Books like 'Wicked Games'

Readers who enjoyed Wicked Games by Charles Welch also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

serial killer  psychological  mystery  crime  thriller  vigilante  justice

  • Triple Cross by James Patterson

    Triple Cross by James Patterson

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Detective Alex Cross hunts down a serial killer who’s murdering entire families—and who will next be coming for Cross.A methodical killer is targeting multigenerational families in and around Washington, DC—striking under cover of darkness, triggering no alarms, leaving no physical evidence of any kind.   Alex isn’t the only one investigating...
  • The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh

    The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh

    Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICAThe Sandman killings have been solved. Daniel Miller murdered fourteen people before he vanished. His wife, Carrie, now faces trial as his accomplice. The FBI, the District Attorney, the media and everyone in America believe she knew and helped cover up her husband's crimes.THE LAWYEREddie Flynn won't take a case unless his client is innocent...
  • The Girl and the Unlucky 13 by A.J. Rivers

    The Girl and the Unlucky 13 by A.J. Rivers

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    "Who are you?""I am the unlucky 13…"Throughout the years FBI agent Emma Griffin had to overcome experiences of trauma and devastating losses.The loss of her mother and the mysterious death of her ex.She has spent most of her life trying to bring light to darkness and uncover the disturbing truths that were kept hidden by those who live in the shadows...
    Categorized as:
    crime  justice  vigilante  thriller  adult  book  female-mc  fiction
  • The Devil's Cliff Killings by Simon McCleave

    The Devil's Cliff Killings by Simon McCleave

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A missing teenager. A web of prison corruption and human trafficking. Can DI Ruth Hunter blow the lid off the case in time to save a sixteen year old girl?Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter has resolved to put the grief of her missing partner behind her and continue to make a life away from London in Snowdonia...
  • Blood Silence by Roger Stelljes

    Blood Silence by Roger Stelljes

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    THE CRIME SERIES WITH OVER 1.5 MILLION DOWNLOADS New York Times & USA Today Bestselling McRyan Mystery Series She held her breath, her arms shaking, and it felt as though her heart was going to explode out of her chest. Go away, she thought. You’re done. You’ve killed me - now leave. Tainted water. Dead bodies. Blood silence. Two people are coldly executed behind a bar in Washington DC...
  • Left For Dead by Caroline Mitchell

    Left For Dead by Caroline Mitchell

    Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A victim on display. A detective on the rails.Shopping with her sister, DI Amy Winter is admiring a Valentine’s Day window display of a perfect bride encrusted in diamonds and resplendent in lace—until she notices blood oozing from the mannequin’s mouth.This is no stunt. A post-mortem reveals the victim was left to die on her macabre throne for all to see...
  • Out of Her Mind by T.R. Ragan

    Out of Her Mind by T.R. Ragan

    Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Crime reporter Sawyer Brooks still grieves for the family she and her two sisters never had. Raised in a house of horrors, they continue to fight through the trauma—releasing their rage by seeking justice for those who are just as vulnerable as they were...
    Categorized as:
    crime  justice  vigilante  thriller  adult  audiobook  book  family
  • Evil Never Dies by T.R. Ragan

    Evil Never Dies by T.R. Ragan

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Private investigator Lizzy Gardner believed in law and order once. But after losing a loved one to a killer and watching too many vicious predators game the system and walk free, she’s traded flawed justice for perfect vengeance.Together with her tough and trusted assistants, Lizzy is tracking down a list of Sacramento’s worst offenders and dealing out the payback they deserve...
    Categorized as:
    crime  justice  vigilante  thriller  adult  alpha-mc  audiobook  book
  • The Crying Season by D.K. Hood

    The Crying Season by D.K. Hood

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    The light fades as she runs for her life, the forest now becoming quieter around her. The only noise she hears is the sound of footsteps following her... It’s hiking season in Black Rock Falls and the small town in Montana is flooded with visitors. But when a hiker finds a human skull on a deserted trail in the woods that surround the town, Detective Jenna Alton is called in to investigate...
    Categorized as:
    crime  justice  vigilante  thriller  adult  book  female-mc  fiction
  • The Silent Threat by Elle Gray

    The Silent Threat by Elle Gray

    Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    After the bodies of six young girls were discovered in a shipping container that had been dumped in a scrapyard, FBI agent Blake Wilder is summoned onto the horrific scene. A closer inspection of the bodies reveals strange markings, similar to Spenser's victims in Sweetwater Falls...
  • A Code to Kill by Elle Gray

    A Code to Kill by Elle Gray

    Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Most of us have a code we live by.Some live their life altruistically, while others live by a more sinister code.A code that only their victims know. A code to kill…Fresh from a grueling joint operation with Spenser Song, FBI agent Blake Wilder continues to find herself being stalked and hunted down by an unknown culprit. The worst part is that they may be after her loved ones as well...
  • Hide Away by Jason Pinter

    Hide Away by Jason Pinter

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    From the bestselling author of the Henry Parker series comes a page-turning thriller about a vigilante who’s desperate to protect her secrets—and bring a killer to justice.On the surface, Rachel Marin is an ordinary single mother; on the inside, she’s a fierce, brilliant vigilante...
  • The Second Sign: A Sean Wyatt Archaeological Thriller: 19 by Ernest Dempsey

    The Second Sign: A Sean Wyatt Archaeological Thriller: 19 by Ernest Dempsey

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    For millennia, stories of God’s greatest prophets have inspired Christians across the world, urging them toward the kind of faith that compelled these celebrated sages of old.But one modern madman wants that power for himself, to conquer a world he views as filled with unrepentant sinners as he ushers in a new age of religious rule...
  • Malevolent by Jeff Menapace

    Malevolent by Jeff Menapace

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    After years of silence, the game is back on… Widower Allan Brown is hosting a support group in his home for the bereaved. One of the guests in attendance will be Amy Lambert, this week marking the five-year anniversary of her family’s horrifying ordeal at Crescent Lake. Of course it’s hardly cause for celebration...
    Categorized as:
    crime  thriller  adult  audiobook  book  fiction  horror  killer
  • Cross Out by James Patterson

    Cross Out by James Patterson

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Detectives Cross and Sampson are tracking a serial killer who's fatally ambushing young men in the “Dead Hours” murders. They don't hear the machine gun fire. At first. “Drop whatever you're doing, Dr. Cross, and head to Reagan Airport,” DC Metro Police dispatch says. “A plane just crashed and exploded on the runway. The chief and the FBI want you and John Sampson there pronto...
  • Under the Bones: A Lou Thorne Thriller by Kory M. Shrum

    Under the Bones: A Lou Thorne Thriller by Kory M. Shrum

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Enemies make the best allies. Louie Thorne is good at only one thing. Killing. She knows peace only when she kills and this relentless thirst drives her to hunt the world's worst crime lords. But when her cancer-stricken aunt makes a dying wish, Louie is torn between her own dark nature and a promise made to the only family she has left...
  • Autumn's Chase by Mary Stone

    Autumn's Chase by Mary Stone

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Some evils never die—they evolve.FBI Special Agent Autumn Trent is desperate for something to focus on besides the lingering emotional fallout of their last two cases. And the growing distance between her and Aiden Parrish, her supervisor and boyfriend. So when a new case lands on her desk, she jumps at the distraction...
  • Wired In by Toby Neal

    Wired In by Toby Neal

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Paradise has no protection from a hacker with a hidden agenda.Do you love a woman sleuth with a dark past, a great dog, and a complicated romantic life?Meet tech agent Sophie Ang.Sophie’s emotions are battered by a child kidnapping case, and in tracking the criminal ring, her rogue data analysis program D.A.V.I.D...
  • Follow Me Home by D.K. Hood

    Follow Me Home by D.K. Hood

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    ‘Don’t you agree Detective? That some people deserve to die? I’ve killed the first. I’ve killed the second. Now will you catch the others, or do I have to kill them too?’ The body of Amos Price lies in a pool of blood on the polished floor of an otherwise empty house. With no signs of a break in, and no clues left at the scene, Detective Jenna Alton is at a loss...
  • One-Eyed Jack by Kristi Belcamino

    One-Eyed Jack by Kristi Belcamino

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    The men, mostly virgins, gather in the darkest corners online, drawn together by a common self-hatred. They hate the way they look. They hate their disastrous sex lives. They hate alpha malesThere is only one thing they hate women.Women are the root of all their problems. Women are inferior and deserve to be punished for rejecting them...
  • Obsessed by T.R. Ragan

    Obsessed by T.R. Ragan

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Lizzy Gardner is a one-million copy bestselling series.Desperate for better ratings, radio psychologist Madeline Blair tells her listeners she’s being stalked, unaware that her long-time listener and biggest fan, Seth Brown, will do anything to protect her. When her publicity stunt is revealed, Seth becomes enraged by her deceit and dangerously unhinged...
  • Last Day Alive by J.R. Adler, Jeneva Rose

    Last Day Alive by J.R. Adler, Jeneva Rose

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    One hot summer’s evening, ten-year-old Piper Chase went for a bike ride. She never came home…Piper cycles off one hot Oklahoma evening for a sleepover with her new friend Miley from summer camp. But when she doesn’t come home, her grandparents raise the alarm. Their little angel is missing, last seen on her pink bicycle, heading towards the dark woods on Black Heart Lane...
  • Deadly Pursuit by C.M. Sutter

    Deadly Pursuit by C.M. Sutter

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Fans of James Patterson and Michael Connelly will love C.M. Sutter! A sadistic scene unlike any that Homicide Detective Jesse McCord has ever witnessed unfolds on a park bench in front of him. Jesse knows this isn’t just another Chicago murder...
  • The House of Cross by James Patterson

    The House of Cross by James Patterson

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    The 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...
  • The Locked Door by Freida McFadden

    The Locked Door by Freida McFadden

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    Some doors are locked for a reason…While eleven-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement.Until the day the police arrived at their front door.Decades later, Nora’s father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet, solitary existence...
    Categorized as:
    crime  thriller  adult  audiobook  book  fiction  killer  mystery
  • Good Little Girls by Rita Herron

    Good Little Girls by Rita Herron

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Fear becomes a woman’s greatest weapon in a heart-pounding novel of suspense from the USA Today bestselling author of Pretty Little Killers. Tinsley Jensen survived the torturous clutches of an elusive masked killer dubbed the Skull, only to be held hostage by her nightmares. She’s terrified of leaving her cottage on Seahawk Island, knowing that the madman is still out there...
    Categorized as:
    crime  justice  vigilante  adult  audiobook  book  contemporary  dark
  • A Savage Hunger by Claire McGowan

    A Savage Hunger by Claire McGowan

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    The fourth in the crime series featuring forensic psychologist Paula Maguire. Victim: Female. Twenty-two years of age. Reason for investigation: Missing person.ID: Alice Morgan. Student. Last seen at a remote religious shrine in Ballyterrin.Alice Morgan's disappearance raises immediate questions for forensic psychologist Paula Maguire...
  • Arsonist by Victor Methos

    Arsonist by Victor Methos

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Evil is Released Onto the Streets of San Diego...A series of deadly fires rages across the cityscape, claiming the lives of entire families. Helpless to stop the fires, the SDPD assigns their most famous detective, Jon Stanton, to the case. The evidence points him to a single arsonist committing the horrendous acts...
    Categorized as:
    crime  thriller  adult  audiobook  book  fiction  horror  killer
  • One Left Alive by Helen Phifer

    One Left Alive by Helen Phifer

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    ‘One of those rare books that really is unputdownable . A must read.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐A gentle breeze blew her blonde hair across her face, her glazed eyes staring blankly into the sunset. Her small frame looked lost hanging from the large oak tree. On the branch next to her was a worn child’s rope swing. She looked too young and beautiful to be dead...
  • Run For Your Life by C.M. Sutter

    Run For Your Life by C.M. Sutter

    Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    With the weekend right around the corner, Homicide Detective Mitch Cannon is looking forward to Saturday night. It isn’t often he has a date, and this one will be particularly interesting. His new friend Liza is beautiful, edgy, outspoken, and somewhat odd.But Mitch’s usual Friday-morning phone call to his mom sets the wheels in motion for five days of pure hell...
  • Almost Dead by T.R. Ragan

    Almost Dead by T.R. Ragan

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Life for private investigator Lizzy Gardner will never be the same. It’s been three weeks since her fiancé, Jared, was shot on what was supposed to be their wedding day. He’s in a coma now, and Lizzy is being forced to make a decision she might not be able to live with.But a string of deaths has forced her to get back to work...
  • Psychopath by Jeff Menapace

    Psychopath by Jeff Menapace

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    The final game is here… A decade has passed. The Lambert family is thriving. Amy Lambert is a successful entrepreneur and in a promising relationship with Allan Brown. Caleb Lambert is a respected member of the United States Marine Corps. Carrie Lambert is a flourishing college student. Or so they wish. Nothing could be further from the truth...
    Categorized as:
    crime  thriller  adult  book  fiction  horror  murder  mystery
  • His Garden of Bones by Vickie McKeehan

    His Garden of Bones by Vickie McKeehan

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Not all flowers are grown with love. Years earlier, teenage girls began to vanish off the streets of Seattle. Now, they're turning up dead, their mutilated bodies left in prominent locations around the city. Skye Cree suspects there are more...
  • I Kill Killers by S.T. Ashman

    I Kill Killers by S.T. Ashman

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    When a genius pianist turned hunter of serial killers finds herself connected to her latest victim by an eerie twist of fate, her world spirals into dark chaos. Caught in a relentless game of cat-and-mouse with a tenacious FBI agent, she is also thrust into a dangerous face-off with a serial killer whose lethal cunning could rival her own...
  • The Girls They Lost by J.H. Leigh

    The Girls They Lost by J.H. Leigh

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Dead girls don’t run or tell secrets.Nicole, Dylan and Jilly may have escaped the horrors of the auction house but they aren’t safe.Madame Moirai has eyes everywhere. There’s nowhere the girls can go that can shelter them for long. On the run, with no one to trust, it’s just a matter of time before they’re found...
  • Cold Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

    Cold Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

    Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    The hunt for mass murderer Cara Lindstrom is over. FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke has been working for this moment: the capture of a killer who savagely hunts the worst of humanity. But Roarke remains traumatized by his own near-death at the hands of the serial killer who slaughtered Cara’s family…and haunted by the enigmatic woman who saved his life...
  • Spider's Truth by Christa Yelich-Koth

    Spider's Truth by Christa Yelich-Koth

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    A psychological detective thriller.Some people can’t let go of a grudge. Homicide Detective Sean Trann is learning this the hard way. He made the mistake of interrupting the killing spree of Boston’s most notorious serial killer, Spider. Intent on finishing what he started and infuriated at Sean’s previous involvement, Spider has decided to use those closest to Sean as pieces in his twisted game...
  • The Girl and the Silent Night by A.J. Rivers

    The Girl and the Silent Night by A.J. Rivers

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    T’was the night before Christmas when all through the house,Not a creature was stirring inside Agent Emma Griffin's house.But then out of nowhere a dark shadow appeared.And all of a sudden this holiday season is no longer filled with cheer.After facing many misfortunes throughout her life.FBI Agent Emma Griffin has opted to make work her main priority...
  • Wildflower Girls by D.K. Hood

    Wildflower Girls by D.K. Hood

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    In the dark pine forest surrounding the quiet town of Rattlesnake Creek, the body of a young girl lies on the ground. Her angelic blonde hair spills over her shoulders and her unblinking eyes stare up toward the sky...It was Beth Katz's serial killer father who made her like she is: a successful FBI agent and an unstoppable vigilante dedicated to hunting down murderers who have evaded capture...
    Categorized as:
    crime  thriller  vigilante  justice  mystery  fiction  suspense  abuse
  • A Caller's Game by J.D. Barker

    A Caller's Game by J.D. Barker

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    DIE HARD meets TALK RADIO in this heart-pounding, relentlessly fast-paced thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Fourth Monkey—master of suspense, J.D. Barker. "I'm going to offer you a choice." Controversial satellite radio talk show host, Jordan Briggs, has clawed her way to the top of the broadcast world...
  • The Fallen Girls by Kathryn Casey

    The Fallen Girls by Kathryn Casey

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    She didn’t notice the corn stalks shiver a few feet to her right. By the time she looked up, the man towered above her. In a single movement he wrapped one thick hand around her waist, the other he clamped over her mouth, muffling her screams.Detective Clara Jefferies has spent years running from her childhood in Alber, Utah...
  • Death is in the Details by Heather Sunseri

    Death is in the Details by Heather Sunseri

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    A woman haunted by her past. A killer who won't let her forget.Faith Day's condition curses her to recall her mother’s fiery murder like it was yesterday. And when the forensic photographer’s convicted stepbrother is somehow cleared 12 years later and released from prison, Faith wonders if he'll put an end to her tortured memories...
    Categorized as:
    crime  thriller  abuse  adult  book  contemporary  fiction  murder
  • Dead Lawyer on Aisle 11 by John Ellsworth

    Dead Lawyer on Aisle 11 by John Ellsworth

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    SOMEONE IS KILLING OFF LAWYERS IN THE U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Michael Gresham is assigned to prosecuting the case against the at-large killer. When Michael's team has tried everything else to find the killer, they turn to twelve-year old Annie Gresham to create a criminal profile. Annie, the savant daughter of Michael Gresham, gathers together all the known evidence and begins mining the data...
  • Retribution by C.M. Sutter

    Retribution by C.M. Sutter

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    The violent drug-related murders of two prominent attorneys have the homicide division of the Chicago Police Department scrambling for answers, but without clues, a motive, or a suspect, not even the FBI can track down the killer...
  • Dusk Corners by Dan Padavona

    Dusk Corners by Dan Padavona

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    It takes a killer to catch a killer.Logan Wolf was the Behavioral Analysis Unit's most-respected profiler. Then a serial killer murdered his wife and tore his life apart. Now he's a vigilante fugitive, hiding from the FBI while he hunts the nation's deadliest criminals.When a college student and her boyfriend vanish in West Texas, Wolf suspects the Devil's Rock killer...
    Categorized as:
    crime  vigilante  justice  thriller  mystery  fiction  suspense  dark
  • Fatal Games by Elle Gray, K.S. Gray

    Fatal Games by Elle Gray, K.S. Gray

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Jumping off a plane is one thing, but being forced to do so amid a plane crash is something no one puts on their bucket list.After surviving a plane crash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, FBI agent Olivia Knight and a group of survivors are washed ashore onto a desolate island.An island harboring more danger than any of them could have ever imagined...
  • The Unquiet Grave by Steven Dunne

    The Unquiet Grave by Steven Dunne

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    The Cold Case crime department of Derby Constabulary feels like a morgue to DI Damen Brook. As a maverick cop, his bosses think it's the best place for him.But Brook isn't going to go down without a fight. Applying his instincts and razor sharp intelligence, he sees a pattern in a series of murders that seem to begin in 1963...
  • The Complete Thriller Collection: 12 Riveting Thrillers by Adam Nicholls, Including the Mason Black Series and Morgan Young Trilogy by Adam Nicholls

    The Complete Thriller Collection: 12 Riveting Thrillers by Adam Nicholls, Including the Mason Black Series and Morgan Young Trilogy by Adam Nicholls

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    12 x crime thrillers packed with action and suspense, including 3x series. This ultimate collected edition will keep you on the edge of your set with non-stop action and heart-stopping plot twists...
  • Deceived by W.L. Knightly

    Deceived by W.L. Knightly

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    After working the past five years as a private investigator, former law enforcement officer, Shae Sawyer gets the call that she’s been waiting for.Her longtime acquaintance and ex brother in blue, Detective Cam Murphy has a case and a pair of victims unlike anything he’s ever seen...
Fantastic book recommendations by book lovers for book lovers.
Find out more about thebooknaut.com.



Looking for more inspiration? Enter another book title to get more suggestions on what to read next.


Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.