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Recommendations based on The Last Good Kissby James Crumley
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
The Long Goodbye
by Raymond Chandler
A hard-boiled detective's journey to unravel the truth behind a mysterious disappearance.
The novel opens outside a club called the Dancers. It is late October or early November. No year is given for the events but internal evidence and the publication date of the novel place them between ... (Wikipedia)
The Black Echo
by Michael Connelly
A former LAPD detective is drawn into a web of mystery and crime as he investigates the death of a Vietnam vet.
The novel centers on Harry Bosch , a Vietnam veteran who served as a " tunnel rat " (nicknamed Hari Kari Bosch), with the 1st Infantry Division — a specialized soldier whose job it was to go into the ... (Wikipedia)
Galveston
by Nic Pizzolatto
A hitman on the run rescues a young girl and they flee to Galveston, where they confront their troubled pasts.
Recalling the moody violence of the early novels of Cormac McCarthy and Denis Johnson, a dark and visceral debut set along the seedy wastelands of Galveston by a young writer with a hard edge to his ... (Goodreads)
The Killing Kind
by John Connolly
A private detective is hired to investigate a series of gruesome murders, but soon realizes he may be dealing with a killer beyond human comprehension.
Troubled ex-cop turned private investigator Charlie Parker returns in the latest “compulsively readable” (,Publishers Weekly,) thriller from #1 internationally bestselling author John Connolly. John ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Neon Rain
by James Lee Burke
A detective's search for justice in a crime-ridden city, uncovering long-buried truths.
While fishing on a back country bayou New Orleans Police Department officer Dave Robicheaux finds a body. Robicheaux, once a U.S. Army infantry lieutenant who fought in the Vietnam War , , becomes ... (Wikipedia)
The Black Dahlia
by James Ellroy
A 1940s Los Angeles detective story, exploring the depths of a gruesome unsolved murder.
On January 15, 1947, the torture-ravished body of a beautiful young woman is found in a vacant lot. The victim makes headlines as the Black Dahlia—and so begins the greatest manhunt in California ... (Goodreads)
Every Dead Thing
by John Connolly
Private detective's quest for justice and revenge following the murder of his family.
Tortured and brilliant private detective Charlie Parker stars in this thriller by, New York Times, bestselling author John Connolly. Former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker is on the verge of ... (Goodreads)
Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West
by Cormac McCarthy
A violent and bloody western epic, exploring the depths of human depravity.
An epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, Blood Meridian brilliantly subverts the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the "wild west." ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Monkey Wrench Gang
by Edward Abbey
A comedic adventure of environmental activism, fighting against corporate pollution.
The book's four main characters are ecologically minded misfits—"Seldom Seen" Smith, a Jack Mormon river guide; Doc Sarvis, an odd but wealthy and wise surgeon; Bonnie Abbzug, his young Jewish ... (Wikipedia)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
by James M. Cain
A crime drama of forbidden passion, deception and murder.
The story is narrated in the first person by Frank Chambers, a young drifter who stops at a rural California diner for a meal and ends up working there. The diner is operated by a beautiful young ... (Wikipedia)
The Big Sleep
by Raymond Chandler
Private eye investigates a complex case involving a wealthy family and blackmail.
Private investigator Philip Marlowe is called to the home of the wealthy and elderly General Sternwood, in the month of October. He wants Marlowe to deal with an attempt by a bookseller named Arthur ... (Wikipedia)
L.A. Confidential
by James Ellroy
An epic crime noir set in 1950s Los Angeles, exploring the dark underbelly of the city.
The story is about several Los Angeles Police Department officers in the early 1950s who become embroiled in a mix of sex, corruption and murder following a massacre at the Nite Owl coffee shop. The ... (Wikipedia)
The Lady in the Lake
by Raymond Chandler
Private investigator Phillip Marlowe investigates the disappearance of a young woman, uncovering a sinister plot.
Derace Kingsley, a wealthy businessman, hires Marlowe to find his estranged wife, Crystal. Kingsley had received a telegram from Crystal about two weeks before stating that she was divorcing him and ... (Wikipedia)
Mystic River
by Dennis Lehane
Three childhood friends are reunited by a tragedy that exposes their dark past and tests their loyalty.
The novel revolves around three boys who grow up as friends in Boston — Dave Boyle, Sean Devine, and Jimmy Marcus. When the story opens, Dave is abducted by child molesters while he, Sean, and Jimmy ... (Wikipedia)
Black Cherry Blues
by James Lee Burke
Detective Dave Robicheaux investigates a murder while confronting his own demons in the Louisiana bayou.
BACK IN THE UNDERWORLD HE TRIED TO LEAVE BEHIND Haunted by the memory of his wife's murder and his father's untimely death, ex-New Orleans cop Dave Robicheaux spends his days in a fish-and-tackle ... (Goodreads)
The Sins of the Fathers
by Lawrence Block
Private investigator Matt Scudder is hired to investigate a series of murders that seem to be connected to a group of men who committed a crime together years ago.
The pretty young prostitute is dead. Her alleged murderer—a minister's son—hanged himself in his jail cell. The case is closed. But the dead girl's father has come to Matthew Scudder for answers, ... (Goodreads)
The Lincoln Lawyer
by Michael Connelly
A defense attorney navigates the legal system and unravels a conspiracy that could destroy him.
Moderately successful criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller operates around Los Angeles County out of a Lincoln Town Car (hence the title) driven by a former client working off his legal fees. ... (Wikipedia)
Dark Hollow
by John Connolly
Private detective Charlie Parker investigates a small town's dark secrets, including a mysterious creature lurking in the woods.
Dark Hollow is a masterful second novel from a young Irish writer whose storytelling skills were established with Every Dead Thing. Now his fiery, ingenious detective, Charlie Bird Parker, returns to ... (Goodreads)
Naked Prey
by John Sandford
A thrilling story of survival as a man is hunted by a ruthless enemy.
Lucas Davenport finds some changes — and some nasty surprises — in store, in the chilling new novel by the number-one-bestselling author. After thirteen years and thirteen Prey novels, John ... (Goodreads)
Ironweed
by William Kennedy
An exploration of the struggles of the homeless, and the power of redemption.
Ironweed is set during the Great Depression and tells the story of Francis Phelan , an alcoholic vagrant originally from Albany, New York , who left his family after accidentally killing his infant ... (Wikipedia)
The Tin Roof Blowdown
by James Lee Burke
Detective Dave Robicheaux investigates the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, uncovering corruption and violence in New Orleans.
This is James Lee Burke's latest mystery featuring Dave Robicheaux. It is also much more than that. The story begins with the shooting of two would-be looters in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, ... (Goodreads)
Tree of Smoke
by Denis Johnson
Epic tale of an American family's journey through the Vietnam War.
Johnson's novel revolves around the associations and interactions with Francis X. Sands, a retired Air Force colonel and war hero, now a CIA official in Southeast Asia. The story is told primarily ... (Wikipedia)
Darkness, Take My Hand
by Dennis Lehane
Detective's hunt for a serial killer in a gritty urban setting.
Master of new noir Dennis Lehane magnificently evokes the dignity and savagery of working-class Boston in Darkness, Take My Hand, a terrifying tale of redemption. Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro’s ... (Goodreads)
The Big Nowhere
by James Ellroy
A crime noir set in 1950s Los Angeles, unraveling a web of corruption and violence.
The plot is about three characters; L.A. Deputy Sheriff Danny Upshaw investigates a brutal sex murder which becomes a string of killings, working outside the law in his efforts to catch him. Turner ... (Wikipedia)
Cannery Row
by John Steinbeck
An exploration of the lives of the inhabitants of a small town in California.
Cannery Row has a simple premise: Mack and his friends are trying to do something nice for their friend Doc, who has been good to them without asking for reward. Mack hits on the idea that they ... (Wikipedia)
Days Without End
by Sebastian Barry
A young Irishman flees famine and war, finding love and a new family in the American West during the Indian and Civil Wars.
Thomas McNulty, aged barely seventeen and having fled the Great Famine in Ireland, signs up for the U.S. Army in the 1850s. With his brother in arms, John Cole, Thomas goes on to fight in the Indian ... (Goodreads)
Stories of Your Life and Others
by Ted Chiang
A collection of short stories exploring themes of science, technology, and humanity.
Ted Chiang's first published story, ",Tower of Babylon," won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon ... (Goodreads)
Flaubert's Parrot
by Julian Barnes
A quest to uncover the life of the author, exploring his works and the truth behind them.
The novel follows Geoffrey Braithwaite, a widowed, retired English doctor, visiting France. While visiting sites related to Flaubert, Geoffrey discovers two museums claiming to display the stuffed ... (Wikipedia)
Gone, Baby, Gone
by Dennis Lehane
Private detectives search for a missing four-year-old girl in an urban environment.
Boston private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are hired to find four-year-old Amanda McCready, abducted from her bed on a warm, summer night. They meet her stoned-out, strangely ... (Goodreads)
Blood Work
by Michael Connelly
A retired FBI agent unravels a mystery while struggling with his own mortality.
After receiving a heart transplant, retired FBI criminal profiler Terrell "Terry" McCaleb is contacted by Graciela Rivers, the sister of his donor Gloria, and asked to investigate her death, which ... (Wikipedia)
