Bookle reading guide: Crime fiction
⏱️ 6 min read
Love a mystery? A suspicious character? A secret that probably should have stayed buried?
Crime fiction comes in all sorts of shapes. There are classic whodunnits where you can try to beat the detective to the answer, police investigations that follow a case from first clue to final arrest, psychological thrillers where you’re never quite sure who to trust, and cosy mysteries where murder happens in surprisingly pleasant surroundings.
And then there’s noir, historical crime, forensic crime, legal thrillers and plenty of books that happily cross from one category into another.
So if you like crime fiction but aren’t sure what to pick up next, here’s a tour of some of its most popular corners.
In this guide
- Detective fiction
- Police procedurals
- Psychological crime and thrillers
- Nordic noir
- Cosy mysteries
- Hardboiled and noir
- Forensic crime
- Historical crime
- Legal thrillers
- Afrikaans crime fiction
📚 Where to find it on Bookle: You’ll find crime fiction in our English Suspense and Afrikaans Suspense categories.
1. Detective fiction
The classic whodunnit.
Someone is dead. There are suspects. Everyone has a story, and at least one of those stories isn’t quite true.
Detective fiction is about following the clues and trying to work out what happened alongside the detective — or, if you’re competitive, trying to get there first.
You might like it if: you enjoy puzzles, clever clues, memorable detectives and trying to solve the mystery before the final reveal.
Look out for: Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, Louise Penny, Michael Connelly and Richard Osman.
Try:
- Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express; And Then There Were None
- Michael Connelly – The Black Echo; The Lincoln Lawyer
- Louise Penny – Still Life; The Cruelest Month
- Anthony Horowitz – The Word Is Murder; The Sentence Is Death
2. Police procedural
This is crime fiction from the other side of the investigation.
Rather than one brilliant detective putting all the pieces together, police procedurals show the work that goes into building a case: evidence, interviews, forensic work, paperwork, dead ends and a team of investigators trying to work out what happened.
You might like it if: you prefer realistic investigations, police teams and seeing how a case slowly comes together.
Look out for: Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, James Patterson, John Sandford, Karin Slaughter and Ed McBain.
Try:
- Ian Rankin – Knots and Crosses; Black and Blue
- Michael Connelly – The Concrete Blonde; The Last Coyote
- Karin Slaughter – Blindsighted; Triptych
- James Patterson – Along Came a Spider; Kiss the Girls
3. Psychological crime & thrillers
Sometimes the most unsettling part of a crime is not what happened. It’s not knowing who you can trust.
Psychological crime and thrillers tend to focus on secrets, obsession, manipulation, unreliable narrators and complicated relationships. The danger might come from a stranger — or from someone who is sitting right beside you.
You might like it if: you enjoy twists, unreliable narrators, toxic relationships and stories that keep you second-guessing everyone.
Look out for: Gillian Flynn, Lisa Jewell, Paula Hawkins, Ruth Ware, Shari Lapena and Freida McFadden.
Try:
- Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl; Sharp Objects
- Lisa Jewell – Then She Was Gone; The Family Upstairs
- Paula Hawkins – The Girl on the Train; Into the Water
- Ruth Ware – The Woman in Cabin 10; In a Dark, Dark Wood
4. Nordic noir
Cold places. Dark crimes. Detectives with problems of their own.
Nordic noir refers to crime fiction from the Nordic countries, particularly Sweden, Norway and Denmark. These books are often atmospheric and bleak, with flawed characters and stories that look beyond the crime itself to explore society, politics and the darker sides of everyday life.
The setting matters too. Long winters, isolated landscapes and grey skies aren’t exactly there to cheer you up.
You might like it if: you enjoy atmospheric crime, morally complicated characters and a darker, more introspective style.
Look out for: Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbø, Henning Mankell and Camilla Läckberg.
Try:
- Stieg Larsson – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Jo Nesbø – The Snowman; The Bat
- Henning Mankell – Faceless Killers; The Fifth Woman
- Camilla Läckberg – The Ice Princess; The Preacher
5. Cosy mysteries
Yes, there is such a thing as a murder mystery that feels cosy.
Cosy mysteries tend to take place in small communities or familiar settings, with amateur detectives, colourful characters and relatively little graphic violence. Think village shops, bookshops, cafés and country houses — with the occasional dead body turning up somewhere it really shouldn’t.
You might like it if: you want the puzzle of a murder mystery without too much gore or grimness.
Look out for: M.C. Beaton, Alexander McCall Smith, Richard Osman, Nancy Atherton and Donna Andrews.
Try:
- M.C. Beaton – Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death; Death of a Green-Eyed Monster
- Alexander McCall Smith – The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
- Richard Osman – The Thursday Murder Club
- Nancy Atherton – Aunt Dimity’s Death
6. Hardboiled & noir
Hardboiled crime is tougher, grittier and generally less interested in tidy endings.
Private detectives, criminals, corrupt officials and morally grey characters tend to populate these stories. The city is often as important as the people in it, and justice isn’t always as simple as catching the bad guy.
You might like it if: you enjoy tough detectives, cynical humour, smoky bars, urban settings and characters who aren’t particularly interested in playing by the rules.
Look out for: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, James Ellroy and Mickey Spillane.
Try:
- Raymond Chandler – The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely
- Dashiell Hammett – The Maltese Falcon; The Thin Man
- James M. Cain – The Postman Always Rings Twice; Double Indemnity
- James Ellroy – L.A. Confidential; The Black Dahlia
7. Forensic crime
Here, the clues aren’t just hidden in the story. They’re under a microscope.
Forensic crime puts DNA, pathology, autopsies, trace evidence and scientific investigation at the centre of the case. The science is often as important as the detective trying to put everything together.
You might like it if: you enjoy medical details, forensic science and the satisfaction of watching a tiny piece of evidence change an entire investigation.
Look out for: Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen and Jeffery Deaver.
Try:
- Patricia Cornwell – Postmortem; The Body Farm
- Kathy Reichs – Déjà Dead; Death du Jour
- Tess Gerritsen – The Surgeon; The Apprentice
- Jeffery Deaver – The Bone Collector
8. Historical crime
What if your murder mystery came with a completely different set of rules?
Historical crime combines crime and mystery with a carefully recreated historical setting. The investigation might take place in Tudor England, Victorian London, Ancient Rome or another period where the detectives don’t have access to modern technology — which can make solving the crime considerably more interesting.
You might like it if: you enjoy history, period settings and mysteries where the time and place are almost characters in their own right.
Look out for: C.J. Sansom, Lindsey Davis, Anne Perry, Ellis Peters and Andrew Taylor.
Try:
- C.J. Sansom – Dissolution; Dark Fire
- Lindsey Davis – The Silver Pigs; Shadows in Bronze
- Anne Perry – The Cater Street Hangman; The Face of a Stranger
- Ellis Peters – A Morbid Taste for Bones; One Corpse Too Many
9. Legal thrillers
The investigation might start with a crime, but the real battle takes place in the courtroom.
Legal thrillers bring together lawyers, trials, investigations and the secrets surrounding a case. Expect high stakes, clever arguments, difficult decisions and at least a few moments when you think you’ve finally worked out what’s going on.
You might like it if: you enjoy courtroom drama, legal twists, battles for justice and stories where the outcome can change with one piece of evidence.
Look out for: John Grisham, Scott Turow, Michael Connelly, James Grippando and Robert Dugoni.
Try:
- John Grisham – The Firm; The Client
- Scott Turow – Presumed Innocent
- Michael Connelly – The Lincoln Lawyer
- James Grippando – A Walk in the Dark; Last Call
Looking for Afrikaans crime fiction?
We couldn’t leave this one out.
South Africa has a strong crime-writing tradition, and Afrikaans crime fiction has its own distinctive voice, characters and settings. If you enjoy crime stories that feel a little closer to home, there are plenty of local authors to explore.
Look out for:
- Deon Meyer – Benny Griessel series
- Karin Brynard – Inspector Beeslaar series.
- Rudie van Rensburg – Kassie Kasselman series.
- Chris Karsten – Ella Neser series.
- Irma Venter
- Chanette Paul
So, which one sounds like you?
Want to solve the murder yourself? Start with detective fiction.
Prefer to follow the investigation from the inside? Try a police procedural.
Want unreliable narrators and twists? Psychological crime might be your thing.
Prefer your murders accompanied by tea and a village full of suspiciously colourful characters? You know where to go.
And if none of those quite fits, that’s fine too. Crime fiction has a habit of crossing its own boundaries. A book can be historical and cosy, psychological and forensic, noir and detective fiction — sometimes all at once.
That’s part of the fun.
Continue exploring
📚 Browse crime fiction on Bookle
Have a look through our collection of preloved crime fiction books and see what catches your eye.
📖 Try another reading guide
Fancy something a little less murderous? Explore our Bookle Reading Guide: Romance and discover the many different sides of romantic fiction.
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