Books like 'Shame the Devil'
Readers who enjoyed Shame the Devil by George P. Pelecanos also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
mystery action / adventure thriller crime hard-boiled super-powered suspense noir revenge law-enforcement
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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... -
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... -
No Way Back by Rick Mofina, Christian Rummel
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSan Francisco crime reporter Tom Reed is burned out. On the day he decides to finally quit the news business, a sensational story breaks. A heart-stopping robbery-homicide at a jewelry store. The suspects have shot and killed a police officer before fleeing with a female hostage. Reed rushes to the scene, his passion resurrected for one last big story...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Dark Night of the Soul by Kristi Belcamino, Sonja Field
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGia Santella, the fast-driving, hard-drinking, karate-trained free spirit, has finally put her dark past behind her. UNFORTUNATELY, the past isn't done with her yet. The third book in a new, exciting series featuring an unforgettable new character by the Anthony, Barry & Macavity finalist and crime writer .. -
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Butcher's Moon by Richard Stark, Joe Barrett
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe sixteenth Parker novel, Butcher’s Moon is more than twice as long most of the master heister’s adventures, and absolutely jammed with the action, violence, and nerve-jangling tension readers have come to expect... -
Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor a professional criminal and a relentless arson investigator, fear and revenge spread like wildfire in a an incendiary thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.Hell comes to Southern California every October. It rides in on searing Santa Ana winds that blast at near hurricane force, igniting voracious wildfires. Master thief Danny Cole longs for the flames... -
Little Girl Lost by Cheryl Bradshaw
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFor the past two years, former detective Georgiana "Gigi" Germaine has been living off the grid, until today, when she hears some disturbing news that shakes her. Georgiana's brother-in-law has been murdered, her seven-year-old niece kidnapped. As the hours waste away, Georgiana races back to a town she left behind, and a former life she's still not ready to face...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled heist investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure -
Dark Houses by Helen H. Durrant
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTHE STUNNING NEW CRIME MYSTERY FEATURING D.I. GRECO BY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR HELEN H. DURRANT A young woman is found brutally murdered in an empty house Detective Stephen Greco and his team must piece together her life as quickly as possible. Within twenty-four hours there is another horrific murder using the same method... -
Tell No One / Gone For Good by Harlan Coben
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben comes an unforgettable duet of classic novels—two top-notch thrillers filled with the author’s signature storytelling genius.TELL NO ONEFor Dr. David Beck, the loss was shattering. And every day for the past eight years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The gleaming lake. The pale moonlight. The piercing screams... -
Blueblood by Matthew Iden
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...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
Cold Kill by Stephen Leather
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 17 ratings"While investigating a crew of people-traffickers…Dan Shepherd discovers a cross-Channel currency-smuggling operation. Posing as a low-level criminal, Shepherd infiltrates the gang, befriending its London soldiers and establishing contact with the Albanian gangster who masterminds the business from his swank Paris flat...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
Blood of Others by Rick Mofina
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe disappearance and murder of a lonely San Francisco insurance clerk puts a relentless crime reporter and legendary homicide cop on separate tracks in their pursuit of a killer.The suspect lures solitary women out of their quiet worlds and into his nightmare as he races the clock and travels the globe searching for the one woman who will forgive the unforgivable...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
Lockstep by Robert P. French
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA mysterious kidnapping. A political ransom. To save a child, an ex-cop with a dark past must risk his future… Recovering addict Cal Rogan would do anything to preserve his relationship with his daughter. So when one of her friends disappears, Cal splits his efforts between three separate cases... -
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... -
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The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"The Dead Tracks" is the second in the David Raker series from Tim Weaver. A serial killer more terrifying than you could ever imagine...Seventeen-year-old Megan Carver was an unlikely runaway. A straight - a student from a happy home, she studied hard and rarely got into trouble. Six months on, she's never been found. Missing persons investigator David Raker knows what it's like to grieve...Categorized as:
crime investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt's a beautiful place to die... The latest superb novel from EDGAR AWARD-winning author of THE LOCK ARTIST. In the dead of winter a young man is found hanging from a tree on a remote shore of Lake Superior known as Misery Bay. There's no evidence of foul play. Nothing to suggest it's anything other than a tragic teenage suicide...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
The Things you find in Rockpools by Gregg Dunnett
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhy has Billy Wheatley become a favorite character for thousands of readers? Eleven-year-old Billy lives a lonely life with his father in a windswept clifftop house. Until a tourist girl vanishes from the beach below. A huge police search takes over the island, but fails to uncover what happened. And Billy can’t resist getting involved... -
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...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCritically acclaimed and bestselling crime writer James Lee Burke delivers his most exciting thriller ever featuring beloved hero Dave Robicheaux, and this time he's sleuthing his way through Louisiana's hotbed of sin and uncertainty.In Crusader's Cross, a deathbed confession from an old schoolmate reminds Dave Robicheaux of a girl he once knew, sending him on a hunt for her whereabouts...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
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...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
What Lies Beneath by Bill Kitson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDetective Mike Nash thought that moving back to Yorkshire from London would give him a quieter life. Little did he know . . .Two skeletons are discovered in Lamentation Tarn, a mountain lake.Talented detective Mike Nash and his team have little evidence with which to work, until a surprising discovery prompts them to contact law enforcement agencies in Eastern Europe... -
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...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
A Dance At The Slaughterhouse by Lawrence Block
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn Matt Scudder's mind, money, power, and position elevate nobody above morality and the law. Now the ex-cop and unlicensed p.i. has been hired to prove that socialite Richard Thurman orchestrated the brutal murder of his beautiful, pregnant wife. During Scudder's hard drinking years, he left a piece of his soul on every seedy corner of the Big Apple...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir thriller action-adventure -
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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:
amateur-sleuth crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense action-adventure adult -
The Dead Yard by Adrian McKinty
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhile on holiday in Spain, Michael Forsythe is arrested in the chaos of a soccer riot and hauled off to jail... -
The Secret Fear by Solomon Carter
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDETECTIVE JOE HOGARTH IS CALLED TO A BRUTAL MURDER AT A TURKISH TAKEAWAY. THE TELL-TALE MARK OF A ONCE NOTORIOUS LONDON CRIME FAMILY IS FOUND ON THE VICTIM’S BODY. HOGARTH FEARS THE NEW CASE COULD OPEN A PANDORA'S BOX. BUT HE HAS NO CHOICE.HOGARTH MUST FIND THE KILLER AND TAKE ON THE DEADLIEST RISKSMurdered kebab shop owner Baba Sen was beloved by his clientele... -
The Outfit by Richard Stark
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen the Outfit tries to kill him, Parker declares war. Ripping off the syndicate is easy, but going one-on-one with Bronson, the Outfit's big boss, is the hard part. Hard for anyone but Parker, because the entire underworld understands that whatever Parker does -- he does for keep... -
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...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
Blood is the Sky by Steve Hamilton
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBefore Blood is the Sky, the Alex McKnight series had already hit bestseller lists and won awards, but this novel took it to a whole new level. Set in the forests of northern Ontario, a land of savage beauty and sudden danger, Blood is the Sky shows why Steve Hamilton is one of the most acclaimed crime novelists writing today...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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... -
Her Last Wish by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFBI Agent Rachel Gift, 33, unparalleled for her ability to enter the minds of serial killers, is a rising star in the Behavioral Crimes Unit—until a routine doctor visit reveals she has but a few months left to live.Not wishing to burden others with her pain, Rachel decides, agonizing as it is, not to tell anyone—not even her boss, her partner, her husband, or her seven-year-old daughter... -
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...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
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Early Autumn by Robert B. Parker
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"[Robert B.] Parker's brilliance is in his simple dialogue, and in Spenser."--The Philadelphia InquirerA bitter divorce is only the beginning. First the father hires thugs to kidnap his son. Then the mother hires Spenser to get the boy back. But as soon as Spenser senses the lay of the land, he decides to do some kidnapping of his own...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
Bad To The Bones by James Harper
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratings**Alternative cover edition for ASIN: B076H9C28F here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...**What would you give, how far would you go, to find a lost child and redeem your soul? And will it ever be far enough? Ten years ago, Linda Clayton's son Daniel disappeared. The love and support of her husband Robbie was all that kept her sane—until the day he ran away... -
Cinnamon Skin by John D. MacDonald
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Travis McGee's friend Meyer lent his boat to his niece Norma, and her new husband Even, the boat exploded out in the waters of the Florida Keys. Travis McGee thinks it's no accident, and clues lead him to ponder possibilities of drugs and also to wonder where Evan was when his wife was killed...."Proves again that MacDonald keeps getting better with each new adventure...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
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...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement noir suspense thriller action-adventure -
Next Victim by Helen H. Durrant
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA young man’s body is found burnt and tortured by a Manchester canal. He was a journalism student who told his friends he was working on a big story. His death leads the police on a false trail. Detective Rachel King investigates. She has a secret, the love of her life is a well-known villain. He has recently come back on the scene... -
Chance by Robert B. Parker, Burt Reynolds
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSearching for a big-time hoodlum's missing son-in-law, Spencer and Hawk probe organized crime...Categorized as:
crime hard-boiled investigator law-enforcement suspense thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Lupa nera by Juan Gómez-Jurado
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRestare viva non è mai stato tanto difficile. Dopo Regina Rossa, che ha incoronato Antonia Scott come la nuova protagonista assoluta del thriller spagnolo, il secondo capitolo della trilogia bestseller di Juan Gómez-Jurado. Antonia Scott e Jon Gutiérrez sono ancora alla ricerca di Sandra Fajardo, quando Mentor li convoca per un altro caso al momento più pressante... -
Diamonds Aren't Forever by Connie Shelton
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA nearly flawless museum robbery, a missing million-dollar necklace, a stalled police investigation. For the victim of the crime, the situation calls for desperate measures.Penelope Fitzpatrick wasn’t born to wealth. Her grandfather fed the family by selling his small stash of gemstones smuggled from tsarist Russia when the monarchy fell... -
See Her Burn by Margaret Murphy
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPLEASE NOTE THIS BOOK WAS FIRST PUBLISHED AS “THE DISPOSSESSED”A woman’s body is found stuffed inside a wheelie bin. Stripped of her clothes. Drained of her blood. Thrown out with the rubbish.Detective Jeff Rickman is on the case. Within hours, the police have their prime suspect. And it’s Rickman himself.Elsewhere, a cruel prank ends with four innocent people burnt to death... -
Breakout by Richard Stark
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsParker's back in jail, but not just any old jail; it's the correctional center, where people without bail wait before and during their trial. So Parker's first order of business is to build a network among these cons and break on through to the other side... -
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City of the Dead by Kristi Belcamino
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe lives life fast, hard, and deadly…Gia Santella no longer cares about the consequences. She copes with her parents death by drinking, spending, and kicking ass when it’s necessary. After an unexpected letter reveals that her loved ones’ tragedy was murder, Gia changes her focus to revenge...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth crime hard-boiled suspense thriller action-adventure assassinations book -
The Silent Boy by Cheryl Bradshaw, Janet Fix
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPrivate Investigator Sloane Monroe is about to face the most challenging case of her life, and this time, it hits a little too close to home.In the dirty hallway of a local tavern, six-year-old Louie Alvarez plays with his race cars, waiting for his mother to take him home. A scream rips through the air...Categorized as:
suspense crime law-enforcement investigator thriller heist hard-boiled amateur-sleuth -
Blood Brother by Jack Kerley
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDetective Carson Ryder's sworn duty is to track killers down. He's never revealed the fact that his brother, Jeremy, is one of America's most notorious killers - albeit imprisoned. Now though, his brother's escaped and is at large in New York. With Jeremy the chief suspect in a series of horrifying mutilation-murders, a mysterious video demands Ryder be brought into help... -
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... -
No Way to Die by M.D. Grayson
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSeattle mathematician Thomas Rasmussen had everything to live for. He had a beautiful, loving wife and two great kids. He was well known and respected in his field . His startup company – Applied Cryptographic Solutions recently finished building a revolutionary decryption device called The Starfire Protocol that was already attracting offers in the millions... -
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...
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