Best Private Investigator Mysteries
Private investigator Kinsey Millhone finds shocking connections between two seemingly unrelated deaths in this #1 New York Times bestselling mystery in the Alphabet series. Wasted lives, wasted time, and wasted opportunities are at the heart of this twenty-third entry in the long-running Kinsey Millhone series, which reveals how the deaths of two very different men impact Kinsey’s life. --Stephanie Zvirin Praise for W is for Wasted “Grafton is a writer of many strengths—crisp characterizations, deft plotting, and eloquent dialogue among them—and she has kept her long-running alphabet mystery series fresh and each new release more welcome than the last.”— Louisville Courier-Journal “Further proof—as if it were needed—of Grafton’s immense talent. And her ability to give equal weight to the story of the detective and the detective story sets her apart in the world of crime fiction.”— Richmond Times-Dispatch “Involving, amusing and fast-paced.”— The Wall Street Journal “Nearing the conclusion of this celebrated series, Grafton continues to shape Millhone’s character, toughened by circumstance but still both understanding and forgiving.”— Booklist “Grafton has lost none of her ability to bring her character vividly to life: Kinsey is as witty and engaging as ever.”— Library Journal (starred review) More Praise for Sue Grafton and the Alphabet Series.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"An unexpected inheritance opens up a tale of the lives of the homeless and the tenacity of an intelligent private investigator."
"our gal Kinsey finds herself in a situation where she is involved with a homeless community trying to find out what happened to a drifter. As always, once Kinsey starts picking at the loose thread all sorts of things come unraveled."
"Its rare when a character, who is 20 novels deep continues to enthrall - but Kinsey Millhone absolutely does."
"A blast from the past shows up, and an old unscrupulous PI that she knew from her startup days becomes intertwined into the family matter."
"I’ve read and loved them all."
"Sue it seems is trying to get to the final letter-Z-and not take the time to really develop the story/plot that she has/did in her past books."
"The library scenes were excruciating, the list of neighbors and relatives mind-numbing, the stupid, pointless padding of every move she made was criminal. W made the bestsellers lists on promise alone, not on actuality and I am so disappointed in the blathering mess that it is."
"Come on Sue, get out of your funk, stop moralizing and bring back the Kinsey Millhone series we fell in love with years ago."
By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again. “A brilliantly ingenious story.” (Dorothy L. Sayers, Daily Herald (UK)). “It’s tempting to say that Agatha Christie is a genius and let it go at that, but the world’s had plenty of geniuses. Agatha Christie is something special.” (Lawrence Block, New York Times bestselling author). Mrs Christie makes an improbable tale very real, and keeps her readers enthralled and guessing to the end.” ( Times Literary Supplement (London)). “Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.” (Tana French , New York Times -bestselling author of the Dublin Murder Squad novels). “Agatha Christie taught me many important lessons about the inner workings of the mystery novel before it ever occurred to me that I might one day be writing mysteries myself.” (Sue Grafton, #1 New York Times -bestselling author of the Kinsey Millhone novels).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Read it for a book club after seeing the movie."
"I read the book in one day and you absolutely need to read the book if you saw the movie they don't end the same way."
"Stopped reading about half-way in."
"good book for traveling- compact and easy read on a long flight."
"Cannot wait to see the movie.... great to know the background.......Don't you alll just LOVE this Agatha Christie...."
"Was interested in comparing this to David Suchet, and also the new movie."
"Keep me guessing till the end."
"Worth re-reading, especially after watching any of the filmed treatments."
THE FIRST JACK REACHER NOVEL. The bestselling novel featuring the “wonderfully epic hero”( People) who inspired the hit films Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. When Jack Reacher suddenly decides to ask a Greyhound bus driver to let him off near the town of Margrave, Georgia, he thinks it's because his brother once mentioned that the famed blues guitarist Blind Blake died there. But it doesn't take long for the footloose ex-military policeman to discover that there are plenty of strange--and very dangerous--things going on behind Margrave's manicured lawns and clean streets that demand his attention.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I will typically have a kitchen book, bathroom book, bedroom book, Kindle, Audible etc."
"There is almost nothing literary about the novel, you won't be quoting it and you'll never read it again (as is normal with mysteries) but it was a very fun read. He has a minimalistic writing style which suits his character and plotting."
"Those of us who like a fun escape into the pages of a novel don't need to read through the time it takes to heal after a fight, or knowing that the authorities would send in the right people to solve this situation the moment it is discovered thereby quashing any attempts by the hero to save the day."
"He's intentionally written to be the anti-anti-hero to be a character you can enjoy following and not worry about mining every last little bit out of his navel gazing."
"Don't take it too seriously and you'll have some fun."
"Jack Reacher is a really fascinating character that you find out about a little at a time in each book. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming movie based on this character, though I must admit that I would never have seen Tom Cruise as playing this character."
"I understood every thought, every moment, experienced the emotions of Reacher!"
"This book was a lot of fun to read, I can see why this started such a successful series."
Best American Humorous Fiction
It’s going to be hard for Stephanie to keep her hands off all that ice cream, and even harder for her to keep her hands off Ranger. Praise for Janet Evanovich: 'Among the great joys of contemporary crime fiction' GQ A laugh-out-loud page-turner Heat Making trouble and winning hearts USA Today Romantic and gripping... An absolute tonic Good Housekeeping Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, the Knight and Moon series, the Fox and O’Hare series, the Lizzy and Diesel series, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and Troublemaker graphic novel, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The writing quality has continually depreciated over the last several books in the series, and I suspect they are largely being written by someone else."
"The idea is she is a college grad with no usable skills, does the bounty job half way & hops back & forth between 2 men."
"After 23 books, I'd like to see a little more substance, more of Joe and Ranger, and maybe even a third love interest to kick Joe and or Ranger into gear."
"My favorite character is Grandma Mazur, she is not a huge part of this story and I was more than dIsappointed, the wasn't a lot of Stephanie's bumbling and accidental captures as in the other books."
"I've leaned my lesson reading the end of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse. At the end, the authors have made their money and don't care about the FANS."
"After years and years of planning the next 48 hours after a book was released I just don't care."
"You just can't do it anymore."
"This will be my last Stephanie plum novel."
Best Historical Mysteries
Twenty years before, amid strange staff disappearances and allegations of fraud, panicked investors sold Cleveland’s largest bank in the middle of the night, locking out customers and employees, and thwarting a looming federal investigation. Iris, a young engineer working her first job out of the office, finds herself assigned to map out a floor plan for the bank building which has been empty for two decades. Just as Beatrice did 20 years before her, Iris quickly recognizes that there’s something not quite right at the bank and she soon learns that the building is not as empty as everyone thinks.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The story concept is interesting: an important bank mysteriously closes overnight. When I was about 1/3 into the story it seemed that n.o.t.h.i.n.g. Reading the early reviews, I was sure I was reading a different book. For example, in most instances, we don't read about the secretary's workday, we read about her thinking about her workday or thinking about the personalities of the people she works with, or wondering where her friend is, or wondering about the significance of papers she sees. For example, the engineer meets her boss at the building and explains to him some of the work she has done, but (from the reader perspective) this is merely retelling what the engineer already mused about in the previous pages: she went to the eighth floor, to the room on the left; it was dusty; she made some measurements; she went to the next room; she saw papers on the floor; she wondered why the papers were left behind; she made some measurements; she looked at some of the papers; she wondered what the papers meant; she decided to take some of the papers with her to look at later; she went to the next room; she made some measurements. I second that thought."
"The author thinks that if they have so many "problems" in life that the audience will resonate with at least one of them but a character with problems is only likable if they get over them, makes for a more interesting story and one that you can better connect with emotionally since then it gives you hope. Iris also practically refuses to interact with the story she's been pulled into, the mysteries behind the decaying First Bank of Cleveland which closed one day with no warning (which really did close in 1978 due to defaults, although the real life explanation is different than this fictional one, fewer bodies for one). Beatrice didn't intend to get wrapped up in the mystery as it was coming closer and closer to it's doomed day either but once she starts investigating a only tangentially related thread her caution and determination to see this through to the end make her half of the story by far the more interesting one."
Best Traditional Detective Mysteries
“Penny’s absorbing, intricately plotted 13th Gamache novel proves she only gets better at pursuing dark truths with compassion and grace.” — PEOPLE “Louise Penny wrote the book on escapist mysteries.” — The New York Times Book Review “You won't want Louise Penny's latest to end….Any plot summary of Penny’s novels inevitably falls short of conveying the dark magic of this series.... ‘Glass Houses,’ along with many of the other Gamache books, is so compelling that, for the space of reading it, you may well feel that much of what’s going on in the world outside the novel is ‘just noise.’” —Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. In Glass Houses , her latest utterly gripping book , number-one New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny shatters the conventions of the crime novel to explore what Gandhi called the court of conscience. - AudioFile Editor's Pick "In his third narration of Louise Penny's popular Three Pines series, Robert Bathurst emphasizes the humanity and compassion of Chief Superintendent Armand Gamache . AudioFile , Earphones Award Winner "The audio book is splendidly read by Robert Bathurst." "Robert Bathurst puts his own indelible stamp on Chief Inspector Armand Gamache in Louise Penny's twelfth Three Pines puzzle. LOUISE PENNY is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels ( Still Life, A Fatal Grace, and The Cruelest Month ).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There’s a lot going on here, with Gamache dealing with the murder and also with his duties as head of the Sûreté du Québec (as readers of the previous novels will remember that the Sûreté had a corruption problem that Gamache exposed.). However, if you haven’t read any Armand Gamache novels, I recommend you start with her first novel - Still Life - to really enjoy the series. I don’t want to say too much as much of the joy of the books in this series is how disparate plot points come together but I found myself frustrated that once again we have the clever Armand Gamache looking like he’s in over his head. I found myself putting the book down - needing a break from reading it. While this is one of those books that I’m glad I read, unlike some of the other books in the series, I don’t see myself reading it again."
"I consider myself fortunate to have read all the Inspector Gamache novels by Louise Penny. In this novel Inspector Gamache has taken over as head of the Surete after rooting out top level corruption. There are rumblings that Gamache hasn't really changed anything as crime is up, the drug trade is rampant and what is to be done? This blends into the second story of the drug trade and Gamache's plan to really put a dent in it, if not stop/slow it down for good."
"More than just a mystery - this is a book that takes you into the characters, challenges your assumptions and leaves you wondering who is as they appear, and who is genuine. I loved this latest in her series - as expected she picked up from recent events in the prior novel and goes to the task of writing a story that is both compelling and puzzling. She surprised me with the defendant on trial, and the ultimate set of villains in this book, while bringing along my favorite characters and developing them further. People with drug abuse, distrust of the police and their competence, the hard working and dedicated law enforcement officers, politicians you don't quite want to trust, and couples living marriage equality."
Best Hard-Boiled Mysteries
Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women. She's been held in the prison her entire life, along with a few other girls who disappear after the coming-of-age ceremony. Zoey and her new friends must break into the compound and rescue the other female prisoners.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Zoey is probably one of the strongest female characters I have found in any book I've ever read."
"(trying not to spoil too much). Hart seizes on the fears of a populace dealing with population control issues and shows us what can happen when control is removed from our hands."
"It is written in present tense, a fad I keep hoping will die, because it is so difficult to write well and, more often than not, just grates on the nerves. As a result she ends up as a rather non-entity and frankly, being a woman myself, I found her a pretty insultingly insipid female protagonist. Thus the few remaining female infants are gathered up and raised in puritanical prison conditions with severe punishments if they ask questions. Instead of investing time on actually developing the main character in thoughts, actions, and feelings that would let the reader get to know her and like her in and of herself, he just added a scene with mean girls picking on an outcast and let the main character show some pitiful token defense so that the reader knows that our heroine is the "good girl." Note to male authors: women can and very often do form very strong, healthy, and supportive relationships with one another and elevating your female protagonist by juxtaposing her next to catty, mean girls is taking the cheap way out."
"Have you ever read a book and been like, what made me read that? I think I have to tell you a little bit about the book to let you know why I am so disappointed in it."
"The treatment of the girls just seemed like an excuse for the author to imagine torturing women. I ended up skipping lots of pages just hoping that this story would finally make sense, but it never did."
Best Mystery Series
His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer's, but Dillard's commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him. "Pratt's richly developed characters are vivid and believable, especially the strong Southern women who fight their male-dominated culture from behind a facade of vulnerability in this brilliantly executed debut."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Other writers will use long descriptions of what the landscaping is like as someone enters a driveway to a house, or a long paragraph describing what a woman is wearing and the scent of her perfume and the necklace she is wearing. And that is exactly what Scott Pratt avoids and makes his books such a delight to read. Each of his books in this series has a great plot that makes them a such page turner."
"Scott Pratt's "An Innocent Client" is a typical Scott Pratt book! His hero Joe Dillard is tough as nails, but you just want to smother him in a big hug."
"Awesome start to a series, I had no idea of this series, and it flows beautifully all the way to the end."
"What a delightful book!"
"Joe Dillard is an interesting attorney."
"I particularly liked the way the author gave the reader credit for understanding some of the ins and outs of the law, and the humor amid the strife."
"Can't wait to begin In Good Faith, Scott's second book in the Joe Dillard series."
"I'm skipping over several books I have to start on "In Good Faith" the second in the Joe Dillard series."
Best International Mystery & Crime
Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at. play in his small Bavarian town. Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Author Oliver PötzschQuestion: What initially inspired you to write this story? But I also look up to many authors of the fantasy genre such as Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, and the almost forgotten Fritz Leiber. In his life he built an enormous archive of information about my ancestors and the hangman profession, and I have been allowed free use of this resource. Also, during my career as a journalist I made several radio programs on this topic, talking to herb women and guardians of cultural heritage and searching in many archives of Bavarian cities for my ancestors. Oliver Pötzsch: After the thriller about Ludwig II, I am writing the fourth novel in the Hangman series. "A brilliantly-researched and exciting story of a formative era of history when witches were hunted and the inquisitors had little belief in their methods beyond their effect in pacifying superstitious townspeople . Pötzsch, actually descended from a line of hangmen, delivers a fantastically fast-paced read, rife with details on the social and power structures in the town as well as dichotomy between university medicine and the traditional remedies, which are skillfully communicated through character interactions, particularly that of Magdalena and Simon. The shocking motivations from unlikely players provide for a twist that will leave readers admiring this complex tale from a talented new voice."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I liked the start of this story, the basic idea of the tale, a hangman searching for the truth. The title of this story suggests this daughter has a major role, but quite frankly she doesn't. In fact, the hangman's daughter is such a minor character, she could be removed completely from the story and the novel would be virtually the same. She has a scene towards the end of the book where she's captured as a hostage, but it's so forced and unnecessary, it's more like a "women in refrigerators" moment. In the meantime, if you're a minor character living in this historical world, it seems like your only purpose is to be to chased, tortured, threatened with rape, or face being burnt alive as a witch. Yes, the hangman's daughter manages to escape, but the scene adds nothing to the novel. The second woman, the hangman's daughter, captured and threatened, was an unnecessary cliché. Instead of tying up loose ends, there's more drama, then everything is miraculously solved behind the scenes. The female characters could be replaced with potted plants, so I can't see myself recommending it to any of the women in my life."
"The main character of the hangman and his friend the young physician were terrific, both very likable and believable."
"Good book."
"The first of the hangman series and the one I liked the most, probably because everything was new and interesting without. all the continual repitition in the later series."
"To have this review be as helpful as possible I just wanted to mention that Oliver Potzsch named, as far as I know, this series of books he is writing The Hangman's Daughter - this is the first in the series. I personally hope Amazon translates the rest of Oliver's books into English."
"Once the action started and the mystery began to unravel I couldn't put the book down!"
"When a child dies, cries of witchcraft leave an innocent woman in jail, and Kusil, Simon, the village doctor, and Kusil's daughter to search for the real culprit."
"The deputies used more information about this and other stuff to get the latest version of the time."
Best Mystery Anthologies
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Lee Child returns with a gripping new powerhouse thriller featuring Jack Reacher, “one of this century’s most original, tantalizing pop-fiction heroes” ( The Washington Post ). Reacher takes a stroll through a small Wisconsin town and sees a class ring in a pawn shop window: West Point 2005. Reacher wonders what unlucky circumstance made her give up something she earned over four hard years. So begins a harrowing journey that takes Reacher through the upper Midwest, from a lowlife bar on the sad side of small town to a dirt-blown crossroads in the middle of nowhere, encountering bikers, cops, crooks, muscle, and a missing persons PI who wears a suit and a tie in the Wyoming wilderness. Powerful forces are guarding a vast criminal enterprise. Praise for The Midnight Line “Puts Reacher just where we want him.” — The. New York Times Book Review. “A gem.” — Chicago Tribune “A timely, suspenseful, morally complex thriller, one of the best I’ve read this year . Child weaves in a passionately told history of opioids in American life. I don’t know another author so skilled at making me turn the page, at putting me in the thick of it all.” — The Times “Reacher is the purest distillation of the white knight in contemporary mystery fiction. As always in a Child novel, pace is fast, twists and turns surprise, characters are well-developed, dialogue is exactly right, and the plot is very plausible. One of the best thrillers I’ve read this year.” — The Washington Post “Jack Reacher has become arguably the most iconic fictional hero we have.” — Men’s Health “Compelling and moving . bold and mysterious.” — Associated Press “This, Child’s twenty-second book in the series, has heart to spare, and it proves the franchise has plenty of gas left in its tank.” — Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Compulsively readable.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[A] multifaceted novel about dealing with the unthinkable . It’s automatic: Reacher gets off a bus, and Child lands on the New York Times bestseller list.” — Booklist “The book is very smart . [and] suggests something that has not been visible in the series’ previous entries: a creeping sadness in Reacher’s wanderings that, set here among the vast and empty landscapes of Wyoming, resembles the peculiarly solitary loneliness of the classic American hero. “Child does a stellar job this time by not following his customary formula; his usually stoic hero who rarely displays softness and compassion is hit hard emotionally by this case.”’ — Library Journal (starred review). A native of England and a former television director, Child lives in New York City.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Even though the movie rights belong to Tom Cruise, Lee Child has no reason to reduce the size and presence of his star character. The longest journey begins with but a single step and Mr. Child takes his readers on what appears to be a simple quest to make things right. This novel is a perfect example of how someone's imagination has allowed them to create an interesting, insightful, and enjoyable read while informing us about two major problems affecting today's society. When you finish reading it, and I'll bet that you won't want it to end, the artistry with which Mr. Child tied all of his subplots together will be wonderfully apparent."
"Instead, Reacher, a former Army MP major, puts on his Military Police cap and does some serious sleuthing from the opening scene where he finds a West Point class ring in a pawn shot in Rapid City South Dakota to his search to find the rightful owner of the ring in Wyoming. He decides that maybe he can help the owner of the ring and immediately starts gathering clues to identify this fellow West Pointer. Of course, as the story develops, a simple lost and found case becomes dangerous as Reacher creates enemies in the oxycodone and fentanyl drug trafficking business. I am guessing some readers are going to be unhappy that there is less violent action in The Midnight Line than in a typical Reacher story. Update 2: I wrote this review two months ago and predicted this new Reacher novel would go right to the top of the best seller list, which is where it stands on this first day of publication."
Best Cozy Mystery
Hoping to clear his name, Dawn returns to Starlight Cove, her idyllic hometown on Lake Michigan, where the doomed vessel sleeps beneath the beam of a ramshackle lighthouse. “I wanted to stay in Starlight Cove—Cynthia Ellingsen’s fictional town is magical, and its people and its mysteries, both past and present, are too much fun to leave behind.” —Alison Atlee, author of The Typewriter Girl.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The boat sank in a terrible storm that lost many lives over 100 years ago, but not all on board perished. Can Dawn unravel each tiny clue while she learns who she can trust and who she cannot, while trying to open her heart for real love?"
"A nice romantic mystery, quick read, and thoroughly enjoyable story!"
"Traditional mystery love story evolution too."
"A wonderfully cozy story that is both easy to follow and full of local color."
"Nice light reading departure, Plot is well thought out and the character ensemble It’s quite interesting."
"I chose this review as this book had a good story line."
"This book kept me guessing until the end."
"I haven’t read a romance novel for years, but this book adds enough mystery to have kept me reading."
Best Police Procedurals
A South Florida Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery of 2017. An Amazon Book of the Month Harry Bosch is back as a volunteer working cold cases for the San Fernando Police Department and is called out to a local drug store where a young pharmacist has been murdered. Meanwhile, an old case from Bosch's LAPD days comes back to haunt him when a long-imprisoned killer claims Harry framed him, and seems to have new evidence to prove it. "[Connelly's] immaculate plotting and gift for bringing procedural intricacies to life now seem as strong as ever...he writes the best detective novels around. "Harry Bosch is a one-of-a-kind hero who started out pretty wild when he returned from Vietnam to become a cop, but over the years he's developed into someone you want to ride with. "Connelly's immaculate plotting and gift for bringing procedural intricacies to life now seem as strong as ever...he writes the best detective novels around. "[Two Kinds of Truth] is a reflection of Connelly's talent that after 19 books chronicling Bosch's career, this iteration feels fresh and authentic. "Expertly juggling both plots, Connelly mines the double murder for fascinating and frightening details...Connelly remains atop a heap of contemporary crime writers thanks to his rare ability to combine master plotting and procedural detail with a literary novelist's feel for the inner lives of his or her characters.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Two Kinds of Truth is an outstanding addition to the fabulous Harry Bosch series. This mystery series is one of my very favorites; Connelly has managed to create an authentic, likeable main character in Harry Bosch and has successfully provided him with a career path that lends itself to interesting cases and story lines. In Two Kinds of Truth, Harry starts out revisiting a cold case for the San Fernando Police Department. The other part of Two Kinds of Truth that I loved was the resolution of the cold case Harry was pursuing. And the other, malleable truth of politicians, charlatans, corrupt lawyers, and their clients, bent and molded to serve whatever purpose is at hand.” As the mother of three children, I have had to spend an inordinate amount of time this past year making sure my kids understand how important the truth is and how important it is to refuse to accept those that attempt to corrupt truth."
"This author writes at a steady, methodical pace that is like taking a good, long walk or drinking a fine bottle of wine."
"The plot moves along quickly and reveals details that the reader should pay attention to as Harry unravels the twists and turns."
"I should say that I liked the part of Bosch going undercover."
"I was surprised to run in to the Lincoln Lawyer character, something I was familiar with from the movies."
"Hope to hear more about Elizabeth Clayton, the addict Harry saves, in a future book."
"Excellent book but then anything from Michael Connelly always is a great read."
"Once again,Harry is involved in multiple mysteries but this time it will take his best as he is forced to defend his name in one case and go under cover as an addict in the other."