21 Gripping Crime Novels and Why We Love Them

Why we love it: It’s a propulsive new crime novel that delivers classic genre thrills. 

From Kevin Wade, showrunner of the celebrated police procedural series Blue Bloods, Johnny Careless follows Jeep Mullane as he investigates a murder that strikes too close to home. After earning his detective’s badge in New York City, Mullane returns to his old stomping grounds on Long Island’s North Shore — and soon finds himself plunged into a baffling crime when his childhood friend Johnny “Careless” Chambliss turns up dead. The case is a morass of treacherous players, deadly secrets, and untouchable wealth that Jeep will have to wade through if he hopes to find the killer. 

Why we love it: It’s a riveting murder mystery with a creepy antagonist and haunting atmosphere.

Bestselling author Peter Nichols sets this gripping crime tale against the misty backdrop of coastal Maine. Alex Brangwen is a single dad in scenic Granite Harbor and serves as the town’s sole detective. It’s a quiet place to keep the peace — until a local teenager is brutally murdered at a nearby archeological site. When a second body is discovered, it becomes clear that a serial murderer is on the prowl. Alex joins forces with Isabel, a single mother who works at the archeological site. They’ll do whatever it takes to defend their kids, but the town may be harboring darker secrets than they ever meant to uncover.

Why we love it: It’s a sophisticated crime drama about power, justice, and family.

In Locust Lane, Stephen Amidon delivers a captivating domestic thriller that explores the dark side of American suburbia. Emerson, Massachusetts, is the type of idyllic enclave most families would dream of calling home. But when young Eden Perry is found dead in the big house on Locust Lane, once-friendly neighbors close ranks and lock their doors. With their kids’ lives on the line, the influential residents of Emerson will stop at nothing to protect their own — even if it means letting someone else take the fall.

Why we love it: It’s a mesmerizing Irish crime novel with a complex plot.

A New York Times bestseller, Tana French’s In the Woods is the first in the author’s acclaimed Dublin Murder Squad series. The book follows Detective Rob Ryan as he investigates the baffling murder of a young girl whose body is found in the same woods where Ryan was discovered two decades ago spattered in blood and with no memory of what happened to his two missing friends. As the past collides with the present, the detective strives to solve the murder case and unlock the mysteries of his own history. 

Why we love it: It’s an unflinching narrative about love and hate in modern America.

A teenage girl is missing and a young Black man is dead in this New York Times bestseller set in 1970s Boston, when the city’s desegregation of its public schools descended into chaos. Small Mercies, by crime fiction titan Dennis Lehane, follows Mary Pat Fennessy as she races to find her missing child. But her determined search may turn up information that certain folks — like the Irish mob — would rather she leave alone.

Why we love it: It’s a crime noir classic written by a groundbreaking author.

Two men meet on a train and strike a dark and deadly deal. It’s a twisted proposal that finds Guy Haines caught up in a plot he never anticipated — exchanging a murder for a murder. The novel that inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic film of the same name, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train is a gripping examination of guilt and darkness lurking just beneath the surface.

Why we love it: It’s a biting Southern crime novel about vengeance and redemption.

Ike and Buddy Lee don’t have much in common, but when their boys — husbands Isiah and Derek — are killed, the two ex-cons set off for revenge. Neither man ever fully accepted their son’s sexuality, and both hold prejudices against the other for the color of their skin. And yet, over the course of their violent quest for retribution, they just might find themselves changing for the better.

Why we love it: It’s a Great American Novel from a master of hardboiled crime fiction.

Private investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by a fading millionaire to solve a blackmail case targeting one of his daughters. But as Marlowe delves into the investigation, he finds himself entangled in a complex web of extortion, seduction, double-crosses, and murder.

Why we love it: It’s a crackling crime novel that infuses the genre with fresh life.

On the streets of Los Angeles, Isaiah Quintabe investigates the crimes the LAPD overlooks. IQ, as he’s called, is an investigator for the people, charging only what his clients can offer. Sometimes, however, IQ must take on clients with deeper pockets to pay his bills, which is how he ends up in the midst of a wild and dangerous case involving an attack dog, a crazy hit man, and a rap mogul.

Why we love it: It’s an electrifying contemporary crime thriller series with a fierce punk heroine. 

The first in Stieg Larsson’s international blockbuster Millennium series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a modern-day masterpiece and one of the best crime novels to hit shelves in recent memory. A troubled journalist joins forces with a formidable punk hacker to find the missing scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, only to uncover a staggering web of crime and depravity. 

Why we love it: It’s the award-winning author’s stunning crime fiction debut about small-town mysteries and big secrets.

Decades ago, Aaron Falk’s best friend, Luke, provided him with an alibi for a murder accusation. Now Aaron has returned home to the town that shunned him, this time as Federal Agent Falk, to attend Luke’s funeral — and to investigate his mysterious death. But Aaron is on edge during the course of this case because he and Luke lied all those years ago, and some people know the truth.

Why we love it: It’s an absorbing crime thriller laced with plot twists and compelling characters.

A New York Times bestseller hailed as one of the best crime novels of the decade, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is a skillfully crafted story about a missing wife and a questionable husband. When Amy Dunne goes missing, her husband, Nick, soon flips from the spouse of the year to the top suspect in her disappearance. Amy’s diary may offer some insight into the dark truths of their relationship, but is that enough to figure out what happened to her?

Why we love it: It’s a complex crime narrative centered on a haunting mystery.

In this acclaimed crime novel by CWA Diamond Dagger Award winner Val McDermid, a teenage girl vanishes from her isolated English village in 1963, propelling young inspector George Bennett into the hardest case he’s ever taken on. With scant clues to follow and few witnesses willing to talk, Bennett’s search goes cold, tormenting the investigator in the years that follow. Decades later, Bennett finally shares his story with journalist Catherine Heathcote — but when new information about the investigation comes to light, Heathcote finds herself at the dark center of the long-unsolved mystery.

Why we love it: It’s the thrilling debut of an acclaimed mystery series by a titan of Nordic noir.

The crime novel that launched Henning Mankell’s celebrated Kurt Wallander series, Faceless Killers follows the Ystad police inspector as he investigates a chilling crime. Details of the case threaten to fan the flames of Sweden’s combustible debate over immigration, and Wallander’s already got a host of personal dramas to manage as he plunges headlong into this gripping mystery. 

Why we love it: It’s a propulsive family saga wrapped up in a crime romp by a two-time Pulitzer winner.

Ray is a full-time furniture maker and a part-time crook. With baby number two on the way, money is tight, and Ray agrees to help his cousin and the shady crew he’s taken up with on a big heist. But when the plan goes awry, Ray gets caught in the middle, and his double identities threaten to collide. Colson Whitehead delivers the thrilling goods in this celebrated crime tale set in 1960s NYC. 

Why we love it: It’s a witty modern noir with a heaping scoop of murderous hijinks.

Korede’s sister, Ayoola, definitely has a type — she prefers her men with her knife in their chests. It’s alright, though, because Korede knows how to clean up her sister’s bloody messes. But when Korede’s longtime crush asks for Ayoola’s number, Korede must decide which person she’ll protect.

Why we love it: It’s a timeless whodunit by the Queen of Crime.

A train stopped by a snowstorm, a murdered millionaire, and a carful of passengers as suspects — Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is a crime novel classic. Detective Hercule Poirot has a killer to catch in this icy and influential locked-room mystery.

Why we love it: It’s a twisty noir with an ahead-of-its-time perspective on misogyny.

In 1940s Los Angeles, former fighter pilot Dix Steele covets the power he feels he’s owed — so he wanders the city at night, looking for women who are out on their own. Meanwhile, Brub, an old Air Corps acquaintance of Dix’s, is now with the LAPD. His current case? Tracking down a strangler prowling the streets of L.A. Tautly constructed and boldly told, Dorothy B. Hughes’s In a Lonely Place is a midcentury noir classic and a damning portrait of toxic masculinity.

Why we love it: It’s a sharp and impactful detective story about race and justice in America.

An Edgar and Anthony Award winner, Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke centers on Darren Matthews, a Black Texas Ranger. When a Black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman are murdered in the small Texas town of Lark, Matthews heads up Highway 59 to take the case. With simmering racial tensions threatening to boil over and his own job on the line, Matthews is under pressure to get this case solved, and fast.

Why we love it: It’s a dark and complex Scandinavian crime novel from a Nordic noir heavyweight.

The third installment in Jo Nesbø’s lauded Harry Hole series, The Redbreast finds Harry on mundane surveillance duty after an embarrassing episode with the Oslo police force. But while monitoring neo-Nazi activity in Oslo, the detective uncovers a sinister mystery with links to Norway’s ignoble past and the Third Reich.

Why we love it: It stands as one of the most outstanding works of crime noir — and for good reason.

First published in 1934, James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice is a sensational read and one of the best crime novels of all time. A young drifter wanders into a diner, where he meets a beautiful woman who happens to be married to the diner’s owner. Soon, the pair fall into a torrid affair and begin to scheme for a new life together — they’ll just have to get rid of her husband first.