Books like 'The Nightmare Thief'
Readers who enjoyed The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
mystery psychological action / adventure thriller suspense crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural
-
Dead Souls by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe truth was dead and buried…until now. When a collection of human bones is unearthed during a routine archaeological dig, a Black Country field suddenly becomes a complex crime scene for Detective Kim Stone. As the bones are sorted, it becomes clear that the grave contains more than one victim. The bodies hint at unimaginable horror, bearing the markings of bullet holes and animal traps...Categorized as:
crime drama 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 drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Twisted Prey by John Sandford
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLucas Davenport confronts an old nemesis, now more powerful than ever as a U.S. senator, in the thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Prey seriesLucas Davenport had crossed paths with her before.A rich psychopath, Taryn Grant had run successfully for the U.S. Senate, where Lucas had predicted she’d fit right in...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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 drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
-
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 law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult animals -
Our Stolen Pieces by James Hunt
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen the morning after a slumber party reveals two missing girls, a newly minted Detective and a young veteran are assigned the case. Recently partnered, the pair of detectives must set aside their troubled pasts to recover the pair of girls who may have been coerced by a stranger who had kidnapped before...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Her Final Breath by Robert Dugoni
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsHomicide detective Tracy Crosswhite has returned to the police force after the sensational retrial of her sister’s killer. Still scarred from that ordeal, Tracy is pulled into an investigation that threatens to end her career, if not her life.A serial killer known as the Cowboy is killing young women in cheap motels in North Seattle...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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 drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Echo Road by Kendra Elliot, Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen two cross-country cases collide, Bree Taggert and Mercy Kilpatrick join forces to catch a serial killer in an addictive novel of suspense by bestselling authors Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot.During a vicious heat wave, a county maintenance worker stumbles upon two suspicious suitcases abandoned by the side of the road... -
Fear No Evil by James Patterson
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAlex Cross enters the final showdown with the relentless killer who has stalked him and his family for years.Dr. Alex Cross and Detective John Sampson venture into the rugged Montana wilderness—where they will be the prey. They’re not on the job, but on a personal mission...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Dawn Girl by Leslie Wolfe
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA GRIPPING SERIAL KILLER THRILLERHer blue eyes wide open, glossed over. A few specks of sand clung to her long, dark lashes. Her beautiful face, immobile, covered in sparkling flecks of sand. Her lips slightly parted as if to let a last breath escape...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult book -
Crimson Lake Road by Victor Methos
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBestselling author Victor Methos’s acclaimed series continues as prosecutor Jessica Yardley races to catch an art-obsessed serial killer before she becomes his next masterpiece.Retiring prosecutor Jessica Yardley can’t turn down one last investigation. This time, it’s a set of murders inspired by a series of grisly paintings called The Night Things...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
Criss Cross by James Patterson
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA killer with all the skills of a master detective has made Alex Cross the subject of his deranged "investigation." In a Virginia penitentiary, Alex Cross and his partner, John Sampson, witness the execution of a killer they helped convict. Hours later, they are called to the scene of a copycat crime. A note signed "M" rests on the corpse. "You messed up big time, Dr. Cross...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure audiobook book -
The Girl in the Sand by L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsShallow graves scar the desert landscape. A cemetery in the sand. Some of the lost are never found. Thousands of girls go missing every year in Las Vegas. Taken. Bought and sold. Or worse. And now the dead are calling. These lost girls summon FBI Profiler Violet Darger to Sin City -- a new case...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
-
Bedlam by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the international best-selling author of the DCI Ryan mysteries.In a world gone mad, who can you trust?Fresh from a high-profile case in the Paris fashion world, elite forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory receives a call from the New York State Homicide Squad... -
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 law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
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 drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Killer Smile by Mary Stone
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIf looks can kill, a smile can be deadly.Special Agent Stella Knox became an FBI agent to find the dirty cops responsible for her father’s murder and make them pay. But fresh out of Quantico, her first case has her seeking justice for a different victim—three of them, in fact.The bodies of three teenage boys have turned up in a sleepy town outside of Nashville, TN... -
To Die For by David Baldacci
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author, David Baldacci, the 6:20 Man returns, this time sent to the Pacific Northwest to aid the FBI in a case that gets more complicated with the more questions Devine asks—and he’s about to come face-to-face with his nemesis, the girl on the train. Travis Devine has become a pro at adapting to any situation to accomplish the mission set in front of him... -
Cross Justice by James Patterson
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFor Alex Cross, the toughest cases hit close to home-and in this deadly thrill ride, he's trying to solve the most personal mystery of his life.When his cousin is accused of a heinous crime, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in over three decades...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
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...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
Excise by Danielle Girard
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMedical examiner Dr. Annabelle Schwartzman was not meant to be idle, which is why she’s back at a murder scene even while reeling from recent chemotherapy treatments. Having undergone a double mastectomy, all she wants to do is dive back into her medical examiner job. It’s a gruesome world, yet Schwartzman takes comfort in its science and precision...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Shadow Box by Luanne Rice
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAn Amazon Charts bestseller.The Amazon Charts bestselling author of Last Day delivers a haunting thriller about how far one wife is willing to go to expose the truth—and the lengths someone will go to stop her.After artist Claire Beaudry Chase is attacked and left for dead in her home on the Connecticut coast, she doesn’t know who she can trust...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller abuse action-adventure -
Gone by Lisa Gardner, Anna Fields
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsFrom New York Times bestseller Lisa Gardner, author of Alone and The Killing Hour, comes a thriller that goes from heartbreaking to heartstopping in the blink of an eye...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
-
Naked Prey by John Sandford
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLucas Davenport finds some changes — and some nasty surprises — in store, in the chilling new novel by the number-one-bestselling author.After thirteen years and thirteen Prey novels, John Sandford's writing is as fresh as ever. His last book, Mortal Prey, was "a model of the genre" (People) and "the cop novel of the year" (Kirkus Reviews)...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Guilty Ones by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTHE MOST DIFFICULT CASE OF DETECTIVE JACKMAN’S LIFE. WHO ARE THE GUILTY ONES AND IS ANYONE REALLY INNOCENT? THIS TIME IT’S VERY PERSONAL FOR JACKMAN. Jackman’s sister-in-law Sarah disappears to London and throws herself into the river. What drove her to this? She was a woman with a seemingly happy home life and two beloved sons. DI Jackman and DI Evans dig into Sarah’s life...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a taut thriller about one author at the pinnacle of her career, whose past threatens to destroy everything she has—and everyone she knows.A great writer knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. But for one author, the biggest twist of all is her own murder... -
The Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsEach time he struck, he took two victims. Day after day, he waited for the first body to be discovered--a body containing all the clues the investigators needed to find the second victim, who waited...prey to a slow but certain death. The clock ticked--salvation was possible.The police were never in time.Years have passed; but for this killer, time has stood still...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Missed Connections by Alexandria Clarke
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHow far would you go for revenge? Veronica Bauer isn’t above homicide. Twelve years after a ruthless attack killed her mother and put her father in prison, she embarks on a mission to bring the real culprits to justice. As bodies start to drop, Detective Sheila Arden is assigned to the gruesome case, but she soon discovers that the truth is more complicated than she thought...Categorized as:
suspense crime law-enforcement police-procedural thriller mystery fiction contemporary -
Secret Prey by John Sandford
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe company chairman lay dead in the woods, his orange hunting jacket punctured by a bullet at close range. Around him stood the four executives with whom he had been hunting, each with a reason not to be sorry about the man's death. A classic murder mystery, it would seem: the kind where the detective gathers everyone together at the end and solves the case...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
YOU DID THIS by Jamie Millen
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA sister’s worst nightmare. A homicide detective’s destiny.Everybody loves Claire’s little sister, Tina. But only Claire sees the twisted psychopath hiding behind her sister’s angelic face. When Tina is brutally murdered on her fourteenth birthday, the day Claire failed to walk her home from school, Claire never forgives herself. And neither does their mother... -
The House that Jack Built by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsScott Kingston is afraid of monsters. He thinks they’re lurking outside his bedroom window at night when his mother tucks him in. He asks his mother to keep the light on to scare the monsters away. But that light is exactly what lures the kidnapper to his window and the next morning, Scott Kingston is gone...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Promise by Katerina Diamond
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratings‘All hail the new Queen of Crime!’ HeatWhen troubled teen Connor moves to Exeter from the US after a horrific school shooting, he finds himself embroiled in a world of popular kids and easy girls. Everyone wants to be his friend, but they don’t know about what he did…and they don’t know about his father...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Dead Bad by Helen H. Durrant
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLooking for a brilliant best-selling crime mystery with great detectives?Detective Calladine and Bayliss face a vicious serial killer in a mystery with a shocking ending.A woman’s body is found in a disused church, a homemade stuffed toy by her side. The victim had been dumped there months ago. The crime has the hallmarks of twenty-year-old case whose alleged perpetrator is in prison...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
-
Don't Make a Sound by David Jackson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsYou can't choose your family. Or can you? Meet the Bensons. A pleasant enough couple. They keep themselves to themselves. They wash their car, mow their lawn and pass the time of day with their neighbours. And they have a beautiful little girl called Daisy.There's just one problem. Daisy doesn't belong to the Bensons. They stole her... -
Murder of the Bride by Faith Martin, Gemma Dawson
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDI Hillary Greene is called out to attend a suspicious death at Three Oaks Farm in the picturesque village of Steeple Barton. The large farmhouse is filled with music and revelers, but when she steps into the farm's cowshed, Hillary finds a dead bride. Dressed in a sumptuous white wedding gown, the young, beautiful redhead had clearly been strangled...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden, Suzie Althens
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 29 ratings7 hours, 30 minutes "Mrs. Cass, we were hoping your son could answer a few questions about the girl who disappeared last night..."Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening when two detectives show up at her front door.A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst--murder...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA simple sting operation takes a violent and unexpected turn for Detective Eve Ronin in a gripping thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective Eve Ronin and her soon-to-retire partner, Duncan Pavone, are running a 24-7 sting in a guard-gated enclave of palatial homes in Calabasas... -
The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsINSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThis time it's Alex Cross on trial.Alex Cross is on the wrong side of the law. Serving a suspension from the force while he awaits trial for murder, Cross has been branded as a trigger-happy cop, another bad apple walking the streets with a gun, an accusation that Cross will do anything to refute...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Next Accident by Lisa Gardner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFBI Agent Pierce Quincy is haunted by his daughter's death in a drunk-driving accident. Pierce knew about his daughter's problem with alcohol, and about her loneliness. And so, he is sure, did the man who killed her. Rainie Conner is an ex-cop with a past overshadowed by violence. She was once involved with Pierce in a harrowing case that brought them together personally and professionally...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Third Victim by Lisa Gardner
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe past isn't over....An unspeakable act has ripped apart the idyllic town of Bakersville, Oregon, and its once-peaceful residents are demanding quick justice. But though a boy has confessed to the horrific crime, evidence shows he may not be guilty. Officer Rainie Conner, leading her first homicide investigation, stands at the center of the controversy...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Masked Prey by John Sandford
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLucas Davenport investigates a vitriolic blog that seems to be targeting the children of U.S. politicians in the latest thriller by #1 New York Times-bestselling author John Sandford.The daughter of a U.S. Senator is monitoring her social media presence when she finds a picture of herself on a strange blog. And there are other pictures . .Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
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 law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult assassins -
Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay, Joe Knezevich
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Find You First and Elevator Pitch comes a gripping psychological thriller about a formerly missing woman who has suddenly returned under mysterious circumstances.One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult book -
-
Love You To Death by Caroline Mitchell
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here.‘I’m not your mother. You’re a monster. I don’t want you’Women who gave a child up for adoption are being killed. A knock at their front door begins a nightmare from which they will never wake up.For Detective Ruby Preston and her team, it is a race against time to connect the dots before the killer can strike again...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
Shifting Skin by Chris Simms
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Butcher of Belle Vue’ has struck again. Like the others, the third victim has been partially skinned and dumped on waste ground, her muscles, tendons and ligaments exposed to view. Only this time her face has also been removed. Whoever the killer is, it appears he has a good knowledge of surgery.Jon Spicer and his new partner, Rick Saville, are on the investigating team...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Dead Jealous by Helen H. Durrant
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDEAD JEALOUS by Helen H. DurrantA teenage girl’s body is found in the back of a car on the notorious Hobfield housing estate. No one had reported her missing, but she’s been dead for a week.Meanwhile, an old jar is brought into the station. It was found carefully wrapped in a blanket, with a child’s pink hairclip. The jar contains ashes and bone fragments...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Dead List by Helen H. Durrant, Jonathan Keeble
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn unlikely serial killer with a bucket list of victims....Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss battle a murderer who is working their way through a list of victims. Each murder is meticulously planned and unique, and a tarot card is left at the scene of the crime...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
Woman in the water by Katerina Diamond
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Sunday Times bestselling author of The Teacher and Truth or Die is back with a new twisty crime thriller I’m alive. But I can’t be saved . . . When a woman’s body is found submerged in icy water, police are shocked to find she is alive. But she won’t disclose her name, or what happened to her – even when a second body is discovered. And then she disappears from her hospital bed...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller abuse action-adventure adult -
Triptych by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsIn the city of Atlanta, women are dying—at the hands of a killer who signs his work with a single, chilling act of mutilation. Leaving behind enough evidence to fuel a frenzied police hunt, this cunning madman is bringing together dozens of lives, crossing the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries too...Categorized as:
crime drama law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller abuse action-adventure
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.