100 Best Pulp Fiction Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

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1

The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)

Dan Brown

5.0

An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.

A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe.

An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.

While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbol

Recommended by Ev Williams and Neal O'Gorman.

Neal O'Gorman

Certainly, a previous non-business book which I really enjoyed (along with many other people) was the Da Vinci Code. I was living in the States at the time, and it was a rare occasion to be on a plane and not see someone reading it. [source]

2

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

Suzanne Collins

4.9

WINNING MEANS FAME AND FORTUNE.
LOSING MEANS CERTAIN DEATH.
THE HUNGER GAMES HAVE BEGUN. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and once girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in

Recommended by Bill Gates and Robert Muchamore.

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

On Bill Gates's reading list in 2012. [source]

Robert Muchamore

A brutal, exciting, action-based sci-fi novel. Hugely popular and excellent fun. [source]

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3

The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe, #1)

Raymond Chandler

4.9

"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid....He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man.

This is the Code of the Private Eye as defined by Raymond Chandler in his 1944 essay 'The Simple Act of Murder.' Such a man was Philip Marlowe, private eye, an educated, heroic, streetwise, rugged

Recommended by Simon Brett.

Simon Brett

I think the writing is just so beautiful. Raymond Chandler’s hopeless at plots, as we know. He said himself, if he couldn’t think of what to do, he brought in a man with a gun. But the language… I remember some years ago an American publisher got the rights to do a book called Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe and got various contemporary crime writers to write a Philip Marlowe story. I was asked to do one – it was great fun. I was very excited, because it meant rereading all the books again. I found I could do the wisecracks, but I couldn’t do them as economically as he could. I think that’s what I admire in Chandler; he’s very economical with his words. And also he can do something that very few writers can do, he can actually use a joke to increase tension rather than release tension. Normally we think of comic relief: you build up the tension and then you break it with a joke. But Chandler could actually make the tension tighter with a joke, which I think is a great achievement. [source]

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4

Tarzan of the Apes (Tarzan, #1)

Edgar Rice Burroughs

4.8

Tarzan of the Apes
How is this book unique?
Illustrations Included
Free Audiobook
Unabridged Edition
Original Edition
E-Reader friendly

Tarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912. The character was so popular that Burroughs conti

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5

A Princess of Mars (Barsoom, #1)

Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Seelye

4.8

A Princess of Mars is the first of eleven thrilling novels that comprise Edgar Rice Burroughs' most exciting saga, known as The Martian Series. It's the beginning of an incredible odyssey in which John Carter, a gentleman from Virginia and a Civil War veteran, unexpectedly finds himself on to the red planet, scene of continuing combat among rival tribes. Captured by a band of six-limbed, green-ski

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6

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Conan the Cimmerian, #1)

Robert E. Howard

4.7

Poem and first 13 tales, in order written, plus Miscellanea drafts, notes, maps by author.
Cimmeria poem
1 The Phoenix on the Sword 1932
2 The Frost-Giant's Daughter 1976
3 The God in the Bowl 1952
4 The Tower of the Elephant 1933
5 The Scarlet Citadel 1933
6 Queen of the Black Coast 1934
7 Black Colossus 1933
8 Iron Shadows in the Moon 1934
9 Xuthal of the Dusk 1933
10 The Pool of the Black One 1933
11 Rogu

7

The Maltese Falcon

Dashiell Hammett

4.6

Sam Spade is hired by the fragrant Miss Wonderley to track down her sister, who has eloped with a louse called Floyd Thursby. But Miss Wonderley is in fact the beautiful and treacherous Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and when Spade's partner Miles Archer is shot while on Thursby's trail, Spade finds himself both hunter and hunted: can he track down the jewel-encrusted bird, a treasure worth killing for, be

Recommended by Armistead Maupin and James Twining.

Armistead Maupin

The Modern Library named The Maltese Falcon one of the top 100 novels of the century. It was the first, and probably the greatest, hard-boiled detective novel. It pretty much invented the genre and its archetypes, including the femme fatale and the hard-drinking detective – in this case Sam Spade. Hammett created a prototype that’s been followed ever since. [source]

James Twining

In this one you’ve got an interesting central character, Sam Spade, who’s bitter and sardonic and plays each side off against the other. [source]

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8

The Bloody Crown of Conan (Conan the Cimmerian, #2)

Robert E. Howard, Patrice Louinet, Gary Gianni, Rusty Burke

4.6

In his hugely influential and tempestuous career, Robert E. Howard created the genre that came to be known as sword and sorcery-and brought to life one of fantasy's boldest and most enduring figures: Conan the Cimmerian-reaver, slayer, barbarian, king.

This lavishly illustrated volume gathers together three of Howard's longest and most famous Conan stories-two of them printed for the first time dir

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9

A Time to Kill (Jake Brigance, #1)

John Grisham, Michael Beck, et al

4.6

Librarian's Note: Alternate-cover edition for ISBN 0385338600 / 9780385338608

Before The Firm and The Pelican Brief made him a superstar, John Grisham wrote this riveting story of retribution and justice. In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence...as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town...Cla

Recommended by The Secret Barrister.

The Secret Barrister

This was the holiday-reading book which, as a teenager, inspired me to pursue criminal law. The gritty reality of criminal practice is of course somewhat removed from the fictionalised ideal, and any lawyer acting in the way that our hero Jake Brigance does in securing a just outcome for his innocent client would have to deal with fairly serious professional consequences, but the underlying themes transcend time and realities. [source]

10

The Shining

Stephen King

4.6

Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he'll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote...and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible force

Recommended by Daisy Johnson and R J Ellory.

Daisy Johnson

If you think you know the story because you’ve seen the film then you’d be wrong. This book is an absolute classic and a great way into the vast King oeuvre. [source]

R J Ellory

I have always rated Stephen King. I think he is so much more than just a commercially successful horror writer. [source]

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11

The Pelican Brief

John Grisham

4.5

In suburban Georgetown a killer's Reeboks whisper on the front floor of a posh home... In a seedy D.C. porno house a patron is swiftly garroted to death... The next day America learns that two of its Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. And in New Orleans, a young law student prepares a legal brief... To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess. To the W

Recommended by Louise Bagshawe.

Louise Bagshawe

This was probably the last book I read where I literally stayed up until three o’clock in the morning because I could not stop reading it. I just think it is such a brilliant fast-paced story. The characterisation is sparse, terse, but nevertheless really well-drawn. He doesn’t do psychology but it’s a chase story with an ongoing mystery in the back. [source]

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12

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, #2)

Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland

4.5

Part blistering espionage thriller, part riveting police procedural, and part piercing exposé on social injustice, The Girl Who Played with Fire is a masterful, endlessly satisfying novel.

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible

13

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)

Stieg Larsson and Reg Keelan

4.5

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and

14

The Andromeda Strain

Michael Crichton

4.5

In this bestselling classic, four scientists race to prevent a biochemical disaster after a space probe landing goes awry.

A military space probe, sent to collect extraterrestrial organisms from the upper atmosphere, is knocked out of orbit and falls to Earth. Twelve miles from the crash site, an inexplicable and deadly phenomenon terrorizes the residents of a sleepy desert town in Arizona, leaving

Recommended by Dez Blanchfield and Tess Gerritsen.

Dez Blanchfield

@isotopp wasn't that an awesome book ( and movie ) [source]

Tess Gerritsen

This was the first science thriller I ever read. I remember thinking it was the first book to make real science so exciting. [source]

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15

Farewell, My Lovely (Philip Marlowe, #2)

Raymond Chandler

4.5

Marlowe's about to give up on a completely routine case when he finds himself in the wrong place at the right time to get caught up in a murder that leads to a ring of jewel thieves, another murder, a fortune-teller, a couple more murders, and more corruption than your average graveyard.

Recommended by Dennis McDougal.

Dennis McDougal

It’s a hardboiled Raymond Chandler murder mystery that’s been made and remade into movies. It’s not only a great read filled with crackerjack characters but it really captures the essence of Southern California, even though it was published well over a half century ago, back when there was no freeway system at all. [source]

16

Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)

Michael Crichton, Scott Brick, et al

4.5

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price.

Until something goes wrong. . . .

In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizing talent and scientific b

Recommended by Richard Branson.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

17

Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)

Dan Brown

4.5

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization -- the Illuminati. In a desperate race to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in

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18

The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps

Otto Penzler

4.5

The biggest, the boldest, the most comprehensive collection of Pulp writing ever assembled.

Weighing in at over a thousand pages, containing over forty-seven stories and two novels, this book is big baby, bigger and more powerful than a freight train—a bullet couldn’t pass through it. Here are the best stories and every major writer who ever appeared in celebrated Pulps like Black Mask, Dime Detect

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19

The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2)

Thomas Harris

4.5

Hannibal Lecter. The ultimate villain of modern fiction. Read the five-million-copy bestseller that scared the world silent. The Silence of the Lambs. A young FBI trainee. An evil genius locked away for unspeakable crimes. A plunge into the darkest chambers of a psychopath's mind--in the deadly search for a serial killer. - back cover

Recommended by James Twining and Peter James.

James Twining

Harris breaks a story in that he popularised or exposed the workings of the FBI’s criminal profiling unit. He put them on the map. [source]

Peter James

If you want to be a crime writer it is one of the books that you absolutely have to read. It has been one of the most successful, if not the most successful, crime novel of the 20th century. [source]

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20

Sphere

Michael Crichton

4.5

A group of American scientists are rushed to a huge vessel that has been discovered resting on the ocean floor in the middle of the South Pacific. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently, undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old.

Recommended by Ev Williams and Estelle Francis.

Estelle Francis

This has got to be one of my all-time favourite books. As you say, Crichton manages to incorporate countless scientific details without it becoming too overwhelming. [source]

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21

The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan the Cimmerian, #3)

Robert E. Howard, Patrice Louinet, Gregory Manchess

4.5

From Robert E. Howard, the master of heroic fantasy, come five classic adventures featuring Conan, the legendary Cimmerian.

Listen to The Conquering Sword of Conan on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.

22

Carrie

Stephen King

4.5

A modern classic, Carrie introduced a distinctive new voice in American fiction -- Stephen King. The story of misunderstood high school girl Carrie White, her extraordinary telekinetic powers, and her violent rampage of revenge, remains one of the most barrier-breaking and shocking novels of all time.

Make a date with terror and live the nightmare that is...Carrie
--back cover

Recommended by Darren Aronofsky.

Darren Aronofsky

I proceeded to pound through procrastinating by reading this book, scaring the living crap out of myself. [source]

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23

The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane

Robert E. Howard

4.5

With Conan the Cimmerian, Robert E. Howard created more than the greatest action hero of the twentieth century—he also launched a genre that came to be known as sword and sorcery. But Conan wasn’t the first archetypal
adventurer to spring from Howard’s fertile imagination.

“He was . . . a strange blending of Puritan and Cavalier, with a touch of the ancient philosopher, and more than a touch of th

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24

Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1)

Richard K. Morgan, Todd McLaren, et al

4.4

Four hundred years from now mankind is strung out across a region of interstellar space inherited from an ancient civilization discovered on Mars. The colonies are linked together by the occasional sublight colony ship voyages and hyperspatial data-casting. Human consciousness is digitally freighted between the stars and downloaded into bodies as a matter of course.

But some things never change. So

Recommended by Zooko Wilcox.

Zooko Wilcox

I have vivid memories of the Altered Carbon book(s). [source]

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25

From Russia with Love (James Bond, #5)

Ian Fleming

4.4

James Bond is marked for death by the Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH in Ian Fleming’s masterful spy thriller, and the novel that President John F. Kennedy named one of his favorite books of all time.

SMERSH stands for “Death to Spies” and there’s no secret agent they’d like to disgrace and destroy more than 007, James Bond. But ensnaring the British Secret Service’s most lethal operative

Recommended by James Twining, Keith Jeffery, and Pete Winner.

James Twining

You’d have to struggle to look at literary fiction over the past 50 years and come up with a character who has really inhabited the popular consciousness. [source]

Keith Jeffery

Although Bond gets wounded or into trouble, he always manages to come out on top in the end. [source]

Pete Winner

Well, this is all about the Cold War. It is a similar story to what Gaz Hunter was into – going across the East German border, lurking around, possibly getting captured and tortured by the Russians. [source]

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26

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium, #3)

Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland

4.4

The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson's internationally best-selling trilogy.

Lisbeth Salander - the heart of Larsson's two previous novels - lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for thre

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27

The Firm

John Grisham

4.4

When Mitch McDeere signed on with Bendini, Lambert and Locke of Memphis, he thought he and his beautiful wife, Abby, were on their way. The firm leased him a BMW, paid off his school loans, arranged a mortgage, and hired him a decorator. Mitch McDeere should have remembered what his brother Ray-doing fifteen years in a Tennessee jail- already knew. You never get nothing for nothing. Now the FBI ha

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28

The Godfather

Mario Puzo, Anthony Puzo, et al

4.4

The Godfather—the epic tale of crime and betrayal that became a global phenomenon.

Almost fifty years ago, a classic was born. A searing portrayal of the Mafia underworld, The Godfather introduced readers to the first family of American crime fiction, the Corleones, and their powerful legacy of tradition, blood, and honor. The seduction of power, the pitfalls of greed, and the allegiance to family—

Recommended by Michal Ptacek and Nicky Cullen.

Michal Ptacek

My most favourite book is Godfather by Mario Puzo. I think it is even slightly more interesting and better than a movie which is almost perfect. Total masterpiece :) [source]

Nicky Cullen

That is such a tough question. I'm going to say The Godfather because I couldn't stop until it was finished. [source]

29

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

John le Carré

4.4

In this classic, John le Carre's third novel and the first to earn him international acclaim, he created a world unlike any previously experienced in suspense fiction. With unsurpassed knowledge culled from his years in British Intelligence, le Carre brings to light the shadowy dealings of international espionage in the tale of a British agent who longs to end his career but undertakes one final,

Recommended by Ben Macintyre, Keith Jeffery, and Nick Harkaway.

Ben Macintyre

I think it sets the standard for all spy literature. It’s very hard to improve on The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It’s the classic le Carré recipe of compromised individuals trying to find their way through a labyrinth of deception and self-deception [source]

Keith Jeffery

This is at the far end of the spectrum from James Bond, but it also says a lot about the bureaucracy of the Service. [source]

Nick Harkaway

It runs on rails from its inception to a point of crisis from which there is no return. And it’s really beautifully and brilliantly executed in its inevitability. It’s totally bleak, yet at the same time there is a feather of victory in it as well. It’s a really extraordinary book. [source]

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30

When Heroes Flew

H. W. "Buzz" Bernard

4.4

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31

The Long Goodbye (Philip Marlowe, #6)

Raymond Chandler

4.4

Down-and-out drunk Terry Lennox has a problem: his millionaire wife is dead and he needs to get out of LA fast. So he turns to the only friend he can trust: private investigator Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is willing to help a man down on his luck, but later Lennox commits suicide in Mexico and things start to turn nasty. Marlowe is drawn into a sordid crowd of adulterers and alcoholics in LA's Idle V

Recommended by Lynda La Plante.

Lynda La Plante

Raymond Chandler is a master of the crime novel and his short stories are a terrific read that I return to very often. [source]

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32

Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1)

Jim Butcher

4.4

HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD

Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is act

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33

Red Harvest

Dashiell Hammett

4.4

When the last honest citizen of Poisonville was murdered, the Continental Op stayed on to punish the guilty--even if that meant taking on an entire town. Red Harvest is more than a superb crime novel: it is a classic exploration of corruption and violence in the American grain.

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34

The Warlord of Mars (Barsoom, #3)

Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Bolen

4.4

John Carter risks everything to rescue his wife, Princess Dejah Thoris, from the clutches of his evil adversaries, but he is always just one step behind! His battles cover the face of the red planet, as his quest carries him ultimately to the mysterious northern pole. Will this civilization, submerged in ice, prove fatal to our hero? This is the third of eleven in the popular 'Martian' series by E

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35

The Postman Always Rings Twice

James M. Cain

4.3

Cain's first novel - the subject of an obscenity trial in Boston and the inspiration for Camus's The Stranger - is the fever-pitched tale of a drifter who stumbles into a job, into an erotic obsession, and into a murder.

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36

Red Storm Rising

Tom Clancy

4.3

"Allah!"

With that shrill cry, three Muslim terrorists blow up a key Soviet oil complex, creating a critical oil shortage that threatens the stability of the USSR.

To offer the effects of this disaster, members of the Politburo and the KGB devise a brilliant plan of diplomatic trickery - a sequence of events designed to pit the NATO allies against each other - a distraction calculated to enable the

Recommended by Cristian-Dragos Baciu and P W Singer and August Cole.

Cristian-Dragos Baciu

Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy also deserves mentioning. [source]

P W Singer and August Cole

Tom Clancy was the master and Red Storm Rising was written at the height of his game. The reading experience was addictive. [source]

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37

Casino Royale (James Bond, #1)

Ian Fleming

4.3

In the novel that introduced James Bond to the world, Ian Fleming’s agent 007 is dispatched to a French casino in Royale-les-Eaux. His mission? Bankrupt a ruthless Russian agent who’s been on a bad luck streak at the baccarat table.

One of SMERSH’s most deadly operatives, the man known only as “Le Chiffre,” has been a prime target of the British Secret Service for years. If Bond can wipe out his ba

Recommended by Ben Macintyre.

Ben Macintyre

I think it’s the best of them, and it’s wonderful because it reveals what I think is the essential Bond. [source]

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38

Double Indemnity

James M. Cain

4.3

Tautly narrated and excruciatingly suspenseful, Double Indemnity gives us an X-ray view of guilt, of duplicity, and of the kind of obsessive, loveless love that devastates everything it touches. First published in 1935, this novel reaffirmed James M. Cain as a virtuoso of the roman noir.

39

Deception Point

Dan Brown

4.3

When a new NASA satellite spots evidence of an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory...a victory that has profound implications for U.S. space policy and the impending presidential election. With the Oval Office in the balance, the President dispatches White House Intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton to the Milne Ice She

Recommended by Nic Nemeth.

Nic Nemeth

Deception Point is the best Dan Brown book... https://t.co/DBhQVzsqVH [source]

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40

The Rainmaker

John Grisham

4.3

InThe Rainmaker, John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America -- and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In his final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his

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41

Joyland

Stephen King

4.3

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Joyland is a brand-new novel and has never previously been published.

42

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, #1)

Lee Child

4.3

Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. He's just passing through Margrave, Georgia, and in less than an hour, he's arrested for murder. Not much of a welcome. All Jack knows is that he didn't kill anybody. At least not here. Not lately. But he doesn't stand a chance of convincing anyone. not in Margrave, Georgia. Not a chance in hell.

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43

The Client

John Grisham

4.3

In a weedy lot on the outskirts of Memphis, two boys watch a shiny Lincoln pull up to the curb...Eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his younger brother were sharing a forbidden cigarette when a chance encounter with a suicidal lawyer left Mark knowing a bloody and explosive secret: the whereabouts of the most sought-after dead body in America. Now Mark is caught between a legal system gone mad and a mo

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44

The Return of Tarzan (Tarzan, #2)

Edgar Rice Burroughs

4.3

The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs The story of a young man who, although born of a woman, was left by a succession of untoward circumstances to be reared in an African jungle by a she-ape, the only mother he ever knew. Tarzan was drawn from the jungle by love for a young American girl whom chance threw in his way. Disappointment in love, in this new volume, results in his return to the

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45

The Body Keeper (Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries Book 3)

Anne Frasier

4.3

The Thriller Award–winning series continues as Detective Jude Fontaine finds a decades-old connection to missing children that will freeze her blood.

A boy’s frozen body is found trapped in the ice of a Minneapolis lake. The horrifying discovery leads Detective Jude Fontaine and her partner, Uriah Ashby, to more bodies in the ice, all of twelve-year-old boys missing for twenty years.

Then, in one of

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46

The Beasts of Tarzan (Tarzan, #3)

Edgar Rice Burroughs

4.3

As THE BEASTS OF TARZAN begins, Tarzan -- as Lord Greystoke -- is settled in civilized London. But two of his enemies, Nikolas Rokoff and henchman Alexis Paulvitch, are on his trail. The pair abducts Jane -- and Tarzan's son, Jack. Tarzan himself is stranded on a desert island, but with the help of Sheeta the panther and Akut the great ape he makes it back to the mainland. There he meets Mugambi,

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47

Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, #4)

Jim Butcher

4.2

For the 1st printing edition of this ISBN, see here.

HARRY DRESDEN -- WIZARD

Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment

Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can't pay his rent. He's alienating his friends. He

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48

Persuader (Jack Reacher, #7)

Lee Child

4.2

Never forgive, never forget.

Jack Reacher lives for the moment. Without a home. Without commitment. But he has a burning desire to right wrongs - and rewrite his own agonizing past.

Never apologize. Never explain.

When Reacher witnesses a brutal kidnap attempt, he takes the law into his own hands. But a cop dies. Has Reacher lost his sense of right and wrong?

Recommended by Andre Chaperon and Louis Grenier.

Andre Chaperon

The very first fiction book I read, like a proper fiction book was Persuader by Lee Child which is book number seven of his Jack Reacher series. I was 35 at the time, I’m 43 now so that was a few years ago. It just changed everything for me. It set the biggest impact on my writing style, it’s reading those Lee Child books, those Jack Reacher books. For me, that was the biggest shift. It’s like, “Oh wow. This writing is amazing.” Then I was just basically taking that and applying it to the business writing. [source]

Louis Grenier

About storytelling: one book in particular that was recommended by one of my guests, Andre Chaperon, who’s one of the best copywriters out there. Books by Lee Child: one of his series is Jack Reacher, which is basically a thriller series of books. The way the stories are told is breathtaking and you can apply a lot of storytelling principles in your marketing by just reading those books. [source]

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49

The Persian Gamble: A Marcus Ryker Series Political and Military Action Thriller: (book 2)

Joel C. Rosenberg

4.2

The instant New York Times, USA TODAY, and Publishers Weekly bestseller!

Over 100,000 copies sold!

"Joel C. Rosenberg continues to mix his unique blend of prophetic fiction and nonstop action unlike anyone else working today." --The Real Book Spy on The Persian Gamble.

"The plot is intriguing. The pace just keeps accelerating. A must read!" --Porter Goss, former director of the Central Intelligence A

50

Twilight (Twilight, #1)

Stephenie Meyer

4.2

About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite.

51

Pulp Fiction: A Quentin Tarantino Screenplay

Quentin Tarantino

4.2

Quentin Tarantino - director of "Reservoir Dogs" and writer of "True Romance" - won the Palme d'Or for best film at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival for "Pulp Fiction, " his unique vision of the underworld, starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Samuel Jackson, and Harvey Keitel. Taking his inspiration from the popular, and often lurid, "pulp" crime stories of the thirties and forties, Ta

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52

Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, #11)

Lee Child

4.2

From a helicopter high above the empty California desert, a man is sent free-falling into the night…. In Chicago, a woman learns that an elite team of ex–army investigators is being hunted down one by one.... And on the streets of Portland, Jack Reacher—soldier, cop, hero—is pulled out of his wandering life by a code that few other people could understand. From the first shocking scenes in Lee Chi

53

Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, #2)

James Patterson

4.2

In Los Angeles, a reporter investigating a series of murders is killed. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a beautiful medical intern suddenly disappears. In Washington D.C. Alex Cross is back to solve the most baffling and terrifying murder case ever. Two clever pattern killers are collaborating, cooperating, competing - and they are working coast to coast.

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54

Thuvia, Maid of Mars (Barsoom, #4)

Edgar Rice Burroughs

4.2

Mars has become divided by love. Not one, but two princes and a Jeddak are vying for the love of Thuvia of Ptarth. When she is mysteriously kidnapped, treachery threatens to throw Barsoom into bloody war. Now Cathoris must follow in the footsteps of his father, John Carter, and overcome phantom armies, dangerous spies and savage beasts as he attempts to save his true love and reunite Mars. The fou

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55

The Living Shadow (The Shadow #1)

Walter B. Gibson

4.2

WHO KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN?

THE SHADOW KNOWS. But no one knows THE SHADOW. Cloaked in darkness and mystery, the man in black is a legend to those who have felt his remorseless hand: The Underworld. One step outside the law and many leagues ahead of the police in the battle against crime, he haunts the forbidding canyons of Manhattan with a mocking laugh that strikes terror into

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56

Echo Burning (Jack Reacher, #5)

Lee Child

4.2

Hitching rides is an unreliable mode of transport. In temperatures of over a hundred degrees, you’re lucky if a driver will open the door of his air-conditioned car long enough to let you slide in. That’s Jack Reacher’s conclusion. He’s adrift in the fearsome heat of a Texas summer, and he needs to keep moving through the wide open vastness, like a shark in the water. The last thing he’s worried a

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57

The Chessmen of Mars (Barsoom #5)

Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Bolen

4.1

Impetuous and headstrong is Tara, Princess of Helium and daughter of John Carter. Tara meets Prince Gahan of Gathol, and is initially unimpressed, viewing him as something of a popinjay. Later she takes her flier into a storm and loses control of the craft, and the storm carries her to an unfamiliar region of Barsoom. After landing and fleeing from a pack of ferocious Banths (Martian lions), she i

58

Without Fail (Jack Reacher, #6)

Lee Child, Dick Hill

4.1

Skilled, cautious, and anonymous, Jack Reacher is perfect for the job: to assassinate the vice president of the United States. Theoretically, of course. A female Secret Service agent wants Reacher to find the holes in her system, and fast - because a covert group already has the vice president in their sights. They've planned well. There's just one thing they didn't plan on: Reacher.

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59

The Other Side of Midnight (Midnight #1)

Sidney Sheldon, Steven Pacey, et al

4.1

Paris...Washington...a peaceful Midwestern campus...a fabulous villa in Greece...all part of a terrifying web of intrigue and treachery as a ruthless trio of human beings - an incredibly beautiful film star, a legendary Greek tycoon, a womanizing international adventurer- use an innocent American girl as a bewildered, horror-stricken pawn in a desperate game of vengeance and betrayal, love and lus

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60

Tripwire (Jack Reacher, #3)

Lee Child

4.1

Jack Reacher, ex-military policeman relaxed in Key West until Costello turned up dead. The amiable PI was hired in New York by the daughter of Reacher's mentor and former commanding officer, General Garber. Garber's investigation into a Vietnam MIA sets Reacher on collision with hand-less "Hook" Hobie, hours away from his biggest score.

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61

Running Blind (Jack Reacher, #4)

Lee Child

4.1

The bestselling novel featuring the "wonderfully epic hero" (People) who inspired the hit film Jack Reacher.

Across the country women are being murdered, victims of a disciplined and clever killer who leaves no trace evidence, no fatal wounds, no signs of struggle, and no clues to an apparent motive. They are, truly, perfect crimes. In fact, there’s only one thing that links one victim to the next.

62

Then She Was Gone

Lisa Jewell

4.1

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she’s staying the night at

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63

Kull: Exile of Atlantis

Robert E. Howard, Patrice Louinet, Justin Sweet, Steve Tompkins

4.1

“Howard’s writing seems so highly charged with energy that it nearly gives off sparks.”
–Stephen King

“Robert E. Howard had a gritty, vibrant style–broadsword writing that cut its way to the heart, with heroes who are truly larger than life.”
–David Gemmell

In a meteoric career that spanned a mere twelve years, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcer

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64

Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (Tarzan, #5)

Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1stworld Library

4.1

Here Tarzan returns to Opar, the source of the gold for lost Atlantis. Ages ago Atlantis sunk beneath the waves -- but the denizens of Opar still mine the gold of this lost colony. Tarzan, following greedy pair -- one Belgian, one Arab -- into the jungle, where they stumble into the lost city. Bad enough -- and then Tarzan injures his head in a fight and loses his memory. That's great news for La,

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65

The Lies of Spies: (Kyle Achilles, Book 2)

Tim Tigner

4.1

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66

The Son of Tarzan (Tarzan, #4)

Edgar Rice Burroughs, J. St. John Allen

4.1

Alexis Paulvitch, one of Tarzan's enemies, wants to get even, so he draws Tarzan's son, Jack, away from London, but Jack isn't so easy to capture and kill. He escapes, and makes a home among the apes as his father did. He becomes known as Korak the Killer, and meets a lovely young woman named Meriem. Narrow escapes, fun action, and a definite sense of adventure in the wilds of Africa make this a m

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67

Money Shot (Angel Dare #1)

Christa Faust

4.1

THEY THOUGHT SHE'D BE EASY. THEY THOUGHT WRONG.

It all began with the phone call asking former porn star Angel Dare to do one more movie. Before she knew it, she'd been shot and left for dead in the trunk of a car. But Angel is a survivor. And that means she'll get to the bottom of what's been done to her even if she has to leave a trail of bodies along the way...

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68

A Killer's Mind (Zoe Bentley Mystery, #1)

Mike Omer

4.1

The New York Times and Washington Post bestselling serial-killer thriller that will leave you wondering, is the past really in the past?

Three Chicago women have been found strangled, embalmed, and posed as if still alive. Doubting the findings of the local PD’s profiler, The FBI calls on forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley to investigate.

Zoe quickly gets off on the wrong foot with her new partner, S

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69

Bleeding Blue (Boston Crime Thriller #2)

Brian Shea

4.1

With two street gangs on the brink of war, Detective Michael Kelly must solve a murder before the entire town goes up in flames.

THE SECOND NOVEL OF THE NEW BOSTON CRIME THRILLER SERIES BY FORMER DETECTIVE BRIAN SHEA.

Boston Homicide Detective Michael Kelly just took his latest case.

It seemed simple enough: a convenience store clerk gunned down in cold blood.

There’s just one catch...the store wa

70

Digital Fortress

Dan Brow

4.1

When the National Security Agency's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage... not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it would c

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71

Timeline

Michael Crichton

4.1

In an Arizona desert, a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no sense. Within twenty-four hours he is dead, his body swiftly cremated by his only known associates. Halfway around the world, archaeologists make a shocking discovery at a medieval site. Suddenly they are swept off to the headquarters of a secretive multinational corporation that has developed an astounding technology. Now

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72

Global Strike (The War Planners)

Andrew Watts

4.1

GLOBAL STRIKE: The final book in the USA Today bestselling War Planners series.

It has been over a year since the war began. A year since China launched a surprise attack on America.

On that fateful day, EMP and cyber weapons plunged much of the nation into a dark chaos. Thousands of anti-ship missiles gutted the US Pacific fleet. A Chinese-allied North Korea launched an all-out attack on South Ko

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73

A Fighting Man of Mars (Barsoom, #7)

Edgar Rice Burroughs

4.1

Tan Hadron from the realm of Gathol encounters a wide range of enemies in this science fiction thriller of the 1930's. He fends off green men, mad scientists, cannibals, spiders and white apes. The main character, Tan Hadron, finds himself an unlikely hero in this pulp fiction classic. "A Fighting Man of Mars," is the seventh book in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian series.

74

Die Trying (Jack Reacher, #2)

Lee Child

4.1

Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

In a Chicago suburb, a dentist is met in his office parking lot by three men and ordered into the trunk of his Lexus. On a downtown sidewalk, Jack Reacher and an unknown woman are abducted in broad daylight by two men - practiced and confident - who stop them at gunpoint and hustle them into the same sedan. Then Reacher and the woman are switched into

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75

The Sister-in-Law: An utterly gripping psychological thriller

Sue Watson

4.1

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76

Doctor No (James Bond, #6)

Ian Fleming

4.1

The sixth James Bond thriller from Ian Fleming’s typewriter.

Dispatched by M to investigate the mysterious disappearance of MI6’s Jamaica station chief, Bond was expecting a holiday in the sun. But when he discovers a deadly centipede placed in his hotel room, the vacation is over.

On this island, all suspicious activity leads inexorably to Dr Julius No, a reclusive megalomaniac with steel pincers f

Recommended by Pete Winner.

Pete Winner

Well, this is the one where James Bond has to go out to Jamaica and investigates the disappearance of Strangways, the head of Station J in Kingston. What I really like about all his books is the attention to detail. It was all based on his experiences when he worked for naval intelligence during the war. He could use terminology like Sit Rep. Many people had never heard of Sit Rep before but in Special Forces if you want to know what’s going on in a place you ask for a Sit Rep, which means a situation report. And then there is all the specialised equipment which you can get from Q. We have the same set-up in the SAS called Ops Research, where all new gadgets are tested and demonstrated and taken out into the field to be used, so he really was writing from real life experience. [source]

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77

Quest of Qui (Doc Savage #12)

Kenneth (house name used here b Robeson

4.1

WHO IS DOC SAVAGE?

To the world at large, Doc Savage is a strange, mysterious figure of glistening bronze skin and golden eyes. To his amazing co-adventurers - the five greatest brains ever assembled in one group - he is a man of superhuman strength and protean genius, whose life is dedicated to the destruction of evil-doers. To his fans he is one of the greatest adventure heroes of all time, whose

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78

The Grifters

Jim Thompson, Andre Dubus III

4.1

To his friends, to his coworkers, and even to his mistress Moira, Roy Dillon is an honest hardworking salesman. He lives in a cheap hotel just within his pay bracket. He goes to work every day. He has hundreds of friends and associates who could attest to his good character.

Yet, hidden behind three gaudy clown paintings in Roy's pallid hotel room, sits fifty-two thousand dollars--the money Roy mak

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79

The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories

Otto Penzler, Keith Alan Deutsch

4.1

An unstoppable anthology of crime stories culled from Black Mask magazine the legendary publication that turned a pulp phenomenon into literary mainstream.

Black Mask was the apotheosis of noir. It was the magazine where the first hardboiled detective story, which was written by Carroll John Daly appeared. It was the slum in which such American literary titans like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Cha

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80

The Lost Oasis (Doc Savage, #6)

Kenneth Robeson

4.1

While seeking to solve the mystery of "the trained vampire murders," Doc Savage and his amazing crew suddenly find themselves prisoners of Sol Yuttal and Hadi-Mot aboard a hijacked Zeppelin. Their deadly destination is a fabulous lost diamond mine guarded by carnivorous plants and monstrous, bloodsucking bats.

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81

The Master Mind of Mars (Barsoom #6)

Edgar Rice Burroughs

4.1

Former Earthman Ulysses Paxton served Barsoom's greatest scientist, until his master's ghoulish trade in living bodies drove him to rebellion. Then, to save the body of the woman he loved, he had to attack mighty Phundahl, and its evil, beautiful ruler.

82

Pulp

Charles Bukowski

4.1

Opening with the exotic Lady Death entering the gumshoe-writer's seedy office in pursuit of a writer named Celine, this novel demonstrates Bukowski's own brand of humour and realism, opening up a landscape of seamy Los Angeles.

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83

The Mafia and His Angel: Part 1

Lylah James

4.1

Ayla The darkness never truly left me. It

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84

Overwhelming Force (The War Planners #5)

Andrew Watts

4.0

When the Chinese military launches a surprise attack on the United States, the world is thrown into chaos.

The Manning family is spread out over the globe, each doing their part to defend America.

With the Chinese fleet advancing, Admiral Manning commands the USS FORD carrier strike group near Midway. CIA operative Chase Manning is sent home to the US to fight a lethal unit of Chinese special forc

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85

Rage of Angels

Sidney Sheldon

4.0

A worldwide bestseller first published in 1980, this novel tells the story of Jennifer Parker, a successful lawyer who is loved by two men, one a politician, the other, a mafia don.

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86

Never Look Back (Criminal Profiler, #3)

Mary Burton

4.0

Expect the unexpected in this gritty, tense, and page-turning mystery from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.

After multiple women go missing, Agent Melina Shepard of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation makes the impulsive decision to go undercover as a prostitute. While working the street, she narrowly avoids becoming a serial killer’s latest victim; as much as it pains her to admit,

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87

King Solomon's Mines (Allan Quatermain, #1)

H. Rider Haggard, Alexandra Fuller

4.0

H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines has entertained generations of readers since its first publication in 1885. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into southern Africa in search of a lost friend-and a lost treasure, the fabled mines of King Solomon. Led by the English adventurer and fortune hunter Allan Quartermain, they discover a frozen corpse, survi

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88

Imminent Harm (Cass Leary Legal Thriller Series Book 6)

Robin James

4.0

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89

The Lady in the Lake (Philip Marlowe, #4)

Raymond Chandler

4.0

A couple of missing wives—one a rich man's and one a poor man's—become the objects of Marlowe's investigation. One of them may have gotten a Mexican divorce and married a gigolo and the other may be dead. Marlowe's not sure he cares about either one, but he's not paid to care.

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90

The Killer Inside Me

Jim Thompson

4.0

Everyone in the small town of Central City, Texas loves Lou Ford. A deputy sheriff, Lou's known to the small-time criminals, the real-estate entrepreneurs, and all of his coworkers--the low-lifes, the big-timers, and everyone in-between--as the nicest guy around. He may not be the brightest or the most interesting man in town, but nevertheless, he's the kind of officer you're happy to have keeping

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91

El Borak and Other Desert Adventures

Robert E. Howard

4.0

Robert E. Howard is famous for creating such immortal heroes as Conan the Cimmerian, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn. Less well-known but equally extraordinary are his non-fantasy adventure stories set in the Middle East and featuring such two-fisted heroes as Francis Xavier Gordon—known as “El Borak”—Kirby O’Donnell, and Steve Clarney. This trio of hard-fighting Americans, civilized men with more

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92

The Sargasso Ogre (Doc Savage, #18)

Kenneth Robeson, James Bama

4.0

WHO IS DOC SAVAGE?

To the world at large, Doc Savage is a strange, mysterious figure of glistening bronze skin and golden eyes. To his amazing co-adventurers - the five greatest brains ever assembled in one group - he is a man of superhuman strength and protean genius, whose life is dedicated to the destruction of evil-doers. To his fans he is one of the greatest adventure heroes of all time, whose

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93

Pop. 1280

Jim Thompson, Daniel Woodrell

4.0

Nick Corey is a terrible sheriff on purpose. He doesn't solve problems, enforce rules or arrest criminals. He knows that nobody in tiny Potts County actually wants to follow the law and he is perfectly content lazing about, eating five meals a day, and sleeping with all the eligible women.

Still, Nick has some very complex problems to deal with. Two local pimps have been sassing him, ruining his al

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94

The Blood 'n' Thunder Guide to Pulp Fiction

Ed Hulse

4.0

During the 20th century’s first half, millions of Americans flocked to newsstands every month in search of thrills provided by all-fiction magazines printed on cheap pulp paper. These periodicals introduced and popularized such famous characters as Tarzan, Zorro, Sam Spade, Buck Rogers, Doc Savage, Hopalong Cassidy, and Conan the Barbarian, to name just a few. The producers of pulp fiction churned

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95

Prey

Michael Crichton

4.0

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles -- micro-robots -- has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive.

It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour.

Every attempt to d

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96

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit

Darwyn Cooke

4.0

After he evens the score with those who betrayed him and recovers the money he was cheated out of from the syndicate, Parker is riding high. Until, that is, he's fingered by a squealer who rats him out to The Outfit for the price they put on his head.

97

Pick-Up

Charles Willeford

4.0

In Pick-Up, Charles Willeford has created a work of psychological suspense that is at once poignant, terrifying, and utterly authentic in its depiction of alcoholic desire and destruction.

Recommended by Rachel Kushner.

Rachel Kushner

It is a very compelling, weird little book, hidden inside the genre of the dimestore novel. [source]

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98

The Gods of Mars: John Carter: Barsoom Series Book 2 (Volume 2)

Edgar Rice Burroughs

4.0

After the long exile on Earth, John Carter finally returned to his beloved Mars. But beautiful Dejah Thoris, the woman he loved, had vanished. Now he was trapped in the legendary Eden of Mars -- an Eden from which none ever escaped alive.

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99

Llana of Gathol (Barsoom, #10)

Edgar Rice Burroughs

4.0

"Llana of Gathol" is a collection of four novellas written in the Martian series of Edgar Rice Burroughs which was written for Amazing Stories in 1941. Llano, the daughter of Gahan of Gothol, is the perfect damsel in distress. "Llana of Gathol" consists of four stories. First "The Ancient Dead" (originally "The City of Mummies") followed by "The Black Pirates of Barsoom", "Escape on Mars" and fina

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100

The Drop

Michael Connelly

4.0

In his fierce search for a new case, Detective Harry Bosch discovers a killer hiding behind suspicious DNA evidence -- and a political conspiracy that could destroy the Los Angeles Police Department.

DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could