18 books like The Drop

What to read after The Drop — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Smaldone Dick Kreck · 2009 · ★ 2.0 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, Organized crime, Criminals

Mafia son Sandra Harmon · 2009 · ★ 4.0 · 301p · ≈ 10h · Moderate 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, Organized crime, Criminals

Close Martina Cole · 2006 · ★ 4.1 · 512p · ≈ 17h · Moderate Don't miss NO REGRET, the brand new novel from Martina Cole. Coming October 2025. She'll do whatever it takes to keep them together... Hard-hitting and uncompromising, CLOSE by the 'undisputed queen of crime writing' (Guardian) and Sunday Times No.1 bestseller Martina Cole tells the story of a woman determined to protect her family from an increasingly dangerous world... Patrick Brodie knows… Shares: Gangsters, Criminals

Tishomingo Blues Elmore Leonard · 1975 · ★ 3.9 · 308p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Dennis Lenahan is a daredevil and the girls love him. Things are going along okay with his gig at the Tishomingo Lodge & Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, "the Casino Capital of the South," until the day he looks down from the high-dive platform and witnesses a mob hit -- Dixie style. The killer looks up and says, "Let's see you dive." Suddenly, being a daredevil has lost its kick. Leonard calls… Shares: Gangsters, Organized crime, Criminals, Mystery

The profession of violence John Pearson · 1972 · ★ 3.5 · 336p · ≈ 11h · Moderate 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, Organized crime, Criminals

Live by Night Dennis Lehane · 2012 · ★ 3.5 · 416p · ≈ 13h · Moderate 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, Organized crime, Criminals

The History of the Life of Jonathan Wild, the Great Henry Fielding · 1754 · ★ 3.4 · 287p · ≈ 9h · Demanding This book is a satire of Walpole that draws a parallel between Walpole and Jonathan Wild, the infamous gang leader and highwayman. He implicitly compares the Whig party in Parliament with a gang of thieves being run by Walpole, whose constant desire to be a "Great Man" (a common epithet for Walpole) should culminate only in the antithesis of greatness: being hanged. Shares: Organized crime, Criminals

Gangster warlords Ioan Grillo · 2016 · 377p · ≈ 12h · Moderate "In a ranch south of Texas, the man known as The Executioner dumps five hundred body parts in metal barrels. In Brazil's biggest city, a mysterious prisoner orders hit-men to gun down forty-one police officers and prison guards in two days. In southern Mexico, a meth maker is venerated as a saint while enforcing Old Testament justice on his enemies. A new kind of criminal kingpin has arisen: part… Shares: Gangsters, Organized crime, Criminals

Paddy Whacked T. J. English · 2005 · ★ 4.3 · 480p · ≈ 16h · Moderate 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, Organized crime, Criminals

Crimes by Moonlight Charlaine Harris · 2010 · ★ 3.6 · 437p · ≈ 14h · Moderate An all-new mystery anthology edited and featuring a new story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris Nighttime is the perfect time for the perfect crime. #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris edits and contributes an all-new story-set in her Sookie Stackhouse universe-to this anthology from the Mystery Writers of America. Other authors include:Steve BrewerDana… Shares: American Detective and mystery stories, Mystery

ZeroZeroZero Roberto Saviano · 1656 · ★ 4.0 · 444p · ≈ 14h · Demanding A truly harrowing and groundbreaking synthesis of intimate literary narrative and geopolitical analysis of one of the most powerful dark forces in our economy. Saviano tracks the shift in the cocaine trade's axis of power, from Colombia to Mexico, and relates how the Latin American cartels and gangs have forged alliances, first with the Italian crime syndicates, then with the Russians, Africans,… Shares: Money Laundering, Organized crime

The Bobbed Haired Bandit Stephen Duncombe · 2004 · ★ 4.0 · 383p · ≈ 12h · Moderate This book explores a real married couple who decided that they needed to have a better life for the wife's unborn child. The problem was that they decided to rob small time stores in Brooklyn, New York to get the money to improve their surroundings. The year was 1924, and everything was changing. Women were getting their hair bobbed, and such women were being labeled as "flappers" (young women… Shares: Robbery, Criminals

Hot Springs Stephen Hunter · 2000 · 560p · ≈ 18h · Moderate "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

The Big Clock Kenneth Fearing · 1946 · ★ 3.5 · 175p · ≈ 5h · Challenging George Stroud is a hard-drinking, tough-talking, none-too-scrupulous writer for a New York media conglomerate that bears a striking resemblance to Time, Inc. in the heyday of Henry Luce. One day, before heading home to his wife in the suburbs, Stroud has a drink with Pauline, the beautiful girlfriend of his boss, Earl Janoth. Things happen. The next day Stroud escorts Pauline home, leaving her… Shares: American Detective and mystery stories, Organized crime, Criminals, Mystery

The Glass Key Dashiell Hammett · 1931 · ★ 4.0 · 251p · ≈ 8h · Challenging En période préélectorale, il s'agit de ne pas faire de vague. Dans l'ombre, Madvig tire les ficelles, car hommes politiques et fonctionnaires sont à sa botte. Jusqu'au moment où il est soupçonné du meutre du fils du sénateur Henry, dont il soutient la candidature. Shares: Gangsters, American Detective and mystery stories, Mystery

The Firm John Grisham · 1991 · ★ 4.1 · 501p · ≈ 16h · Moderate The Firm is a 1991 legal thriller by American writer John Grisham. It was his second book and the first which gained wide popularity. ---------- Also contained in: Novels (Firm / Pelican Brief) Reader's Digest Condensed Books. Volume 3 1991 Selections from Reader's Digest condensed books and other Reader's Digest Publications [1]: https://www.jgrisham.com/the-firm/ Shares: Money Laundering, Mystery

Faces Martina Cole · 2007 · ★ 4.5 · 585p · ≈ 19h · Moderate "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

Single & single John le Carré · 1999 · 388p · ≈ 12h · Moderate A crooked father and an honest son are the protagonists of this novel on money laundering. The father is Tiger Single, owner of a British investment house, laundering money for criminals. His dream is to see his son follow in his footsteps, but the son is honest and will not have anything to do with him--until the father's life is threatened. Shares: Money Laundering, Organized crime

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