Books like 'Back Story'
Readers who enjoyed Back Story by Robert B. Parker & Joe Mantegna also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
mystery action / adventure thriller law-enforcement crime suspense investigator politics noir whodunit
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The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsHas a killer lain dormant for years only to strike again on New Year’s Eve? LAPD Detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch team up to find justice for an innocent victim in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly There's chaos in Hollywood on New Year's Eve... -
![The Camera Man: A DC Smith Investigation by Peter Grainger]()
The Camera Man: A DC Smith Investigation by Peter Grainger
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJo told him the phone call had been about a woman who wanted to have her husband declared dead. Smith thought for a moment and then said, ‘Hmm. There must be a few million women in this country who feel like that. I take it her husband’s been missing for a while and she’s decided it’s time to move on... -
![Smoked Out by Jeff Carson]()
Smoked Out by Jeff Carson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith over a dozen mending bones and other injuries wreaking havoc on his body, along with a shredded spirit twisting his sanity, former sheriff David Wolf is in no shape for any sort of action. But when FBI surveillance units move into the valley and surround his house, it seems he's about to have no choice... -
![Damned by Jana Deleon]()
Damned by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen young priest Nicolas Chatry took his vows, he thought the hardest thing he’d have to deal with was accomplishing his duties from a wheelchair. Until a murderer steps into the confessional. Unable to recognize the voice or maneuver quickly enough to get a look at the killer, Nicolas has no way of identifying who admitted to such a horrific deed... -
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![Dark Highway by Lisa Gray, Amy Landon]()
Dark Highway by Lisa Gray, Amy Landon
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn isolated highway in the middle of the desert - the perfect place to hide a secret.LA-based artist Laurie Simmonds disappeared two months ago, her camper-van abandoned on the isolated Twentynine Palms Highway, miles from anything - or anyone. With the police investigation stalled, her parents put all their faith in private investigator Jessica Shaw to find out the truth of what happened...Categorized as:
crime female-mc investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
![Bedlam by L.J. Ross]()
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... -
![Missing Persons by James Patterson, Adam Hamdy]()
Missing Persons by James Patterson, Adam Hamdy
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn Afghanistan, a US Special Forces pilot is shot down during a covert mission.In New York, a mother is forced to flee with her two young children.A wealthy businessman approaches Jack Morgan, head of Private - the world's largest investigation agency - with a desperate plea to track down his daughter and grandchildren, who have disappeared without a trace... -
![ARCADIA: A Case For Willows And Lane by Peter Grainger]()
ARCADIA: A Case For Willows And Lane by Peter Grainger
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSir Roger Parkes is a man of some influence in the West Country. When he loses touch with his youngest daughter, he has a word with the Assistant Chief Constable of the local force. It’s not a police matter, he is told, but if Sir Roger wants to pursue it privately, there is a lady who might be able to help – two of them, actually... -
![Dark Night of the Soul by Kristi Belcamino, Sonja Field]()
Dark Night of the Soul by Kristi Belcamino, Sonja Field
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGia Santella, the fast-driving, hard-drinking, karate-trained free spirit, has finally put her dark past behind her. UNFORTUNATELY, the past isn't done with her yet. The third book in a new, exciting series featuring an unforgettable new character by the Anthony, Barry & Macavity finalist and crime writer .. -
![Last Breath by Tom Barber]()
Last Breath by Tom Barber
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen is violence necessary?A Federal manhunt is underway across the United States. A sniper has killed three people in three different cities during the last seventy two hours and he’s gone to ground somewhere in Washington D.C. No-one can find him, and riots have erupted on the streets in response to the shootings.The lead suspect is a police officer... -
![A Deadly Affair by Carla Simpson]()
A Deadly Affair by Carla Simpson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLondon 1889 — Murder, mystery, and two people in a most unlikely partnership.She's an unconventional lady who has traveled the world, practices the art of self defense most excellently, and has an interesting tattoo in, ahem... a very unusual place... -
![The Blind Trust by Colin Conway]()
The Blind Trust by Colin Conway
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA quiet death in a small town. A double homicide in the big city. Only a murderer knows they’re connected. Whitman County Sheriff Tom Jessup wants a nice, safe county. Unfortunately, things are about to get deadly. A seemingly normal death points Jessup north where he finds Detectives Quinn Delaney and Marci Burkett investigating a double murder... -
![Enduring Charity by Wayne Stinnett]()
Enduring Charity by Wayne Stinnett
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen her position with the government is eliminated, Charity Styles is faced with an uncertain future. The only part of her previous life that she truly enjoyed was sailing her classic sloop. The cruising lifestyle is wonderful and helps keep her mind centered, as she sails from one anchorage to another, looking for her true calling... -
![Only the Brave by Mel Sherratt, Anne Flosnik]()
Only the Brave by Mel Sherratt, Anne Flosnik
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen one of the notorious Johnson brothers is murdered and a bag of money goes missing, a deadly game of cat and mouse is set in motion.DS Allie Shenton and her team are called in to catch the killer, but the suspects are double-crossing each other and Allie has little time to untangle the web of lies... -
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![In Safe Hands by J.P. Carter]()
In Safe Hands by J.P. Carter
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHow far would you go to save the ones you love? The first book in a gripping new crime series featuring DCI Anna Tate.When nine children are snatched from a nursery school in South London, their distressed parents have no idea if they will ever see them again. The community in the surrounding area in shock... -
![Tell No One / Gone For Good by Harlan Coben]()
Tell No One / Gone For Good by Harlan Coben
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben comes an unforgettable duet of classic novels—two top-notch thrillers filled with the author’s signature storytelling genius.TELL NO ONEFor Dr. David Beck, the loss was shattering. And every day for the past eight years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The gleaming lake. The pale moonlight. The piercing screams... -
![Blueblood by Matthew Iden]()
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... -
![King City by Lee Goldberg]()
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... -
![Dead Tomorrow by Peter James]()
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... -
![Hard Knocks by Zoë Sharp]()
Hard Knocks by Zoë Sharp
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings‘Perhaps if the army had known what was inside me, what I would eventually turn into, they might not have been so keen to let me go.’Charlie really didn’t care who shot dead her traitorous ex-army comrade Kirk Salter during a bodyguard training course in Germany... -
![Sins of the Father by Jen Blood]()
Sins of the Father by Jen Blood
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAlternate Cover Edition for ASIN B008OKBNOK. Sins of the Father finds Erin Solomon continuing her quest to find her father by investigating a convicted murderer's claim of innocence. Her investigation leads her down a path of dark secrets, painful truths, and deadly obsessions, as she struggles to reconcile her memories of her father with the cold, ruthless portrait others paint... -
![The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver]()
The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"The Dead Tracks" is the second in the David Raker series from Tim Weaver. A serial killer more terrifying than you could ever imagine...Seventeen-year-old Megan Carver was an unlikely runaway. A straight - a student from a happy home, she studied hard and rarely got into trouble. Six months on, she's never been found. Missing persons investigator David Raker knows what it's like to grieve...Categorized as:
crime investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Free Fall in Crimson by John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiaasen]()
Free Fall in Crimson by John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiaasen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMcGee tracks killers who brutally murder an ailing millionaire. He renews unfinished adventure with Hollywood actress who leads him into a nasty nest of murderers involving a motorcycle gang, porn movies, and mad balloonists. And Mcgee relearns old lesson. Only close to the edge of death does he feel completely alive... -
![Flamingo by James Lee Burke]()
Flamingo by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA routine assignment transporting two death-row prisoners to their executions goes fatally wrong, leaving Dave Robicheaux brutally wounded and his partner dead. Obsessed with revenge, Dave is persuaded by the DEA to go undercover into the torrid sleepy depths of New Orleans, a volatile world of Mafia drug-running and Cajun voodoo magic... -
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![Eight Million Ways to Die by Lawrence Block]()
Eight Million Ways to Die by Lawrence Block
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink in this city. A young prostitute named Kim knew it also—and she wanted out. Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely didn't deserve her death. The alcoholic ex-cop turned p.i. was supposed to protect her, but someone slashed her to ribbons on a crumbling New York City waterfront pier... -
![When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block]()
When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDowning a bourbon or two with a couple of cronies, Scudder witnesses a heist. The Morrisey brothers who run the joint are strangely submissive during the raid, but eager to see Scudder track down the thieves without involving the regular forces of law and order... -
![Wicked Prey by John Sandford, Richard Ferrone]()
Wicked Prey by John Sandford, Richard Ferrone
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt's September 2008, and the Republicans have come to St. Paul, Minnesota, for their convention. For most of the delegates, guests, reporters, and locals, it's a festive event, an occasion for having a good time and experiencing a unique moment in history. For law enforcement officials, however, it offers a grab-bag of embarrassing dangers, from small-fry con men to major stickup artists...Categorized as:
crime investigator law-enforcement politics suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
![The First Lady's Second Man by David Bishop]()
The First Lady's Second Man by David Bishop
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLinda Darby Mystery - Book 3 An assassination is planned in Syria. An extramarital affair occurs in Washington, D.C. The U.S. President decides to run for re-election. A mother and her daughter in Oregon are threatened. Relentlessly, Linda Darby and Ryan Testler are pulled toward these seemingly disparate events until their only way out is to confront what is quickly becoming unavoidable...Categorized as:
politics female-mc law-enforcement thriller mystery action-adventure fiction contemporary -
![Dream Town by Lee Goldberg]()
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... -
![Smoke over Owl Creek by Caren Hahn]()
Smoke over Owl Creek by Caren Hahn
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsValerie Fisher came to Owl Creek looking for a fresh beginning. What she finds could tear the small town apart.After her husband's tragic death, Val returns to her childhood home with her seven-year old daughter, hoping to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. But the sleepy logging community isn't as safe as it once was... -
![Riptide / Mount Dragon by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
Riptide / Mount Dragon by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRiptide: Seit 200 Jahren liegt der Schatz des Piraten Edward Ockham in einem raffinierten Stollensystem auf der Insel Ragged Island versteckt. Unzählige Abenteurer versuchten ihn zu bergen - und bezahlten dafür mit ihrem Leben. Denn auf Ragged Island lastet ein tödlicher Fluch. Als der Mediziner Malin Hatch das Geheimnis lüften will, bringt er sich unwissentlich in höchste Gefahr .. -
![Vigilant Charity by Wayne Stinnett, Kimberli A. Bindschatel]()
Vigilant Charity by Wayne Stinnett, Kimberli A. Bindschatel
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCharity Styles has been wandering the Pacific aimlessly aboard her beloved sloop, Wind Dancer, and only recently returned to the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. Entering a secluded cove in the Sea of Abaco, in the Bahamas, she runs into an old acquaintance and the woman’s young daughter... -
![A Deeper Sleep by Dana Stabenow]()
A Deeper Sleep by Dana Stabenow
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsKATE SHUGAK is a native Aleut working as a private investigator in Alaska. She's 5 foot 1 inch tall, carries a scar that runs from ear to ear across her throat and owns half-wolf, half-husky dog named Mutt. Resourceful, strong-willed, defiant, Kate is tougher than your average heroine – and she needs to be to survive the worst the Alaskan wilds can throw at her...Categorized as:
crime female-mc investigator law-enforcement politics suspense thriller action-adventure -
![The Green Ripper by John D. MacDonald]()
The Green Ripper by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBeautiful girls always grace the Florida beaches, strolling, sailing, relaxing at the many parties on Travis McGee's houseboat, The Busted Flush. McGee was too smart--and had been around too long--for many of them to touch his heart. Now, however, there was Gretel. She had discovered the key to McGee--to all of him--and now he had something to hope for. Then, terribly, unexpectedly, she was dead... -
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![Her Last Wish by Blake Pierce]()
Her Last Wish by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFBI Agent Rachel Gift, 33, unparalleled for her ability to enter the minds of serial killers, is a rising star in the Behavioral Crimes Unit—until a routine doctor visit reveals she has but a few months left to live.Not wishing to burden others with her pain, Rachel decides, agonizing as it is, not to tell anyone—not even her boss, her partner, her husband, or her seven-year-old daughter... -
![The President's Henchman by Joseph Flynn]()
The President's Henchman by Joseph Flynn
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsAccording to the polls, it's only a matter of time - and not that long a time - before the United States elects its first female president. Which will make her husband - what? Well, if he's the ex-cop who solved the murder of the president's first husband and brought the killers to justice ... and if he's not the kind of guy to stand on formality .. -
![Abandoned by Allison Brennan]()
Abandoned by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratings13 hours, 45 minutes New York Times best-selling author Allison Brennan weaves the intimate, unpausable story of an investigator confronting the most important - and most dangerous - mystery of her career, in Abandoned Investigative reporter Max Revere has cracked many cases, but the one investigation she's never attempted is the mystery from her own past...Categorized as:
crime female-mc investigator law-enforcement suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Pale Gray for Guilt by John D. MacDonald]()
Pale Gray for Guilt by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTush Bannon was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. His measly plot of land just so happened to sit right in the middle of a rich parcel of five hundred riverfront acres that big-money real estate interests decided they simply must have.It didn’t matter that Tush was a nice guy with a family, or that he never knew he was dealing with a criminal element... -
![Purple Cane Road by James Lee Burke]()
Purple Cane Road by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDave Robicheaux has spent his life confronting the age-old adage that the sins of the father pass onto the son. But what has his mother's legacy left him? Dead to him since youth, Mae Guillory has been shuttered away in the deep recesses of Dave's mind. He's lived with the fact that he would never really know what happened to the woman who left him to the devices of his whiskey-driven father... -
![Early Autumn by Robert B. Parker]()
Early Autumn by Robert B. Parker
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"[Robert B.] Parker's brilliance is in his simple dialogue, and in Spenser."--The Philadelphia InquirerA bitter divorce is only the beginning. First the father hires thugs to kidnap his son. Then the mother hires Spenser to get the boy back. But as soon as Spenser senses the lay of the land, he decides to do some kidnapping of his own... -
![Bad To The Bones by James Harper]()
Bad To The Bones by James Harper
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratings**Alternative cover edition for ASIN: B076H9C28F here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...**What would you give, how far would you go, to find a lost child and redeem your soul? And will it ever be far enough? Ten years ago, Linda Clayton's son Daniel disappeared. The love and support of her husband Robbie was all that kept her sane—until the day he ran away... -
![Cinnamon Skin by John D. MacDonald]()
Cinnamon Skin by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Travis McGee's friend Meyer lent his boat to his niece Norma, and her new husband Even, the boat exploded out in the waters of the Florida Keys. Travis McGee thinks it's no accident, and clues lead him to ponder possibilities of drugs and also to wonder where Evan was when his wife was killed...."Proves again that MacDonald keeps getting better with each new adventure... -
![The Empty Copper Sea by John D. MacDonald]()
The Empty Copper Sea by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"The professional's professional of suspense writers."THE NEW YORK TIMESVan Harder, once a hard drinker, has found religion. But that doesn't keep folks from saying he murdered his employer, Hub Lawless, whose body hasn't been found. To clear his name, and cear up the mystery, Van asks friend-in-need Travis McGee to find out what really happened... -
![Next Victim by Helen H. Durrant]()
Next Victim by Helen H. Durrant
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA young man’s body is found burnt and tortured by a Manchester canal. He was a journalism student who told his friends he was working on a big story. His death leads the police on a false trail. Detective Rachel King investigates. She has a secret, the love of her life is a well-known villain. He has recently come back on the scene... -
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![Desolation Mountain by William Kent Krueger]()
Desolation Mountain by William Kent Krueger
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Edgar Award-winning author William Kent Krueger delivers another heart-pounding thriller filled with “dynamic action scenes” (The New York Times) as Cork O’Connor and his son Stephen work together to uncover the truth behind the death of a senator on Desolation Mountain and the mysterious disappearances of several first responders...Categorized as:
crime investigator law-enforcement politics suspense whodunit thriller action-adventure -
![Lupa nera by Juan Gómez-Jurado]()
Lupa nera by Juan Gómez-Jurado
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRestare viva non è mai stato tanto difficile. Dopo Regina Rossa, che ha incoronato Antonia Scott come la nuova protagonista assoluta del thriller spagnolo, il secondo capitolo della trilogia bestseller di Juan Gómez-Jurado. Antonia Scott e Jon Gutiérrez sono ancora alla ricerca di Sandra Fajardo, quando Mentor li convoca per un altro caso al momento più pressante... -
![Riot Act by Zoë Sharp]()
Riot Act by Zoë Sharp
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA self-defence expert with a motorbike and an attitude, Charlie Fox doesn't need to go looking for trouble. It generally finds her. Housesitting for a friend seemed easy at first but the house is in the Lavender Garden Estate. Teenage gangs are running riot and desperate neighbours have employed a ruthless security firm to apply rough justice... -
![Cold River Rising: A Native American Mystery and Thriller Series by Enes Smith]()
Cold River Rising: A Native American Mystery and Thriller Series by Enes Smith
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIF YOU LIKE 'SURVIVAL' - THE #1 BESTSELLING COLD RIVER RISING IS A MUST READ! A Political Action Thriller by #1 Amazon bestselling author Enes Smith. The screenplay for a feature film is complete! Cold River Rising is a story of Native American college student Tara REd Eagle, a tribal member who has the uncanny ability of a Shaman - she can sketch events before they happen... -
![The Turquoise Lament by John D. MacDonald]()
The Turquoise Lament by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOne of the most enduring and unusual heroes in detective fiction." THE BALTIMORE SUN Now that Linda "Pidge" Lewellen is grown up, she tells Travis McGee, once her girlhood idol, that either she's going crazy or Howie, her affable ex-jock of a husband is trying to kill her. McGee checks things out, and gives Pidge the all clear... -
![Out on the Cutting Edge by Lawrence Block]()
Out on the Cutting Edge by Lawrence Block
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt isn't called Hell's Kitchen for nothing - a gritty landscape of dark doorways and dirty alleys inhabited by crack addicts and the homeless. For Matt Scudder, it's a city gone mad, but a city he can't leave as he's been hired to find missing would-be actress Paula Hoeldtke...
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