Books like 'The Second Chair'

Readers who enjoyed The Second Chair by John Lescroart & David Colacci also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

mystery  serial killer  thriller  legal  crime  suspense  law-enforcement  political-intrigue  politics

  • Shadow's Loss by Mary Stone

    Shadow's Loss by Mary Stone

    Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    The path to power is paved with blood.In the wake of a landmark election on Shadow Island, the tide of power is set to turn. Newly elected Sheriff Rebecca West stands ready to dismantle the Yacht Club’s ruthless grip over the island. And she isn’t alone. She has her team as well as the newly elected chair of the Select Board by her side.But victory comes at a perilous cost...
  • Triple Cross by James Patterson

    Triple Cross by James Patterson

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Detective Alex Cross hunts down a serial killer who’s murdering entire families—and who will next be coming for Cross.A methodical killer is targeting multigenerational families in and around Washington, DC—striking under cover of darkness, triggering no alarms, leaving no physical evidence of any kind.   Alex isn’t the only one investigating...
  • The Executioner by Chris Carter

    The Executioner by Chris Carter

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 25 ratings
    FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER THE CALLER. Inside a Los Angeles church, on the altar steps, lies the blood-soaked body of a priest. Later, the forensic team discover that, on the victim's chest, the figure 3 has been scrawled in blood. At first, Detective Robert Hunter believes that this is a ritualistic killing. But as more bodies surface, he is forced to reassess...
  • The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh

    The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh

    Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICAThe Sandman killings have been solved. Daniel Miller murdered fourteen people before he vanished. His wife, Carrie, now faces trial as his accomplice. The FBI, the District Attorney, the media and everyone in America believe she knew and helped cover up her husband's crimes.THE LAWYEREddie Flynn won't take a case unless his client is innocent...
  • Corpse Road by David J. Gatward, Aubrey Parsons

    Corpse Road by David J. Gatward, Aubrey Parsons

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    * Duration: 7 hours and 9 minutes *To catch the hunter, become the prey.When the body of a female backpacker is found on the Yorkshire moors, the killer seems obvious, the motive clear.If only.Because Grimm and his team are up against not just a murderer, but a predator, and when the key suspect disappears, it's only a matter of time before another body is found...
  • Whip Crack by Alex Smith

    Whip Crack by Alex Smith

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Every time you hear his voice, another child will die.DCI Robert Kett’s family may be whole again, but he is a broken man.Suspended from duty, he takes his girls out of the city for a much-needed holiday on the Norfolk Coast.Instead of the peace he desperately needs, however, Kett finds a community in chaos. Four teenagers are missing, and time is running out before they meet a horrific fate...
  • Deadly Motives by Ann Girdharry

    Deadly Motives by Ann Girdharry

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Secrets never stay buried forever...When a nurse is murdered, Detective David Grant recognises the hallmarks of a serial killer called Travis.Twenty-five years ago, Grant caught Travis for the murder of five women and the murderer has been incarcerated ever since...
  • Won't You Save Me by Wendy Dranfield

    Won't You Save Me by Wendy Dranfield

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Detective Dean Matheson has returned to his hometown to begin his new job and put the traumatic events of his past behind him – but his fresh start won’t last long when the local area is hit by a series of strange disappearances and twisted killings …A nameless girl badly beaten and dumped in front of the mysterious new church. A shocking murder scene discovered in the apartment over the diner...
  • Left For Dead by Caroline Mitchell

    Left For Dead by Caroline Mitchell

    Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A victim on display. A detective on the rails.Shopping with her sister, DI Amy Winter is admiring a Valentine’s Day window display of a perfect bride encrusted in diamonds and resplendent in lace—until she notices blood oozing from the mannequin’s mouth.This is no stunt. A post-mortem reveals the victim was left to die on her macabre throne for all to see...
  • The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

    The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

    Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A deadly prosecutorThey call him the King of Death Row. Randal Korn has sent more men to their deaths than any district attorney in the history of the United States.A twisted ritualistic killingWhen a young woman, Skylar Edwards, is found murdered in Buckstown, Alabama, a corrupt sheriff arrests the last person to see her alive, Andy Dubois...
  • Time of Justice by Robin James

    Time of Justice by Robin James

    Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    This trial should be a slam-dunk. A faceless powerbroker has other ideas… Small-town prosecutor Mara Brent must be tough as nails to succeed in her male-dominated profession. But she harbors a soft spot for the victims who rely on her courtroom skill, especially the wheelchair-bound rape survivor she’s known for twenty years...
  • Shallow Ground by Andy Maslen, Steve West

    Shallow Ground by Andy Maslen, Steve West

    Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    10 hours, 20 minutes Detective Ford has a cold-blooded killer to catch. But can he escape his own dark secrets?Barely a month since his promotion to Inspector, DI Ford is called in to investigate the murder of a young nurse and her son in a small flat in Salisbury. There are few clues, and no apparent motive, but Ford can sense that there’s a serial killer at work...
  • The Hallows by Victor Methos, Alexander Cendese

    The Hallows by Victor Methos, Alexander Cendese

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Listening length: 7 hours, 52 minutesA ruthless lawyer cross-examines his life after a guilty client walks free in this sharp legal thriller from the bestselling author of The Neon Lawyer.Ruthless defense attorney Tatum Graham has been living large in Miami, but when his recently acquitted client claims another victim, Tatum has a crisis of conscience...
  • Justice Lost by Scott Pratt

    Justice Lost by Scott Pratt

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    In the Wall Street Journal bestseller, lawyer turned rogue Darren Street faces the most personal and ruthless vendetta of his life.After forfeiting years serving time for a false murder conviction, former criminal defense attorney Darren Street finally got his freedom back and is trying to build a regular life...
  • Crimson Lake Road by Victor Methos

    Crimson Lake Road by Victor Methos

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Bestselling 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...
  • Five Days Post Mortem by L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain

    Five Days Post Mortem by L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Her body floats. A bloated thing half atop the river. Naked. Pale. Mouth and eyes open wide. When two fishermen discover a corpse floating in the Clackamas river, profiler Violet Darger heads to rural Oregon to hunt another serial killer. What she discovers in the woods might change the course of her life...
  • Shadow Falls by Wendy Dranfield

    Shadow Falls by Wendy Dranfield

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    You thought your little girl was safe at summer camp. You were wrong…The little girl drags her eyes open, realizing she’s starting to fade. She tries calling out—“Daddy?”—using all her remaining strength...
  • One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni

    One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Detective Tracy Crosswhite draws a long-dormant serial killer out of hiding in a nerve-shattering novel by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.Tracy Crosswhite is reopening the investigation into Seattle’s Route 99 serial killer. After thirteen victims, he stopped hunting and the trail went cold, stirring public outrage...
  • The Final Vow by M.W. Craven

    The Final Vow by M.W. Craven

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    The next unmissable novel* in the Sunday Times bestselling, multi-award-winning Washington Poe series. Poe and Tilly be prepared for the most twisted thrill-ride so far . . .An invisible killer with a 100% success rate. No one is safe. Not even those closest to Washington Poe . . .A shooting at Gretna Green. A bride is murdered on her wedding day, seconds after she slips on her new ring...
  • The Russian by James Patterson, James O. Born

    The Russian by James Patterson, James O. Born

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    A killer crashes Detective Michael Bennett's wedding. A series of gruesome murders in New York City has Michael Bennett angry -- but when he identifies similar cases in Atlanta and San Francisco, his feelings escalate into all-out alarm. All of the victims are young women. And each one is killed in a horrifyingly distinct fashion...
  • Cross Out by James Patterson

    Cross Out by James Patterson

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Detectives Cross and Sampson are tracking a serial killer who's fatally ambushing young men in the “Dead Hours” murders. They don't hear the machine gun fire. At first. “Drop whatever you're doing, Dr. Cross, and head to Reagan Airport,” DC Metro Police dispatch says. “A plane just crashed and exploded on the runway. The chief and the FBI want you and John Sampson there pronto...
  • Cruel Acts by Jane Casey

    Cruel Acts by Jane Casey

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    From award-winning author Jane Casey comes another powerful Maeve Kerrigan crime thriller which will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page! Leo Stone is a killer. A year ago, he was convicted of murdering two women and sentenced to life without parole. But now, a juror from his trial has revealed the jury was prejudiced, and a retrial is called...
  • Chiefs by Stuart Woods

    Chiefs by Stuart Woods

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    In the bitter winter of 1920, the first body is found in Delano, Georgia; the naked corpse of an unidentified teenager. There is no direct evidence of murder, but the body bears marks of what seems to be a ritual beating. The investigation falls to Will Henry Lee, a failed cotton farmer newly appointed as Delano's first chief of police...
  • The Criminal Lawyer by Thomas Benigno

    The Criminal Lawyer by Thomas Benigno

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Inspired by real crimes. From the author of the number-one best-seller, The Good Lawyer.A serial killer is littering the south shore beach of Long Island with the bones of his female victims stuffed into burlap bags...
  • The Hunter of the Dark by Donato Carrisi

    The Hunter of the Dark by Donato Carrisi

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A brutal killer is on the streets of Rome. He leaves no trace. And shows no mercy.A series of gruesome murders leaves the police force in Rome reeling, with no real clues or hard evidence to follow. Assigned to the case is Sandra Vega, a brilliant forensic analyst, struggling to come to terms with the crimes and her own past...
  • The Judge's List by John Grisham

    The Judge's List by John Grisham

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 35 ratings
    Listening Length 11 hours and 36 minutesFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a new legal thriller about a man who might be the most criminal sitting judge in American history As an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct, Lacy Stoltz sees plenty of corruption among the men and women elected to the bench...
  • Love You Dead by Peter James

    Love You Dead by Peter James

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    An ugly duckling as a child, Jodie Bentley had two dreams in life—to be beautiful and rich. She's achieved the first, with a little help from a plastic surgeon, and now she's working hard on the second. Her philosophy about money is simple. You can either earn it or marry it. Marrying is easy, it's getting rid of the husband afterwards that's harder, that takes real skill...
  • You Are Dead by Peter James, Daniel Weyman

    You Are Dead by Peter James, Daniel Weyman

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    You are Dead is the eleventh thrilling crime novel in Peter James' Roy Grace series, read aloud by Daniel Weyman.They were marked for deathThe last words Jamie Ball hears from his fiancée, Logan Somerville, are in a terrified mobile phone call. She has just driven into the underground car park beneath the block of flats where they live in Brighton. Then she screams and the phone goes dead...
  • Burnout by Larry A. Winters

    Burnout by Larry A. Winters

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Jessie Black is a rising star at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. But all of her abilities will be put to the test when Frank Ramsey, a brutal serial murderer and rapist she successfully prosecuted over a year ago, petitions the court for a new trial.Public defender Jack Ackerman represented Ramsey at his first trial. Beating him had not been easy...
  • The Sixth Man by David Baldacci

    The Sixth Man by David Baldacci

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 30 ratings
    After the #1 New York Times bestsellers Split Second, Hour Game, Simple Genius, and First Family, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell return in their most shocking case: a high stakes struggle where the relentless needs of national security run up against the absolute limits of the human mind...
  • Arsonist by Victor Methos

    Arsonist by Victor Methos

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Evil is Released Onto the Streets of San Diego...A series of deadly fires rages across the cityscape, claiming the lives of entire families. Helpless to stop the fires, the SDPD assigns their most famous detective, Jon Stanton, to the case. The evidence points him to a single arsonist committing the horrendous acts...
  • One Left Alive by Helen Phifer

    One Left Alive by Helen Phifer

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    ‘One of those rare books that really is unputdownable . A must read.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐A gentle breeze blew her blonde hair across her face, her glazed eyes staring blankly into the sunset. Her small frame looked lost hanging from the large oak tree. On the branch next to her was a worn child’s rope swing. She looked too young and beautiful to be dead...
  • The Fuse by Stacy M. Jones

    The Fuse by Stacy M. Jones

    Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    FBI Agents Kate Walsh and Declan James are on the hunt for a serial bomber targeting secret societies at Ivy League schools and time is running out. What at first appears to be a freak accident soon spirals into a terrifying situation as college students are killed by deadly explosions in the middle of the night. Their wealth and privilege cannot protect them and may be making them a target...
  • Whiplash by Catherine Coulter

    Whiplash by Catherine Coulter

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Yale professor Dr. Edward Kender’s father is undergoing chemotherapy when the supply of a critical accompanying drug, Culovort, suddenly runs out. Unwilling to accept the drug manufacturer’s disingenuous excuse of production line problems, Dr. Kender hires private investigator Erin Pulaski to prove that something more sinister is going on at Schiffer Hartwin...
  • The Secret Witness by Victor Methos

    The Secret Witness by Victor Methos

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    From the bestselling author of A Killer’s Wife comes the thrilling first installment in the Shepard & Gray series, featuring a young sheriff who teams up with a former prosecutor to stop a copycat killer.This is Reaper speaking.So begins an anonymous letter published in a Utah newspaper after a young couple is viciously murdered...
  • The Scent of Guilt by Tony J. Forder

    The Scent of Guilt by Tony J. Forder

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Twelve years after he left Peterborough under a cloud, DI Bliss returns to the city and the major crimes team. Having spent years policing organised crime, Bliss is plunged straight into the heart of a serial murder investigation. Meanwhile, Penny Chandler has been promoted to DS and has been working in London on the Met’s sexual crimes team...
  • Spider's Truth by Christa Yelich-Koth

    Spider's Truth by Christa Yelich-Koth

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    A psychological detective thriller.Some people can’t let go of a grudge. Homicide Detective Sean Trann is learning this the hard way. He made the mistake of interrupting the killing spree of Boston’s most notorious serial killer, Spider. Intent on finishing what he started and infuriated at Sean’s previous involvement, Spider has decided to use those closest to Sean as pieces in his twisted game...
  • Ten Little Girls by Willow Rose

    Ten Little Girls by Willow Rose

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Every Mother's Worst Fear! Imagine waiting for the school bus, waiting for your daughter to come home, looking forward to spending the afternoon with her, but as the bus stops and the children start to come out, your daughter isn't there. Ten little girls go missing on the same day in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Ten little girls all from the same school...
  • Il était deux fois by Franck Thilliez

    Il était deux fois by Franck Thilliez

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    En 2008, Julie, dix-sept ans, disparaît en ne laissant comme trace que son vélo posé contre un arbre. Le drame agite Sagas, petite ville au cœur des montagnes, et percute de plein fouet le père de la jeune fille, le lieutenant de gendarmerie Gabriel Moscato. Ce dernier se lance alors dans une enquête aussi désespérée qu'effrénée.Jusqu'à ce jour où ses pas le mènent à l'hôtel de la Falaise..
  • Private Sector by Brian Haig, Michael Emerson

    Private Sector by Brian Haig, Michael Emerson

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    - The first Sean Drummond novel, "Secret Sanction (Warner, 6/01), has more than 460,000 combined copies in print and was a "Washington Post and "USA TODAY best-seller. "Mortal Allies was published in 4/02 and has more than 213,000 combined copies in print.- This is the fourth title in Brian Haig's series featuring JAG attorney Sean Drummond...
  • Know No Evil by Graeme Hampton

    Know No Evil by Graeme Hampton

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Old crimes don’t stay buried forever… It’s high summer, and London sizzles in the grip of a heatwave. But when the body of young mother, Leanne Wyatt, is discovered in an East London park, the heat rises to boiling point for D.I. Matthew Denning...
  • The Dead Man by Joel Goldman

    The Dead Man by Joel Goldman

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    If you like John Grisham's twists and turns and James Patterson's page-turning thrills, you'll love Joel Goldman's The Dead Man, the second book in the Jack Davis Thriller series! "A masterful blend of rock-solid detective work and escalating dread. The Dead Man is both a top-notch thriller and a heart-rendering story of loss, courage and second chances. I loved it...
  • Certain Blindness by Roy Lewis

    Certain Blindness by Roy Lewis

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Things other than beauty are in the eye of the beholder. In the eyes of solicitor Eric Ward there was something odd abut Arthur Egan's life and death. But Ward was a former police inspector, and trained to be suspicious. And he could no longer trust his eyesight, since it was a serious eye condition that had led to his resignation from the Force...
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    crime  law-enforcement  legal  suspense  adult  book  fiction  murder
  • The Silent Watcher by Victor Methos

    The Silent Watcher by Victor Methos

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    The bestselling author of A Killer’s Wife delivers a haunting legal thriller, plunging the reader headlong into the search for a deadly stalker—and a quest to bring a young victim peace.Far from the neon glare of the Vegas strip, attorney Piper Danes walks away from a hotshot law firm to work as a guardian ad litem (GAL)...
  • Dark Purpose by Mary Stone

    Dark Purpose by Mary Stone

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Everyone has a purpose. Some are just darker than others.Always calm, cool, and collected, Savannah PD Detective Charli Cross compensates for her petite five-foot frame with an impenetrable exterior and pragmatic competence. It’s an approach that catapulted her to the rank of detective at twenty-three and contributes to her and her partner’s unequaled murder clearance rate...
  • Black Summer by M.W. Craven

    Black Summer by M.W. Craven

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    After The Puppet Show, a new storm is coming . . .Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath . . . He's currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe...
  • A Killing Moon by Steven Dunne

    A Killing Moon by Steven Dunne

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    A young student is kidnapped on her way home from the pub, but her nightmare is just beginning...DI Damen Brook is assigned the case but starts to realise that this might not be an isolated incident. With very little to go on, Brook trawls through the murky world of cheap labour and prostitution but comes up against a brick wall. But then bodies start turning up and the case is blown wide open...
  • Hollywood Jury by M.Z. Kelly

    Hollywood Jury by M.Z. Kelly

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Hollywood Jury, the tenth book in the Hollywood Alphabet Series Thrillers, finds Detective Kate Sexton and her canine partner Bernie continuing their assignment in Section One, an elite homicide unit that works out of Hollywood Station. Kate’s job quickly becomes more stressful than she could ever imagine when a deranged serial killer begins a murderous spree on college campuses...
  • Fixed in Fear by T.E. Woods

    Fixed in Fear by T.E. Woods

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    The Fixer returns in the pulse-pounding Justice series—perfect for fans of Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter, and Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter thrillers—as worlds collide in an inferno of bloodshed, revenge, and holy terror. I’ll probably never see my daughter again. And if I do, she’ll either be dead or in a jail cell...
  • The Magician by Stacy M. Jones

    The Magician by Stacy M. Jones

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    A killer focused on the occult. Affluent victims in Boston targeted. An FBI agent tangled in the killer’s deadly game. Right before Halloween, FBI Agent Kate Walsh receives a letter from a man calling himself The Magician. He’s already started his murderous rampage...
The Second Chair by John Lescroart, David Colacci
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