Books like 'Dreadful'
Readers who enjoyed Dreadful by Jana Deleon also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery psychological crime suspense law-enforcement female-mc investigator police-procedural
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Dying Truth by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHow far would you go to protect your darkest secrets? When teenager Sadie Winter jumps from the roof of her school, her death is ruled as suicide – a final devastating act from a troubled girl. But then the broken body of a young boy is discovered at the same school and it’s clear to Detective Kim Stone that these deaths are not tragic accidents... -
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...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement police-procedural mystery fiction audiobook contemporary -
One by One by Chris Carter
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 25 ratings'I need your help, Detective. Fire or water?' Detective Robert Hunter of the LAPD's Homicide Special Section receives an anonymous call asking him to go to a specific web address - a private broadcast. Hunter logs on and a show devised for his eyes only immediately begins. But the caller doesn't want Detective Hunter to just watch, he wants him to participate, and refusal is simply not an option... -
The Girl in the Moss by Loreth Anne White
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA shallow grave exposes deadly secrets as bestselling author Loreth Anne White brings her thrilling series of romantic suspense to its shocking conclusion… Disgraced ex-cop Angie Pallorino is determined to make a new start for herself as a private investigator... -
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Twisted Lies by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHer stomach lurches as she sits in the windowless room. He throws her phone to the ground, grinds it against the floor with the heel of his shoe and brings his face closer to hers. There was no turning back now, her life as she knew it was gone...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense female-mc mystery fiction audiobook -
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...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement police-procedural mystery fiction audiobook contemporary -
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...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult book -
Find Her Alive by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDetective Josie Quinn hasn’t heard from her sister since Trinity stormed out of the house in the heat of an argument three weeks ago. So, when human remains are found at the remote hunting cabin where Trinity was last seen, Josie can only assume the worst... -
An Unreliable Truth by Victor Methos
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of A Killer’s Wife, Victor Methos’s acclaimed Desert Plains series continues with the saga of two brilliant defense attorneys and a client whose confession may not be what it seems.Two couples cut to bits near a canyon close to the Nevada border... -
The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen a woman’s body is discovered submerged in a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself with a tough case to untangle. Before they can identify the killer, Tracy and her colleagues on the Seattle PD’s Violent Crimes Section must figure out who the victim is. Her autopsy, however, reveals she may have gone to great lengths to conceal her identity...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult alpha-mc -
Losing Leah Holloway by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFive years ago, Claire Fletcher escaped her abductor. But some scars never fade, and surviving was just the beginning…When Claire sees a car full of children careen into a river, she rushes to the rescue. But the driver, a mother named Leah Holloway, prefers to drown. For Claire and her ex, Detective Connor Parks, it doesn’t add up... -
Diabolical by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNine years ago, the police found Shaye Archer wandering in the French Quarter, beaten and abused and with no memory of the previous fifteen years, not even her name. Now, at twenty-four, Shaye is a licensed private investigator, determined to get answers for her clients when the police can’t help... -
Wicked by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe fourth book in the Shaye Archer series by New York Times bestselling author Jana DeLeon.College student Tara Chatry is certain something bad has happened to her best friend Ethan Campbell. The smart, geeky student has disappeared, and when Tara tries to get the police involved, they dismiss her concerns, convinced Ethan is just another college student off on a bender... -
Missing Angel by Roger Stelljes
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIsabella pedals her bright red bike on the familiar route home, admiring her charm bracelet catching the light. But half an hour later, she is nowhere to be seen. All her frantic parents find is an angel-shaped charm discarded on the sidewalk…When twelve-year-old Isabella Farner disappears, Agent Tori Hunter races to the scene... -
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The Girl in the River by Rita Herron
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe body lay in the river, arms outstretched. Long brown hair swirled in all directions, flowing with the current of the water. Her eyes were wide open in death, pale pink lips parted in a scream.Detective Ellie Reeves should be enjoying the wedding of her dear friend Mia Norman. But instead of celebrating, she is frantically searching for the missing bride... -
First Blood by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith this installment exploring an utterly chilling case following a disturbing killer, USA Today bestselling author Angela Marsons delivers the prequel to the internationally bestselling DI Kim Stone thrillers.In the darkness of a cold December morning, Detective Kim Stone steps through the doors of Halesowen Police Station. She’s about to meet her team for the first time... -
Child's Play by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFinally we’re playing a game. A game that I have chosen. I give one last push of the roundabout and stand back. 'You really should have played with me,’ I tell her again although I know she can no longer hear... -
Deadly Cry by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsYou have to stop me from hurting anyone else. I don’t want to do these horrible things. Help me before I’m forced to do it again. And I will do it again because I have no choice. I’ve never had a choice.In a busy shopping centre, a little girl clutches a teddy bear, clinging to it in the absence of her mother, Katrina. Hours later, Katrina’s body is discovered in an abandoned building... -
Targeted by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA Wall Street Journal bestseller All Detective Mason Callahan wanted was a quiet fishing trip with the guys—a chance to get away and unwind before Halloween.Until he finds the body of his boss, Denny Schefte, near their remote Oregon cabin. Now all he wants is to catch the sadist who slit Denny’s throat and covered his face with a mask...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
In the Darkness by Mike Omer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA forensic psychologist fights a mental war against two serial killers in this disturbing thriller from Mike Omer, Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of A Killer’s Mind.An online video of a girl clawing at the ceiling of her own grave could be the worst thing FBI forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley has ever seen...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
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:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult animals -
Far Gone by Danielle Girard
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the USA Today bestselling author of White Out comes a story of two heroines with shattered pasts and a town with blood on its hands.When a North Dakota couple is shot down in their home in cold blood, the sleepy town of Hagen wakes with a jolt. After all, it’s usually such a peaceful place. But Detective Kylie Milliard knows better... -
Dirty Dozen by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the twelfth installment of the J.J. Graves mystery series from New York Times Bestselling Author Liliana Hart, winter has moved into Bloody Mary with a vengeance. But so has a killer who's bringing a modern flair in his imitation of Jack the Ripper. It's up to J.J. and her husband, Sheriff Jack Lawson, to hunt the hunter and bring justice to the victims...Categorized as:
suspense crime law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc mystery romance contemporary -
Mania: An Alexander Gregory Thriller by LJ Ross
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DCI RYAN MYSTERIESYou can’t run from the past…Back in London after a dramatic trip to North America, Doctor Alexander Gregory finds himself without an occupation while he awaits the all-important decision of the disciplinary panel at Southmoor Hospital...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
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Silenced Girls: An absolutely addictive mystery thriller by Roger Stelljes
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe moved far away to try and forget her past. A past that would seep back in when she least expected it and crushed her soul over and over. She tried to keep the evidence packed away in boxes high up on a closet shelf like carefully packing away a tragic part of her life. As if sealing the boxes, was sealing away a time in her life she desperately wanted to go back and change... -
Little Broken Things by Cheryl Bradshaw
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDetective Georgiana Germaine is back on the trail of a cold-blooded killer, and once again, the case hits close to home.Twenty-year-old Olivia Spencer sits at her desk in her mother's bookshop, dreaming about her upcoming wedding. The shop may be closed, but Olivia's not alone, and her dream is about to become her worst nightmare... -
Trapper Road by Rachel Caine, Carrie Ryan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSometimes danger comes from the most unexpected places.Gwen Proctor has always been willing to do anything it takes to protect her kids. But there are some things even she can’t protect them from. When a violent incident at Connor’s school brings the press to Gwen’s doorstep, she agrees to take a case out of town hoping to keep her family out of the crushing media spotlight... -
The Patient Man by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom #1 best-selling author Joy Ellis, a totally absorbing mystery full of stunning twists and turns. Discover the author who’s sold over two million books globally...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsKit Darling is a maid with a snooping problem. She’s the “invisible girl,” compelled to poke into her wealthy clients’ closely guarded lives. It’s a harmless hobby until Kit sees something she can’t unsee in the home of her brand-new clients: a secret so dark it could destroy the privileged couple expecting their first child. This makes Kit dangerous to the couple...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Silence by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA dead conspiracy theorist. A mass murderer. Two cases collide for Callahan and McLane in a pulse-pounding thriller by Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author Kendra Elliot.A man is savagely murdered outside Portland, and Detective Mason Callahan finds blood-spatter evidence that tells a troubling story. Files reveal the murder victim, Reuben Braswell, was a radical conspiracist... -
Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsMeet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart... -
The Girl That Vanished by A.J. Rivers
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRing...Ring...One call from her past was all it took to change everything.A ten-year-old girl has vanished on her way home from camp.And things took a turn for the worse when another child, a child that Emma knows, goes missing.Disappearances, death, and tragedies has followed Emma Griffin throughout her childhood... -
Impostor by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DCI RYAN MYSTERIES There’s a killer inside all of us… After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amidst a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Viaduct Killings by Wes Markin
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsStill grieving from the tragic death of her colleague, DCI Emma Gardner continues to blames herself and is struggling to focus. So, when she is seconded to the wilds of Yorkshire, Emma hopes she’ll be able to get her mind back on the job, doing what she does best - putting killers behind bars.But when she is immediately thrown into another violent murder, Emma has no time to rest...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural investigator female-mc suspense mystery audiobook -
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The Shape of Lies by Rachel Abbott, Lisa Coleman
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsYesterday, Scott was dead.Today, he’s back.And Anna doesn’t believe in ghosts.Fourteen years ago Scott was Anna’s boyfriend. She loved him, but he ruined her life. When he died, she should have been free.But today Scott is on the radio, talking about her. Threatening to spill her secrets.Anna is a mother, a wife, and head teacher of a primary school. And she’s a very good liar... -
Tell Me by Anne Frasier, Erin Bennett
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhat really happened in the forest? Hidden crimes and secrets of the past converge in a riveting thriller by Anne Frasier, the New York Times bestselling author of Find Me.No strangers to evil, criminal profiler Reni Fisher and detective Daniel Ellis both still grapple with traumatizing pasts. It unites them. So has a crime they must solve before someone else dies... -
The Night of the Party by Anna-Lou Weatherley
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwo Couples. Three Secrets. One Murder.In a beautiful house surrounded by woodland, the Drayton family and their dearest friends are enjoying dinner together. The wine is flowing, the meal has been lovingly prepared, and it’s going to be an evening none of them will ever forget…A doting motherwith a manipulative daughter.A loving husbandlying to his family.A close friendkeeping a shocking secret...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement police-procedural mystery audiobook fiction psychological -
Promise of Hunters Ridge by Sarah Barrie
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBy the time this is all over, she’ll know what it’s like to kill, or what it’s like to die. Mia Morgan doesn’t let anything get to her. After freeing herself from an obsessive boss and saving loved ones from a serial killer, she feels like she can handle anything life throws at her. But now that killer – a deranged hunter who preys on women for sport – is coming for her... -
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 female-mc suspense law-enforcement police-procedural mystery thriller audiobook -
The Face of Death by Cody McFadyen
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn Shadow Man, Cody McFadyen took the suspense thriller where other writers have feared to tread. He introduced readers to a heroine every bit as dark and edgy as the serial killers she hunts: Special Agent Smoky Barrett. Now, in his latest novel, McFadyen brings Agent Barrett back to track down a killer who breaks all the rules... -
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... -
So Close the Hand of Death by J.T. Ellison
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTalent borrows. Genius steals. Evil delegates. It's a hideous echo of a violent past. Across America, murders are being committed with all the twisted hallmarks of the Boston Strangler, the Zodiac Killer and Son of Sam. The media frenzy explodes and Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson knows instantly that The Pretender is back…and he's got helpers... -
Dark of Night by Barbara Nickless
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA recent murder is ancient history in a breathtaking novel about a sacred lost treasure and poisonous retribution by the Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of At First Light.What an exotic way to die in Chicago.When esteemed historian Elizabeth Lawrence is found in her car, killed by a cobra’s bite, only a brilliant professor of semiotics, Dr...Categorized as:
suspense crime law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc mystery fiction audiobook -
The Innocent Girls by B.R. Spangler
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTears stream down her face as she feels the cold blade press against her neck. The sweet scent of her daughter’s favorite strawberry pancakes all around, her last thought is for her beautiful girl. Please, please let Lisa have escaped...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc mystery audiobook fiction -
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Missed Connections by Alexandria Clarke
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHow far would you go for revenge? Veronica Bauer isn’t above homicide. Twelve years after a ruthless attack killed her mother and put her father in prison, she embarks on a mission to bring the real culprits to justice. As bodies start to drop, Detective Sheila Arden is assigned to the gruesome case, but she soon discovers that the truth is more complicated than she thought...Categorized as:
suspense crime law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc mystery fiction contemporary -
YOU DID THIS by Jamie Millen
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA sister’s worst nightmare. A homicide detective’s destiny.Everybody loves Claire’s little sister, Tina. But only Claire sees the twisted psychopath hiding behind her sister’s angelic face. When Tina is brutally murdered on her fourteenth birthday, the day Claire failed to walk her home from school, Claire never forgives herself. And neither does their mother...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement suspense police-procedural female-mc mystery audiobook fiction -
After the Fire by Jane Casey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsArson, accident or murder?After a fire rips through a North London tower block, two bodies are found locked in an 11th floor flat. But is the third victim that ensures the presence of detective Maeve Kerrigan and the murder squad. It appears that controversial MP Geoff Armstrong, trapped by the fire, chose to jump to his death rather than wait for rescue... -
The Writer by James Patterson, J.D. Barker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratings“Consider blocking out a few hours of uninterrupted reading time” for The Writer, #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson’s “Excellent…perfectly executed…genuinely suspenseful” (Booklist) thriller about a true-crime author swept up in a murder plot.“Entertaining…one gonzo plot twist follows the next…loads of fun... -
No Way Out by Cara Hunter
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIt's one of the most disturbing cases DI Fawley has ever worked. The Christmas holidays, and two children have just been pulled from the wreckage of their burning home in North Oxford. The toddler is dead, and his brother is soon fighting for his life... -
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...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement suspense police-procedural female-mc mystery fiction audiobook
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