Book picks similar to
Bust by Ken Bruen


hard-case-crime
crime
mystery
noir

Casino Moon (Hard Case Crime #55)


Peter Blauner - 1994
    Growing up in the Atlantic City mob has left its mark on Anthony Russo. He wants to go legit, but sometimes the lawful world can prove to be just as dirty. And someone elses murder may be the only way to prevent his own.

The Colorado Kid


Stephen King - 2005
    There's no identification on the body. Only the dogged work of a pair of local newspapermen and a graduate student in forensics turns up any clues. But that's just the beginning of the mystery. Because the more they learn about the man and the baffling circumstances of his death, the less they understand. Was it an impossible crime? Or something stranger still...? No one but Stephen King could tell this story about the darkness at the heart of the unknown and our compulsion to investigate the unexplained. With echoes of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon and the work of Graham Greene, one of the world's great storytellers presents a surprising tale that explores the nature of mystery itself...

Drive


James Sallis - 2005
    Sallis combines murder, treachery and payback in a sinister plot with resonances of 1940s pulp fiction and film noir. Told through a cinematic narrative that weaves back and forth through time and place, the story explores Driver's near existential moral foundations, intercut with moments of bloody violence.

Red Harvest


Dashiell Hammett - 1929
    "Red Harvest" is more than a superb crime novel: it is a classic exploration of corruption and violence in the American grain.The Op was in Personville, derogatory nickname aside, as the result of a letter to the Continental Detective Agency in San Francisco from Donald Willsson, publisher of the local paper, asking for an agent to visit. No other information. As soon as the OP arrives, the body count begins. It starts with his client!

Fake I.D. (Hard Case Crime #56)


Jason Starr - 2000
    Published for the first time in the United States, this gritty novel tells the story of a bar bouncer who needs to pony up $10,000 to buy into a horse racing syndicate and will stop at nothing to get it--not robbery, not even murder.

Killing Castro


Lee Duncan - 1961
    Five Americans a bounty hunter, a murderer on the run, a vengeful college kid, a professional thug, and a bank clerk dying of cancerwill split $100,000 if they can sneak into Cuba and assassinate Fidel Castro.

Miami Blues


Charles Willeford - 1984
    With his guard down, he doesn’t think twice when he hears a knock on the door. The next day, he finds himself in the hospital, badly bruised and with his jaw wired shut. He thinks back over ten years of cases wondering who would want to beat him into unconsciousness, steal his gun and badge, and most importantly, make off with his prized dentures. But the pieces never quite add up to revenge, and the few clues he has keep connecting to a dimwitted hooker, and her ex-con boyfriend and the bizarre murder of a Hare Krishna pimp.Chronically depressed, constantly strapped for money, always willing to bend the rules a bit, Hoke Moseley is hardly what you think of as the perfect cop, but he is one of the the greatest detective creations of all time.

The Twenty-Year Death


Ariel S. Winter - 2012
       1931— The body found in the gutter in France led the police inspector to the dead man’s beautiful daughter—and to her hot-tempered American husband.   1941— A hardboiled private eye hired to keep a movie studio’s leading lady happy uncovers the truth behind the brutal slaying of a Hollywood starlet.   1951— A desperate man pursuing his last chance at redemption finds himself with blood on his hands and the police on his trail...   Three complete novels that, taken together, tell a single epic story, about an author whose life is shattered when violence and tragedy consume the people closest to him. It is an ingenious and emotionally powerful debut performance from literary detective and former bookseller Ariel S. Winter, one that establishes this talented newcomer as a storyteller of the highest caliber.

The Wounded and the Slain


David Goodis - 1955
    But in the slums of Kingston James found himself fighting for his life – while Cora found her own path to destruction, in the arms of another man. Available for the first time in more than 50 years, this lost novel by legendary pulp author David Goodis is a stunning, shocking tale of cruelty, danger, desperationâ�¦and the possibility of redemption.

The Corpse Wore Pasties


Jonny Porkpie - 2009
    But this time, that's just what happened: The show stopped dead, and so did the girl. And as I looked at her nearly naked and completely lifeless body and the bottle of poison in her hand with my fingerprints all over it, I thought to myself: Porkpie, you're in for it this time…

Cut Me In


Hunt Collins - 1954
    But when I found him shot to death on the floor of his office, I had no choice. I had to track down the person responsible. And not just to lay Del to rest, either. Next to his body, the office safe was wide open, and a contract worth millions was missing...From the pen of MWA Grand Master Ed McBain comes this unforgettable story of warring agents and Hollywood dealmaking, murder and scandal—and passions igniting in the dark of night. First publication in nearly 60 years! Features a brand new cover painting by legendary illustrator Robert McGinnis Also featuring Now Die In It, a bonus McBain novelette from the pulps, starring private eye Matt Cordell from THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE Cover art by Robert McGinnis

Fun & Games


Duane Swierczynski - 2011
    His latest gig comes replete with an illegally squatting B-movie actress who rants about hit men who specialize in making deaths look like accidents. Unfortunately, it's the real deal. Hardie finds himself squared off against a small army of the most lethal men in the world: The Accident People.It's nothing personal-the girl just happens to be the next name on their list. For Hardie, though, it's intensely personal. He's not about to let more innocent people die. Not on his watch.

Grave Descend


John Lange - 1970
    Raising it would be a near-impossible task, but James McGregor is suited to the impossible. An expert diver, he makes his living exploring sunken ships. But there’s something strange about the wreck of the Grave Descend. How did she sink? Why do none of the survivors tell the same story? And what was the cargo inside her hull? To answer these questions, McGregor will have to contend with the deadliest sharks around—both underwater and on land. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Michael Crichton including rare images from the author’s estate.

Robbie's Wife (Hard Case Crime #29)


Russell Hill - 2007
    But what he found wasn’t solitude and peace—it was temptation. Because Maggie Barlow, the wife of the man putting him up, had something irresistible about her. Something that could drive a man to kill...

He Died With His Eyes Open


Derek Raymond - 1984
    Our narrator must piece together the history of his blighted existence and discover the agents of its cruel end. What he doesn’t expect is that digging for the truth will demand plenty of lying.