There’s nothing better than a crime fiction novel to keep you turning the pages late into the night.
Whether you’re looking for a gentle detective story or crime series, historical crime fiction or true crime books based on real-life events,
we have the case for you.
Our selection of the best crime books of all time and the must-read crime novels of all time is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Crime fiction is growing and evolving all the time, and we’re constantly discovering new veins of the literature to read, new authors to appreciate.
Here’s your list of The Best Crime Books:
1. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
In this masterpiece, Truman Capote takes us to the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, the entire Clutter family was murdered by a shotgun held inches from their faces, There was no apparent motive and few clues were found. Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers.
He spins a tale of suspense overshadowed by astonishing empathy, with chilling insight into American violence
2. Witness, By Mandasue Heller
Holly Evans is constantly on the move with her over-protective mum. When they move into an illegal sub-let in Manchester, Holly feels settled for the first time in her life, but why is she forbidden to go out, or even open the door when her mum’s not there?
This gritty crime novel paints a dark picture of Manchester’s underworld, and will have you gripped until the last page.
3. Gone Girl, By Gillian Flynn
More than any other book in the decade, Gillian Flynn’s mega-hit Gone Girl captured the essence of female rage.
There are so many reasons to praise this book, but to focus on the impact alone,
Gone Girl not only ushered in a decade of female-authored and feminist-driven crime fiction and helped to re-popularize the psychological crime thriller,
it also gave us arguably the best speech in crime history.
David Fincher’s superb adaptation of the book has also helped to cement Gone Girl’s rich, complex legacy.
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4. The Run of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin
In this book, Toobin, a Harvard- educated lawyer and high level analyst.
defines both sides of the trial and with total acuity and depth- demonstrating the utter exceptionally of what happened,
while also unpacking the reason why. if you’re remotely interested in criminal law, this one is a must-read.
5. Dare Me, By Megan Abbott
Trying to decide on the Megan Abbott book-of-the-decade is like trying to figure out the best crime books of the decade, but Dare Me, Abbott’s soon-to-be-on-television noir ode to the dangerous world of cheerleading feels like the most iconic.
Abbott came up on the crime world through her lovingly rendered historical noirs, and Dare Me is the book that proved Abbott could be just as dexterous and hard-boiled when writing about contemporary teenagers.
Abbott took inspiration from Full Metal Jacket when writing the book, which also means this is the toughest book about cheerleaders around.
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