Most read Hardboiled books

Centuries from now, human consciousness can be digitised and stored on a "stack" implanted at the base of the skull, then re-sleeved into a new body at will. Death is negotiable for those who can afford it; the wealthy are effectively immortal. Takeshi Kovacs — a former Envoy, an elite and dangerous kind of soldier — is killed on his home world and wakes up hundreds of light-years away in a borrowed body on Earth, downloaded into a job he did not choose. His new employer is Laurens Bancroft, one of the near-immortal super-rich, who was found with his head blown off. Bancroft was restored from a backup, but the backup predates his death, so he has no memory of it — and he does not believe the police verdict of suicide. He hires Kovacs to find out who killed him, and why. What follows is a hard-boiled murder investigation set in a neon, rain-slicked future, unfolding through virtual torture, designer drugs, corporate conspiracy, and the philosophical vertigo of a world where the self can be copied, edited, and deleted. Violent, cerebral, and stylish, Altered Carbon is a landmark of modern cyberpunk and the first novel in the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy.

• anti hero
• morally grey
• fish out of water

A body sealed in a Hollywood drainage pipe turns personal when LAPD detective Harry Bosch recognizes the victim as a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat." Refusing to accept an easy overdose ruling, Bosch traces the death to an audacious underground bank heist — an investigation that pairs him with FBI agent Eleanor Wish and puts him in the crosshairs of his own department. The Edgar-winning debut that launched Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series.

• anti hero
• morally grey
• betrayal

Former military policeman Jack Reacher is helping a stranger with a dropped bag of dry cleaning outside a Chicago laundromat when three armed men force them both into a van. The woman, Holly Johnson, is an FBI agent — though she doesn't reveal she is also the daughter of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Driven across the country to a remote compound, Reacher and Holly are held by an armed separatist militia with its own plans for the Fourth of July. While the FBI hunts for a suspect who is, in fact, one of the two victims, Reacher has to work his way free, figure out what the militia is building, and get himself and Holly out before their deadline arrives. The second Reacher novel, following Killing Floor, moves the character out of small-town trouble and into a cross-country abduction with federal and paramilitary stakes.

• survival

Private eye Philip Marlowe takes a simple blackmail job for a dying millionaire and his two wild daughters, only to sink into a Los Angeles underworld of pornography, gambling, and murder. Raymond Chandler's debut novel introduced Marlowe and helped define the hardboiled detective story.

A grieving ex-detective turned private investigator hunts the serial killer he believes murdered his wife and daughter, in the book that launched John Connolly's Charlie Parker series.

• morally grey
• unreliable narrator
• revenge

Grieving over the murder of his family, private detective Charlie "Bird" Parker returns to Maine in search of refuge, and becomes caught up in the murders of a young mother and her child, a crime that could be linked to the troubled history of Parker's own grandfather.

• dual timeline
• mystery box
• reluctant hero

El detective Charlie Parker investiga la muerte de una joven que estudiaba una comunidad religiosa desaparecida sin dejar rastro treinta años atrás. Tras la aparente suicida se esconde una organización de fanáticos dispuesta a matar para proteger sus secretos.

• secret society

When a young Black man faces the death penalty for the rape and murder of a South Carolina tycoon's daughter, private detective Charlie Parker is pulled from his hard-won peace in Maine into a case rooted in old, buried evil. Investigating for an old friend, Parker confronts an imprisoned preacher bent on revenge and the ghosts of a violence that will not stay buried.

• revenge

In an alternate present, a Jewish settlement thrives in Sitka, Alaska, creating a Yiddish-speaking metropolis. Detective Meyer Landsman is drawn into a murder investigation that could destabilize this unique community. It's a hard-boiled mystery with a fascinating historical twist.

Two former army officers are found dead, murdered in a bizarre, ritualistic way. Both women knew Jack Reacher, and both had been forced out of the service. When the FBI creates a profile of the killer—a smart, ruthless loner from the military—it sounds an awful lot like Reacher himself. Now, he must find the real killer before he becomes the prime suspect.

• mystery box
• anti hero

Fresh off a forced leave, LAPD detective Harry Bosch draws a grim case: a Hollywood producer shot dead in the trunk of his Rolls-Royce. It looks like a mob hit, and the brass want it closed — so of course Bosch follows the money to Las Vegas, into casino back rooms, LAPD and FBI corruption, and a reunion with former agent Eleanor Wish. The fifth Harry Bosch novel.

• anti hero
• morally grey
• betrayal

When a four-year-old girl vanishes from her home, Boston private investigator Patrick Kenzie takes on the desperate case. His search plunges him into the city's dark underbelly, a dangerous world of criminals and desperate secrets. Kenzie must navigate this treacherous landscape to uncover the truth behind the child's disappearance.

• quest
• morally grey
• survival

In the neon-lit underworld of Tokyo, a deadly conspiracy involving the CIA, the yakuza, and a corrupt government official converges on a single flash drive — and the woman who holds the key to it. John Rain, a lethal ex-special-forces operative with a shadowed past, is pulled back into the fray when he's hired to protect the daughter of a murdered official. As the hunt for the drive escalates and the players close in, Rain must navigate a web of betrayal and violence to keep her alive and uncover the truth behind the conspiracy.

• morally grey
• anti hero
• betrayal
• multiple povs

A brilliant attorney is playing a deadly game, creating his own rules for murder. Lieutenant Lucas Davenport, a sharp strategist, must enter the killer's twisted world to outwit him. Can Davenport beat the 'mad dog' before more lives are lost?

• rivals

Retired from the LAPD but unable to let go, Harry Bosch reopens a case that was taken from him years ago: the murder of film-production assistant Angella Benton and a two-million-dollar movie-set robbery. Working as a private investigator without a badge, he collides with resentful ex-colleagues, a guarded FBI unit, and his own past in Las Vegas. The ninth Harry Bosch novel, and the first told in Bosch's first-person voice.

• anti hero
• morally grey

Jack Reacher is trying to live a quiet life in Key West, working odd jobs. His peace is shattered when a private detective looking for him turns up dead, brutally murdered. Forced out of hiding, Reacher must uncover who is behind the killing and why they are targeting him, leading him into a dangerous investigation.

• anti hero
• reluctant hero

In 1950s Los Angeles, three ambitious cops chase justice through a city rife with corruption and murder. Each officer has his own secrets and methods, leading them down a dark path where the law is often bent. This hard-boiled crime novel features sharp dialogue and unforgettable characters.

• morally grey
• rivals
• anti hero

When his partner Miles Archer is killed on a routine tailing job, San Francisco detective Sam Spade becomes a police suspect. He must outwit liars and killers who all want a jewel-crusted black falcon.

• betrayal
• anti hero
• morally grey
• secret identity

A serial killer in London is piecing together a grotesque, Ragdoll-shaped body from the parts of six victims, and the investigation escalates into a manhunt through the city's underground and a final confrontation at a derelict hospital. Detective Nathan Rose and his colleagues must outpace a killer who taunts them at every turn.

• mystery box
• morally grey

A drifter finds himself entangled with a married woman and her diner owner husband. Their initial spark ignites a dangerous affair, leading to a desperate plot for freedom. But greed and deceit complicate their plans, pushing them towards a fate they may not escape.

• morally grey
• forbidden love
• betrayal

A hard-drinking, cynical private investigator in 1950s San Francisco takes on a case involving a murdered woman and a missing husband, only to uncover a conspiracy involving a mob boss and a corrupt politician.

Dave Robicheaux is back in New Orleans, but the city's shadows are as dark as ever. A murder pulls him into a dangerous web of corruption and violence, forcing him to confront his own demons. He'll need all his wits to navigate the treacherous streets and uncover the truth before it's too late.

• morally grey
• anti hero

In John Sandford's "Eyes of Prey," a doctor with a dangerous addiction to drugs becomes a chilling antagonist. His unpredictable nature and access to any substance make him a formidable foe. Sandford delivers a fast-paced mystery with sharp writing, showcasing his skill in crafting thrilling crime fiction.

• morally grey

A series of ritualistic murders in Minneapolis and Oklahoma City points toward a group of Native American activists seeking justice for historical wrongs. Lucas Davenport must track down the killers while navigating a complex web of political pressure and personal vendettas. The investigation forces the detective to confront a brand of violence that is as much about the past as it is about the present.

• anti hero
• revenge
• morally grey

L.A. private eye Elvis Cole heads to Louisiana to help a television star find her biological parents. What starts as a routine background check quickly turns dangerous as Cole uncovers a web of local corruption and long-buried secrets. He must navigate the unfamiliar bayou culture while someone tries to stop his investigation by any means necessary.

• fish out of water