Crime novels are among the most popular literary genres in the UK. Indeed, the 3 national references of the detective novel, in this case Bernard Minier, Franck Thilliez and Michel Bussi have accumulated more than 500,000 sales in 2020 alone. And according to the observatory of the bookstore, 17.2% of fiction works sold in 2018 were thrillers.
This type of work is based on the principle of the unfolding of the investigation, the establishment of an atmosphere, a climate and a dramatic tension, essential ingredients to put readers on the edge of their seats.
If you also like this literary genre, here are 47 works not to be missed. Thrillers, mysteries, spy novels and historical thrillers, our selection offers books that will captivate you this winter and transport you into the world of crime and criminal investigations.
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A half-paralyzed general has two daughters, Vivian and Carmen, who are totally unmanageable and lacking in morals. Vivian has an addiction to alcohol and gambling. Carmen is addicted to drugs, epilepsy and erotomania. The situation turns dramatic when gangsters get involved. Fortunately, Detective Marlowe comes along to kick-start the whole thing. Many consider this novel to be the best detective story ever written.
Published by Magnard, this book revealed Mary Higgins Clark to the French public. This novel, rich in twists and turns, features characters that are strikingly realistic, including "Renard", a sadistic and paranoid being who will do anything, even execute innocent people.
Sam Spade follows the trail of the Maltese Falcon, a mysterious and coveted statuette that cost his colleague his life while he was on a simple stakeout. Femme fatales, policemen, gangsters of all stripes... everyone seems to want to put obstacles in his way.
This book tells the story of Rouletabille, a young reporter, and his friend, the lawyer Sainclair, who set out in pursuit of a murderer after the attempted assassination of the daughter of a famous professor at the Château du Glandier. Rouletabille is known for cleverly solving difficult puzzles.
Agatha Christie is one of the glories of the British detective novel, an essential author in the world of crime fiction. In this book, her famous detective Hercule Poirot leads the investigation of a crime that occurred on the Orient-Express blocked by snow in the Yugoslav mountains. All 13 passengers are suspects.
In 2002, the vice-president of the Danish Democratic Party, Merete Lyyngaard, mysteriously disappeared on a ferry while traveling to Berlin with her brother. The case was closed five years later due to a lack of evidence. Promoted to the head of Department V, which specializes in old unsolved cases, Carl Mørck, assisted by Hafez el Assad, decides to reopen the Merete case to investigate.
Doctor Hannibal Lecter is the most famous serial killer in literature. Sociopath and cannibal in his spare time, he is serving a sentence in an asylum. Then the police ask him to find another serial killer. Problem: Hannibal demands to speak only to a young woman named Clarice Starling, a freshly graduated FBI recruit. Will she come out of this meeting unscathed?
At the point of death, Benedetta Toso testifies to two policemen, Guido Brunetti and Claudia Griffoni, that her husband was killed for money. Without waiting, the investigators open an inquiry and discover a disturbing reality: the whole city of Venice is threatened by the author of the murder.
Philip Kerr introduces us to the quiet life of Bernie Gunther, an esteemed concierge at the Grand Hotel in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. His life is suddenly turned upside down by a blackmailer in possession of incriminating photos that bring back his past as a Nazi criminal. This novel takes the reader into a world of thrilling machinations.
Always Stephen King; this great author never ceases to amaze us. The Outsider is a thriller featuring a police investigation of rape and murder that takes a paranormal turn, with controversial evidence and plenty of mystery.
With this 800-page book translated by Eric Wittersheim and illustrated by Sidney Paget, everything is in place to fully appreciate the adventures of the famous detective at the root of all detective literature. Arthur Conan Doyle's hero is arguably the most famous detective in all of fiction.
Enjoying the joy of their 2 years of marriage, Karen and Tom's life is turned upside down when Karen has a car accident in an unfriendly neighborhood. A neighborhood where she would never normally set foot... Her convalescence will not be easy: she knows that a stranger is coming to their home in their absence!
Cold and savage executions, victims with no particular profile, and a serial killer who always sends a snide letter to journalists: Major Duhamel's team is bubbling with rage without coming up with a serious lead until the stamp used by the killer alerts them.
The mysterious landscape of the monastery at the end of the Path of the Dead did not bode well for Detective Grace Campbell. She finds herself confronted with a man whose name is known only to her and who has been murdered in the worst possible way. Little did she know that she was staking her career on one of the greatest mysteries in history...
Sarah bitterly regrets having let go of her daughter Clementine's hand when they were on a sailboat... Four years later, she has not yet made her mourning when she sees Gabrielle. A little girl with the same curls as Clementine and the same age... This time, she will not let go of her hand...
William's intelligence is impressive: he takes advantage of the love that the women he meets have for him to kill them slowly. Psychological murder without bloodshed... just the manipulation of an aggravated narcissistic pervert who knows how to circumvent the law and take advantage of the feelings of others.
This novel describes the investigations of Eva Svärta and Major Vauvert who want to put an end to the crimes of the Salaville brothers, bloodthirsty murderers. Their investigations will lead them to the borders of rationality where Eva will have to face her dark side.
This story takes place in Exmouth, a small fishing village in Massachusetts. Aloysius Pendergast goes there at the request of a sculptor who has been robbed of a rare wine collection. Shortly after his arrival, a number of satanic crimes occur in the village. Is Pendergast in danger of a death trap?
Viviane Moore is a former journalist who has decided to devote herself entirely to writing. With this novel, she takes us back to 1162 in the City of Doges where Hugues de Tarse tries to shed light on the bones discovered under the rubble of a church. He also investigates the case of a corpse found in the Rialto canal, a murder that tarnishes the name of the doge Vitale Michiel II.
Cedric Sire is the figurehead of a new generation of French authors. In this book, he describes the troubles of Thomas, a man plagued by nightmares and visions in which he sees himself torturing a young woman in the eyes of another. Convinced that a murder has really been committed, he goes in search of the young woman and soon discovers that his nightmare has only just begun.
Lisa Gardner is considered one of the great ladies of women's crime fiction. In this book, she describes an investigation after a shooting at a middle school in Baskerville, Oregon. The shooting resulted in the death of three people, including two students and a teacher.
Through this book, the author James Rollins makes us discover the depths of the Amazonian jungle. Nathan Rand, the son of the scientist who had disappeared during an expedition to study the knowledge of the Shamans 4 years earlier, leaves in search of the team with Doctor Kelly O'Brien. They will have to face a nature delivered to the most insane mutations.
This novel describes the story of Vincent Marchal, an investigator who starts in the most sordid cases. He meets Stephane Kismet, a man who has always been haunted by premonitory dreams with a terrifying logic. Franck Thilliez has no equal for weaving a police plot while immersing his characters in sordid stories that titillate their dark side.
Martin Servaz arrives in a remote valley to investigate a series of murders whose sophistication and staging suggest a meticulous criminal. Between the mysteries, the terror, the horrified cries coming from a mysterious forest, Servaz deals with inhabitants who want justice.
Angela Powell is attached to the image of the perfect family she portrays with her son and husband. A stain appears on the family portrait when two female employees accuse her husband of sexual harassment and rape. Faced with a determined investigator, Angela, in spite of herself, supports her husband, in order not to reveal a heavy secret.
Ludivine Vancker, a lieutenant in the Paris research department, is determined to solve a case of sordid and terrifying events. Ordinary citizens dead from fear, men with their throats slit alive... Vancker will soon discover that the devil knows she is on his trail.
It all begins with Emma and David, a man devastated by the tragic death of his wife and the unexpected disappearance of his daughter. The two lovers marry six years later and have a son together. But one day, a young girl who claims to be David's missing daughter disrupts their already stable situation. But as the saying goes, always beware of strangers, the girl is not clean.
In the Hawks squad, Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido discover the body of one of their colleagues, thrown from the window of a luxury train. The case is suspicious, pressure to drop the investigation mounts and they seek the help of Darret, a relentless comrade who seems to fear neither the Russians nor the secret service.
Two twins disappear: one is found dead after a few months. 29 years later, history repeats itself. The only outcome of the investigation: to understand what really happened in August 1989, the year the first twins disappeared. Let yourself be fascinated by this gripping and captivating book.
A woman in her sixties, widow of a world-famous photographer, spends a stay in a luxurious hotel in the South of France. Without explanation, she stabs a stranger with violence before falling into silence. Her son tries to explain his mother's behavior by going back into her past.
In this novel published by Hauteville, British author Lisa Jewell takes us to Melville Heights, in the Bristol district. In this posh locality where nothing ever happens, the life of the residents will be somewhat disturbed after the discovery of a corpse with several stab wounds.
Through this book published by Flammarion, the author transports us to Baku in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet territory. Aurel Timescu, the little consul, embarks on a crazy investigation following a tragic and mysterious accident that cost the life of the head of the post. The small consul finds himself in a case of state of great magnitude.
After Ellie's disappearance when she was 15, her mother had never been able to fully move on. But she has rebuilt her life with Floyd, a single father. When she meets his daughter, she discovers that she is the spitting image of Ellie, except that she was 9 years old.
"Catch me if you can," Sydney detective Harriet Blue recognizes the voice on the other end of the line. It's Reagan Banks, the serial killer who ruined her brother's life before he committed suicide and whom she vowed to kill herself. She accepts the challenge, but at what cost?
In a Paris of the 1830s, Valentin Verne, a vice inspector, tracks down a vicious character with unhealthy inclinations for children. At the same time, he is investigating the inexplicable suicide of a politician's son. With scientific explanations, Valentin, a pharmacist by training, begins to see the end of the tunnel.
In this book, American novelist Harlan Corben transports us into the enigmatic world of Wilde, an investigator with very special methods. Having grown up alone in the woods, he is the only one who can find two missing persons in a forest full of all kinds of dangers. This book was published by Belfond and translated into French by Roxane Hazimi.
The story begins long ago during Malin's teenage years. At that time, she found a girl who died and was buried in the forest. It was impossible to identify the girl at that time. Years later, Malin has become a cop and she takes up this investigation that haunts her. Surprise, another body has been found near the first crime scene!
Second most read French author in 2019, Michel Bussi signs a thrilling novel based on an enigma worthy of Agatha Christie. The story takes place in the heart of the Marquesas Islands during a workshop organized by a famous best-selling author. In the depths of the rainforest, a disappearance turns the stay into a treasure hunt to discover which of the five guests has come to kill.
Henri Loevenbruck is a French writer with a passion for Anglo-Saxon culture. In this book, he describes the investigations of Gabriel Joly, a young and ambitious provincial who arrived in the capital during the revolution. He challenges himself to unmask the Wolf of the Cordeliers, a strange vigilante who keeps a wolf on a leash and commits bloody murders to protect the women of Paris.
In 1944, a mother lies on the floor of her house in a Swedish town. 30 years later, in the early 80's, several others met the same fate. Today, new clues are surfacing and, as with every wave, female cops are there to investigate at the risk of their lives, except that this time...
Ten years after the disappearance of her son Esteban, Maddi, a general practitioner, returns on a pilgrimage to the beach where she lost him. There she discovers a little boy who is the spitting image of Esteban, a mysterious child who wears the same bathing suit as her son.
This thriller takes us to Sweden, a Nordic monarchy shaken by the winds of the French Revolution. It is in this unbreathable atmosphere of conspiracies and paranoia that Michael Cardell, a veteran of the Russian-Swedish war, discovers the mutilated body of an unknown man. The investigation is entrusted to Cecil Winge, a tubercular lawman who will have to confront the corruption of Swedish society to bring to light a terrible reality.
Søren Sveistrup is the creator, writer and producer of several series. With this detective story, he plunges us into the mysteries of the murder of a woman whose hand was found amputated in early October in the suburbs of Copenhagen. Next to the body, the investigators found a mysterious little man made of chestnuts and matches. This one had the fingerprints of a girl who had been kidnapped a year earlier and was presumed dead.
With this thriller, Franck Thilliez signs a master stroke with a confusing plot that shows the author's know-how. The story takes place in Sagas, a small town nestled in the mountains. Gendarmerie Lieutenant Gabriel Moscato embarks on a desperate and frantic investigation to find his daughter who has disappeared, leaving only a bicycle lying against a tree.
Maxime Chattam offers us a breathtaking thriller set in Val Quarios, a pretty little family ski resort where death is lurking. Hugo, a seasonal worker who has just arrived, feels spied upon and haunted by "visions" of a sudden disappearance. What terrifying secrets are hidden behind the walls of this resort?
In the beginning, it was about decapitated horses. Later, it's men and women pierced by arrows, then hung on old oak trees in a mystical forest. Helen Grace, a relentless detective, intends to discover the identity of the faceless killer, even if it means plunging into darkness.
2019 at the death of the pope, a conclave gathers around a mysterious document dating back to the Council of Nicea in 325. Cotton Malone will have to confront an occult society and decipher a number of historical enigmas to unlock the Vatican's latest secret, one that could put the Church in peril.
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