Books like 'Killjoy'
Readers who enjoyed Killjoy by Ann Cleeves also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
mystery serial killer crime law-enforcement police-procedural amateur-sleuth female-mc cozy
-
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... -
![The Girl and the Secret Society by A.J. Rivers]()
The Girl and the Secret Society by A.J. Rivers
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEvil has many faces. This one you will never see coming.This is the bizarre and shocking case of Lakyn Monroe.In the midst of filming her show, Lakyn vanished without a trace.Four months have passed, and the unusual disappearance of the internet celebrity has garnered nationwide attention... -
![The Blossom Twins by Carol Wyer]()
The Blossom Twins by Carol Wyer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTheir parents thought they were hiding… One beautiful summer’s evening, thirteen-year-old twins Ivy and Erin Westmore snuggle down in a tent in their back garden, giggling and sharing secrets. When their mother goes to wake the girls the next morning, their tent is empty. The alarm is raised and Detective Natalie Ward is put onto the case... -
![Concealed Cargo: Children for Sale by Jodi Burnett]()
Concealed Cargo: Children for Sale by Jodi Burnett
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Special Agent Clay Jennings and his K9 partner, Ranger, take to the streets of Denver to fight human trafficking, he is shocked by the inordinate number of stolen innocents who’ve been forced into the sex trade. With each new face, his resolve to help these children escape their personal horror grows stronger... -
-
![Stalker on the Fens by Joy Ellis]()
Stalker on the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDETECTIVE NIKKI GALENA’S FRIEND THINKS SHE HAS A DEADLY STALKERDI Nikki Galena’s friend Helen Brook is involved in a serious accident where she is trapped in a collapsed cellar. After her hard-won recovery, Helen is still getting flashbacks to a man she says was down there with her and who confessed to a murder. But no trace of this man can be found...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![Whip Crack by Alex Smith]()
Whip Crack by Alex Smith
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEvery 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... -
![The Hangman by Mary Burton]()
The Hangman by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsJulia Vargas is a cop with a mission. When she’s not chasing down bad guys, Julia dedicates her time to investigating the Hangman serial killer…the same unsolved case that her father, Jim Vargas, was working on when he supposedly shot and killed himself three decades before. While rumors continue to swirl around her father’s death, Julia attempts to hunt down the truth...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![Fatal Witness by Robert Bryndza]()
Fatal Witness by Robert Bryndza
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsDetective Erika Foster is back in FATAL WITNESS – with a chilling new serial killer case in Robert Bryndza's multi-million bestselling crime thriller series!How do you find a killer who has destroyed all the evidence?Detective Erika Foster is on a late-night walk near her new house in Blackheath when she stumbles upon the brutal murder of Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc mystery fiction audiobook suspense -
![The Killing House by Claire McGowan]()
The Killing House by Claire McGowan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLong-buried secrets are being unearthed. And they're very close to home...Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire returns yet again to her hometown to investigate a spine-chilling case in THE KILLING HOUSE, the sixth novel in Claire McGowan's series. The Paula Maguire series is the perfect read for fans of Michael Connelly and Peter May... -
![Buried Angels by Patricia Gibney]()
Buried Angels by Patricia Gibney
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBubbles of cold sweat trickled down Faye’s spine. The hole wasn’t empty. Before she could turn and run, she caught the two sightless eyes staring up at her. Only then did she scream.When Faye Baker discovers a fragile child’s skull behind the walls of her new home, Detective Lottie Parker is called to investigate...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction -
![Cold Comfort by Trevor Douglas]()
Cold Comfort by Trevor Douglas
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHow do you catch a killer who never leaves a clue? Bridgette Casseldhorf is a rookie detective working her first murder case. The circumstances surrounding the murder of a young woman lead Bridgette to believe it’s the work of a serial killer, but nobody is listening... -
![The Silent Wife by Andy Maslen]()
The Silent Wife by Andy Maslen
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHer career on the line and an innocent woman charged with murder. Can she save them both?As bogus corruption charges loom over her, DS Kat Ballantyne finds herself deskbound and stuck with cold cases. Her hated boss, DI Carver, has given her just one week to explain how £50,000 found its way into her bank account. If she can’t, she’ll be lucky to have a desk at all...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc audiobook mystery fiction suspense -
![Guilty Mothers by Angela Marsons]()
Guilty Mothers by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShe lies on the floor, her blue eyes wide and unseeing, arms outstretched as if begging for help. Kneeling next to her, wearing a purple sequinned ballgown and holding a knife in shaking hands, is her daughter… In a quiet kitchen, where two mugs wait by the kettle to be filled, Sheryl Hawne lies in a pool of blood...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc mystery fiction audiobook suspense -
![Mania: An Alexander Gregory Thriller by LJ Ross]()
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:
cozy crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook -
-
![Silenced Girls: An absolutely addictive mystery thriller by Roger Stelljes]()
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... -
![Riddle Me This by Gina LaManna]()
Riddle Me This by Gina LaManna
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDetective Kate Rosetti is not a big fan of February 14th. Even worse than gigantic bouquets of roses and buckets of chocolate, however, are the love notes she’s been receiving from the murderer who very nearly stole her life.Unfortunately, a peaceful Valentine’s Day isn’t in the cards for Kate Rosetti... -
![The Secret Admirer by Carol Wyer]()
The Secret Admirer by Carol Wyer
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratings‘I tried to talk to you today but you snubbed me and walked away. It wasn’t wise to give me the brush-off, Gemma. I can be a truly good friend but I also make the perfect enemy.’ Sasha’s eighteen-year-old daughter Gemma was all she had in the world. Sasha fell pregnant with Gemma when she was still at school, and the two are as close as sisters... -
![Shadow's Siege by Mary Stone]()
Shadow's Siege by Mary Stone
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShadow Island is under siege.Just a few short months ago, Sheriff Rebecca West thought her toughest battles were behind her. But nothing could have prepared her for the turmoil she’s faced since coming to Shadow Island. Attempts on her life. Heartbreak. Betrayal. And that’s just the beginning.The worst is yet to come...Categorized as:
female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural crime mystery murder serial-killers fiction -
![Aberration by Lisa Regan]()
Aberration by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFBI analyst Kassidy Bishop is assigned to the “For You” killer’s task force after a series of sadistic murders bearing the same signature arise in different parts of the country.The homicides are both calculated and savage, occurring in different states, but bearing the same signature: the words “for you” scribbled at each crime scene... -
![Vulnerable by Mary Burton]()
Vulnerable by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Smallest Mistake Three went in; one came out. For five years, no trace has been found of two high-school friends who went hiking in the woods near Nashville. The third teen, Amber Ryder, was discovered at the bottom of a ravine with a broken arm, head trauma--and zero memory of the horror that put her there... -
![Cold Justice Series Box Set: Volume I: Books 1-3 by Toni Anderson]()
Cold Justice Series Box Set: Volume I: Books 1-3 by Toni Anderson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNow you can get the first three books of the Cold Justice Series in one bundle! Justice isn’t always black or white. Sometimes it’s cold and dark. A Cold Dark Place: Former CIA assassin Alex Parker works for The Gateway Project, a clandestine government organization hell-bent on taking out serial killers and pedophiles before they enter the justice system...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook -
![Once Lost by Blake Pierce]()
Once Lost by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsStill reeling from her former partner Lucy’s death and from her partner Bill’s PTSD, FBI Special Agent Riley Paige does her best to try to keep herself stable and to patch together her family life. She has to decide what to about April’s boyfriend, recovering from his abusive father, and about Blaine, who is ready for their relationship to move ahead... -
![Shadow's Force by Mary Stone]()
Shadow's Force by Mary Stone
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhich is more dangerous...Mother or Human Nature?Twelve hours earlier, Interim Sheriff Rebecca West was enjoying a casual lunchtime burger. Now she’s preparing for a hurricane headed straight for Shadow Island. While hauling sandbags and calming town officials, the last thing she needs is a stunned man stumbling into the sheriff’s department.Covered in blood... -
![Mad Jack by Stacy M. Jones]()
Mad Jack by Stacy M. Jones
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSomething sinister lurks behind the perfect homes and well-manicured lawns of Mulberry Grove. Wealthy tech investor Jack Harlow, known to the FBI as Mad Jack, has been running a personal development program for the past ten years. Locals call it a cult. Few leave, and those who try, end up dead under mysterious circumstances. Six couples in all over the last five years... -
-
![One For the Ages by J.D. Kirk]()
One For the Ages by J.D. Kirk
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen a blood-soaked old man is spotted wandering through a sleepy fishing village in the far north of Scotland, his neighbours think he’s been in an accident.Until he leads them to his home, and to the mutilated remains of his late wife.It is the first murder that the remote Highland village has ever seen. It will not be the last. Someone is targeting the elderly and vulnerable in their homes... -
![Edinburgh Midnight by Carole Lawrence]()
Edinburgh Midnight by Carole Lawrence
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSuperstition and murder haunt nineteenth-century Scotland in a twisting mystery by the prize-winning author of Edinburgh Twilight and Edinburgh Dusk.Spiritualism has captured the public’s imagination. Séances are all the rage, and Detective Ian Hamilton’s otherwise sensible aunt Lillian is not immune to their allure. But for Ian, indulging her superstitions has its limits... -
![Shoot the Breeze by Gina LaManna]()
Shoot the Breeze by Gina LaManna
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome to St. Paul, Minnesota—home to strong coffee, deadly winters, and Detective Kate Rosetti—a rising star in the local homicide department. When a young woman turns up dead along the Mississippi River in her latest assignment, Detective Rosetti quickly realizes it’s the work of a notorious cross-country serial killer... -
![The Sleepover by Carol Wyer]()
The Sleepover by Carol Wyer
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsRoxy had a secret. Now she’s gone. When fourteen-year-old Roxy says she’s going for a sleepover at her best friend Ellie’s house, Cathy sees no reason to check her daughter’s story. The two families are neighbours, and the girls are in and out of each other’s homes every day. It is a decision she will regret... -
![Her Last Whisper by Jennifer Chase]()
Her Last Whisper by Jennifer Chase
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsKatie focuses her mind, trying to keep another anxiety attack at bay. The victim’s long brown hair is slick and wet, her body rigid in the grass...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural adult book cold-case domestic-drama -
![Below the Bones by Kendra Elliot]()
Below the Bones by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA former FBI special agent must come out of retirement to solve a murder in the fifth novella in the Widow’s Island series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot.Former FBI special agent Cate Wilde is a new bakery and bookstore owner—and retirement is now complete with a doctor boyfriend... -
![Taker of Lives by Leslie Wolfe]()
Taker of Lives by Leslie Wolfe
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA GRIPPING CRIME THRILLER How can you outrun a killer you won’t see coming?They are the most violent, blood-thirsty, and vicious of criminals. While hunting for them, FBI profilers call these monsters UNSUBS, short for unknown subjects of ongoing investigations...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![Once Bound by Blake Pierce]()
Once Bound by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsONCE BOUND is book #12 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download with over 1,000 five star reviews! In this heart-pounding thriller, women are being found dead on train tracks across the country, forcing the FBI into a mad race against time to catch the serial killer... -
![Lady's Well by L.J. Ross]()
Lady's Well by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTHERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER...When the ancient waters of Lady’s Well in the rural village of Holystone begin to run red, it seems to be a nasty Hallowe’en prank and nothing more. But things take a sinister turn when the entire village suffers severe poisoning, and one old man turns up dead... -
![Unsolved by James Patterson]()
Unsolved by James Patterson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAvid fans of million-copy bestselling author Robert Bryndza's serial killer thrillers following the cases of Detective Erika Foster will be thrilled by the prospect of Unsolved, which also features a determined female lead as she pieces together clues to bring down an elusive serial...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook book -
-
![Fatal Lies by Mary Stone]()
Fatal Lies by Mary Stone
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSex, lies, and murder.Two months after the murder of her fashion-model cousin and her own near kidnapping, Sky Stryker is more determined than ever to expose the dark side of the fashion industry and memorialize her cousin’s life. Even if it means dredging up her own long-suppressed but never forgotten horrific nightmares.Then another model is attacked, beaten within an inch of her life...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural kidnapping mystery murder serial-killers fiction -
![The Unseen by Victor Methos]()
The Unseen by Victor Methos
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe horrific murders of two prostitutes shock even the most hardened detectives of the Cheyenne Police Department. With the knowledge that karmic justice will eventually catch up to everyone, Detective Ethan Baudin and Kyle Dixon take the case. Still reeling from the murder of his wife's lover, Detective Dixon is descending into a world of alcoholism and depression... -
![Before Evil by Alex Kava]()
Before Evil by Alex Kava
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSpecial Agent Maggie O'Dell doesn't need to set foot at a crime scene to catch a serial killer. From her small Quantico office, she's profiled criminals using just Polaroids and faxed copies of evidence from homicide detectives across the country.Then comes Albert Stucky . . . and nothing will ever be the same... -
![Dark of Night by Barbara Nickless]()
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:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc amateur-sleuth mystery fiction suspense -
![Once Cold by Blake Pierce]()
Once Cold by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThere is one cold case that has plagued Special Agent Riley Paige for her entire career, dwelling at the corners of her consciousness, forcing her to return to it again and again. The only case she has never solved, she has finally put it out of her mind. Until she gets a call from the murdered victim’s mother... -
![Once Stalked by Blake Pierce]()
Once Stalked by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen two soldiers are found dead on a huge military base in California, apparently killed by gunshot, military investigators are stumped. Who is killing its soldiers, inside the secure confines of its own base?And why?The FBI is called in, and Riley Paige is summoned to take the lead... -
![Once Forsaken by Blake Pierce]()
Once Forsaken by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Special Agent Riley Paige finally decides to take a well-needed rest from the FBI, a request for help comes from the most unlikely source: her own daughter. April’s best friend is devastated by the death of her sister, a freshman at Georgetown. Worse, she is convinced that the suicide was staged, and that her sister was murdered at the hands of a serial killer... -
![The Creek Killer by Dominika Best]()
The Creek Killer by Dominika Best
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsHow would you prove you weren’t dead? Jane Smith has been running from danger her whole life. That danger followed her everywhere, leaving a trail of death in its wake. When the mummified bodies of six girls are discovered in the wetlands of Los Angeles, Jane is surprised to learn one of the dead girls bears her name—the name she abandoned twenty-five years ago to go into hiding...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural female-mc mystery fiction contemporary thriller -
![Senseless by Mary Burton]()
Senseless by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEvery Serial Killer Knows. . . The vicious burns scarring the victims' flesh reveal the agony of their last moments. Each woman was branded with a star, then stabbed through the heart. With every death, a vengeful killer finds a brief, blissful moment of calm. But soon it's time for the bloodshed to start again. . . The Perfect Time. . -
![Last Lullaby by Carol Wyer]()
Last Lullaby by Carol Wyer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCharlotte’s baby is safe. But is she? When the body of young mother Charlotte Brannon is discovered by her husband in their immaculate, silver bedroom, Detective Natalie Ward is first on the scene. The killer has left a chilling calling card: the word ‘Why?’ written on the wall in blood... -
-
![Darkness First by James Hayman]()
Darkness First by James Hayman
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe mutilated body of a young woman. The town doctor lying comatose in the road. A hundred and fifty tablets of Canadian OxyContin. This is the havoc that a merciless killer has wreaked on a sleepy Maine seaport.As detectives Maggie Savage and Michael McCabe investigate, they realize the man they are after does not exist. Nobody knows his real name. Nobody has seen his face... -
![The Dare by Carol Wyer]()
The Dare by Carol Wyer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJane’s daughter is a good girl. What is she hiding? When thirteen-year-old Savannah Hopkins doesn’t come straight home from school, as she always does, her mother Jane immediately raises the alarm. Leading the investigation is Detective Natalie Ward whose daughter Leigh is the same age as Savannah... -
![Fear No Truth by LynDee Walker]()
Fear No Truth by LynDee Walker
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsASIN B07KYTLJ6S moved to the most recent editionFor fans of James Patterson and Melinda Leigh: Introducing a brand new series from bestselling thriller author LynDee Walker! Two dead girls.One determined Texas Ranger.Three horrifying truths... -
![Alter Ego by Brian Freeman]()
Alter Ego by Brian Freeman
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen a freak auto accident kills a driver on the remote roads outside Duluth, Jonathan Stride is disturbed to discover that the victim appears to be a "ghost," with a false identity and no evidence to suggest who he really was. Alarmingly, a gun is found in the car--and the gun has recently been fired... -
![Once Lured by Blake Pierce]()
Once Lured by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsONCE LURED is book #4 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE.Women are turning up dead on a lone stretch of highway in Delaware. Some go missing for an inexplicable length of time, while others are turning up dead, their bodies left out for display in bizarre and mysterious ways... -
![The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey]()
The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsTwo girls vanished. A woman buried alive. Between two crimes—decades of secrets yet to be unearthed in a pulse-pounding novel by the Edgar Award–nominated author of Unspeakable Things.Summer 1980: With no fear of a local superstition, three girls go into a Minnesota wood. Only one comes out. Dead silent. Memory gone. No trace of her friends. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
