Books like 'The Worst Thing'
Readers who enjoyed The Worst Thing by Aaron Elkins also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary action / adventure psychological kidnapping suspense thriller law-enforcement
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High Force by LJ Ross
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHell has unleashed a demon – and he’s coming for you… Detective Chief Inspector Ryan’s worst nightmare has just become a reality. Notorious serial killer The Hacker has escaped prison and kidnapped one of his best detectives from her own home. His brutality is the stuff of legend – Ryan lost his sister and nearly his own life bringing the man to justice first time around... -
![The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni]()
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... -
![Wicked by Jana Deleon]()
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... -
![In the Darkness by Mike Omer]()
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:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
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![Mercy by David Baldacci]()
Mercy by David Baldacci
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFBI Agent Atlee Pine’s harrowing search for her long-lost sister Mercy reaches a boiling point in this breakneck thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. For her entire life, FBI agent Atlee Pine has been searching for her twin sister, Mercy, who was abducted at the age of six and never seen again... -
![Hidden Creed by Alex Kava]()
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... -
![Our Stolen Pieces by James Hunt]()
Our Stolen Pieces by James Hunt
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen the morning after a slumber party reveals two missing girls, a newly minted Detective and a young veteran are assigned the case. Recently partnered, the pair of detectives must set aside their troubled pasts to recover the pair of girls who may have been coerced by a stranger who had kidnapped before... -
![Beneath Blackwater River by Leslie Wolfe, Gwendolyn Druyor]()
Beneath Blackwater River by Leslie Wolfe, Gwendolyn Druyor
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsListening Length 13 hours and 4 minutesShe looked alive, her hair drifting freely in the water, her red lips gently parted, as if to let her final breath escape. A small locket floated by her face, attached to her neck with a silver chain…When Detective Kay Sharp first left Mount Chester—population 3,823—in her rear-view mirror, she promised never to look back... -
![The Knight by Steven James]()
The Knight by Steven James
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn The Knight, the third installment in the bestselling series of thrillers featuring FBI criminologist Patrick Bowers, the stakes have never been higher.Agent Bowers is used to tracking the country's most dangerous killers, but now it looks like a killer is tracking him... -
![A Killer's Wife by Victor Methos]()
A Killer's Wife by Victor Methos
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Neon Lawyer comes a gripping thriller about a prosecutor confronted with the darkest part of her past and the worst fears for her future…Fourteen years ago, prosecutor Jessica Yardley’s husband went to prison for a series of brutal murders. She’s finally created a life with her daughter and is a well-respected attorney. She’s moving on... -
![Little Broken Things by Cheryl Bradshaw]()
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... -
![The Bishop by Steven James]()
The Bishop by Steven James
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsF.B.I. Special Agent Patrick Bowers's cutting edge 21st century geospatial investigative techniques and impeccable logic have helped him track some of the country's most grisly killers. But those skills are pushed to the limit in this new installment of the highly acclaimed, award winning The Bowers Files series... -
![The Patient Man by Joy Ellis]()
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:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White]()
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:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
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![Gallery of the Dead by Chris Carter]()
Gallery of the Dead by Chris Carter
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratings‘Thirty-seven years in the force, and if I was allowed to choose just one thing to erase from my mind, what’s inside that room would be it.'That’s what a LAPD Lieutenant tells Detectives Hunter and Garcia of the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit as they arrive at one of the most shocking crime scenes they have ever attended...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child]()
The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAgent Pendergast faces his latest challenge in this next installment of the #1 NYT bestselling series by acclaimed authors Preston and Child, the second in the Leng Trilogy.Following the events of Bloodless, FBI Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast and Constance Greene return. Against all odds, Constance has found a way back to the place of her origins, New York City in the late 1800s...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![To Die For by David Baldacci]()
To Die For by David Baldacci
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author, David Baldacci, the 6:20 Man returns, this time sent to the Pacific Northwest to aid the FBI in a case that gets more complicated with the more questions Devine asks—and he’s about to come face-to-face with his nemesis, the girl on the train. Travis Devine has become a pro at adapting to any situation to accomplish the mission set in front of him... -
![Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne]()
Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsProfessor Theo Cray caught one of the most prolific serial killers in history using revolutionary scientific methods. Cut off from university research because of the shroud of suspicion around him after the death of his former student and the aftermath of catching his quarry, Cray tries to rebuild his life but finds himself drawn into another unsolved case...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth audiobook book -
![Impostor by L.J. Ross]()
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:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![Unbound Ties: When the past unravels, all that’s left is death ... by Liz Mistry]()
Unbound Ties: When the past unravels, all that’s left is death ... by Liz Mistry
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen the past unravels, all that’s left is death.Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly,When DI Gus McGuire is called out to the murder of a pregnant woman, the crime scene tells him that this killer is not only taunting them … he’s also just getting started.Lavender’s green,With ritualistic precision, the killer has placed a series of clues beneath the victim’s feet...Categorized as:
suspense law-enforcement thriller mystery crime police-procedural domestic-drama killer -
![Cross Justice by James Patterson]()
Cross Justice by James Patterson
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFor Alex Cross, the toughest cases hit close to home-and in this deadly thrill ride, he's trying to solve the most personal mystery of his life.When his cousin is accused of a heinous crime, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in over three decades...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![Their Lost Daughters by Joy Ellis]()
Their Lost Daughters by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsTWO GIRLS GO TO A PARTY, ONLY ONE RETURNS ALIVEToni, the surviving teenager, is found delirious, wandering the muddy fields. She has been drugged and it’s uncertain whether she’ll survive. She says she saw her friend Emily being dragged away from the party. But no one knows who Emily is or even if she’s still alive. . .Meanwhile the drowned body of another girl has been found on an isolated beach... -
![Shattered by Allison Brennan]()
Shattered by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsOver a span of twenty years, four boys have been kidnapped from their bedrooms, suffocated, and buried nearby in a shallow grave. Serial killer or coincidence?That’s the question investigative reporter Maxine Revere sets out to answer when an old friend begs her to help exonerate his wife, who has been charged with their son’s recent murder. But Max can do little to help because the police and D...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![Fallen by Karin Slaughter]()
Fallen by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThere's no police training stronger than a cop's instinct. Faith Mitchell's mother isn't answering her phone. Her front door is open. There's a bloodstain above the knob. Her infant daughter is hidden in a shed behind the house. All that the Georgia Bureau of Investigations taught Faith Mitchell goes out the window when she charges into her mother's house, gun drawn... -
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![Genesis by Karin Slaughter]()
Genesis by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen a tortured young woman enters the trauma center of an Atlanta hospital, Dr. Sara Linton is thrust into a desperate police investigation with Special Agent Will Trent and his partner, Faith Mitchell. Though guarding their own wounds and their own secrets, Sara, Will, and Faith find that they are all that stand between a madman and his next victim...Categorized as:
kidnapping law-enforcement suspense thriller 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Rook by Steven James]()
The Rook by Steven James
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn arsonist has struck a top-secret research facility at a key US naval base. But it's not just a random terrorist attack. These people were after something specific. When Special Agent Patrick Bowers is called in to investigate, he is drawn into a deadly web of intrigue and deception... -
![Shadow Sands by Robert Bryndza, Kristin Atherton]()
Shadow Sands by Robert Bryndza, Kristin Atherton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe internationally bestselling author of Nine Elms and The Girl in the Ice is back with a nail-biting new Kate Marshall case, a woman with a dark secret and a powerful sense of justice.When Kate Marshall finds the bloated body of a young man floating in the Shadow Sands reservoir, the authorities label it a tragic accident... -
![Shattered Rhythm by R.B. Hilliard]()
Shattered Rhythm by R.B. Hilliard
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsChaz Jones’ life hasn’t been easy. Meltdown’s newest drummer doesn’t give a damn about anything except for his kit, his sticks and his throne. Music offers him a way out and he takes it, only to discover it isn’t enough. Nothing is ever enough. … Until Olivia Olivia Marshall had her dream job, her dream boyfriend, and her dream life... -
![Gone by Lisa Gardner, Anna Fields]()
Gone by Lisa Gardner, Anna Fields
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsFrom New York Times bestseller Lisa Gardner, author of Alone and The Killing Hour, comes a thriller that goes from heartbreaking to heartstopping in the blink of an eye... -
![The Hard Way by Lee Child]()
The Hard Way by Lee Child
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsJack Reacher is alone, the way he likes it.He watches a man cross a New York street and drive away in a Mercedes. The car contains $1 million of ransom money. Reacher's job is to make sure it all turns out right - money paid, family safely returned. But Reacher is in the middle of a nasty little war where nothing is simple... -
![A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison]()
A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a taut thriller about one author at the pinnacle of her career, whose past threatens to destroy everything she has—and everyone she knows.A great writer knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. But for one author, the biggest twist of all is her own murder... -
![The House of Cross by James Patterson]()
The House of Cross by James Patterson
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe thirty-second instalment in James Patterson's globally bestselling Alex Cross series. It’s time to put the guns down, Detective Cross. Even if you knew the way out of this place, we would catch you.A serial killer is taking out America’s finest legal minds, and Alex Cross is called to investigate their brutal murders... -
![Home by Harlan Coben]()
Home by Harlan Coben
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsTen years after the high-profile kidnapping of two young boys, only one returns home in Harlan Coben’s gripping Myron Bolitar thriller.A decade ago, kidnappers grabbed two boys from wealthy families and demanded ransom, then went silent. No trace of the boys ever surfaced... -
![The Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner]()
The Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsEach time he struck, he took two victims. Day after day, he waited for the first body to be discovered--a body containing all the clues the investigators needed to find the second victim, who waited...prey to a slow but certain death. The clock ticked--salvation was possible.The police were never in time.Years have passed; but for this killer, time has stood still... -
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![Missed Connections by Alexandria Clarke]()
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 law-enforcement thriller kidnapping mystery fiction crime police-procedural -
![YOU DID THIS by Jamie Millen]()
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... -
![The Truth of the Matter by Andrew Klavan]()
The Truth of the Matter by Andrew Klavan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"Never give in." Ever since he woke up in a terrorist torture chamber--with a year of his life erased from his mind--Charlie West has been on the run. He has one desperate hope of getting his life back: track down the mysterious agent named Waterman. But in fact, reaching Waterman--and recovering the secrets lost in his own memory--will only increase his danger...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure book children christian contemporary -
![Mastermind by Andrew Mayne]()
Mastermind by Andrew Mayne
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA mysterious electrical storm plunges Manhattan into darkness. As a strange, smothering fog rolls in, all communication crashes. In the blink of an eye, the island seems to vanish into a void.FBI special agent Jessica Blackwood and brilliant scientist Dr. Theo Cray know this isn’t a freak accident. It’s a sinister sleight of hand...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth audiobook book -
![Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg]()
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... -
![Before He Vanished by Debra Webb]()
Before He Vanished by Debra Webb
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHis disappearance changed her life forever.Twenty-five years ago, Halle Lane’s best friend vanished from their Tennessee town. When a childhood photo brings Liam Hart to Winchester, Halle is certain the man is the same child who vanished. Now Liam seeks out Halle to help him investigate the circumstances of his mysterious past... -
![Timber by Courtney Lynn Rose]()
Timber by Courtney Lynn Rose
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTimberCaelan Finnigan is mine.Just because she's technically a clubwh*re, and I haven't claimed her as my ol' lady, doesn't change a thing. She's been mine since she was twenty-three, she just didn't realize it.Even though I swore I'd never take an ol' lady, things are changing. I'm changing. Watching my sister getting married, my older brother having a baby-- I want all that... -
![Hidden Obsession by Maddie Wade, India Kells]()
Hidden Obsession by Maddie Wade, India Kells
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOn the hot streets of Miami, someone is watching, waiting for the perfect moment to strike at a team member of the Alliance Agency. Cleo Darwin is the stunning violet-haired office manager of the Alliance Agency. She is capable, controlled and respected by the people she works with. But the woman who has such complete control has a secret...Categorized as:
suspense law-enforcement contemporary psychological military crime action-adventure fiction -
![The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson]()
The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsINSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThis time it's Alex Cross on trial.Alex Cross is on the wrong side of the law. Serving a suspension from the force while he awaits trial for murder, Cross has been branded as a trigger-happy cop, another bad apple walking the streets with a gun, an accusation that Cross will do anything to refute...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![The Next Accident by Lisa Gardner]()
The Next Accident by Lisa Gardner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFBI Agent Pierce Quincy is haunted by his daughter's death in a drunk-driving accident. Pierce knew about his daughter's problem with alcohol, and about her loneliness. And so, he is sure, did the man who killed her. Rainie Conner is an ex-cop with a past overshadowed by violence. She was once involved with Pierce in a harrowing case that brought them together personally and professionally...Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
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![The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean]()
The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA woman being held captive is willing to risk everything to save herself, her unborn child, and her captor’s latest victim in this claustrophobic thriller in the tradition of Misery and Room. On an isolated farm in the United Kingdom, a woman is trapped by the monster who kidnapped her seven years ago... -
![Masked Prey by John Sandford]()
Masked Prey by John Sandford
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLucas Davenport investigates a vitriolic blog that seems to be targeting the children of U.S. politicians in the latest thriller by #1 New York Times-bestselling author John Sandford.The daughter of a U.S. Senator is monitoring her social media presence when she finds a picture of herself on a strange blog. And there are other pictures . .Categorized as:
law-enforcement suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary -
![Fixed in Blood by T.E. Woods]()
Fixed in Blood by T.E. Woods
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPerfect for fans of Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter thrillers and the novels of Lisa Gardner and Karin Slaughter, the gritty, action-packed Justice series continues as a depraved mind taunts those who seek retribution on both sides of the law. I become whatever they want. Whatever they need. Seattle Chief of Detectives Mort Grant is still reeling from losing his daughter—again... -
![The Girl in the Snow by Alexandria Clarke]()
The Girl in the Snow by Alexandria Clarke
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA retired FBI agent. A heartstopping tragedy. Carolina Caccia, a divorced mother of two, confronts her worst fears when her son goes missing during a family ski trip. As she discovers her son has been taken, she must revisit her dark past to rescue her child...Categorized as:
suspense law-enforcement kidnapping thriller mystery contemporary season-winter young-adult -
![The Pretty Dead Girls by Skylar Finn]()
The Pretty Dead Girls by Skylar Finn
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen two young girls go missing from a small Georgia town, the crime remains unsolved for nearly thirty years.When Savannah moves home to the small town of Humble, Georgia, she has no intention of getting involved in a kidnapping investigation. But when her older brother Mac becomes the main suspect, Savannah launches a secret investigation in order to clear her brother’s name...Categorized as:
suspense law-enforcement kidnapping mystery romance psychological police-procedural murder -
![Unseen by Karin Slaughter]()
Unseen by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsKarin Slaughter’s novels featuring Special Agent Will Trent are utterly riveting and masterfully drawn. Her latest thriller, Unseen, pits detectives, lovers, and enemies against one another in an unforgettable standoff between righteous courage and deepest evil...Categorized as:
kidnapping law-enforcement suspense thriller 21st-century abuse action-adventure adult
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