13 books like Detective Emilia Cruz

A seriously underrated series set in Australia with the mysterious Heller, who is from a Nordic country (although it takes several books to find out more about him), and a young woman who becomes part of his chaotic family of misfits who run a security business, possibly with ties to the government and international espionage.

Every personal detail of Heller is grudgingly given, which makes it so much more intriguing. Each book is a standalone, but each adds more to the overall picture.

I wish I could tell you what happened to this talented author, but she disappeared mysteriously over ten years ago and has never written another book since. A true-life mystery.

There are two main characters in this 9-book series, a traditional US detective and his girlfriend, who is a graphologist – someone who studies handwriting.

I’ve learned a lot about the techniques used to determine whether a signature on a will is a forgery, and that several medical insurance fraud cases have been prosecuted in the US based on the testimony of a graphologist. In the case cited, someone had filled out a number of forms all in one go, with the $ claims put in later – but because the forms had all been signed at the same time, there was ‘drift’ as the signatures migrated in the direction of the writer.

I tried this at home, and it’s true. Try writing your name over and over again in a list: if you’re right-handed, you’ll drift to the right side of the margin, and if you’re left-handed, towards the… show more.

I was intrigued by the premise of this series, an ex-cop who is a heroin addict trying to solve the murder of his best friend even while he’s eaten alive by the need for his next fix.

The world of Cal Rogan is grim and gritty, with occasional glimpses of a better, brighter life in the shape of his young daughter, who lives with his ex-wife. I enjoyed meeting the street people Cal knows and relies on, as well as former colleagues that he’s let down too many times with lies and broken promises.

Taking an even darker turn, the behaviour of some members of the Vancouver Police Department was disturbing, to say the least. The plot kept me guessing and wrong-footed me several times, and I thoroughly enjoyed the character development and description of modern-day Vancouver.

There are seven books (so far) waiting for you to discover.

Another strong series is the Joe Pickett books by C.J. Box.

I think you can tell I like to read in series and by author. There are 26 books in this series! I hope to write as many… This is mystery and murder at times, and although not in, on, or around American Indian lands, these books have almost the same feel, starting with this one.

Rather than a cop, he’s a game warden. Almost the same thing, but dealing with laws around fish & game. Now, Joe has some issues that I liked. Not his emotional drama, but the showing of them. It made him more human. Who doesn’t have issues? I know I do. 

Pelecanos creates a helluva crime story set in Washington, DC. Not so different of a place, right? Ah, but there is the backdrop of the Martin Luther King riots in 1968 and the cops are overwhelmed. Derek Strange is a Black rookie cop and with a white detective Frank Vaughan goes on a manhunt for his brother’s killer. The combination of the two is a great dynamic. Derek’s pretty sure he knows who the drug dealer is who killed his brother and won’t be put off by the riots. Trying to find the killer in the chaos is gripping. A lot of grit in here and tension. This is one story you

Another crime book that takes you places you never thought you’d venture into. Fesperman creates a sympathetic protagonist Vlado Petric. Vlado, a former homicide detective in Sarajevo, lives in exile but is recruited to return to the place of horrors that have haunted his life. His assignment: help capture an aging Nazi collaborator who has become a war profiteer, surrounded by a sympathetic population who will protect him with their lives. The story is dark and filled with suspense and dread. The Balkans were and are a very dangerous place. As a writer Fesperman creates suspense and fear in a very different place with very different people.

I picked up this book from the shelf of a holiday cottage and was hooked immediately. I love books which interweave personal human stories with big events.

The ordinary loves and lives of the people of Pompeii are unfolding as the mountain above them begins to behave strangely. Of course, we, the readers, know the disaster that is about to occur, which only adds to the suspense. Unputdownable.

I was excited to read another book with fascinating characters and of course, a great K-9. Nickless’ characters are well-developed and very believable. Her fictional K-9 Clyde is captivating and while he’s technically retired, still has the skillset to help his handler, Sydney Parnell.

I love the character arc with Sydney in each book as she recovers from the traumas of serving in the military. I also love that Nickless had Sydney return home to Denver to work as a railroad police special agent. This is a law enforcement job that I haven’t seen in any other book. I appreciated the thrilling storyline and how Nickless created strong tension that ratcheted up to a suspenseful ending. 

The South Pacific nation of Fiji is a magical place, as I found out many years ago on a scuba trip that evolved into a circuit of the main island of Viti Levu. For tourists, the island chain offers the gold standard of tropical paradise resorts, but the story for the Fijians is considerably more complicated. The islands are widely scattered, race relations led to government coups, economic opportunities are limited, and old ways are under pressure from modern expectations.

Using cultural elements like canoe racing, as well as a foreboding sense of the conflict inherent in Fijian life today, Fiji becomes a marvelous place for trouble. I could almost smell the hibiscus! And the sunscreen! This story nearly had me booking a flight before I was halfway through.

Fiji’s complexities are woven into the plot, which would be impossible to set anywhere else. Modern beach fun and age-old traditions… show more.

Having travelled in Africa, I’m always keen to find books set on the continent. It’s a bonus if suspense is involved and a double bonus if the story hinges on the setting. This book gets high marks in both departments. It was a better immersive experience than if I’d rented an Airbnb and watched the action unfold from the front porch.

Rural South Africa is home to advice columnist and cooking authority Tannie Maria (Tannie meaning Auntie, the respectful Afrikaans address for a woman older than you) in the first book in this unique and extraordinary series. A middle-aged widow, she offers advice and recipes to the lovelorn and others who write the local newspaper.

One letter-writer is a woman desperate to escape her abusive husband: an echo of Tannie Maria’s own fraught past. When the woman is murdered, Tannie Maria becomes dangerously entwined in the investigation, despite the best… show more.