Books like 'Raylan'
Readers who enjoyed Raylan by Elmore Leonard also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery action / adventure thriller crime western law-enforcement suspense noir humor
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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... -
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... -
Hidden on the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA derelict cottage hidden in a copse of trees.A missing girl whose body was never found.Has her killer returned?Detective Joseph Easter’s daughter discovers a cottage hidden in some trees on a large fenland farm. Someone has been living there.The farm-owner’s wife has been receiving sinister pagan artefacts, including a witch’s knife...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir 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:
animals crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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Lost Creed by Alex Kava, Joshua Mackey
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFifteen years ago Ryder Creed's sister, Brodie, disappeared from an interstate rest stop. She was only eleven and Creed was fourteen. Since then her disappearance has haunted him, so much so that Creed has dedicated his life to his K9 business. He rescues abandoned dogs and trains them for scent detection. Together they search for the lost and missing... -
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:
cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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..Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement noir police-procedural pulp suspense action-adventure -
Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFor Detective Bunny McGarry, life is complicated, and it is about to get more so.It’s 1999 and his hard won reputation amongst Dublin’s criminal fraternity, for being a massive pain the backside, is unfortunately shared by his bosses. His partner has a career-threatening gambling problem and, oh yeah, Bunny's finally been given a crack at the big time...Categorized as:
crime humor law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
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 hard-boiled law-enforcement noir 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:
animals crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western 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:
cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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 humor law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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:
animals crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western thriller action-adventure -
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 noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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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 hard-boiled law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
The Promise by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsElvis Cole and Joe Pike are joined by Suspect heroes LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his German shepherd, Maggie, in the new heart-stopping thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling author Robert Crais. Loyalty, commitment, and the fight for justice have always driven Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. If they make a promise, they keep it. Even if it could get them killed... -
The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRead Craig Johnson's posts on the Penguin Blog. Walt Longmire goes undercover to save a woman in an unfriendly place Interweaving classic noir sensibilities and humor with contemporary themes of social justice, Craig Johnson's popular Walt Longmire mysteries transport readers to the sparse and rugged landscape of Wyoming... -
Indigo Slam by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsLife in the California sun suits Elvis Cole—until the day a fifteen-year-old girl and her two younger siblings walk into his office. Then everything changes. Three years ago, a Seattle family ran for their lives in a hail of bullets. Hired by three kids to find their missing father, Elvis now must pick up the cold pieces of a drama that began that night... -
Dark is the Grave by T.G. Reid
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA dead cop. A damaged detective. A copycat killer on the loose.When the chief suspect in the notorious Peek-a-boo cop killer case blew himself up, almost taking lead investigator DCI Duncan Bone with him, the psychologically damaged detective thought his days on the force were over...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement police-procedural thriller mystery fiction contemporary -
The Fugitive's Trail by J.C. Fields
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAlternate Kindle cover edition ASIN: B00WS00FW8How do you find a ghost? That’s what FBI Agent Sean Kruger must do. He is dispatched to New York City to find a fugitive who is accused of killing one man and wounding another in the lobby of a high profile investment firm. Once there, Kruger learns the only information known about the man is his name. Everything else has been erased from the system...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement police-procedural thriller mystery fiction action-adventure -
Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRead Craig Johnson's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community. A missing thumb and dead developers are only the beginning for Sheriff Walt Longmire It's a volatile new economy in Durant, Wyoming, where the owners of a multi-million dollar development of ranchettes want to get rid of the adjacent junk-yard... -
Deadline by John Sandford
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt's Virgil Flowers! And one of the thrilling novels in the #1 "New York Times" bestselling series.In Southeast Minnesota, down on the Mississippi, a school board meeting is coming to an end. The board chair announces that the rest of the meeting will be closed, due to a personnel issue. “Issue” is the correct word. It's also an understatement...Categorized as:
crime humor law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsJames Lee Burke's eagerly awaited new novel finds Detective Dave Robicheaux back in New Iberia, Louisiana, and embroiled in the most harrowing and dangerous case of his career. Seven young women in neighboring Jefferson Davis Parish have been brutally murdered...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
Stone Cold by C.J. Box
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe electrifying new Joe Pickett novel from the New York Times bestselling author. Everything about the man is a mystery: the massive ranch in the remote Black Hills of Wyoming that nobody ever visits, the women who live with him, the secret philanthropies, the private airstrip, the sudden disappearances. And especially the persistent rumors that the man’s wealth comes from killing people... -
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Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor a professional criminal and a relentless arson investigator, fear and revenge spread like wildfire in a an incendiary thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.Hell comes to Southern California every October. It rides in on searing Santa Ana winds that blast at near hurricane force, igniting voracious wildfires. Master thief Danny Cole longs for the flames...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement thriller police-procedural mystery fiction action-adventure -
Deep Freeze by John Sandford
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsClass reunions: a time for memories—good, bad, and, as Virgil Flowers is about to find out, deadly—in this New York Times bestselling thriller from John Sandford.Virgil knows the town of Trippton, Minnesota, a little too well...Categorized as:
crime humor law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Escape Clause by John Sandford
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhenever you hear the sky rumble, that usually means a storm. In Virgil Flowers’ case, make that two of them. Welcome to another exceptional thriller from the writer whose books are “pure reading pleasure” (Booklist) The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota Zoo... -
Blueblood by Matthew Iden
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFour unrelated murders. Nothing special in Washington DC. Not even good enough to make the evening news. But then a concerned police lieutenant approaches retired homicide detective Marty Singer with a simple fact that changes everything. They were all cops... -
He is Watching You by Charlie Gallagher
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA young woman’s body is left in a metal container in a remote location. The killer is careful to position her under a camera that links to his smartphone. He likes to look back at his work.HE IS WATCHING HER.BUT SHE ISN’T DEAD.So he will return to finish the job. He can barely contain his excitement at the thought of getting to do it all over again. But he must be careful. He cannot rush...Categorized as:
classics crime law-enforcement noir police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult -
Messenger by Craig Johnson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSheriff Walt Longmire, his long-time friend Henry Standing Bear, and his undersheriff Victoria Moretti are returning from a fishing trip in the Bighorn Mountains when Walt receives a distress call from Crazy Woman Canyon. Forest service ranger Chuck Coon is in trouble. Walt, the Bear, and Vic arrive to find Coon and a young woman up a tree, so to speak...Categorized as:
animals crime humor law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western action-adventure -
King City by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMajor Crimes Unit detective Tom Wade secretly worked with the Feds to nail seven of his fellow cops for corruption…turning him into a pariah in the police department. So he’s exiled to patrol a beat in King City’s deadliest neighborhood… with no back-up, no resources, and no hope of survival...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Bring Me Flowers by D.K. Hood
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe didn’t know he was watching. Until it was too late.She’d walked this path hundreds of times before, she knew every twist and turn. But today was different. She didn’t know someone was waiting for her, hidden away from view. She didn’t know this was the last time she’d walk this path...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsMickey Haller gets the text, "Call me ASAP - 187," and the California penal code for murder immediately gets his attention. Murder cases have the highest stakes and the biggest paydays, and they always mean Haller has to be at the top of his game...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
To the Bone by Jeff Carson
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsChief Detective David Wolf’s son has a new girlfriend, and when she discovers her father—a well known man in ancient fossils trade circles—has been murdered, she and the rest of her shattered family turn to Wolf to bring them justice...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement police-procedural suspense western action-adventure adult -
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Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEasy TargetsWhen Chief Deputy Ken Brody’s sweetheart goes missing in the mountains outside Timber Creek, Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner, Robo, are called to search. But it’s mid-October and a dark snowstorm is brewing over the high country. And they’re already too late. By the time they find her body, the storm has broken and the snow is coming down hard... -
Dead Tomorrow by Peter James
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratings*Lynn gripped the sides of the armchair, trying to put aside her own inner terror. 'I can't believe I'm thinking this, Ross. I'm not a violent person, even before Caitlin's influence, I never even liked killing flies in my kitchen. Now I'm sitting here actually willing some stranger to die...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
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... -
Dead to Me by J.M. Dalgliesh
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLet go of your past... or it will be the death of you...When a man's body is discovered crammed into the boot of an abandoned car in a remote location, DI Tom Janssen and his team must unpick his life to find out how he came to be there.The victim was a local man, popular with some although hated by others, and he had a habit of making enemies, enemies that any sane man would seek to avoid...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement noir police-procedural pulp suspense action-adventure -
Night Deception by Tamsen Schultz
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the award-winning author of The Windsor Series comes the second Tildas Island mystery:When treason isn’t enoughIsiah Clarke may be a former Navy SEAL, but now that he’s retired, he’s more than happy to be passing his time tending to the bar he owns on Tildas Island. That is, until a former teammate sends him a message asking for help in finding and protecting an elusive CIA asset...Categorized as:
suspense crime law-enforcement police-procedural thriller contemporary espionage steamy -
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsIn the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit, not many murder victims die almost a decade after the crime. So when a man succumbs to complications from being shot by a stray bullet nine years earlier, Bosch catches a case in which the body is still fresh, but any other evidence is virtually nonexistent...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Taken by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsWhen Nita Morales hires Elvis Cole to find her missing adult daughter, she isn’t afraid, even though she’s gotten a phone call asking for ransom. She knows it’s a fake, that her daughter is off with the guy Nita will only call "that boy," and that they need money: "Even smart girls do stupid things when they think a boy loves them."But Nita is wrong...Categorized as:
crime humor law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Mad River by John Sandford
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThey thought they were Bonnie and Clyde. And what's-his-name, the sidekick. Three teenagers with dead-end lives, chips on their shoulders, and guns. The first person they killed was a woman during a robbery. The second was incidental. Simply in the way...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Curator by M.W. Craven
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIt's Christmas and a serial killer is leaving displayed body parts all over Cumbria. A strange message is left at each scene: #BSC6. Called in to investigate, the National Crime Agency's Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are faced with a case that makes no sense...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Truth Kills by Nanci Rathbun
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCan you really reinvent yourself? After a bad divorce, Angelina Bonaparte trades the life of a suburban housewife for a toned body, designer duds, a cherry-red Miata convertible, and a new career as a private investigator. When Anthony Belloni is arrested for the murder of his mistress. his pregnant wife begs Angie to clear her man... -
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Remnants by Carolyn Arnold
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSavannah, Georgia used to be a tranquil tourist destination—until human body parts started floating down the river.FBI Agent Brandon Fisher trusts his team with his life—or at least he did. It’s only been six months since Brandon’s boss almost died at the hands of a serial killer when the team is called to Savannah, Georgia... -
Too Far Gone by Allison Brennan, Ann Marie Lee
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsToo Far Gone by Allison Brennan is a thrilling audiobook that will leave listeners breathless.When a man who appears mentally unstable holds a group of people hostage and dies in a shootout with the FBI, Special Agent Lucy Kincaid is assigned to investigate what happened...Categorized as:
animals crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
The Only Witness: A Cozy Animal Mystery by Pamela Beason
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA novel of mystery and suspense from Daphne Award Winning Author Pamela BeasonKIDNAPPING…OR MURDER?A MISSING BABYSeventeen-year-old Brittany Morgan dashed into the store for just a minute, leaving her sleeping baby in the car. Now Ivy’s gone and half the town believes Brittany murdered her daughter...Categorized as:
animals cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult -
Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Barnes & Noble ReviewJames Lee Burke's fiction is haunted, sometimes quite literally, by the ghosts of history, and by a bone-deep apprehension of the human capacity for violence and cruelty. A case in point is the author's latest Dave Robicheaux novel, Jolie Blon's Bounce, a contemporary account of murder and madness whose plot reflects the lingering aftereffects of the antebellum South...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure -
Creole Belle by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratings“America’s best novelist” James Lee Burke returns with another New York Times bestselling entry in the Dave Robicheaux thriller series (The Denver Post)...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCritically acclaimed and bestselling crime writer James Lee Burke delivers his most exciting thriller ever featuring beloved hero Dave Robicheaux, and this time he's sleuthing his way through Louisiana's hotbed of sin and uncertainty.In Crusader's Cross, a deathbed confession from an old schoolmate reminds Dave Robicheaux of a girl he once knew, sending him on a hunt for her whereabouts...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement noir police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure
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