Books like Bad River — picked by fans

As with William Kent Krueger, I love all of Sandford’s Prey novels (and there are a lot!). This is the first one I read, and I guess I got hooked because I want to be—if I’m honest—either one of the main characters that persist through his books, and that appear in this one. Virgil Flowers is a lithe, laid-back, really smart guy who has long hair and wears band T-shirts; absolutely not the sort of person you’d associate with the U.S. Marshals Service, yet there he is! (He also has his own series, good for us!). Lucas Davenport is his boss, and Lucas is big, ruthless, and very rich—and loves hunting bad guys. But what I think I’m drawn to most is that he says exactly what he thinks, gets the job done by any means possible, and does not brook fools. At all. And, as I said, I am… show more.

I’ve always been drawn to writers who capture such a vivid setting I can actually picture myself right in the pages of the book. I think Kent Kreuger does this better than any author, and readers can select any entry in his Cork O’Connor series and find themselves transported into a mesmerizing scene, but this 21st entry in the series really grabbed me. His word paintings of a field, a blueberry patch and the ancient Indian, Henry Miloux’s cabin is so real I could almost feel, see and smell the scene.

Kreuger has the rare skill to use such colorful and powerful language in his prose; some passages border on the poetic. Not to mention, the story about two missing girls—one white, one Native— is truly gripping, too. 

By now, you probably think I only read books by male authors who create male protagonists. Nope! Here’s a case in point. Sasscer Hill is a woman after my own heart—she writes horse racing mysteries set in the Thoroughbred racing world (!), just like me. Unlike me, Sasscer Hill was a racehorse breeder, trainer, and rider—and she brings all that experience to bear on creating an incredibly realistic setting for all her racing novels. I know a lot about Thoroughbred racing myself, so one thing I’m really drawn to in her books is how authentic they are. She does the “behind the scenes” thing with pinpoint accuracy and ease. And I love that she doesn’t shy away from the “dark underbelly” of racing, either.

In this book, her main character, Fia McKee, is on leave because she uses a little too much force when making an arrest. Ok, yeah, I… show more.

We are back in the world of horses, but this time western horses, not Thoroughbred racehorses. Laura Crum has created a series with a female equine veterinarian—Gail McCarthy—as her main character. I’m drawn to Gail because she’s incredibly competent as a vet, but also wicked smart at sniffing out the bad guys and has the courage to go against the boys very often to do just that. I’m always rooting for strong characters, men or women, and I love it that we women are now catching up in fiction as well as in real life!

This is the first in Crum’s series, but I’ve enjoyed all of them I’ve read. I love the rural setting, and I can almost smell the sweet scent of hay and hear the horses rustling gently in their stalls (which always does my heart good) as I read this book. In it, a dead horse… show more.

In Book 11, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, fresh from Athens to the picturesque Greek island, must find the perpetrators of a gruesome murder of a young woman found dead in a rural church. Siger, via his blunt investigator Kaldis, is an expert in sprinkling the beautiful Greek landscape with notes of suspense and mystery, and, like the earlier entries in this attractive series, Murder in Mykonos does not disappoint.

I love all of Tana French’s taut, riveting detective novels, but this book is my favorite.

When Cassie Maddox goes undercover to investigate a murder, she finds herself enmeshed with the dead girl’s quirky group of housemates. As she’s drawn into their lives, she is increasingly emotionally involved with them in ways that charge the atmosphere with exquisite tension and regret.

I loved the way this novel drew me into the exuberant household so that, like Cassie, I fell in love with everyone, wishing fervently for things to turn out okay and knowing there was no way they could. 

This Agatha Christie doesn’t feature her famous Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. Instead, it introduces a likable young couple, Bobby and Frankie, who fall into adventure by accident.

This book has the best one-line denouement of all mystery novels. It is a line that will give you chills when you read it. (Or re-read it. This mystery is so good that I have reread it many times in my life, and I get chills each time.)

One question ties the whole mystery together. As a mystery writer, I wish I could find that turning point question for each of my novels. But, alas, Agatha Christie was the queen. 

This book is a ‘birder murder’ mystery authored by Steve Burrows–an avid and well-traveled birdwatcher. 

I enjoyed this gripping mystery featuring interesting and complex characters and was fascinated by the exotic setting of Singapore. 

I was drawn into the two parallel, somewhat overlapping stories that form the plot and didn’t anticipate the outcomes of either. 

It was a satisfying read, and as a bonus, this novel includes intriguing facts about birds that are relevant to the story. 

I was already a fan of Clare Mackintosh’s standalone thrillers, but when I found out she was launching a police procedural series, I was so excited! Set in Wales, this compelling book stars the complex, courageous character of DC Ffion Morgan as she tries to get to the bottom of who killed Rhys Lloyd during his New Year’s Eve party and dumped his body in the freezing lake.

I won't reveal much about the plot itself because I want you to experience the twists and turns for yourself. I want your heart to pound like it wants to escape your chest. I want you to lose hours of sleep because 'one more chapter' turned into twenty. You'll order the next book faster than I can say 'no comment.'

I laughed out loud at some of the lines in this book. If you’re looking for something to brighten up your day, then this is the book for you. It’s masterfully clever and intricately woven in a rich tapestry of humour and fun.

Think Murder On The Orient Express but set in Australia with a train whose passengers are all crime writers, including Ernest Cunningham, a “lowly debut author” with writer’s block, who Stevenson uses as the narrator. Ernest hilariously explains the rules of writing a murder mystery novel while at the same time guiding us through the plot, unravelling a complex set of clues that eventually lead to the unveiling of the killer.