Best Crime Fiction Books
Crime fiction stories usually involve a series of events leading up to the crime, the discovery of the crime itself and the subsequent investigation to uncover the truth behind the criminal act.
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The genre often includes elements of suspense, intrigue and plot twists to keep readers engaged and guessing until the very end.
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Readers are taken on a thrilling journey alongside main characters who are fighting their inner battles, whilst facing off against villains with sinister intentions.
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These books stood out to me because of the praise they received from readers and the promise to deliver engaging narratives that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
The one case he couldn't crack was the one that finally broke him. Haunted by his inability to track down and save his missing wife, DCI Robert Kett leaves the Metropolitan Police behind and moves to Norwich with his three young children, hoping to heal their broken family. But his newfound peace doesn’t last. Two newspaper delivery girls have gone missing in the city, and the clues point to a serial kidnapper. Kett is dragged into the centre of one of the darkest cases of his career—a case that pits him head to head against a horrifying evil. And a case that might uncover the terrible truth of what happened to his wife.
"By the time you read this, I will be dead." When Victoria Davies was murdered in 2001, all evidence pointed to her husband Michael. But twenty years later a letter has appeared, written by Victoria before her death; a letter never received, and revealing new suspects; Labour MPs Shaun Donnal, Andrew MacIntyre and Charles Baker. But two decades on, life has changed for these men. Donnal is now a paranoid alcoholic living on the streets of London, 'Andy Mac' is a popular YouTube Evangelist, and Charles Baker is the current Conservative Home Secretary, and bookie's choice for next Prime Minister in the upcoming Leadership Election. Now Detective Inspector Declan Walsh must navigate a minefield filled with political intrigue, adulterous affairs and brutal, bloody murder, as he tries to solve the case, with each suspect leading his new team to another skeleton in the closet... Can they solve the case -- before history repeats itself?
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....
Can you stop a murder when it's already happened? It's every parent's nightmare. Your happy, funny, innocent son commits a terrible crime: murdering a complete stranger. You don't know who. You don't know why. You only know your teenage boy is in custody and his future lost. That night you fall asleep in despair. Until you wake......and it is yesterday. Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. Another chance to stop it. ​Somewhere in the past lie the answers, and you don't have a choice but to find them....
There's a serial killer on the loose. When bodies start washing up along the banks of the River Thames, DI Henley fears it is the work of Peter Olivier, the notorious Jigsaw Killer. But it can’t be him; Olivier is already behind bars, and Henley was the one who put him there. The race is on before more bodies are found. She’d hoped she’d never have to see his face again, but Henley knows Olivier might be the best chance they have at stopping the copycat killer. But when Olivier learns of the new murders, helping Henley is the last thing on his mind . Will it take a killer to catch the killer? Now all bets are off, and the race is on to catch the killer before the body count rises. But who will get there first – Henley, or the Jigsaw Killer?
This grave can never be opened. The head of Scotland’s most powerful crime family is brutally murdered, his body dumped inside an ancient grave in a remote cemetery. This murder can never be forgotten. Detectives Max Craigie and Janie Calder arrive at the scene, a small town where everyone has secrets to hide. They soon realise this murder is part of a blood feud between two Scottish families that stretches back to the 1800s. One thing’s for certain: it might be the latest killing, but it won’t be the last… This killer can never be caught. As the body count rises, the investigation uncovers large-scale corruption at the heart of the Scottish Police Service. Now Max and Janie must turn against their closest colleagues – to solve a case that could cost them far more than just their lives…
CCTV footage captures Cate and Aiden Gascoigne driving home seconds before their car plunges into a ravine and explodes. When fire crews arrive, the vehicle is empty. Cate and Aiden have vanished. Missing persons investigator David Raker has solved too many impossible cases. He knows that behind every disappearance lies a dark tale waiting to be uncovered. What he doesn't know is how dark this one is - or how close it will get to him . .
If you can't live with the truth, bury it. Following a devastating encounter with a serial killer, Detective Inspector Freya Bloom is left mentally scarred. After a six-month sabbatical, and no desire to return to the bustling London streets, she accepts a position in rural Lincolnshire in search of a slower pace of life. But with London behind her, and a new life in the wild fens of Lincolnshire before her, she finds only endless drama in her new team, a tortured romance in her only ally, and crimes so deadly even the steely determination that drove her to success is tested. From the moment Freya’s expensive heels hit Lincolnshire soil, the push-pull relationship with her Sergeant begins. Noses are put out of joint, tempers are frayed, and more importantly, a body is discovered on a wild beach. There’s no time to make friends. If Freya is to make her mark in this remote county, she must work with the team she’s been given, and untangle the web of lies surrounding the death of teenager, Jessica Hudson. Can Freya ditch her designer heels for wellington boots, and adapt to the country life? Can she shape her new team into something workable? And can she put her past behind her long enough to prevent a second murder?
A group of high school students gather on the Isle of Skye’s remote Coral Beach for a hedonistic night of partying to celebrate the passing of their final exams. The new millennium is on the horizon and the future beckons, promising new hope and a fresh wind of optimism. In the coming days, many will leave the island for work or to study on the mainland, whereas others will remain on Skye and forge a more traditional path much as their families have done for centuries before them. That is… all but one… D.I. Duncan McAdam is dispatched home to the Misty Isle. A body has been found buried in a remote location on the Waternish peninsula. Well preserved in the peat, Isla Matheson – missing for the better part of two decades – is revealed to a shocked island community. A teenage runaway is dead… and no one is talking… Joining a small team of detectives, Duncan is tasked with revisiting those who knew Isla, those who cared for her… and those with the potential to kill her… In a remote community well used to settling scores among themselves, will they trust one of their own when he asks questions or will they persevere with the façade of ignorance?
Detective Chief Inspector Rohan Roy is close to burning out. He works night and day in London to bring a human trafficking gang to justice, but when he unleashes his own particular brand of the law, his superiors take notice. He is ordered to take a sabbatical. To his horror, he is dispatched to Sheffield, a place he knows only vaguely. But this isn't any ordinary sabbatical. A child has gone missing in Sheffield, and the kidnapper has left a ransom note with a white Lily attached... It seems the dreaded Lily Man is back, the brutal killer who took children, and sent white lilies to the parents. The Lily Man was never caught, and his victims were discovered dead. But one victim, a seven year old boy called Robin Roy was never found. He was DCI Rohan Roy's brother. No one knows what happened to Robin. The guilt sticks to Roy like a second skin. After twenty seven years, has the Lily Man returned? As the days slip by, Roy begins to fear the worst. Then another little boys disappears. Once again, a note and a white lily is left for the parents. The Lily Man strikes again, taunting Roy and his team. Roy's sense of reality begins to unravel as the stress worsens. Will he catch the Lily Man before the town loses another child?
