Books like 'McNally's Puzzle'
Readers who enjoyed McNally's Puzzle by Lawrence Sanders also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
mystery action / adventure north-america usa humor law-enforcement crime cozy investigator noir
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L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsRobert Crais (Free Fall, Monkey's Raincoat) returns with his eighth Elvis Cole mystery, L.A. Requiem, a breakneck caper that leaves the wise-cracking detective second-guessing himself. Cole's partner, the tight-lipped, charm-free Joe Pike, gets a call from his friend Frank "Tortilla" Garcia. Not only is Garcia a wealthy businessman, he's a political heavyweight and father of Karen, Joe's ex... -
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...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement investigator mystery fiction audiobook action-adventure -
The Depth of Darkness by L.T. Ryan, Sean Patrick Hopkins
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDetective Mitch Tanner's life hangs in the balance. He clings to the daughter in his care. He agonizes over the disappearance of his son and estranged wife. Twelve months has yet to turn up a solid lead.While investigating the apparent accidental death of Dusty Anne Miller, Mitch and his partner Sam Foster find themselves in the middle of a fiendish plan that strikes too close to home... -
Scottsdale Shadow by B.A. Trimmer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsScottsdale’s favorite investigator, Laura Black, returns in a thrilling new romantic mystery. In her latest adventure, Laura’s on the hunt for a client’s father with a shadowy past. The trail leads her on an adventure across Arizona to a dark casino where every fantasy can come true. Unfortunately, poking her nose into things she shouldn’t has deadly consequences... -
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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...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement suspense hard-boiled mystery fiction audiobook action-adventure -
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... -
The Lonely Silver Rain by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"Travis McGee is back in action and he is in fine, fine form....What a treat. It is John D. MacDonald's 21st Travies McGee book and, without reservaton, his best."THE SAN DIEGO TRIBUNESearching for a wealthy friend's yacht, Travis McGee puts himself square in the center of the international cocaine trade, and finds himself the target of some of the most ruthless villains he's ever met... -
Scottsdale Squeeze by B.A. Trimmer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLaura Black and her Scottsdale friends are back on the case and trouble is sure to follow! In this thrilling romantic mystery, Laura Black is an investigator for the highly successful but slightly shady Scottsdale lawyer, Lenny Shapiro...Categorized as:
cozy humor investigator law-enforcement suspense action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth -
Sunset Express by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsProminent restaurateur Teddy Martin is facing charges in his wife’s brutal murder. But he’s not going down without spending a bundle of cash on his defense. So his hotshot attorney hires P.I. Elvis Cole to find proof that Detective Angela Rossi tampered with the evidence. Rossi needs a way back to the fast track after falling hard during an internal investigation five years ago... -
Family Values by G.M. Ford
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsReturning to Seattle after a business trip, retired PI Leo Waterman is shocked to find his girlfriend, Rebecca Duvall, unconscious on the bathroom floor, her house filled with gas. Officials believe it was a suicide attempt in the wake of a humiliating scandal. Under investigation for dereliction of duty, she’d been suspended from her job as medical examiner for King County... -
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch by Shelly Fredman
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt's the New Year and puff piece reporter Brandy Alexander has the best of intentions to keep her life safe, sane and simple - but she is having one tough week! It seems that everyone at her new job at TV station WINN hates her. Everyone - except for co-worker, Tamra Rhineholt, that is... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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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... -
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
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... -
The Long Lavender Look by John D. MacDonald, Darren McGavin
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMcGee has become part of our national fabric." SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER A lovely young girl steps in front of Travis McGee's headlights. McGee misses the girl but lands in ten feet of swamp water. As he's limping along the deserted road, someone in an old truck takes a few shots at him... -
Salvation Lake by G.M. Ford
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAt the end of an especially raucous day at his neighborhood bar, private eye Leo Waterman is surprised to see his old flame, Rebecca Duval, walk in the door. But King County’s medical examiner is here on business, not pleasure. Two dead bodies, covered by an old coat that once belonged to Leo’s father, have turned up in the trunk of a car...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth -
Just Deserts by Jinx Schwartz
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHetta Coffey is a woman with a yacht, and she's not afraid to use it. As a self employed engineering consultant with a penchant of oddball-read: shady- projects, she has a way of attracting trouble. With her floating home drydocked for repairs in Mexico, Hetta needs a place to live and a job to pay the boatyard... -
Oranges and Lemons by Christopher Fowler
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"The most delightfully, wickedly entertaining duo in crime fiction." The Plain Dealer When a prominent politician is crushed by a fruit van making a delivery, the singular team of Arthur Bryant and John May overcome insurmountable odds to reunite the PCU and solve the case in the brainy new mystery from acclaimed author Christopher Fowler... -
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... -
A Ticket to the Boneyard by Lawrence Block
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwelve years ago, Matthew Scudder lied to a jury to put James Leo Motley behind bars. Now the ingenious psychopath is free. And the alcoholic ex-cop-turned-p.i. must pay dearly for his sins. Friends and former lovers -- even strangers unfortunate enough to share Scudder's name -- are turning up dead... -
The Reluctant Detective by Tom Fowler
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA novice PI. A ruthless old acquaintance. Will C.T. Ferguson's first case be his last? Three weeks in a brutal prison—that was hacker C.T. Ferguson's punishment for helping Americans and dissidents evade the Chinese government. Deported home, C.T. uses his digital skills as a private investigator.Suspecting her husband is cheating on her, Alice hires C.T. to investigate... -
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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
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... -
Swan Peak by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTrouble follows Dave Robicheaux.James Lee Burke's new novel, "Swan Peak," finds Detective Robicheaux far from his New Iberia roots, attempting to relax in the untouched wilderness of rural Montana... -
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... -
Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this next thriller in the New York Times-bestselling Parker series, Spenser and his new apprentice trace the murder of a young woman to an international crime ring that has been operating with impunity because of the powerful and highly connected billionaire at its helm... -
Last Ditch by G.M. Ford
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSeattle p.i. Leo Waterman knows the city like no one else. And he knows how to stretch the limits of the law, when necessary, to accomplish what needs to be done--a very useful talent Leo acquired from his late, larger-than-life father, once one of the region's most powerful and colorful political characters... -
Hail Mary by J.R. Rain
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this third book of the series, Private investigator Jim Knighthorse finds himself on the trail of his mother's killer, a cold case spanning two decades. While on the hunt, he takes on a brutal case that takes him into shark-infested waters and deep into the heart of Mexico.All the while, Knighthorse comes closer and closer to finding his mother's killer.. -
Secret Bond by Gemma Halliday, Jennifer Fischetto
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHer name is Bond. Jamie Bond. And she is licensed to kill any pre-nup you can throw at her. Catching cheating husbands became Jamie Bond's life when her father was shot and wounded on the job, forcing Jamie to take over the family business: The Bond Agency. But three years later, the P.I. is shocked when the gun that wounded her father surfaces during a high-profile murder trial... -
The Way We Die Now by Charles Willeford
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Miami Homicide Detective Hoke Moseley receives an unexplained order to let his beard grow, he doesn't think much about it. He has too much going on at home, especially with a man he helped convict ten years before moving in across the street... -
She Wore Mourning by P.D. Workman
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA dead child.A mother deep in mourning.Private Investigator Zachary Goldman’s life isn’t all roses, but he tries to put his own shattered life behind him to investigate the death of five-year-old Declan Bond.Declan’s death has been ruled an accident, but his grandmother thinks there is more to it...Categorized as:
crime investigator law-enforcement north-america suspense usa action-adventure adult -
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Backflash by Richard Stark
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsParker's got a couple of rules that have helped keep him alive throughout his long career. One of those is never to work on a boat. But with a gambling boat cruising down the Hudson, stuffed to the gunwales with cash, Parker’s got a plan, a team, and a new rule: a shot at a big enough score makes any rule worth breaking... -
Archie Meets Nero Wolfe: A Prequel to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTo become part of the Nero Wolfe legend, Archie Goodwin must prove his worthArchie Goodwin comes to New York City hoping for a bit of excitement. In his third week working as a night watchman, he stops two burglars in their tracks—with a pair of hot lead slugs...Categorized as:
cozy crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Seventh by Richard Stark
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhy not?Just because no one had ever tried it before? What better place for a heist, if it was timed right, than a football stadium?There'd have to be money in the box office; the game was a sellout. Every eye in the place would be glued to the action down on the field. Even the getaway would be a cinch... -
Stiff Arm Steal by A.J. Stewart
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWho stole the Heisman trophy?The prize Heisman of former NFL football hero, part-time media personality and full-time blowhard BJ Baker has been stolen. Miami Jones, minor league pitcher turned private eye is the man to find it. If he and his client don’t kill each other first... -
The Long Cold Winter by Colin Conway
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA thirty-year old case. A body discovered in the snow. For one grieving detective, it's going to be a long, cold winter.After the passing of his wife, Major Crimes Detective Dallas Nash is handed a cold case to ease him back into the job.Three decades prior, a teenaged girl was strangled to death... -
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... -
Bright Orange for the Shroud by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTravis McGee is looking forward to a "slob summer," spending his days as far away from danger as possible. But trouble has a way of finding him, no matter where he hides. An old friend, conned out of his life savings by his ex-wife, has tracked him down and is desperate for help... -
The Dreadful Lemon Sky by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTravis McGee has been offered easy money by a longtime lady friend. But when she gets killed, McGee's got a boatload of mystery. Navigating his boat into troubled waters, he heads for the seamier side of Florida--where drug dealing, twisted sex, and corruption are easy to find--but murderous riddles are hard to solve... -
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... -
The Scarlet Ruse by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTravis McGee is too busy with his houseboat to pay attention to the little old man with the missing postage stamps. Except these are no ordinary stamps. They are rare stamps. Four hundred thousand dollars worth of rare. And if McGee doesn't recognize their value, perhaps Mary Alice McDermit does, a six-foot knockout who knows all the ways to a boat bum's heart... -
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The Score by Richard Stark, John Banville
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt was an impossible crime: knock off an entire North Dakota town called Copper Canyon—clean out the plant payroll, both banks, and all the stores in one night. Parker called it "science fiction," but with the right men (a score of them), he could figure it out to the last detail. It could work... -
FOOL ME TWICE by Paul Levine
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA grisly murder case takes Jake Lassiter from the beaches of Miami to the slopes of Aspen in the greatest challenge yet for the linebacker-turned-lawyer. Lassiter helps Blinky Baroso beat a fraud rap, then gets stiffed for his fee. Not only that, when an associate ends up dead, Lassiter is the prime suspect. If he doesn’t find the killer, he’ll face a murder charge... -
A Purple Place for Dying by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA beautiful woman calls Travis McGee to Arizona. She needs his help recovering the money that her good-for-nothing, soon-to-be-ex-husband stole from her. But she's not long for the world, and even though his employer dies, Travis isn't giving up. It's not often he leaves Florida, and he's not about to go home empty-handed. The third Travis McGee adventure... -
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith an introduction by CARL HIAASENJOHN D. MacDONALD."..the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller." --STEPHEN KING."..a master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer."--MARY HIGGINS CLARK."..a dominant influence on writers crafting the continuing series character."--SUE GRAFTON."..my favorite novelist of all time."--DEAN KOONTZ.".Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense 20th-century action-adventure -
Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke, Mark Hammer
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings10 cassettes-14... -
Sunset Limited by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn a land soaked with sin, Dave Robicheaux is dueling with killers, ghosts, and a woman's revenge....The townspeople of New Iberia, Louisiana, didn't crucify Megan Flynn's father. They just didn't catch whoever pinned him to a barn wall with sixteen-penny nails.Decades later, Megan, now a world-famous photojournalist, has come back to the bayou, looking for cop Dave Robicheaux...
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