Books like 'The First Rule'
Readers who enjoyed The First Rule by Robert Crais also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery action / adventure thriller crime suspense law-enforcement investigator kidnapping organized-crime
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A Death Most Monumental by J.D. Kirk
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWe all have our little secrets.When the remains of a brutally murdered young woman are left hanging from the Glenfinnan Monument in the Highlands of Scotland, DCI Jack Logan and his Major Investigations Team are dispatched to investigate.At first, the case appears to be fairly open and shut... -
![Mercy by David Baldacci]()
Mercy by David Baldacci
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFBI Agent Atlee Pine’s harrowing search for her long-lost sister Mercy reaches a boiling point in this breakneck thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. For her entire life, FBI agent Atlee Pine has been searching for her twin sister, Mercy, who was abducted at the age of six and never seen again...Categorized as:
crime kidnapping law-enforcement organized-crime suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
![Lost Creed by Alex Kava, Joshua Mackey]()
Lost Creed by Alex Kava, Joshua Mackey
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFifteen years ago Ryder Creed's sister, Brodie, disappeared from an interstate rest stop. She was only eleven and Creed was fourteen. Since then her disappearance has haunted him, so much so that Creed has dedicated his life to his K9 business. He rescues abandoned dogs and trains them for scent detection. Together they search for the lost and missing... -
![Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell]()
Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFor Detective Bunny McGarry, life is complicated, and it is about to get more so.It’s 1999 and his hard won reputation amongst Dublin’s criminal fraternity, for being a massive pain the backside, is unfortunately shared by his bosses. His partner has a career-threatening gambling problem and, oh yeah, Bunny's finally been given a crack at the big time... -
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![The Roubaud Connection by Estelle Ryan]()
The Roubaud Connection by Estelle Ryan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBrutal murders. An ancient treasure. A rogue state.A young acquaintance of nonverbal communications expert Doctor Genevieve Lenard begs her to look into the disappearance of his friend...Categorized as:
crime thriller law-enforcement kidnapping organized-crime mystery fiction police-procedural -
![Extreme Prey by John Sandford]()
Extreme Prey by John Sandford
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAn extraordinary Lucas Davenport thriller from #1 "New York Times" bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner John Sandford.After the events in "Gathering Prey", Lucas Davenport finds himself in a very unusual situation—no longer employed by the Minnesota BCA...Categorized as:
crime investigator kidnapping law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
![Little Broken Things by Cheryl Bradshaw]()
Little Broken Things by Cheryl Bradshaw
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDetective Georgiana Germaine is back on the trail of a cold-blooded killer, and once again, the case hits close to home.Twenty-year-old Olivia Spencer sits at her desk in her mother's bookshop, dreaming about her upcoming wedding. The shop may be closed, but Olivia's not alone, and her dream is about to become her worst nightmare... -
![The Last Detective by Robert Crais]()
The Last Detective by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsP.I. Elvis Cole’s relationship with attorney Lucy Chenier is strained. Then the unthinkable happens. While Lucy is away on business and her ten-year-old son Ben is staying with Elvis, the boy vanishes without a trace. When the kidnappers call, it’s not for ransom, but for a promise to punish Cole for past sins he claims he didn’t commit... -
![The Alchemy Fire Murder by Susan Rowland]()
The Alchemy Fire Murder by Susan Rowland
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFormer Archivist Mary Wandwalker hates bringing bad news. Nevertheless, she confirms to her alma mater that their prized medieval alchemy scroll, is, in fact, a seventeenth century copy. She learns that the original vanished to colonial Connecticut with alchemist, Robert Le More. Later the genuine scroll surfaces in Los Angeles... -
![A L'ombre Du Mal by Robert Crais, Hubert Tézenas]()
A L'ombre Du Mal by Robert Crais, Hubert Tézenas
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsElvis Cole is Back--In a Desperate Fight to Clear his Name... It's fire season, and the hills of Los Angeles are burning. When police and fire department personnel rush door to door in a frenzied evacuation effort, they discover the week-old corpse of an apparent suicide...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled humor investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Indigo Slam by Robert Crais]()
Indigo Slam by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsLife in the California sun suits Elvis Cole—until the day a fifteen-year-old girl and her two younger siblings walk into his office. Then everything changes. Three years ago, a Seattle family ran for their lives in a hail of bullets. Hired by three kids to find their missing father, Elvis now must pick up the cold pieces of a drama that began that night...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled humor investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Brigands M.C. by Robert Muchamore]()
Brigands M.C. by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsA new member of CHERUB gets the chance to avenge the death of his family in the eleventh book of the CHERUB series, which Rick Riordan says has “plenty of action.”CHERUB agents are highly trained, extremely talented—and all under the age of seventeen. For official purposes, these agents do not exist... -
![Deadline by John Sandford]()
Deadline by John Sandford
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt's Virgil Flowers! And one of the thrilling novels in the #1 "New York Times" bestselling series.In Southeast Minnesota, down on the Mississippi, a school board meeting is coming to an end. The board chair announces that the rest of the meeting will be closed, due to a personnel issue. “Issue” is the correct word. It's also an understatement... -
![Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg]()
Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor a professional criminal and a relentless arson investigator, fear and revenge spread like wildfire in a an incendiary thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.Hell comes to Southern California every October. It rides in on searing Santa Ana winds that blast at near hurricane force, igniting voracious wildfires. Master thief Danny Cole longs for the flames... -
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![Her Last Day by T.R. Ragan]()
Her Last Day by T.R. Ragan
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn this page-turner of a thriller by bestselling author T.R. Ragan, unlikely partners PI Jessie Cole and crime reporter Ben Morrison search for clues to a mystery buried in their own pasts—only to discover that sometimes the truth is better off buried... -
![Neon Prey by John Sandford, Richard Ferrone]()
Neon Prey by John Sandford, Richard Ferrone
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsListening length: 11 hours and 17 minutesClayton Deese looks like a small-time criminal, muscle for hire when his loan shark boss needs to teach someone a lesson. Now, seven months after a job that went south and landed him in jail, Deese has skipped out on bail, and the U.S. Marshals come looking for him...Categorized as:
crime humor investigator law-enforcement organized-crime suspense thriller action-adventure -
![The Sentry by Robert Crais]()
The Sentry by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsDru Rayne and her uncle are Louisiana refugees who relocated to Los Angeles after Hurricane Katrina. Now, five years after the storm, their struggling restaurant faces a different danger. When Joe Pike witnesses Dru's uncle beaten by a neighbourhood gang intent on extorting protection money, he offers his own brand of protection... -
![The Wanted by Robert Crais]()
The Wanted by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsIt seemed like a simple case before the bodies starting piling up...Categorized as:
crime humor investigator kidnapping law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Blueblood by Matthew Iden]()
Blueblood by Matthew Iden
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFour unrelated murders. Nothing special in Washington DC. Not even good enough to make the evening news. But then a concerned police lieutenant approaches retired homicide detective Marty Singer with a simple fact that changes everything. They were all cops...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
![The Last Teacher by Alan Lee]()
The Last Teacher by Alan Lee
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsMackenzie August is starting a new life. After a successful but destructive career as a high-profile California homicide detective, and then a less successful and even more destructive stint working for a church, he has moved to Virginia to start over as a teacher. The only thing he’s bringing with him is Kix, his infant baby boy... -
![Dead Tomorrow by Peter James]()
Dead Tomorrow by Peter James
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratings*Lynn gripped the sides of the armchair, trying to put aside her own inner terror. 'I can't believe I'm thinking this, Ross. I'm not a violent person, even before Caitlin's influence, I never even liked killing flies in my kitchen. Now I'm sitting here actually willing some stranger to die... -
![NYPD Red 6: A missing bride. A bloodied dress. NYPD Red’s deadliest case yet by James Patterson]()
NYPD Red 6: A missing bride. A bloodied dress. NYPD Red’s deadliest case yet by James Patterson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratings_______________________________At the wedding of the century, a brazen kidnapper steals the star of the show...Erin Easton's wedding in one of New York's biggest venues may have a TV crew documenting every extravagant detail, but when the bride disappears from the reception, it's not diva behaviour. Her dressing room is empty, except for a blood-spattered wedding dress... -
![Risk Everything by Janie Crouch]()
Risk Everything by Janie Crouch
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe wedding is two weeks awayIf they survive until then…Following a fire at the New Journeys women’s shelter, Deputy Tanner Dempsey is on high alert, and his fiancée, Bree Daniels, fears that one of the shelter’s clients is being targeted. Outmanned and outgunned, Tanner and Bree must make a last stand for justice and unravel the twisted plot of a dangerous sociopath... -
![Ravage by Kristen Luciani]()
Ravage by Kristen Luciani
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsProtect the empire at all costs,Eliminate any threats,And defeat our enemies.For years, I’ve accepted these responsibilities to keep my family safe.I’ve given up my life in exchange for their happiness.Until Gianna tore through the barbed wire surrounding my black heart and showed me what I’d been missing.She’s beautiful, naïve, and dangerous.A liability to everything I’ve built... -
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![The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais]()
The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsElvis Cole is back...With his acclaimed bestsellers, Hostage (a New York Times Notable Book) and Demolition Angel, Robert Crais drew raves for his unstoppable pacing, edgy characterizations, and cinematic prose...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled humor investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Lullaby Town by Robert Crais]()
Lullaby Town by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsHollywood's newest wunderkind is Peter Alan Nelson, the brilliant, erratic director known as the King of Adventure. His films make billions, but his manners make enemies. What the boy king wants, he gets, and what Nelson wants is for Elvis Cole to comb the country for the airhead wife and infant child the film-school flunkout dumped en route to becoming the third biggest filmmaker in America... -
![Taken by Robert Crais]()
Taken by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsWhen Nita Morales hires Elvis Cole to find her missing adult daughter, she isn’t afraid, even though she’s gotten a phone call asking for ransom. She knows it’s a fake, that her daughter is off with the guy Nita will only call "that boy," and that they need money: "Even smart girls do stupid things when they think a boy loves them."But Nita is wrong...Categorized as:
crime humor investigator kidnapping law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Mad River by John Sandford]()
Mad River by John Sandford
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThey thought they were Bonnie and Clyde. And what's-his-name, the sidekick. Three teenagers with dead-end lives, chips on their shoulders, and guns. The first person they killed was a woman during a robbery. The second was incidental. Simply in the way... -
![Fixed in Blood by T.E. Woods]()
Fixed in Blood by T.E. Woods
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPerfect for fans of Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter thrillers and the novels of Lisa Gardner and Karin Slaughter, the gritty, action-packed Justice series continues as a depraved mind taunts those who seek retribution on both sides of the law. I become whatever they want. Whatever they need. Seattle Chief of Detectives Mort Grant is still reeling from losing his daughter—again...Categorized as:
crime investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult assassins -
![The Namatjira Connection by Estelle Ryan]()
The Namatjira Connection by Estelle Ryan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLooted artworks. Italian Mafia. Deepfakes.The weekend in Italy is supposed to be a family event—a celebration as well as a break for the whole team to enjoy everything Naples has to offer. As it is, Doctor Genevieve Lenard is hard-pushed to keep an autistic shutdown at bay while surrounded by boisterous relatives and friends...Categorized as:
suspense organized-crime investigator law-enforcement thriller crime fiction mystery -
![The Curator by M.W. Craven]()
The Curator by M.W. Craven
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIt's Christmas and a serial killer is leaving displayed body parts all over Cumbria. A strange message is left at each scene: #BSC6. Called in to investigate, the National Crime Agency's Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are faced with a case that makes no sense...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Fire with Fire by Candice Fox]()
Fire with Fire by Candice Fox
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA pair of desperate parents. A man on the run. A rookie cop.Four people with everything on the line... -
![Holmes, Marple & Poe: The Greatest Crime-Solving Team of the Twenty-First Century by James Patterson, Brian Sitts]()
Holmes, Marple & Poe: The Greatest Crime-Solving Team of the Twenty-First Century by James Patterson, Brian Sitts
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCrime! Murder! Who are you going to call? In New York City, three intriguing, smart, and stylish private investigators open Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations. Who are these detectives with famous names and mysterious, untraceable pasts?Brendan Holmes—The Brain: Identifies suspects via deduction and logic.Margaret Marple—The Eyes: Possesses powers of observation too often underestimated... -
![Red Means Run by Brad Smith]()
Red Means Run by Brad Smith
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsMickey Dupree is one of the most successful criminal attorneys in upstate New York, having never lost a capital murder case. That is the upside of being Mickey. The downside—Mickey has a lot of enemies and one of them drives the shaft of a golf club through his heart, leaving him dead in a sand trap at his exclusive country club... -
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![Got Your Six by Giulia Lagomarsino]()
Got Your Six by Giulia Lagomarsino
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGot Your Six is book 6 in the OPS Protector Romance series and should be read in order. Action, Adventure, and a good woman—that’s all I crave. A chance to prove my love for a woman by risking my life for her.Everyone else gets to do it, so why not me?Except, I never imagined she would vanish without a trace.I thought she had been taken by a gang or a serial killer... -
![Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke]()
Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCritically acclaimed and bestselling crime writer James Lee Burke delivers his most exciting thriller ever featuring beloved hero Dave Robicheaux, and this time he's sleuthing his way through Louisiana's hotbed of sin and uncertainty.In Crusader's Cross, a deathbed confession from an old schoolmate reminds Dave Robicheaux of a girl he once knew, sending him on a hunt for her whereabouts...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement organized-crime suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger]()
Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWinner of the prestigious Loft-McKnight Fiction Award and the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, William Kent Krueger has established himself as a startlingly original voice in thriller fiction. With Purgatory Ridge he cements his standing as a suspense writer of the highest caliber...Categorized as:
crime investigator kidnapping law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
![Free Fall by Robert Crais]()
Free Fall by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsJennifer Sheridan's fiance, Mark Thurman, is a decorated LA cop with an elite plainclothes unit, but Jennifer is sure he's in trouble - the kind of serious trouble that only Elvis Cole can get him out of...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled humor investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure -
![The Watchman by Robert Crais]()
The Watchman by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsTo pay back an old debt, Pike is coerced into protecting Larkin Barkley, a hard-partying young heiress whose life is in danger after a "wrong place wrong time" encounter that quickly escalates and spins out of control. The enemy is shadowy, violent and relentless—but the fierce, focused Pike, one of the strongest characters in modern crime fiction, is equal to the challenge...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
![Win by Harlan Coben]()
Win by Harlan Coben
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsFrom a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes this thrilling story that shows what happens when a dead man's secrets fall into the hands of vigilante antihero—drawing him down a dangerous road.Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months...Categorized as:
crime humor investigator kidnapping law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Special Agent Maximilian by Mimi Barbour]()
Special Agent Maximilian by Mimi Barbour
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIdentical twins but different men – she loves both! In this electrifying romantic suspense set in the steamy streets of New Orleans, Lieutenant Commander Nik Baudin, accidently meets up with an identical twin he never knew existed. When his brother Max goes missing, Nik assumes his identity as Special Agent Maximilian... -
![The Insider by Craig Schaefer]()
The Insider by Craig Schaefer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMove over, Jack Reacher and Kinsey Millhone: cast-iron bodyguard Charlie McCabe is back in Craig Schaefer’s gritty sequel to The Loot.Hard-bitten bodyguard Charlie McCabe is lucky to be alive after her recent foray into Boston's criminal underworld... -
![Fate Book Two by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff]()
Fate Book Two by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMissing: Hot Italian Bodyguard Last Seen Wearing Tux... Dakota Dane's bodyguard is the sort of guy every man fears and every woman dreams of: chiseled abs, face of a male model, and tougher than nails. Except with her, of course. And those glimpses of Paolo's soft side are just as sinfully addictive as the rest of him... -
![The Center Cannot Hold: A Ray Elkins Thriller by Aaron Stander]()
The Center Cannot Hold: A Ray Elkins Thriller by Aaron Stander
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIn the depths of winter, Cedar County is on occasion literally frozen in place. Roads are impassable; the area schools are closed for days at a time. And the bad guys and gals, they’re hunkered down like everyone else until the weather breaks. But this winter isn’t the usual. There’s arson and murder...Categorized as:
suspense law-enforcement crime thriller mystery fiction contemporary action-adventure -
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![Silent Little Angels by Jennifer Chase]()
Silent Little Angels by Jennifer Chase
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe water ripples as the girl’s body escapes the reeds and floats silently upwards. Her beautiful face—blue eyes frozen open, skin as white as snow—breaks the surface. But it’s too late, this innocent soul has taken her final breath…When camp counselor Carolyn Sable’s body is found floating in a lake beside Eagle Ridge Summer Camp, Detective Katie Scott must dig deep to stay focused...Categorized as:
crime suspense thriller law-enforcement organized-crime mystery fiction contemporary -
![The Dead Yard by Adrian McKinty]()
The Dead Yard by Adrian McKinty
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhile on holiday in Spain, Michael Forsythe is arrested in the chaos of a soccer riot and hauled off to jail... -
![The Bloomsday Dead by Adrian McKinty]()
The Bloomsday Dead by Adrian McKinty
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the heart-stopping finale of the Dead trilogy, tough guy Michael Forsythe -- bad-boy antihero of the critically acclaimed "Dead I Well May Be" and "The Dead Yard" -- returns to his native Ireland, where a dangerous and beautiful old flame forces Michael to look for her daughter, who has mysteriously disappeared in Belfast...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement organized-crime revenge suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Her Deadly Secrets by Laura Griffin]()
Her Deadly Secrets by Laura Griffin
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPrivate Investigator Kira Vance spends her days navigating the intricate labyrinth of Houston’s legal world, and she knows all of its shadowy players and dark secrets. On a seemingly normal day, she’s delivering a report to her top client when suddenly everything goes sideways and the meeting ends in a bloodbath... -
![Ultimatum by Simon Kernick]()
Ultimatum by Simon Kernick
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTHE THREAT8 an explosion blasts through a cafe in Central London.THE ULTIMATUMMinutes later, a call from an unknown terror group warns that a far greater attack will be launched in 12 hours' time.THE PRISONERWilliam Garrett, AKA Fox, is awaiting trial for mass murder. He claims he can name the bombers. But only at a price...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement suspense thriller fiction mystery action-adventure contemporary -
![Rum Runner by J.A. Konrath]()
Rum Runner by J.A. Konrath
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCOULD YOUR MARRIAGE SURVIVE FIFTY KILLERS? Twenty years ago, a young cop named Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels arrested one of the most sadistic killers she'd ever encountered. She has since retired from the Chicago Police Department in order to raise her toddler daughter.But old grudges never die. They fester until the right opportunity comes along...
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