action thriller and a nuanced examination of American social unrest seen from multiple points of view.  Sua Sponte: The Minneapolis ADOZ begins as Emmit “Chicago” Haskins, a battle-hardened Staff Sergeant in the 75th Ranger Regiment, leads a convoy through the perilous terrain of southeastern Syria near Al-Tanf Garrison. This forgotten outpost on the borders of Iraq and Jordan is a

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