Books like 'Broken Ground'
Readers who enjoyed Broken Ground by Val McDermid also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery thriller crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense female-mc historical-fiction
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An Isolated Incident by J.D. Kirk
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsDo you know who's knocking at your door?After a violent home invasion in the remote wilds of Glen Coe leaves a family of four dead, DCI Jack Logan and his team are brought in to lead the manhunt... -
Ahead of the Game by J.D. Kirk
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen a body is discovered at a popular Highland landmark, it seems like just another day on the job for DCI Jack Logan and his team.Except this body is missing a very vital component, and given its location - The Well of Seven Heads - it seems like someone is trying to send a message... -
Graves on the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt arrives in the morning. An old-fashioned airmail envelope addressed to Detective Nikki Galena. Inside, on a single sheet of blue airmail paper, are three words:You failed me.The second airmail envelope arrives at Nikki’s home address. The same message. Only this time, it’s followed by four names: Alexandra Cornfield, Ruth Baker, Bethany Lyons, Leanne Delaney.Four missing women... -
Can't Go Back by Debra Webb
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe past and the present collide in the final installment of USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb’s Devlin & Falco series, threatening everything these two detectives care about.Birmingham detectives Kerri Devlin and Luke Falco arrive at the scene of a double homicide to discover that nothing makes sense...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement police-procedural historical-fiction female-mc romance mystery -
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In This Bright Future by Peter Grainger
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsTwo weeks of rest and recuperation – that’s what the doctor ordered. Detective Sergeant DC Smith could listen to some music, make some of his own and maybe even catch up on his reading; he is almost looking forward to it. And then there is a knock on the door...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural thriller historical-fiction mystery fiction audiobook -
Edge Of Darkness by Freya Barker
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRoad rash and Jack meets handcuffs and street smarts. I am a wandering disaster. A hedonist, a lover, a son, and a rebel. My name is Yuma. I’m sober enough to see the need for redemption, but too blind to realize I already found it. I am an independent seeker. An overachiever, a friend, a misfit, and a cop. My name is Lissie... -
Cover Shot by LynDee Walker
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s been a slow news month in Richmond, and crime reporter Nichelle Clarke is enjoying the downtime when ominous messages and a dead body kick things into high gear. And that’s before the guy with the rifle takes a hospital full of people hostage...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller adult amateur-sleuth -
On Eden Street by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“He might be a nobody, but he was their nobody and their first case.” The new Kings Lake Central murder squad is about to spend its first morning on team-building exercises and reviewing cold cases when the call comes in that the body of one of the city’s rough sleepers has been found in a shop doorway...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense historical-fiction mystery fiction audiobook -
Bad Memory by Lisa Gray
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPrivate investigator Jessica Shaw is leading a quiet life in a Californian desert community, where she spends her days working low-level cases. But when a former resident asks Jessica to help her sister, Rue Hunter—a convicted murderer whose execution is days away—Jessica can’t resist the offer... -
Hope to Die by Cara Hunter
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSelf-defense or murder? In the continuation of one of Britain’s most popular crime series from Cara Hunter — the author of the instant New York Times bestseller Murder in the Family — DI Fawley returns to determine if someone has staged a crime scene in connection with another homicide from years past. Midnight. A grisly murder scene at isolated farm on the outskirts of Oxford... -
Playing Dirty by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJ.J. Graves and her husband, Sheriff Jack Lawson, are sworn to protect and serve. The Christmas season brings out the best—and worst—in people, and death hits close to home when a Bloody Mary local is murdered. Bringing justice to the dead is what they do—even when they don’t like the victim... -
2nd Strike by Misty Evans, Adrienne Giordano
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMeg and Charlie Schock return for another intriguing case. This one hiding a secret that could wreck Charlie’s life.The newborn son of popular D.C. morning show host Carl Havers and his wife was kidnapped fifteen years ago. Charlie Schock, then an FBI agent, solved the open-and-shut case, returning Ethan to his parents... -
The Waiting by Michael Connelly, Christine Lakin
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsLAPD Detective Renée Ballard tracks a terrifying serial rapist whose trail has gone cold with the help of the newest volunteer to the Open-Unsolved Patrol Officer Maddie Bosch, Harry's daughter.Renée Ballard and the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet twenty years ago... -
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Crime on the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe town is being terrorised by gangs of violent thugs, all wearing identical hideous masks. Then a talented young female student goes missing on the marsh and Nikki and Joseph find themselves joining forces with a master criminal in their efforts to save her. They need to look behind the masks, but when they do, they find something more sinister and deadly than they ever expected . . -
Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA cold case heats up, revealing a deadly conspiracy in a twisty thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.A catastrophic wildfire scorches the Santa Monica Mountains, exposing the charred remains of a woman who disappeared years ago...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Broken Girls by Joy Kluver
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBrambles catch her dress, scratch her legs. She has no option but to go barefoot if she’s going to outrun her hunter. They’d been laughing a few minutes before, but things can change in the blink of an eye. Then he’s on her, and the world goes dark.The woman is young, judging by the short red dress, and dark-haired...Categorized as:
crime thriller female-mc suspense law-enforcement police-procedural mystery audiobook -
The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAs New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's beloved Vera series explodes in popularity in print and on TV, this stunning eleventh book explores the web of secrets surrounding a young man's death.The man’s body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater... -
A Deeper Fear by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFBI Agent Lucy Kincaid’s husband, Sean Rogan, is in a dark place after being held captive. He won’t talk about it with anyone, not even Lucy. She’s hoping a conference in Sacramento, which includes family and the unveiling of a highly sought after drone Sean’s been working on, will help him heal... -
City of The Dead by Jonathan Kellerman
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe past comes back to haunt psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis when they investigate a grisly double homicide and uncover an even more unspeakable motive in this riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.Los Angeles is a city of sunlight, celebrity, and possibility. The L.A. often experienced by Homicide Lt... -
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 -
Cold as Ice by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn New York Times bestseller Allison Brennan’s Cold as Ice, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid must get into the head of a psychopath to save her family, and herselfTwo years ago, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid put psychopath Elise Hansen Hunt in juvenile detention for her role in an organized crime syndicate...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
Before Evil by Alex Kava
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSpecial Agent Maggie O'Dell doesn't need to set foot at a crime scene to catch a serial killer. From her small Quantico office, she's profiled criminals using just Polaroids and faxed copies of evidence from homicide detectives across the country.Then comes Albert Stucky . . . and nothing will ever be the same... -
The Creek Killer by Dominika Best
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsHow would you prove you weren’t dead? Jane Smith has been running from danger her whole life. That danger followed her everywhere, leaving a trail of death in its wake. When the mummified bodies of six girls are discovered in the wetlands of Los Angeles, Jane is surprised to learn one of the dead girls bears her name—the name she abandoned twenty-five years ago to go into hiding...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement thriller police-procedural female-mc mystery fiction contemporary -
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One Last Step by Sarah Sutton
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsONE LAST STEP (A Tara Mills Mystery—Book One) is the debut novel in a new FBI mystery series by debut author Sarah Sutton... -
The Railway Murders by J.R. Ellis
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA puzzling locked-room mystery that puts someone Oldroyd loves in terrible danger…When a film shoot on Wharfedale’s vintage railway turns into a grisly crime scene, DCI Oldroyd’s idyllic visit to the countryside with his partner Deborah is well and truly stopped in its tracks. One of the film’s stars has been shot dead in a train carriage while the cameras rolled outside... -
The 24th Hour by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMurders are happening all over San Francisco, and the stress on the Women’s Murder Club has never been higher. How can the Club survive?Trouble always finds the Women’s Murder Club. Sergeant Lindsay Boxer, Medical Examiner Claire Washburn, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano, and crime writer Cindy Thomas are celebrating at San Francisco’s finest restaurant... -
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 female-mc 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 -
No Way Out by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom Allison Brennan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cut and Run, comes a new e-novella, No Way Out: FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid faces her worst fear when her husband goes missing Nine years ago, mercenary Kane Rogan and photojournalist Siobhan Walsh risked their lives to rescue Hestia Juarez, a thirteen-year-old girl being forced to marry a much older man to expand her father’s crime family... -
Dead Ringer by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSOME NIGHTMARES . . . Beside each body, he leaves a simple charm bearing a woman’s name. Ruth . Judith . Rachel. The victims were strangers to each other, but they have been chosen with the utmost care. Each bears a striking resemblance to Kendall Shaw, a local anchorwoman…each brutally strangled by a madman whose obsession will never end... DON’T FADE . . -
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 female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
Bad Liar by Tami Hoag
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMasterful #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag is back with a riveting, emotionally powerful new thriller! Small town labels are hard to shake. Hometown hero. Fallen angel... -
Third Watch by Robert Dugoni
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTracy Crosswhite’s ordinary night patrolling her Seattle beat becomes front page news when she responds to a domestic disturbance call that turns into a hostage crisis... -
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The Missing and the Dead by Stuart MacBride
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOne mistake can cost you everything…A little girl’s body washes up just outside the sleepy coastal town of Macduff, kicking off a major manhunt. Officially, the investigation is out of Sergeant Logan McRae’s hands, but DCI Steel’s Major Investigation Team, drafted in from Aberdeen, is getting nowhere fast.Steel is running out of ideas and time... -
In Harm's Way by Viveca Sten
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA woman’s dangerous career comes to a chilling end in this spellbinding thriller by Viveca Sten, bestselling author of In the Heat of the Moment… The body of world-famous journalist Jeanette Thiels is discovered the day after Christmas, frozen in a snow-spotted garden just steps from her hotel on Sandhamn Island... -
Hidden in Shadows by Viveca Sten, Marlaine Delargy
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSecrets, vengeance, and a brutal murder unsettle an idyllic winter paradise in a blood-chilling novel of suspense by the acclaimed author of Hidden in Snow and the Sandhamn Murder series.In the Swedish resort of Åre, crime is rare. Certainly nothing so brutal as the murder of Johan Andersson, a former Olympic skier found bound and beaten to death in the forest... -
His Perfect Crime by Alex Sigmore
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA strange box is unearthed deep in the woods of the Appalachian Mountains. What’s discovered inside will rock a small town to its core.FBI Special Agent Emily Slate is no stranger to tragedy. After losing her husband three months ago, then botching the biggest case of her career, she’s barely hanging on to the only job she’s ever wanted... -
The Tilt by Chris Hammer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA man runs for his life in a forest.A woman plans sabotage.A body is unearthed.Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her home town, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder - a 'file and forget'.But this is no ordinary cold case, as the discovery of more bodies triggers a chain of escalating events in the present day...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement thriller suspense police-procedural historical-fiction female-mc mystery -
The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThe Murders at Fleat House is a suspenseful and utterly compelling crime novel from the multi-million copy global bestseller, Lucinda Riley.The sudden death of a pupil in Fleat House at St Stephen’s – a small private boarding school in deepest Norfolk – is a shocking event that the headmaster is very keen to call a tragic accident... -
Dangerous to Love by Toni Anderson, Barbara Freethy
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Dark, gritty, and gripping. I couldn't put it down!” —New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh on COLD SIGHTDANGEROUS TO LOVE is a limited-time boxed set of TEN full-length novels by some of the most exciting Romantic Suspense authors in the business.Included in the box set: Cold & Deadly by Toni Anderson Desperate Play by Barbara Freethy Endgame by Dee Davis Cold Sight by Leslie A...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense adult anthologies contemporary -
Holding the Truth by Calle J. Brookes
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe'd been a victim of a horrible crime at her own father's hands. With her spirit broken and her body hurting, Texas State Police Officer Bailey Moore is determined to return to the job—and find a way to heal. No matter what she has to do. Finding her place in Value, Texas again is the hardest task she's ever undertaken...Categorized as:
female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense adult book contemporary fiction -
Lassoed by B.J. Daniels
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the moment Billie Rae Rasmussen crashes into him, Tanner Chisholm realizes he is on a collision course with destiny. As Whitehorse's cowboy with a heart of gold, there is no way he could overlook the fear that shadows her eyes. Something has her running scared, but now that she is in his protective arms he intends to keep her safe. Billie Rae can't run fast enoughor far enough... -
Dream Town by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA gated dream town for the megarich becomes a murderous nightmare in a riveting Eve Ronin thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg. Hidden Hills is a private celebrity enclave of white picket fences and horse trails that seems to exist in a dreamworld... -
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Storm Warning by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn e-short story by New York Times bestseller Allison Brennan introduces readers to the world of Lucy Kincaid leading up to the release of the next in the series, NOTHING TO HIDE (4/30/2019). FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid and her colleague Nate are racing a hurricane, but the storm is the least of their worries.. -
Two to Die For by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTwo tales of murder and betrayal from the Lucy Kincaid and Maxine Revere series Spiral (Lucy Kincaid, #12.5)Sean Rogan and Lucy Kincaid are enjoying their honeymoon in a remote cabin outside Vail, Colorado. They sorely need the quiet time alone—a break from the murder and violence that has defined so much of their lives. And for one blissful week, they are in paradise... -
His Other Lie by Ava Strong
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStella Fall, still reeling from the trauma of her deceitful fiancé and her failed engagement, has decided to pursue her dreams, follow in her father’s footsteps, and throw herself into law enforcement. Upon graduating from the FBI’s academy, she isf placed in the FBI’s Connecticut field office... -
The House of Now and Then by Jo Dixon
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsYou should leave the past in the past ... or should you? A vividly told, jaw-droppingly twisty and wholly engaging story about the consequences of discovering the truth. For readers of Sally Hepworth, Nicola Moriarty and Adele Parks... -
The Center Cannot Hold: A Ray Elkins Thriller by Aaron Stander
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIn the depths of winter, Cedar County is on occasion literally frozen in place. Roads are impassable; the area schools are closed for days at a time. And the bad guys and gals, they’re hunkered down like everyone else until the weather breaks. But this winter isn’t the usual. There’s arson and murder...Categorized as:
suspense law-enforcement police-procedural crime thriller mystery fiction contemporary -
Best Laid Plans by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNewly minted FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid is settling into her job in San Antonio, Texas, when the corpse of Harper Worthington, the husband of a sitting congresswoman, is found naked in a motel on the wrong side of town. It’s up to Lucy to locate the last person to see him alive: a teenage prostitute who seems to have vanished into thin air...
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