Books like 'The Chessmen'
Readers who enjoyed The Chessmen by Peter May also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery thriller crime law-enforcement suspense police-procedural drama noir friendship
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Six Graves by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s a typical teenage bedroom with posters covering the walls and clothes littering the floor. But the girl lying on her bed, wearing a delicate chain around her neck, is lifeless. A circle of red stains her white vest top and Kim feels a sharp stab of sadness... -
![Graves on the Fens by Joy Ellis]()
Graves on the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt arrives in the morning. An old-fashioned airmail envelope addressed to Detective Nikki Galena. Inside, on a single sheet of blue airmail paper, are three words:You failed me.The second airmail envelope arrives at Nikki’s home address. The same message. Only this time, it’s followed by four names: Alexandra Cornfield, Ruth Baker, Bethany Lyons, Leanne Delaney.Four missing women... -
![Hunting Evil by Chris Carter]()
Hunting Evil by Chris Carter
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 20 ratings'Every story one day comes to an end.' As roommates, they met for the first time in college. Two of the brightest minds ever to graduate from Stamford Psychology University. As adversaries, they met again in Quantico, Virginia. Robert Hunter had become the head of the LAPD’s Ultra Violent Crimes Unit... -
![The Killing Code by J.D. Kirk]()
The Killing Code by J.D. Kirk
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhat would you do if there weren't any consequences?After twenty years on the force, Detective Chief Inspector Jack Logan thinks he has seen it all.He is wrong.When a nurse is murdered on her way home from nightshift, Jack and his team go on the hunt for her killer... -
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![Broken Bones by Angela Marsons]()
Broken Bones by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThey thought they were safe. They were wrong. The murder of a young prostitute and a baby found abandoned on the same winter night signals the start of a disturbing investigation for Detective Kim Stone – one which brings her face to face with someone from her own horrific childhood... -
![Frozen Souls by Rita Herron]()
Frozen Souls by Rita Herron
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe looked like an angel. She lay perfectly still, silky blonde hair falling to her pale shoulders. Icicles clung to her eyelashes as snowflakes fluttered to the frozen ground, burying her body.As a snowstorm wreaks havoc in the mountain town of Crooked Creek, a woman is found buried in ice. Detective Ellie Reeves is first on the scene... -
![Lost Angels by Stacy Green]()
Lost Angels by Stacy Green
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Special Agent Nikki Hunt is called to the Boundary Waters near Stillwater, Minnesota, it’s not just the cold that shocks her to her core: the body of a young woman has been found frozen beside a remote lake... -
![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 drama investigator law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Written in Blood by Chris Carter]()
Written in Blood by Chris Carter
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsDon't miss GENESIS, the latest must-read serial killer thriller from master of the genre, Chris Carter. Available to order now. ‘Wonderful storytelling, with a superbly drawn killer, it underlines exactly how good Carter has become’ Daily MailTHE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER A serial killer who will stop at nothing… The Killer His most valuable possession has been stolen... -
![Bad Memory by Lisa Gray]()
Bad Memory by Lisa Gray
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPrivate investigator Jessica Shaw is leading a quiet life in a Californian desert community, where she spends her days working low-level cases. But when a former resident asks Jessica to help her sister, Rue Hunter—a convicted murderer whose execution is days away—Jessica can’t resist the offer...Categorized as:
crime investigator law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller adult audiobook -
![The Crossing by Michael Connelly]()
The Crossing by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsDetective Harry Bosch has retired from the LAPD, but his half-brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, needs his help. A woman has been brutally murdered in her bed and all evidence points to Haller's client, a former gang member turned family man. Though the murder rap seems ironclad, Mickey is sure it's a setup.Bosch doesn't want anything to do with crossing the aisle to work for the defense... -
![Hillary's Back! by Faith Martin]()
Hillary's Back! by Faith Martin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsONE OF THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE DETECTIVES RETURNS. A BRAND NEW MYSTERY IN THE MILLION-SELLING SERIES. DETECTIVE HILLARY GREENE IS BACK! Eighteen months after Hillary suffered a personal tragedy, she is throwing herself into her work to try to get over it. Former soldier Gareth Proctor joins her team and finds himself quickly growing to enjoy his new environment... -
![Hope to Die by Cara Hunter]()
Hope to Die by Cara Hunter
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSelf-defense or murder? In the continuation of one of Britain’s most popular crime series from Cara Hunter — the author of the instant New York Times bestseller Murder in the Family — DI Fawley returns to determine if someone has staged a crime scene in connection with another homicide from years past. Midnight. A grisly murder scene at isolated farm on the outskirts of Oxford... -
![2nd Strike by Misty Evans, Adrienne Giordano]()
2nd Strike by Misty Evans, Adrienne Giordano
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMeg and Charlie Schock return for another intriguing case. This one hiding a secret that could wreck Charlie’s life.The newborn son of popular D.C. morning show host Carl Havers and his wife was kidnapped fifteen years ago. Charlie Schock, then an FBI agent, solved the open-and-shut case, returning Ethan to his parents... -
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![The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly]()
The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsMickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home. Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![The Gathering Dark: Inspector McLean Book 8 by James Oswald]()
The Gathering Dark: Inspector McLean Book 8 by James Oswald
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe gripping new crime thriller in the highly acclaimed Inspector McLean series A truck driver loses control in central Edinburgh, ploughing into a crowded bus stop and spilling his vehicle's toxic load. The consequences are devastating. DI Tony McLean witnesses the carnage... -
![Knife by Jo Nesbø]()
Knife by Jo Nesbø
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratings'Nesbo is one of the best thriller writers on the planet' Daily ExpressA man like Harry had better watch his back...Following the dramatic conclusion of number one bestseller THE THIRST, KNIFE sees Harry Hole waking up with a ferocious hangover, his hands and clothes covered in blood. Not only is Harry about to come face to face with an old, deadly foe, but with his darkest personal challenge yet... -
![The Shape of Lies by Rachel Abbott, Lisa Coleman]()
The Shape of Lies by Rachel Abbott, Lisa Coleman
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsYesterday, Scott was dead.Today, he’s back.And Anna doesn’t believe in ghosts.Fourteen years ago Scott was Anna’s boyfriend. She loved him, but he ruined her life. When he died, she should have been free.But today Scott is on the radio, talking about her. Threatening to spill her secrets.Anna is a mother, a wife, and head teacher of a primary school. And she’s a very good liar... -
![Watch Her Disappear by Lisa Regan]()
Watch Her Disappear by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLying on the ground, the girl’s prom dress, the colour of champagne, shimmers in the dying light. A corsage of wilting pink sweetheart roses decorates her wrist... -
![A Woman to Blame by Vincent Panettiere]()
A Woman to Blame by Vincent Panettiere
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHours after a thoroughbred racehorse collapses and dies after finishing last in a race he was favored to win, his trainer—a young woman with a promising career—is found dead on a suburban Chicago beach. To the police, it's a simple case of murder-suicide. But Mike Hegan, veteran police detective, refuses to believe the official story... -
![A Deeper Fear by Allison Brennan]()
A Deeper Fear by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFBI Agent Lucy Kincaid’s husband, Sean Rogan, is in a dark place after being held captive. He won’t talk about it with anyone, not even Lucy. She’s hoping a conference in Sacramento, which includes family and the unveiling of a highly sought after drone Sean’s been working on, will help him heal... -
![Girl Next Door by Willow Rose]()
Girl Next Door by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere”-Ted BundyInspired by a true story.He came in the morning when they were still making lunches and getting ready for school and work. He killed them all. Mother, father, children. Brutally slaughtered them in the comfort of their own home.They called him the Monday Morning Killer... -
![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... -
![King City by Lee Goldberg]()
King City by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMajor Crimes Unit detective Tom Wade secretly worked with the Feds to nail seven of his fellow cops for corruption…turning him into a pariah in the police department. So he’s exiled to patrol a beat in King City’s deadliest neighborhood… with no back-up, no resources, and no hope of survival...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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![Solace House by Joy Ellis]()
Solace House by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAN ISOLATED HOUSE WITH A TERRIBLE PAST. IS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF FOR THE NEW FAMILY LIVING THERE?Holly Stewart moved into Solace House wanting a fresh start for her and her family. She knew a tragic murder had taken place there, but she didn’t know the full ghastly history of the house... -
![The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly]()
The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsMickey Haller gets the text, "Call me ASAP - 187," and the California penal code for murder immediately gets his attention. Murder cases have the highest stakes and the biggest paydays, and they always mean Haller has to be at the top of his game...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
![If Angels Fall by Rick Mofina]()
If Angels Fall by Rick Mofina
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn the bestselling tradition of Jonathan Kellerman and Mary Higgins Clark, comes this powerful psychological thriller from newcomer Rick Mofina. "If Angels Fall" is the story of a man beset by tragedy, who moves from mourning...to madness...to murder.There are some horrors a man can never forget. Sounds so chilling that they can never be silenced. The frantic screams of drowning children... -
![And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott]()
And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsMark and Evie had a whirlwind romance. Evie brought Mark back to life after the sudden death of his first wife. Cleo, Mark's sister, knows she should be happy for him. But Cleo doesn't trust Evie...When Evie starts having accidents at home, her friends grow concerned... -
![My Child is Missing by Lisa Regan]()
My Child is Missing by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe little girl’s bright blue eyes are wide with fear, her hair tousled, her tears making tracks in the dirt smudged across her cheek. Curled tight in a tiny ball, it’s as if she wants to hide away forever. “He took her!” she cries. “He took my sister!”When a desperate mother calls Denton Police Department to report her children missing, Detective Josie Quinn races to investigate... -
![No Way Out by Allison Brennan]()
No Way Out by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom Allison Brennan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cut and Run, comes a new e-novella, No Way Out: FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid faces her worst fear when her husband goes missing Nine years ago, mercenary Kane Rogan and photojournalist Siobhan Walsh risked their lives to rescue Hestia Juarez, a thirteen-year-old girl being forced to marry a much older man to expand her father’s crime family... -
![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 investigator law-enforcement police-procedural thriller crime fiction mystery -
![Dead Ringer by Mary Burton]()
Dead Ringer by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSOME NIGHTMARES . . . Beside each body, he leaves a simple charm bearing a woman’s name. Ruth . Judith . Rachel. The victims were strangers to each other, but they have been chosen with the utmost care. Each bears a striking resemblance to Kendall Shaw, a local anchorwoman…each brutally strangled by a madman whose obsession will never end... DON’T FADE . . -
![The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly]()
The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly, the Lincoln Lawyer is back with a case against an AI company whose product may have been responsible for the murder of a young girl... -
![Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke]()
Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWHEN A NICE YOUNG WOMAN named Trish Klein blows into Louisiana passing hundred-dollar bills in local casinos, Detective Dave Robicheaux senses a storm bearing down on his new life of contentment. Twenty-five years ago, lost in a drunken haze in Florida, Robicheaux was too far gone to save his friend and fellow ’Nam vet Dallas Klein, murdered in cold blood for gambling debts... -
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![Faceless by Martina Cole]()
Faceless by Martina Cole
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEleven years ago Marie Carter was convicted of killing her two best friends. And she's paid the price. Now she is being released from prison. It's time to go home. But life has moved on, and Marie has nowhere to go. Her parents have disowned her; her friends have abandoned her; even her kids don't want to know... -
![The Missing and the Dead by Stuart MacBride]()
The Missing and the Dead by Stuart MacBride
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOne mistake can cost you everything…A little girl’s body washes up just outside the sleepy coastal town of Macduff, kicking off a major manhunt. Officially, the investigation is out of Sergeant Logan McRae’s hands, but DCI Steel’s Major Investigation Team, drafted in from Aberdeen, is getting nowhere fast.Steel is running out of ideas and time... -
![In Harm's Way by Viveca Sten]()
In Harm's Way by Viveca Sten
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA woman’s dangerous career comes to a chilling end in this spellbinding thriller by Viveca Sten, bestselling author of In the Heat of the Moment… The body of world-famous journalist Jeanette Thiels is discovered the day after Christmas, frozen in a snow-spotted garden just steps from her hotel on Sandhamn Island... -
![Hidden in Shadows by Viveca Sten, Marlaine Delargy]()
Hidden in Shadows by Viveca Sten, Marlaine Delargy
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSecrets, vengeance, and a brutal murder unsettle an idyllic winter paradise in a blood-chilling novel of suspense by the acclaimed author of Hidden in Snow and the Sandhamn Murder series.In the Swedish resort of Åre, crime is rare. Certainly nothing so brutal as the murder of Johan Andersson, a former Olympic skier found bound and beaten to death in the forest... -
![La casa delle voci by Donato Carrisi]()
La casa delle voci by Donato Carrisi
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPietro Gerber non è uno psicologo come gli altri. La sua specializzazione è l'ipnosi e i suoi pazienti hanno una cosa in comune: sono bambini. Pietro è il migliore di tutta Firenze, dove è conosciuto come l'addormentatore di bambini. Ma quando riceve una telefonata da parte di una collega australiana che gli raccomanda una paziente, Pietro reagisce con perplessità e diffidenza... -
![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... -
![The Baltimore Boys by Joël Dicker]()
The Baltimore Boys by Joël Dicker
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsSwiss Sensation Joel Dicker's compulsive follow-up to the phenomenally bestselling The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair... -
![The Devils' Cradle by Darcy Daniel]()
The Devils' Cradle by Darcy Daniel
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn Australia’s island state, more than one species of Tasmanian Devil exists... Beneath the surface of Nina Holt’s perfect marriage lurks a life of terror inflicted upon her by her politically powerful husband Michael and his brother Greg, a sadistic detective. For over a decade they have managed to keep Nina imprisoned, using her to satisfy their every whim... -
![His Other Lie by Ava Strong]()
His Other Lie by Ava Strong
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStella Fall, still reeling from the trauma of her deceitful fiancé and her failed engagement, has decided to pursue her dreams, follow in her father’s footsteps, and throw herself into law enforcement. Upon graduating from the FBI’s academy, she isf placed in the FBI’s Connecticut field office... -
![The Lost Get-Back Boogie by James Lee Burke]()
The Lost Get-Back Boogie by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIry Paret's done his time -- two years for manslaughter in Louisiana's Angola State Penitentiary. Now the war vet and blues singer is headed to Montana, where he hopes to live clean working on a ranch owned by the father of his prison pal, Buddy Riordan. In prison, Iry tinkered with a song -- "The Lost Get-Back Boogie" -- that never came out quite right... -
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![Nothing Gold Can Stay by Dana Stabenow]()
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Dana Stabenow
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShocked by a series of brutal, unexplainable murders, Alaska State Trooper Liam Campbell embarks on a desperate journey into the heart of the Alaskan Bush country -- in search of the terrible, earth-shattering truth.. -
![The Girl Who Ran Away: The McClintock-Carter Crime Thriller Series by Susan Lund]()
The Girl Who Ran Away: The McClintock-Carter Crime Thriller Series by Susan Lund
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA new missing persons case, a prime suspect and questions about an old friend challenge amateur sleuth and crime reporter Tess McClintock and FBI Special Agent Michael Carter in THE GIRL WHO RAN AWAY, a new book in the McClintock-Carter Crime Thriller Series... -
![Tall Man in Ray-Bans by Joseph Flynn]()
Tall Man in Ray-Bans by Joseph Flynn
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsOut for a day’s adventure exploring the dry bed of Lake Travis in Austin, Texas, two young boys stumble upon a skeleton. It might be all that remains of a fugitive named Randy Bear Heart. Wanted for robbing three banks and killing three cops, Bear Heart was never brought to justice... -
![A Plague of Secrets by John Lescroart]()
A Plague of Secrets by John Lescroart
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky, and Wyatt Hunt return in a compelling and timely legal thriller filled with blackmail, political intrigue, and multiple murder.The first victim is Dylan Vogler, a charming ex-convict who manages the Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. When his body is found, inspectors discover that his knapsack is filled with high-grade marijuana...Categorized as:
crime friendship law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller adult audiobook -
![Dead at First Sight by Peter James]()
Dead at First Sight by Peter James
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA man waits at London Airport for Ingrid Ostermann, the love of his life, to arrive. Across the Atlantic, a retired NYPD cop waits in a bar in Florida’s Key West for his first date with the lady who is, without question, his soulmate. The two men are about to discover they’ve been scammed out of almost every penny they have—and that neither woman exists... -
![The Silent Girl by Michael Hjorth, Hans Rosenfeldt]()
The Silent Girl by Michael Hjorth, Hans Rosenfeldt
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn idyllic white, two-storey, beautiful house in Sweden. Inside, a family has been brutally murdered – mother, father and two young children all shot in broad daylight. And the killer has got away.Sebastian Bergman has been brought in to solve the crime, but with no credible suspects, he is at a dead end.Until he discovers that there was a witness to the crime...
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