50 Books Like Blind Faith

Indigo Ridge hooked me with a strong heroine working in Law Enforcement because I was a federal police officer once upon a time.

I love a slow-burn romance with a woman that meets her match in a strong alpha and a mystery to solve. This is a fast page-turner and if you enjoy a steamy, enemies-to-lovers, with a little danger, this is the next book for you.

Dr. Alex Cross and Detective John Sampson are preparing to leave on their “manly trip” into the Montana wilderness when they receive a call from Metro PD. A dead CIA officer puts a pause on their plans. During his investigation, Alex receives an unnerving text from the criminal genius known as “M” who has terrorized Cross and his family for years. Alex and John eventually make it to Montana. Their vacation takes a treacherous 360-degree turn as they venture deep into the rugged Montana wilderness. Two rival teams of trained assassins are hunting them. One controlled by “M”. The other by the cartel. Cross and Sampson are isolated and cut off in a life-or-death struggle. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. A thriller right up until the end.

This book has less heat than my other recommendations (but still brings the feels!) but it also combines small-town romance with a dash of Motorcycle Club (MC). It’s definitely not a dark romance, as my MC romances are, but it has mystery, suspense, and action! This is the first book in the series (you do have to read them in order) and focuses on a spunky reporter and former MC members as they try to solve a murder mystery.

The quest to endure and overcome against seemingly impossible odds is a strong theme with The Highway. I liked that and also that the characters came alive from the first page.

The main character Cassie Dewell’s interaction with those around her keeps you guessing as to whether she is smart or flaky. As a rookie investigator in a rural sheriff’s department beset with corruption she has her work cut out to survive. The stressed interplay of her family and work life ramps up tension when she gets on the trail of a serial killer, snatching his victims from highways and truck stops. The plot is compelling and you hold your breath as you leaf through each page. If page-turning crime thrillers are your thing, I recommend The Highway.

This one is truly unique. It’s a true crime story operating under the guise of a horror story that is really neither. Instead, it grapples with teenage alienation and the way stories transform the truth, while offering an insightful meditation on empathy. Darnielle is one of the most unique and stylistically adventurous writers we have. And this may be his best.

An excellent nonfiction account of an actual Hollywood killing, this is a well-written and researched investigation of the (as yet) unsolved 1922 shooting of director William Desmond Taylor. The murder was committed right when scandals, including Fatty Arbuckle’s, besieged an ascendant Hollywood.

Also of interest: A Murder in Hollywood by Casey Sherman, which recaps the killing of Johnny Stompanato, Lana Turner’s gangster boyfriend, supposedly by her teenage daughter, Cheryl. This crime inspired entertainment from Harold Robbin’s potboiler, Where Love Has Gone, to Woody Allen’s self-serious movie, September.

Richard Price, in my opinion, is one of today’s best writers in any genre. The Whites, a book about five detectives finally getting the criminal that always eluded them, was just the most recent book of his I’ve read. His classics—Clockers, Freedomland, The Night of, Sea of Love—were all adapted for the big screen. His prose is cliché free, no one captures New York City and its denizens the way Price does, and the dialogue in his books is pitch perfect and realistic.

Hazel Micaellef, 62, a police officer in a small town in Ontario, is divorced, overweight, has back problems, and drinks too much. I am from a small town and divorced. Liquor is not my vice. I am, however, completely at home in the fictional and slightly seedy Port Dumas where locals have long memories. When human bones are found on land that formerly housed orphans, many of the town’s ugly secrets bubble up. The plot is complex and the setting immersive. I would not necessarily want to live in a place like Port Dumas…but I have.

Along with being extremely well written, this book details the horrific murder of a celebrated actor, a man blitzed in his sleep, a decent man who dealt with mundane foibles many men experience. But Crane always continued on, heading to work, embracing a hopeful and positive outlook on his abilities and the future. Bob Crane may well have never awoken from the cowardly assault that took his life in 1978, leaving his 4 children fatherless. A couple of years ago, I got to know Robert David Crane, Bob Crane’s son, via social media and it was one of the oddest occurrences of my life. I’d never have predicted it. I’ve found him to be insightful, generous, accomplished, and genuine. I loved this book because it is about the murder of a man who I grew up seeing.

Yes, I too watched Hogan’s Heroes and absolutely loved the character played by… show more.

Any book with this author’s Detectives Bosch and/or Ballard is a tour de force in police procedurals. He can make reading a murder file or a newspaper article informative, stimulating, and evocative. In this story, Ballard and the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit are thrust into the spotlight with a breakthrough DNA match linking a recent arrestee to a notorious serial rapist and murderer who vanished two decades ago. The twist? The suspect is only twenty-four, pointing to a familial connection: his father, the infamous Pillowcase Rapist, who terrorized Los Angeles for five years.

As Ballard and her team close in, they unravel a complex web of secrets and legal challenges that test their procedural prowess. The narrative is complex, satisfying, and brimming with skillful twists that showcase the author’s expertise in crafting compelling procedurals.