Books like 'Better the Blood'
Readers who enjoyed Better the Blood by Michael Bennett also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical mystery serial killer thriller crime suspense family historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural
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The Unknown Beloved by Amy Harmon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsChicago, 1923: Ten-year-old Dani Flanagan returns home to find police swarming the house, her parents dead. Michael Malone, the young patrolman assigned to the case, discovers there’s more to the situation - and to Dani Flanagan herself - than the authorities care to explore. Malone is told to shut his mouth, and Dani is sent away to live with her spinster aunts in Cleveland... -
Revelation by C.J. Sansom
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSpring, 1543. King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whom he wants for his sixth wife. But this time the object of his affections is resisting. Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court are watching keenly, for Lady Catherine is known to have reformist sympathies. Meanwhile, a teenage boy, a religious maniac, has been placed in the Bedlam hospital for the insane...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense thriller 21st-century adult audiobook -
The Council of Twelve by Oliver Pötzsch
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe seventh chilling mystery in The Hangman's Daughter seriesThe year is 1672. Hangman Jakob Kuisl and his family travel to Munich, the cosmopolitan heart of Bavaria, for a meeting of the prestigious—for dishonorable hangmen, at least—Council of Twelve, the leaders of the empire’s hangmen’s guild... -
Heavenfield by LJ Ross
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe hunter becomes the hunted… When a man is found dead at the remote church of Heavenfield, DCI Ryan is the only other person for miles around. The police have no weapon, no motive and no other suspects. Already suspended from Northumbria CID, Ryan must fight to clear his name. But soon, more than his career is at stake when prominent members of the mysterious ‘Circle’ begin to die...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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Danger on the Ranch by Dana Mentink
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHer child’s life is on the line A Roughwater Ranch Cowboys story After putting his serial killer brother in prison, former US marshal Mitch Whitehorse chooses a solitary country life—until his brother escapes. Now Mitch’s former sister-in-law, Jane Reyes, needs protection…for herself and the toddler she’s kept a secret... -
Mister Slaughter by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe world of Colonial America comes vibrantly to life in this masterful new historical thriller by Robert McCammon...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
Edinburgh Midnight by Carole Lawrence
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSuperstition and murder haunt nineteenth-century Scotland in a twisting mystery by the prize-winning author of Edinburgh Twilight and Edinburgh Dusk.Spiritualism has captured the public’s imagination. Séances are all the rage, and Detective Ian Hamilton’s otherwise sensible aunt Lillian is not immune to their allure. But for Ian, indulging her superstitions has its limits...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense 21st-century adult audiobook -
Chiefs by Stuart Woods
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn the bitter winter of 1920, the first body is found in Delano, Georgia; the naked corpse of an unidentified teenager. There is no direct evidence of murder, but the body bears marks of what seems to be a ritual beating. The investigation falls to Will Henry Lee, a failed cotton farmer newly appointed as Delano's first chief of police... -
Dead Lucky by Matt Brolly, David Monteath
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA fast-paced crime-thriller, full of chilling twists, turns and grisly surprises, Matt Brolly’s Dead Lucky will have you gripped from beginning to end! DCI Michael Lambert is back… When a woman is murdered, the twisted killer forcing her husband to watch her slow and painful death, DCI Michael Lambert knows that his next case might be his toughest yet...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook book -
The Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHis epic masterwork, Speaks the Nightbird, a tour de force of witch hunt terror in a colonial town, was hailed by Sandra Brown as "deeply satisfying...told with matchless insight into the human soul...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult alternate-history -
Venom by Colin Falconer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom Saigon to Paris, from Bangkok to the Ganges, this thriller is the story of Michel Christian. Abandoned on the streets of Saigon when he is only a child, he grows up with a fatal attraction for women and an insatiable desire for revenge... -
Senseless & Merciless Bundle by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSenseless & Merciless Bundle Senseless Every Serial Killer Knows. . . The vicious burns scarring the victims' flesh reveal the agony of their last moments. Each woman was branded with a star, then stabbed through the heart. With every death, a vengeful killer finds a brief, blissful moment of calm. But soon it's time for the bloodshed to start again. . . The Perfect Time. . -
The Treason of the Ghosts by Paul Doherty
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the village of Melford, a local lord is executed for a spate of vicious murders. It's not until the killing begins again, and the dead lord's son alleges that a miscarriage of justice has taken place, that a serious investigation begins... -
The House of Crows by Paul Doherty, P. Harding
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn 1380, the King's parliament debates whether to grant money supplies to the Regent John of Gaunt for his war against the French. John orders Cranston to investigate the murders of the Shrewsbury representatives; the assassin must be caught before parliament suspects the Regent... -
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By Murder's Bright Light by Paul Doherty, P. Harding
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsScandal, murder and treason… Athelstan and Cranston are back with a bang. Winter, 1379. French privateers are attacking the southern coast and threaten London itself, the very heart of the nation... -
The Anger of God by Paul Doherty, P. Harding
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn autumn 1379, the power of the British crown is invested in John of Gaunt, and the kingdom is seething with discontent. The French are attacking the southern ports and peasants are planning a revolt organized by a mysterious leader who proclaims himself “IRA DEI,” the anger of God. Meanwhile Gaunt's tenuous plans are plunged into chaos by a series of bloody murders in London... -
Eyes of the Predator: The Pickham County Murders by Glenn Trust
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings***For Mature Readers*** Eyes scanning, searching, the predator sits motionless in a parking lot. His next victim is only feet away. Within hours a backwater south Georgia county will be rocked by two seemingly unrelated murders that signal the arrival of a serial killer in the rural southland...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult book -
Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis sequel to the New York Times bestselling None Shall Sleep is an equally electrifying, chilling thriller that brings us back into the lives of junior FBI consultants Travis Bell and Emma Lewis with a new case that may unravel everything they’ve been working for...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction suspense thriller law-enforcement mystery young-adult horror -
Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAs Germany strangles under the tight grip of the Nazi Party, the frozen winter of 1940 brings even more reasons to fear the dark in the crackling new WWII crime novel from #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Scarrow – perfect for fans of Philip Kerr’s Berlin Trilogy, Robert Ludlum, Andrew Gross, and William Christie… One freezing night in 1940 Berlin, an SS doctor and his wife return from...Categorized as:
historical-fiction crime law-enforcement thriller police-procedural suspense fiction mystery -
The Providence Rider by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"The Providence Rider is the fourth installment in the extraordinary series of historical thrillers featuring Matthew Corbett, professional problem solver. The narrative begins in the winter of 1703, with Matthew still haunted by his lethal encounter with notorious mass murderer Tyranthus Slaughter...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Dead Eyed by Matt Brolly, David Monteath
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDCI Michael Lambert thought he’d closed his last case…Yet when he’s passed a file detailing a particularly gruesome murder, Michael knows that this is no ordinary killer at work.The removal of the victim’s eyes and the Latin inscription carved into the chest is the chilling calling-card of the ‘soul jacker’: a cold-blooded murderer who struck close to Michael once before, twenty-five years ago...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe narrator of The Bottoms is Harry Collins, an old man obsessively reflecting on certain key experiences of his childhood. In 1933, the year that forms the centerpiece of the narrative, Harry is 11 years old and living with his mother, father, and younger sister on a farm outside of Marvel Creek, Texas, near the Sabine River bottoms...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement poc-mc suspense thriller 20th-century audiobook -
Metropolis by Philip Kerr, John Lee
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBerlin, 1928, the dying days of the Weimar Republic shortly before Hitler and the Nazis came to power. It was a period of decadence and excess as Berliners - after the terrible slaughter of WWI and the hardships that followed - are enjoying their own version of Babylon. Bernie is a young detective working in Vice when he gets a summons from Bernard Weiss, Chief of Berlin's Criminal Police...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller 20th-century adult -
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsAn extraordinary novel inspired by the real-life sorority targeted by America's first celebrity serial killer in his final murderous spree.January 1978. A serial killer has terrorized women across the Pacific Northwest, but his existence couldn’t be further from the minds of the vibrant young women at the top sorority on Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee... -
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The Water Rituals by Eva García Sáenz de Urturi, Eva García Sáenz
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHOW DO YOU UNMASK A KILLER WHO'S SPENT YEARS PREPARING TO HUNT YOU DOWN?A pregnant woman has been murdered in a brutal, ritualistic way: burned, hung, and then placed upside down in a Bronze Age cauldron...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller 21st-century adult -
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsMGB officer Leo is a man who never questions the Party Line. He arrests whomever he is told to arrest. He dismisses the horrific death of a young boy because he is told to, because he believes the Party stance that there can be no murder in Communist Russia. Leo is the perfect soldier of the regime. But suddenly his confidence that everything he does serves a great good is shaken... -
Spider Silk by Annelie Wendeberg
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCoroner Sévère has it all: a beautiful young wife, money, influence…and secrets.Not only is a disease slowly crippling him, but his wife, Olivia, is a former prostitute who once served the Chief Magistrate himself — a man with cruel appetites.When Sévère and Olivia begin to investigate the heinous crimes of Chief Magistrate Frost, more than the Coroner’s career is at risk...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult book fiction -
Crouchback by Sarah Woodbury
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings**Crouchback is a medieval word derived from crossed-back and indicates participation in a Crusade** April 1284. As a newly widowed lady-in-waiting to the very pregnant Queen Eleanor of England, Catrin never expected to return to Wales again... -
Eye of the Storm: A Hart and Drake Thriller by C.J. Lyons
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Hart and Drake Finale After all that they've been through, no one would deny that Hart and Drake deserve a happily-ever-after life together. But, on the eve of their Christmas wedding, a threat long buried returns to threaten them. Not just their happiness, not only their lives, but everything they hold dear...Categorized as:
suspense law-enforcement police-procedural crime romance audiobook female-mc psychological -
Seven Shades of Evil by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe New York Times–bestselling author continues his colonial-era thriller series with eight tales of mystery, adventure, and supernatural suspense. From his first appearance in Speaks the Nightbird to his latest adventure in The King of Shadows, Matthew Corbett has faced enemies of all kinds, from serial killers to sorcerers... -
A Thousand Devils by Frank Goldammer, Steve Anderson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA disturbing murder reveals a high-stakes conspiracy among the ruins of postwar Dresden.Two years after the firebombing that devastated the historic East German city, the suffering continues in the throes of a brutal winter. The wary and exhausted citizens scramble to survive, wolf packs of orphans scavenge for food, and Detective Max Heller is called to the scene of a savage murder...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural thriller 20th-century adult audiobook -
Unquiet Spirits: Whisky, Ghosts, Murder by Bonnie MacBird
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe new novel from the author of Art in the Blood. December 1889. Fresh from debunking a "ghostly" hound in Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes has returned to London, only to find himself the target of a deadly vendetta. A beautiful client arrives with a tale of ghosts, kidnapping and dynamite on a whisky estate in Scotland, but brother Mycroft trumps all with an urgent assignment in the South of France...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult animals -
The House of the Red Slayer by Paul Doherty
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn December 1377 a great frost has the city in its icy grip; even the Thames is frozen from bank to bank. Murder, revenge and treachery also make their presence felt. The Constable of the Tower of London, Sir Ralph Whitton, is found murdered in a cold bleak chamber in the North Bastion...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement whodunit thriller adult ancient-civilization book -
Chinese Whispers by Peter May
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsGRUESOME MURDERSHis victims are young, beautiful and coldly mutilated. He calls himself the Beijing Ripper. Li Yan, head of Beijing's serious crime squad, must stop him.FEARSOME LETTERSJust as pathologist Margaret Campbell finds an insight into the killer's cruel signature, Li receives a letter from the killer, betraying his cruel intentions... -
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The Murderers by W.E.B. Griffin, Dick Hill
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA cop is found shot dead in his home - is it connected to corruption in the narcotics division? A bar owner and his partner's wife are in the wrong place at the wrong time and are gunned down together - was it a mob hit? A beautiful, well-connected young woman dies an ugly death in her parents' mansion - was it accidental? It's up to Special Operations Division detectives Washington, Payne, and...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult animals -
Black Fall by Andrew Mayne
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn Black Fall, the third book in the ITW Award-nominated series that began with self-published eBook phenomenon Angel Killer, magician-turned-FBI agent Jessica Blackwood investigates a series of seemingly unrelated, but equally bizarre and sinister, crimes that lead her to the Colorado desert and a town that has, simply, disappeared...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney, Angus King
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Quaker is watching you…It is 1969 and Glasgow has been brought to its knees by a serial killer spreading fear throughout the city. The Quaker has taken three women from the same nightclub and brutally murdered them in the backstreets.A detective with everything to prove.Now, six months later, the police are left chasing a ghost, with no new leads and no hope of catching their prey...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit thriller adult -
A Lonely Death by Charles Todd
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratings“Todd’s Ian Rutledge mysteries are among the most intelligent and affecting being written these days.”—Washington PostCritics have called Charles Todd’s historical mystery series featuring shell-shocked World War One veteran Inspector Ian Rutledge “remarkable” (New York Times Book Review), “heart-breaking” (Chicago Tribune), “fresh and original” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)... -
A Man Without Breath by Philip Kerr
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBerlin, March, 1943. A month has passed since the stunning defeat at Stalingrad. Though Hitler insists Germany is winning the war, commanders on the ground know better. Morale is low, discipline at risk. Now word has reached Berlin of a Red massacre of Polish officers in the Katyn Forest near Smolensk. If true, the message it would send to the troops is clear: Fight on or risk certain death... -
In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe sixth Dave Robicheaux novel from SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author James Lee Burke...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller 20th-century adult -
Over My Dead Body by Jeffrey Archer
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAn unputdownable story of murder, revenge and betrayal from international number one bestseller Jeffrey Archer.THE CLOCK IS TICKING IN THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF A THRILLER…In London, the Metropolitan Police set up a new Unsolved Murders Unit—a cold case squad—to catch the criminals nobody else can... -
Keeper of Pleas by Annelie Wendeberg
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Dark Victorian Crime NovelThis 2018 edition features three new chapters plus several new scenes, and revisions to scenes that were too graphic for some readers. “…vast imagination, skillful plot twists and remarkably interesting characters.” “Masterful, original and refreshingly well-written... -
The German by Lee Thomas
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the Lambda Literary Award and Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lee Thomas come a thrilling novel. 1944 - Barnard, Texas. At the height of World War II, a killer preys on the young men of a quiet Texas town. The murders are calculated, vicious, and they are just beginning. Sheriff Tom Rabbit and his men are baffled and the community he serves is terrified of the monster lurking their streets... -
The Enemy at Home by Kevin O'Brien
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAs World War II rages overseas, a serial killer preys on women working in Seattle’s factories in this provocative blend of vivid, richly detailed historical fiction and taut suspense.1943, Seattle. While raging war reshapes the landscape of Europe, its impact is felt thousands of miles away too... -
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Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel by M.K. Wiseman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI am afraid that I, Sherlock Holmes, must act as my own chronicler in this singular case, that of the Whitechapel murders of 1888. For the way in which the affair was dropped upon my doorstep left me with little choice as to the contrary. Not twelve months prior, the siren’s call of quiet domesticity and married life had robbed me of Watson’s assistance as both partner and recorder of my cases...Categorized as:
historical-fiction law-enforcement suspense thriller crime mystery fiction historical -
The Devil’s Due by Bonnie MacBird
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter Art in the Blood and Unquiet Spirits, Holmes and Watson are back in the third of Bonnie MacBird’s critically acclaimed Sherlock Holmes Adventures, written in the tradition of Conan Doyle himself.It’s 1890 and the newly famous Sherlock Holmes faces his worst adversary to date – a diabolical villain bent on destroying some of London’s most admired public figures in particularly gruesome ways...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Madness in the Ruins by John A. Connell
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA mutilated body. No witnesses. The only clue, a message, “Those who I have made suffer will become saints and they shall lift me up from hell.” Winter, 1945. Munich is in ruins, and a savage killer is stalking the city.U.S. Army investigator Mason Collins enforces the law in the American Zone of Occupation. This post is his last chance to do what he loves most—being a homicide detective... -
Three Debts Paid by Anne Perry
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThree Debts Paid is the fifth gripping instalment in an exciting new generation of Pitt novels from the pen of highly acclaimed crime writer and New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.It is February 1912 when barrister Daniel Pitt is reunited with his old college friend, Inspector Ian Frobisher... -
The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn poverty-stricken 1978 Laos, a man with a truck from the city was “somebody,” a catch for even the prettiest village virgin. The corpse of one of these bucolic beauties turns up in Dr. Siri’s morgue and his curiosity is piqued. The victim was tied to a tree and strangled but she had not, as the doctor had expected, been raped, although her flesh had been torn... -
The Shifting Tide by Anne Perry
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn her new masterpiece featuring private inquiry agent William Monk, New York Times bestselling novelist Anne Perry displays her prodigious writing talent...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit action-adventure adult
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