Books like 'Badlands'
Readers who enjoyed Badlands by C.J. Box also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery action / adventure thriller crime suspense western law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc
-
Longstone by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBetween the devil and the deep blue sea… Viking treasure is discovered beneath the icy waters of the North Sea and local historian Doctor Anna Taylor is called in to help catalogue the most exciting hoard in living memory. But when a shipwreck diver washes up dead, she’s soon out of her depth...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure -
Desert Star by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsLAPD detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch team up to hunt the brutal killer who is Bosch’s “white whale”—a man responsible for the murder of an entire family. Discover more thrilling Bosch mysteries in the original Freevee series Bosch: Legacy. A year has passed since LAPD detective Renée Ballard quit the force in the face of misogyny, demoralization, and endless red tape...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense thriller 21st-century -
The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsHas a killer lain dormant for years only to strike again on New Year’s Eve? LAPD Detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch team up to find justice for an innocent victim in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly There's chaos in Hollywood on New Year's Eve...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure -
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... -
-
Smoked Out by Jeff Carson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith over a dozen mending bones and other injuries wreaking havoc on his body, along with a shredded spirit twisting his sanity, former sheriff David Wolf is in no shape for any sort of action. But when FBI surveillance units move into the valley and surround his house, it seems he's about to have no choice... -
The Infirmary by L.J. Ross, Jonathan Keeble
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIntroducing the new, unabridged version of The Infirmary by LJ Ross, the author of the international number one best-selling series, the DCI Ryan Mysteries.There's a serial killer targeting the streets of Newcastle, seemingly picking his victims at random but subjecting them all to the same torturous end...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure -
Black Coral by Andrew Mayne
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor a police diver in Florida, solving a cold-case mystery brings a serial killer out of hiding...Sloan McPherson and the Underwater Investigation Unit have discovered a van at the bottom of a murky Florida pond. Sealed inside the watery tomb are the bodies of four teenagers who disappeared thirty years ago after leaving a rock concert. To authorities, it looks like a tragic accident...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen a woman’s body is discovered submerged in a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself with a tough case to untangle. Before they can identify the killer, Tracy and her colleagues on the Seattle PD’s Violent Crimes Section must figure out who the victim is. Her autopsy, however, reveals she may have gone to great lengths to conceal her identity...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Blood Money: A Legal Thriller by Scott Pratt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the sixth volume of the bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard does something he has never done before -- he hires a young associate. Her name is Charleston Story, she is bright and beautiful, and in her very first case, she winds up inheriting an item so valuable that it threatens to destroy her and everything she cares about... -
In the Darkness by Mike Omer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA forensic psychologist fights a mental war against two serial killers in this disturbing thriller from Mike Omer, Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of A Killer’s Mind.An online video of a girl clawing at the ceiling of her own grave could be the worst thing FBI forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley has ever seen...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Conflict of Interest by Scott Pratt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA six-year-old girl is kidnapped from her bed in Tennessee's oldest town. The ransom note demands millions. In this fifth installment of the highly-acclaimed and bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard is hired to represent the parents of a child who has gone missing... -
Injustice For All by Scott Pratt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA criminal court judge is found hanging from a tree. A young employee of the district attorney's office goes missing. In this third book of the best selling Joe Dillard series, Dillard finds himself in the middle of two volatile mysteries. The primary suspect in the judge's murder is Dillard's son's best friend, and Dillard's wife may have destroyed evidence... -
A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s thrilling series continues as Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite is plunged into a case of family secrets and murder… “Another outstanding novel from one of the best crime writers in the business...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
The Hangman by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsJulia Vargas is a cop with a mission. When she’s not chasing down bad guys, Julia dedicates her time to investigating the Hangman serial killer…the same unsolved case that her father, Jim Vargas, was working on when he supposedly shot and killed himself three decades before. While rumors continue to swirl around her father’s death, Julia attempts to hunt down the truth...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
-
Hidden Creed by Alex Kava
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSecrets are exposed and Ryder Creed's life hangs in the balance in the riveting sixth installment of the award-winning Alex Kava Ryder Creed K-9 mysteries.NOTHING STAYS HIDDEN FOREVER...During a training exercise, Creed’s scent dog, Grace, is drawn off course and discovers a shallow grave...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
A Crime of Passion by Scott Pratt
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA beautiful, young, rising star in the country music world is found dead in a Nashville hotel room. The owner of her record company is charged with murder. In the seventh installment of Scott Pratt's bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard is hired to travel to Tennessee's capital city to defend Paul Milius, a record company baron accused of strangling Kasey Cartwright, his label's young star... -
The Wrong Bones by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA frantic chase to catch a grave robber reveals a startling discovery in this tenth installment of the Widow’s Island novella series by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.Deputy Tessa Black spots a man disturbing a grave in the local cemetery and gives chase. But when Tessa catches him, she learns that the ghoulish trespasser wasn’t robbing graves; he was burying a box of bones...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Murder Never Misses by Faith Martin
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThree missing young women. One evil stalker. But Hillary doesn’t think it all adds up. Hillary is recovering from the vicious attack by her stalker. It appears that he is also behind the disappearance and murder of three women. Her bosses want these unsolved cases closed, but Hillary has a theory that will shock everyone...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult book -
The Night Fire by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsHarry Bosch and LAPD Detective Renee Ballard come together again on the murder case that obsessed Bosch's mentor, the man who trained him -- new from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly Back when Harry Bosch was just a rookie homicide detective, he had an inspiring mentor who taught him to take the work personally and light the fire of relentlessness for every case... -
Borderlands: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFROM THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HOLY ISLAND AND PENSHAW When the gods made man, they made a weapon... After uncovering a fresh wave of corruption within the ranks of Northumbria CID, Detective Chief Inspector Ryan was looking forward to an uneventful summer...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure -
Hunted on the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA VICIOUS CRIMINAL IS TARGETING DI NIKKI GALENA AND HER TEAM. ONE BY ONE HE WILL HUNT THEM DOWN AND DESTROY THEIR LIVES, UNLESS SHE CAN STOP HIM FIRST DI Nikki Galena faces her toughest challenge yet...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsHarry attacked his commanding officer and is suspended indefinitely, pending a psychiatric evaluation. At first he resists the LAPD shrink, but finally recognizes that something is troubling him and has for a long time. In 1961, when Harry was twelve, his mother, a prostitute, was brutally murdered, and no one has ever been accused of the crime...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure -
Close to Home by Robert Dugoni
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s acclaimed series continues as Tracy Crosswhite is thrown headlong into the path of a killer conspiracy.While investigating the hit-and-run death of a young boy, Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite makes a startling discovery: the suspect is an active-duty serviceman at a local naval base...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
Mania: An Alexander Gregory Thriller by LJ Ross
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DCI RYAN MYSTERIESYou can’t run from the past…Back in London after a dramatic trip to North America, Doctor Alexander Gregory finds himself without an occupation while he awaits the all-important decision of the disciplinary panel at Southmoor Hospital...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit action-adventure adult -
-
Cold Malice by Toni Anderson
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsASAC Steve (Mac) McKenzie is out to prove himself by leading a task force investigating a series of murders in the heart of Washington, DC. His undercover work in an antigovernment compound twenty years earlier is related—as is the sweet, innocent girl he befriended back then. Now that girl is a beautiful woman, and she has something to hide...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsHarry Bosch, exiled from the LAPD, is working cold cases for the San Fernando Police Department when all hands are called out to a local drugstore, where two pharmacists have been murdered in a robbery. Bosch and the tiny town's three-person detective squad sift through the clues, which lead into the dangerous, big-business world of prescription drug abuse...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller 21st-century -
In the Clearing by Robert Dugoni
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsListening Length 10 hours and 20 minutesDetective Tracy Crosswhite has a skill, and a soft spot, for tackling unsolved crimes. Having lost her own sister to murder at a young age, Tracy has dedicated her career to bringing justice and closure to the families and friends of victims of crime...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
Endangered by C.J. Box
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNew York Times–bestselling writer C. J. Box returns with a thrilling new novel, featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett. She was gone. Joe Pickett had good reason to dislike Dallas Cates, even if he was a rodeo champion, and now he has even more—Joe’s eighteen-year-old ward, April, has run off with him...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western thriller action-adventure adult -
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...Categorized as:
corruption crime law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
Bone Deep by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen two men kidnap former FBI agent Cate Wilde’s fiancé, the boldness of the crime rattles the community. Desperate to find the man she loves, Cate joins forces with the FBI and the local sheriff’s department to launch an investigation and bring Dr. Henry Powers home...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Murder Never Retires by Faith Martin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHillary Greene returns to Thames Valley Police HQ, acting as a consultant for the Crime Review Team, looking into murders which the police have never been able to solve. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go back. But solving crimes is irresistible for Hillary Greene. And it doesn’t hurt that her new boss is devastatingly handsome...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult book -
With a Narrow Blade by Faith Martin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn elderly lady is stabbed to death in her own home; the house doesn't appear to have been robbed and Flo Jenkins was well liked. Also, she only had weeks to live. Why kill a dying woman? This is going to be a difficult one for DI Hillary Greene to solve...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult book -
The Patient Man by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom #1 best-selling author Joy Ellis, a totally absorbing mystery full of stunning twists and turns. Discover the author who’s sold over two million books globally...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Work of a Narrow Mind by Faith Martin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen ex-DI Hillary Greene, now working for the cold case squad, is handed the case of the murder of a harmless old woman, who'd been brutally battered to death in her own home, she is determined to track down the killer...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult book -
-
Cold Justice Series Box Set: Volume I: Books 1-3 by Toni Anderson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNow you can get the first three books of the Cold Justice Series in one bundle! Justice isn’t always black or white. Sometimes it’s cold and dark. A Cold Dark Place: Former CIA assassin Alex Parker works for The Gateway Project, a clandestine government organization hell-bent on taking out serial killers and pedophiles before they enter the justice system...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult anthologies -
Broken Bonds by Kaylea Cross
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAutumn winds and rain have returned to Crimson Point.It’s November in the Pacific Northwest and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Beckett and the Crimson Point gang are looking forward to celebrating the holiday together. This year they all have more to be thankful for than ever…but that also means they have even more to lose.But this year a different kind of storm is looming...Categorized as:
law-enforcement police-procedural season-winter suspense action-adventure adult book contemporary -
Bloody Genius by John Sandford
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsVirgil Flowers will have to watch his back--and his mouth--as he investigates a college culture war turned deadly in this thriller from #1 "New York Times" bestseller John Sandford.At the local state university, two feuding departments have faced off on the battleground of PC culture...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure adult -
The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsKit Darling is a maid with a snooping problem. She’s the “invisible girl,” compelled to poke into her wealthy clients’ closely guarded lives. It’s a harmless hobby until Kit sees something she can’t unsee in the home of her brand-new clients: a secret so dark it could destroy the privileged couple expecting their first child. This makes Kit dangerous to the couple...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Texas Outlaw: The Ranger has gone rogue... by James Patterson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTV rights for the first book in the series, Texas Ranger, have been sold, ensuring continued interest in the... -
Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe new novel in Craig Johnson's beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire series.Attempting to recover from his harrowing experiences in Mexico, in Land of Wolves Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire is neck deep in the investigation of what could or could not be the suicidal hanging of a shepherd...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western thriller action-adventure adult -
Shadow Over the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTWO BRUTAL KILLERS ARE LOOSE ON THE FENS BUT WHO CAN DI NIKKI GALENA TRUST? Detective Nikki Galena’s friend and neighbour meets a tragic end but there’s more to his death than meets the eye . . . And someone terrible from DS Joseph Easter’s past is back . .Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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 law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsBack on the job after an involuntary leave of absence, LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is ready for a challenge. But his first case is a little more than he bargained for. It starts with the body of a Hollywood producer in the trunk of a Rolls-Royce, shot twice in the head at close range - what looks like "trunk music," a Mafia hit...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller 20th-century -
Angels Flight by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsAn activist attorney is killed in a cute little L.A. trolley called Angels Flight, far from Harry Bosch's Hollywood turf. But the case is so explosive--and the dead man's enemies inside the L.A.P.D. are so numerous--that it falls to Harry to solve it. Now the streets are superheating. Harry's year-old Vegas marriage is unraveling...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure -
-
As The Crow Flies by Craig Johnson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe eighth novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire series, the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit Netflix original series Embarking on his eighth adventure, Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire doesn't have time for cowboys and criminals. His daughter, Cady, is getting married in two weeks, and the wedding locale arrangements have just gone up in smoke signals...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western whodunit thriller action-adventure -
Out Of Range by C.J. Box
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWyoming game warden Joe Pickett is about to become the hunted in this suspenseful thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.When a good friend and fellow warden kills himself, Joe Pickett is chosen to temporarily run his Teton district...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western thriller action-adventure adult -
Any Other Name by Craig Johnson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA sheriff’s mysterious death spurs the new novel in the New York Times bestselling Walt Longmire series Sheriff Walt Longmire had already rounded up a sizable posse of devoted readers when the A&E television series Longmire sent the Wyoming lawman’s popularity skyrocketing...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western whodunit thriller 21st-century -
Impostor by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DCI RYAN MYSTERIES There’s a killer inside all of us… After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amidst a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly, Dick Hill
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsDetective Harry Bosch was sure he'd shot the serial killer responsible for a string of murders in LA . . . but now, a new crime makes him question his convictions.The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his female victims...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement legal police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure -
Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA cold case heats up, revealing a deadly conspiracy in a twisty thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.A catastrophic wildfire scorches the Santa Monica Mountains, exposing the charred remains of a woman who disappeared years ago...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.