The Ultimate Crime Scenes: Eight Thrillers to Keep You Captivated
If you’re like me, crime thrillers are your genre of choice. So I have gone and put together some of the best titles I have read over the past few years.
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Nineteen Minutes
- Author: Jodi Picoult
- Rating: 5 stars
I know what your thinking gentlemen, “Jodi Picoult only writes soppy girly novels!” Not so. Nineteen Minutes follows the lives of Peter Houghton and Josie Cormier, childhood friends who have drifted their separate ways since entering adolescence; Josie to the “cool” crowd and Peter to the outreaches of loneliness and ridicule. After Peter finally snaps at the constant teasing of his school peers, Sterling High School finds itself in the midst of a school shooting tragedy. Jordan McAfee is back as a lawyer from previous Picoult novels to plead the accused case. A fantastic read that lets the reader sympathize with and relate to both parties involved.
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Retribution
- Author: Jilliane Hoffman
- Rating: 5 Stars
This is the story of Chloe, a young hotshot, soon to be lawyer, who is stalked and attacked by a man in a clown mask. After her attacker was never caught, she moves to Miami and starts a new life as C.J. a criminal prosecutor. Everything is okay until she ends up trying to prosecute the very man who attacked her that night for murdering lots of young woman. This book is literally unputdownable!
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The Righteous Men
- Author: Sam Bourne
- Rating: 5 Stars
Okay, if you read and loved the Da Vinci Code, this is the book for you. A young New York Times reporter is following a series of murders around the world. He thinks they may all be connected and when his wife goes missing he stops at nothing to find her. This leads him into one of the oldest religious fanatical organizations where he finds and follows prophecies and riddles linking up all the murders. This was exceptionally good. It was right up there with the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.
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Mary, Mary
- Author: James Patterson
- Rating: 5 stars
The best of the Alex Cross novels from James Patterson, sees violent serial killer Mary Smith antagonizing a local LA Times reporter via email before each new kill. The catch is that all of the victims so far are A-list Hollywood actors, actresses, writers, and directors. Once again Cross is torn between family and work which plays on his mental state forces him to make decision s that will affect not only him, but his young family as well. Can Alex stop this new psycho before another top Hollywood celeb becomes a victim? Only you can find out.
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The Abduction
- Author: Mark Gimenez
- Rating: 5 Stars
A little girl is kidnapped after a soccer match near her home in Texas. Her mother, a lawyer, and her father, a billionaire computer genius, are distraught and the FBI gets on the case. As well as the FBI, the little girls grandfather, a Vietnam War veteran who has a special link with her, is determined to get her back alive. It’s a race against time to see if she will turn up alive!
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Mr Clarinet
- Author: Nick Stone
- Rating: 4 stars
The first Max Mingus novel leads the reader to the slums and poverty of the country of Haiti in the Caribbean. Mingus is an ex-cop on the outer for a job that went bad a few years before. He now markets himself as a private investigator and has built up the reputation and the best. Offered 10 million dollars in cash to find a rich businessman’s son in Port-au-Prince, Mingus encounters, a sly psycho, black magic, and a job that all of his predecessors have not only failed in, but died a savage death. If you have a taste for the out of the ordinary, this novel is for you.
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The Chemistry of Death
- Author: Simon Beckett
- Rating: 4 stars
A once high profile forensic anthropologist tries to forget the devastation of his past by taking up a position as a GP in small town Britain. But when a savagely mutilated woman’s body is uncovered in the bush outside the village, he is called upon to uncover the happenings that lead her death. However, no one remains exempt from suspicion in this country town, even a high profile doctor. Along the way in-depth analysis of death is explored including the vivid description of decomposition. So if you’re looking for twists, turns, and a totally unexpected ending, then don’t go past The Chemistry of Death.
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Flesh and Blood
- Author: Jonathan Kellerman
- Rating: 4 stars
Child psychologist Alex Delaware randomly gets a call from a mother whose daughter was a patient of his years before. This patient, Lauren Teague, now in her twenties, has mysteriously vanished in the midst of the seedy sex industry of Los Angeles. Alex knows that he has no need to get involved in the case but against police advice he agrees to help and eventually becomes obsessed. It becomes his life and he is willing to risk even his relationship over it. An easy read with a very clear and concise description of the “other side” of Los Angeles.
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I haven’t read ANY of these :0( It can sometimes be overwhelming in a book store when you’re looking for a specific genre. This is very useful. Thanks.
Im glad i checked this article, im going to the library tomorrow, the thriller section will be a good place to start from. Maybe…The Righteous Men