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.

Two Kinds of Truth, a new Harry Bosch Novel by Michael Connelly

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The Bottom Line: A perfect entry point for newbies to the Connelly’s Harry Bosch series. For the uninitiated, Connelly’s intrepid hero Harry Bosch was born in 1950 in Los Angeles to Marjorie Phillips Lowe and named after the 15th century Dutch artist. He became an orphan at 11 when his mother, a prostitute, was murdered. He subsequently grew up living in a youth hall and […]

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The Good Daughter

The Good Daughter, a New Karin Slaughter Crime Thriller

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The Bottom Line: One of the genre’s most prolific writers sets a new standard with this fascinating book set in an American small town. Easily the best Karin Slaughter novel we’ve read yet. Check out our ranked list of Karen Slaughter’s best books. In yet another gripping crime thriller by one of the best in the business, two girls are forced into the woods at

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Clues in the Lyrics

Clues in the Lyrics, a Must-Read Mystery for Music Lovers

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The Bottom Line: A tasty blend of music, nostalgia and murder that will bring a smile to your lips. A must-read mystery for music lovers. Everyone once in a while, a novel emerges that is tailor-made for serious music fans who will appreciate every subtle reference and nuance: Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One and Rob Sheffield’s Talking to Girls about Duran

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The Ice Maiden

The Ice Maiden, a Must-Read Police Procedural by BD Smith

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The Bottom Line: This small town murder mystery is a must-read for fans of police procedurals. Like most good small town murder mysteries, the core of BD Smith’s The Ice Maiden is a gifted detective beset by personal problems. Smith’s Detective Douglas Bateman, who serves with Maine’s Major Crimes Unit, confronts one tragedy after another in the line of duty, and his personal life is

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Bailey's Law

Bailey’s Law, an Intelligent and Immersive Crime Novel by Meg Lelvis

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The Bottom Line: An intelligent, immersive police procedural that will leave you pining for another Jack Bailey novel. Police Lieutenant Jack Bailey is an emotionally broken man. In an effort to escape his past, he has left his hometown of Chicago for the insufferable heat of Richmond, Texas, where he keeps to himself. Dedicated to his career, and a little too dependent on alcohol, he

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Never Go Alone by Denison Hatch

Never Go Alone, a Must-Read Crime Thriller by Denison Hatch

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The Bottom Line: The return of Denison Hatch’s unruly NYPD detective Jake Rivett is something to celebrate. Criminality in the Information Age has become a new frontier of Jake Rivett, the best undercover cop in the NYPD. After spending six months infiltrating a biker gang who rob banks by expertly blowing up ATM’s, Easton finally has a lead on the gang’s mysterious banker: a code

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Kept Woman Karin Slaughter

The Kept Woman, a Satisfying New Crime Thriller by Karin Slaughter

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The Bottom Line: Even when Slaughter’s not at her best, she still brings heated emotions to the contemporary police procedural like few of her peers. Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future. Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them. The author of Pretty Girls returns with an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges its fascinating protagonist into the darkest depths

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Death & Taxes

Death & Taxes, a Quintessentially American Crime Thriller by Richard Rupp

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The Bottom Line: A smart, morally complex and quintessentially American crime thriller. An IRS auditor is found dead at work from a gunshot wound with a small-caliber pistol. Was it suicide, or murder? That’s the question posed to FBI agent Dick Hartmann, head of San Francisco’s Violent Crime Squad. Readers know far more from the outset than Hartmann does (it was murder, of course), but

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Shattered Triangle

Shattered Triangle, a Well-Characterized Murder Mystery by William P. Messenger

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The Bottom Line: An uncommonly well-characterized murder mystery about the friendship between a politician, a priest and a police lieutenant. When a leading candidate for the U.S. Senate returns to his Los Angeles home, he finds his wife, two teenage daughters and eleven-year old son murdered. To investigating lieutenant and close family friend Tom Moran, it looks like a professional hit. But what could the

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Accidental Vigilante book cover

The Accidental Vigilante, a Crime Novel by Robert Sterling Hecker

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The Bottom Line: An impressive debut about vigilante justice that establishes author Robert Sterling Hecker among the most promising new crime novelists. When rookie detective Jeremy Porter is transferred to New Orleans’ Child Abuse Section, his initial exuberance quickly gives way to revulsion. He’s shocked to discover that extremely dangerous sex offenders live with little supervision from a stretched-thin police force, and recidivism rates range

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