Books like 'The Sanctuary'
Readers who enjoyed The Sanctuary by Katrine Engberg also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
mystery serial killer crime noir law-enforcement literary-fiction humor
-
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... -
Bamburgh by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen a cantankerous old woman dies at her home in the sleepy, picturesque village of Bamburgh, DCI Ryan doesn’t think much of it—except, that is, for the small matter of it having been his wife who happened to find her body...Categorized as:
crime humor law-enforcement literary-fiction action-adventure adult book contemporary -
The Innocent Wife by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCandles are lit and their rich vanilla scent twists its way through the cabin. The table is set for a romantic anniversary dinner with fresh roses dropping crimson petals on crisp white linen... -
Deadly Fate by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe woman’s bright blonde hair floats in the breeze. She almost looks like she could be resting on the soft green grass. But her brown eyes stare unblinking up at the sky, and the final cut across her mouth is dark with blood... -
-
Stolen Angels by Rita Herron
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTwisting her hands together, she bites back a sob. She only turned her back for a second, and then her daughter was gone. Every mother in town would be hugging their children tighter tonight.Lara is baking cupcakes when her daughter Ava runs to catch the school bus just one block away. Chasing after her, Lara sees the bus tumbling past, and waves. But Ava never turns up at school... -
Bad Blood by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe victim is lying under the trees, arms lifted above his head, unnaturally still. His muscles are slack. His eyes are empty. There are no signs of life. But he is not quite dead…When Detective Kim Stone races to the crime scene, there is no body waiting for the paramedics are desperately trying to save the victim’s life... -
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... -
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... -
Stone Cold Dead by Alex Smith
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsGetting blood from these stones will be all too easy.In the middle of one of Norfolk’s most brutal winters a frozen body is discovered on the legendary Stone of Ling. With Robert Kett out of action the case falls to DC Kate Savage and DI Pete Porter, and it quickly becomes clear to them that the young man wasn’t just killed, he was sacrificed.And he isn’t alone... -
Dead Memories by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsShe ruined their lives. Now they’re going to destroy hers. ‘Someone is recreating every traumatic point in your life. They are doing this to make you suffer, to make you hurt and the only possible end game can be death. Your death.’ On the fourth floor of Chaucer House, two teenagers are found chained to a radiator. The boy is dead but the girl is alive... -
Child's Play by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFinally we’re playing a game. A game that I have chosen. I give one last push of the roundabout and stand back. 'You really should have played with me,’ I tell her again although I know she can no longer hear... -
Three Little Pigs by Alex Smith
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHe will find the truth. Even if it kills him. Five months ago, DCI Robert Kett’s wife Billie was snatched from a London street. Five months of no leads, no evidence, and no suspects. Until now... -
Deadly Desires by Rachel McLean
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen two men are found mutilated in Birmingham's gay village just before Christmas, DI Zoe Finch and her team are perplexed.Did their attacker mean to kill one of the men, or simply injure them both? And who would have the surgical skills for such a precise mutilation?When more bodies are found with the same injuries, the city's gay population is rightfully scared...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir literary-fiction mystery audiobook children serial-killers -
The Bonnie Dead by Andrew Raymond
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA stolen child. A killer stalking the streets of Glasgow. A troubled detective running out of time.Five years ago, DCI John Lomond led the search for notorious Glasgow child-killer ‘The Sandman’, until personal tragedy forced him off the case.In Lomond’s absence, the killer was never found... -
-
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
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... -
Deadly Motives by Ann Girdharry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSecrets never stay buried forever...When a nurse is murdered, Detective David Grant recognises the hallmarks of a serial killer called Travis.Twenty-five years ago, Grant caught Travis for the murder of five women and the murderer has been incarcerated ever since...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement literary-fiction mystery fiction suspense audiobook serial-killers -
Cold Comfort by Trevor Douglas
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHow do you catch a killer who never leaves a clue? Bridgette Casseldhorf is a rookie detective working her first murder case. The circumstances surrounding the murder of a young woman lead Bridgette to believe it’s the work of a serial killer, but nobody is listening... -
Dead Sorry by Helen H. Durrant
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLooking for a brilliant best-selling crime mystery with great detectives?THE PAST COMES BACK TO HAUNT THEMTwenty-five years ago a schoolgirl was attacked by three bullies in her home where she lived with her grandmother.Now, the mother of one of those bullies is found murdered on the Hobfield housing estate. Written on the wall in the victim’s blood is the word, “sorry... -
Guilty Mothers by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShe lies on the floor, her blue eyes wide and unseeing, arms outstretched as if begging for help. Kneeling next to her, wearing a purple sequinned ballgown and holding a knife in shaking hands, is her daughter… In a quiet kitchen, where two mugs wait by the kettle to be filled, Sheryl Hawne lies in a pool of blood... -
The Bones She Buried by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJosie works until her arms ache, until the paramedics arrive and pull her gently away from the woman’s cold, fragile body. Noah’s voice cracks beside her as he calls the time of death for his own, beloved mother... -
Cold Heart Creek by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAs the sun rises, the last glow of the campfire is just visible through the mist and the trees... -
The Dead Call by J.M. Dalgliesh
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.. -
Kill Them Cold by J.M. Dalgliesh
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOne lie requires commitment... Multiple lies require dedication...When the remains of a young woman are discovered near to Branodunum, a Roman archaeological site on the Norfolk coast, DI Tom Janssen and his team must work to discover who she was and how she came to be buried there.The area is steeped in myth and folklore, a site excavated many times over the years... -
-
Her Dying Secret by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe gently opens the woman’s tightly clenched fist, uncurling each finger to reveal a square of folded paper hidden in her palm... -
Silenced Girls: An absolutely addictive mystery thriller by Roger Stelljes
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe moved far away to try and forget her past. A past that would seep back in when she least expected it and crushed her soul over and over. She tried to keep the evidence packed away in boxes high up on a closet shelf like carefully packing away a tragic part of her life. As if sealing the boxes, was sealing away a time in her life she desperately wanted to go back and change... -
Riddle Me This by Gina LaManna
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDetective Kate Rosetti is not a big fan of February 14th. Even worse than gigantic bouquets of roses and buckets of chocolate, however, are the love notes she’s been receiving from the murderer who very nearly stole her life.Unfortunately, a peaceful Valentine’s Day isn’t in the cards for Kate Rosetti... -
Her Broken Wings by D.K. Hood
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe sound that wakes her from sleep is unmistakable—someone is in their house... -
Shadow's Siege by Mary Stone
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShadow Island is under siege.Just a few short months ago, Sheriff Rebecca West thought her toughest battles were behind her. But nothing could have prepared her for the turmoil she’s faced since coming to Shadow Island. Attempts on her life. Heartbreak. Betrayal. And that’s just the beginning.The worst is yet to come...Categorized as:
law-enforcement crime mystery female-mc police-procedural murder serial-killers fiction -
Jack Frost by Christopher Greyson
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhat do you get when you mix Agatha Christie's masterpiece And Then There Were None with the blockbuster television show Survivor? JACK FROST! Jack has a new assignment: to investigate the suspicious death of a soundman on the hit TV show Planet Survival. Jack goes undercover as a security agent where the show is filming on nearby Mount Minuit... -
What You Did by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFormer FBI-profiler Eva Rae Thomas faces the most personal case in her career, as bestselling author Willow Rose’s new hit-series continues. Three girls disappear on prom night at the local high school. One of them is the prom queen... -
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... -
Bad Dog by Alex Smith
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSome legends can kill you. When a young woman is brutally murdered in the Norfolk countryside, the locals blame Black Shuck—a legendary wild dog. There’s only one problem: the wounds weren’t made by an animal. DCI Robert Kett is battling a black dog of his own... -
The Talisker Dead by J.M. Dalgliesh
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPulling on the threads of your past... is enough to kill you...When a teenage islander goes missing on Burns Night, D.I. Duncan McAdam takes a strong interest despite the apparent lack of concern shown by the boy's father. When a woman's body is soon discovered in Talisker Bay, with a single stab wound to the chest, Duncan and his team realise they have a killer on the island... -
-
Wild Thing by L.M. Krier
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRandom, unrelated killings, seemingly without motives? Or the work of a single cold-blooded killer?And are the murders in any way connected to the shocking crimes which RSPCA officers are investigating in the same area?DI Ted Darling's latest case takes him to the darkest side of the human psyche, where identifying the killer is the least of his problems...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir mystery killer female-author romantic-love police-procedural -
Only the Lonely by L.M. Krier
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings'Blind dates end in bleeding hearts'Ted Darling is back and his boss has news for him. He'll be taking on more responsibility over an expanded area, with a bigger team. Before he even has chance to take stock, he's facing his first body in what could be the most cynical murder he's ever encountered... -
Unquiet Souls by Liz Mistry
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhat is the link between the abduction of a little girl and a dead prostitute? When the body of a prostitute is found, followed by the discovery of children locked in an attic, DI Gus McGuire, newly returned to work, is given the case. But what at first appears to be a simple murder soon turns into an international manhunt for the members of a twisted child trafficking ring... -
The Recipient by Audrey J. Cole
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSergeant Wade McKinnon knows who killed Samantha the moment he arrives at her crime scene. Problem is, he watched her killer die a year ago.A year after serial killer Michael Rhodes is executed and allowed to donate part of his brain as an organ transplant, Wade gets called to a murder scene that shares uncanny similarities to those of the late Michael Rhodes... -
Dark Water by Caro Ramsay
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA bitterly cold February in Glasgow. In the attic of a deserted tenement, the body of a man is found hanging, his face disfigured beyond recognition.Around his neck is a sign that reads: I Am Stephen Whyte.Investigating officers DI Anderson and DS Costello believe the dead man was the prime suspect in a decade-old unsolved case.Ten years ago, a young woman was brutally attacked and left for dead... -
Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen your life is a lie, who can you trust? When Maggie Taylor accepts a new job in Manchester, she is sure it is the right move for her family. The children have settled well although her husband, Duncan, doesn’t appear to be so convinced. But nothing prepares her for the shock of coming home from work one night to find that Duncan has disappeared, leaving their young children alone... -
Trick of the Night by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMatt and Liz may have retired from the police, but that doesn’t guarantee a quiet life.A deserted building. A face in the window. A face that shouldn’t be there.Photography student Toby Unsworth has found the location for the perfect night-time shoot. A cobbled street in the old part of Fenfleet... -
One For the Ages by J.D. Kirk
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen a blood-soaked old man is spotted wandering through a sleepy fishing village in the far north of Scotland, his neighbours think he’s been in an accident.Until he leads them to his home, and to the mutilated remains of his late wife.It is the first murder that the remote Highland village has ever seen. It will not be the last. Someone is targeting the elderly and vulnerable in their homes... -
The Sleepover by Carol Wyer
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsRoxy had a secret. Now she’s gone. When fourteen-year-old Roxy says she’s going for a sleepover at her best friend Ellie’s house, Cathy sees no reason to check her daughter’s story. The two families are neighbours, and the girls are in and out of each other’s homes every day. It is a decision she will regret... -
Winter Prey by John Sandford
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 31 ratings"Winter Prey" is a John Sandford suspense masterpiece! Following the international success of "Shadow Prey" and "Silent Prey," he creates another heart-pounding chapter in the career of Lucas Davenport, the brilliant, hard-bitten detective from the Twin Cities.The Iceman is Lucas Davenport's most determined foe - a serial killer driven to cover his brutal tracks with blood... -
-
The Hunter of the Dark by Donato Carrisi
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA brutal killer is on the streets of Rome. He leaves no trace. And shows no mercy.A series of gruesome murders leaves the police force in Rome reeling, with no real clues or hard evidence to follow. Assigned to the case is Sandra Vega, a brilliant forensic analyst, struggling to come to terms with the crimes and her own past... -
The Raven Song by J.M. Dalgliesh
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOne song for the dying... sung by the dead...When the body of a young woman is discovered at the home she shared with her disabled daughter, DI Tom Janssen and his team must investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.The woman was a single mother, well regarded and popular among the group she frequented, but she had a chequered past... a life she kept secret from those around her.. -
Final Breath by Robert F. Barker
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA monstrous killer, safely behind bars – But just how safe is, ‘safe’? An archive of debauchery and murder, poised to ruin reputations, careers, lives A detective running out of time to find what he seeks Eighteen months on from the case that nearly cost him his life, only DCI Jamie Carver knows the incredible extent of the Worshipper Killer’s network of depravity – and the storm that will...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement literary-fiction noir action-adventure adult book conspiracies -
There's No Place like Home by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsASIN moved from less recent editionWhat is the worst that can happen?Maria and Jonas Boegh asked themselves that very question when deciding to sign the papers for their new house. It might be expensive. They might be in over their heads a little financially, but they were never happier than on the day they moved in. Everything was perfect. It was the house of their dreams... -
Fatal Lies by Mary Stone
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSex, lies, and murder.Two months after the murder of her fashion-model cousin and her own near kidnapping, Sky Stryker is more determined than ever to expose the dark side of the fashion industry and memorialize her cousin’s life. Even if it means dredging up her own long-suppressed but never forgotten horrific nightmares.Then another model is attacked, beaten within an inch of her life...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement kidnapping mystery police-procedural murder serial-killers fiction -
Dark Houses by Helen H. Durrant
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTHE STUNNING NEW CRIME MYSTERY FEATURING D.I. GRECO BY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR HELEN H. DURRANT A young woman is found brutally murdered in an empty house Detective Stephen Greco and his team must piece together her life as quickly as possible. Within twenty-four hours there is another horrific murder using the same method...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.