18 books like Close
Mafia son
In this dark, jagged true crime thriller, wily mob head Gregory Scarpa Sr. (alias the "Grim Reaper") secretly steals and kills under FBI protection for decades. When faced with arrest for his own crimes, he betrays his adoring son, Gregory Jr., whom he'd groomed to take his place. Taking the fall for his father out of familial respect and love, the young Scarpa endures decades of maximum security…
Shares Gangsters, Criminals, Crime
Double Barrel Bluff
Double Barrel Bluff
Multi-award winning and USA Today bestselling crime writer Lou Berney returns to his critically acclaimed thriller series starring former mob wheelman Shake Bouchon, who finds himself dragged into a high-stakes hostage rescue, among the mighty temples and shadowy underground of Cambodia.During his years as a wheelman for the Armenian mob in Los Angeles, Shake Bouchon didn’t think of himself…
Shares Crime
The profession of violence
John Pearson details the lives of Reggie and Ronnie Kray, the infamous brothers who, for decades, ruled the criminal underground in London's East End. This biography of the identical twins is, at times, humorous and revealing, but always maintains a clear-eyed view of the seriousness of the brothers' crimes. An absorbing read.
Shares Gangsters, Criminals, Crime
Hot Springs
Hot Springs
"In the summer of 1946, the most wide-open town in America is Hot Springs, Arkansas, a city of ancient, legendary corruption. While the pilgirms take the cure in the mineral-rich 142-degree water that bubbles from the earth, the brothels and casinos are the true source of the town's prosperity. It is run by an English-born gangster named Owney Maddox, who represents the New York syndicate and…
Shares Gangsters, Criminals
Paddy Whacked
Here is the shocking true saga of the Irish American mob. In Paddy Whacked, bestselling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey…
Shares Gangsters, Criminals, Crime
The Franchise Affair (Inspector Alan Grant #3)
Robert Blair was about to knock off from a slow day at his law firm when the phone rang. It was Marion Sharpe on the line, a local woman of quiet disposition who lived with her mother at their decrepit country house, The Franchise. It appeared that she was in some serious trouble: Miss Sharpe and her mother were accused of brutally kidnapping a demure young woman named Betty Kane. Miss Kane’s…
Shares Crime, England
Faces
Faces
"Just before Danny Cadogan's fourteenth birthday, his father leaves. Alone, his wife and children face the wrath of the men sent to collect his gambling debt. Now, Danny is determined to protect his mother, brother and sister, and is set on making his way in a violent world. He becomes a Face - the most feared Face in the Smoke. Out for all he can get. At any cost. But Danny also rules his wife,…
Shares Gangsters, Criminals
Death Walks the Woods
Also published as *That Yew Tree's Shade*
The archdruid's yew, Yew Hill, Markshire, had provided cover in its day for a variety of activities, but never before had it been shelter for murder. Then one day, in the calm of Eastertide, murder was found; and overnight, as the police began their remorseless questioning, Yewbury was shocked out of admiring foliage.
Detective Superintendent…
Shares Crime, England
Peril in Paris
Peril in Paris
Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her husband, Darcy, are awaiting the arrival of their baby when they receive an unexpected invitation to visit Paris. However, their trip quickly turns into a tangled web of international intrigue as they become embroiled in a mystery involving murder, espionage, and high-stakes politics.
Shares England
Murder at the Brightwell
Murder at the Brightwell
Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman who regrets her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband, Milo. Looking for a change, she accepts a request from her former fiancé, Gil Trent, and accompanies him to the Brightwell Hotel to help circumvent his sister's marriage to a disreputable ladies' man. When the groom-to-be is murdered and Gil is arrested, Amory works to clear his name. But…
Shares Crime, England
Smaldone
I never thought it would end.—Clyde SmaldoneStarted by Italian brothers from North Denver, the high-profile Smaldone crime syndicate began in the bootlegging days of the 1920s and flourished well into the late twentieth century. Connected to such notorious crime figures as Al Capone and Carlos Marcello, as well as to presidents and other politicians, charismatic Clyde Smaldone was the crime…
Shares Gangsters, Criminals
The King of Diamonds
David Swain has spent two years of his life sentence for murdering the lover of his ex-girlfriend, Katya Osman. On the night he escapes from prison, Katya is found murdered in her uncle's home. Inspector Trave heads the manhunt for David, but his personal life becomes entangled in case because his ex-wife his having an affair with Katya's uncle.
Shares Crime, England
Rizzo's daughter
"Brooklyn cop Joe Rizzo is ready to retire and spend the rest of his days with his wife, doting on their grown-up girls. But when his youngest daughter Carol decides to follow her dad onto the force, Joe decides to stay on until she's settled, calling in favors to get her assigned to the easiest house, the best training officer-- anything to protect his baby girl. And while there, he's expected…
Shares Gangsters, Criminals
Clutch of constables
Five Days Out of Time
… that was how the ad had described the Zodiac cruise on the “weirdly misted” English river. The passengers were the usual, unusual lot: a couple of unpleasantly hygienic Americans, an aloof Ethiopian doctor, a snooping cleric with a wall-eye, an artist running away from her success…
But they were not all what they seemed.
For Inspector Alleyn knew that one of them…
Shares Criminals, Crime, England
Lorna Doone
This work is called a 'romance,' because the incidents, characters, time, and scenery, are alike romantic. And in shaping this old tale, the Writer neither dares, nor desires, to claim for it the dignity or cumber it with the difficulty of an historic novel.
Shares Criminals, Crime, England
The Angel of Terror
The Angel of Terror aka The Destroying Angel Jack Glover of Rennet, Glover and Simpson does not believe his cousin Meredith killed Bulford. Meredith's father was an eccentric and unless Meredith is married by the age of thirty his sister inherits everything. She is dead and Meredith, now in prison, is thirty next Monday. Meanwhile Lydia Beale is struggling to pay her dead father's creditors. When…
Shares Crime
Live by Night
Live by Night
Joe Coughlin is nineteen when he meets Emma Gould. A smalltime thief in 1920s Boston, his task is to tie her up while his accomplices loot the bank she works in. But Joe falls in love with Emma - and his life changes forever. That meeting is the beginning of Joe's journey to becoming one of the most feared and respected gangsters. It is a journey beset by violence, double-crossing, drama and…
Shares Gangsters, Criminals
R. Holmes & Co.
The son of Sherlock Holmes (who also happens to also be the grandson of thief A. J. Raffles) decides to have his own adventures published. Upon selecting the man who will chronicle his life (much as Watson did for Holmes), we get the tale Raffles' astonishing origin, followed by an exciting series of adventures involving burglary, extortion, armed robbery, and more-with Raffles treading the fine…
Shares Criminals