Book picks similar to
Proteus by Simon Hawkins


crime-thrillers
detective
first-reads
real-books

Firebird: The Spy Thriller of the 1960s


Noel Hynd - 2018
     It is 1968, one of the most tumultuous years of the 20th Century. Frank Cooper, a former star investigative reporter now writes obituaries for a popular New York City tabloid. He hears the confession of a dying man named Leonard Rudawski, a former American diplomat, who bitterly questions the fate of Pavel Lukashenko, a would-be Soviet defector in Paris in 1965. Lukashenko promised to expose the espionage secret of a generation if he could get to the West. But the defector, code named “Firebird,” vanished. Or did he? Cooper teams with Lauren Richie, a young NY/Latina reporter from the same tabloid. They prowl into the dying man’s confession. Soon they are onto the story of their lifetimes, reviving a dangerous once-cold trail of back channel/back alley CIA and KGB intrigue and tradeoffs, all of which factor into the 3-way racially tinged American election of that year: Nixon vs. Humphry vs. the segregationist George Wallace. Murder, espionage, romance, betrayal and conspiracy intertwine. Readers will meet and recognize dozens of memorable “real life” characters: reporters, gangsters, diplomats, call girls, spy masters, politicians and assassins. The story is tough, large, sprawling and historically precise. "Russians sabotage and destabilize the west," says one experienced reporter with KGB knowledge. "It's not just what they do. It's what they do best." The story straddles the decades from World War Two to 2018, even throwing a cynical light on Russian-American relations of today. “Hynd is a solid, dependable writer with enough literary flair to move him up a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world. —Booklist

Man Hunt


Priya Kumar - 2020
    If you really want to feel alive, get out of the four walls of the little point in space you call home and embrace the infinite, immortal truth of who you really are. You cannot know life living in the box of your daily existence. Step out into the planet, step into the wild, and you will come alive. Set in the Nagarjuna Tiger Reserve, the story is filled with Suspense, Drama, and Divinity, which brings fore issues like deforestation, genetic modification of animals, corruption in media, vested political agendas, and a larger environmental impact stemming from our responsibility. Get into the canter for an adventure of a lifetime, through the jungles of India’s most pristine tiger reserve. And as you do, keep your eyes open to the truth about the state of our planet. We were given its custody, and we have polluted it with our greed, ignorance, and misplaced purposes. There is still a way back, there is still a way out to restore our world to the glory it was meant to be. Let’s go. The wild is calling.About the AuthorPriya Kumar is an Internationally Acclaimed Motivational Speaker and Bestselling Author of 12 Inspirational Books. In her 25 years journey with Motivational Speaking, she has worked with over 2000 Multi-National Corporates across 47 countries and has touched over 3 million people through her workshops and books, and is the only Woman Speaker in India to have done so. She is the only Indian Author who has won 39 International Awards for her books.

Meltdown


Christopher Nicole - 2018
    The newest place on earth. An island, growing up out of the Atlantic. The tip of a volcano, forcing its way up from the ocean bed, the molten lava blasting out into the air, solidifying. A peak 200 feet high, 300 feet . . . Misreal, a magnet for scientists, the latest tourist attraction, circled by chartered ships, overflown by planes, the subject of programme after programme on TV. And then Misreal exploded, blew itself into dust and ash. And spread a pall of destruction across the world. Meltdown: a brilliantly researched story of environmental disaster and of people caught up by events utterly beyond human control. Praise for Christopher Nicole: “An exciting story… action-filled and unpredictable” - Publishers Weekly “Told with smooth authenticity” - Publishers Weekly “His action-packed war story will appeal to squadrons of readers” - Library Journal Christopher Nicole’s novels have been read by millions all over the world. Born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana, he later attended colleges in Guyana and in Barbados. In his long prolific career, Nicole has published over 200 novels and non-fiction works.

Detective Sophie Allen: Books 1-3


Michael Hambling - 2018
     YOU GET THREE ENTHRALLING MYSTERIES IN THIS BOX SET BOOK 1: DARK CRIMES A young woman’s body is discovered on a deserted footpath in a Dorset seaside town late on a cold November night. She has been stabbed through the heart. It seems like a simple crime for DCI Sophie Allen and her team to solve. But not when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning. The case grows more complex as Sophie Allen discovers that the victims had secret histories, involving violence and intimidation. There’s an obvious suspect but Detective Allen isn't convinced. Could someone else be lurking in the shadows, someone savagely violent, looking for a warped revenge? BOOK 2: DEADLY CRIMES A young man’s mutilated body is found on top of the Agglestone, a well-known local landmark on Studland Heath. It seems that he was involved in a human trafficking and prostitution gang. But why is DCI Sophie Allen keeping something back from her team? Is it linked to the extraordinary discovery of her own father's body at the bottom of a disused mineshaft, more than forty years after he disappeared? BOOK 3: SECRET CRIMES Two women go away for the weekend, but only one comes back alive.Was it just the music they were into? And who was the man the victim met at the festival? DCI Sophie Allen is back in charge after the emotional upheavals she suffered in 'Deadly Crimes,' but is she really in control? And Detective Constable Rae Gregson joins the team and immediately faces challenges that put her life in peril. IF YOU LIKE ANGELA MARSONS, RACHEL ABBOTT, COLIN DEXTER, RUTH RENDELL, OR MARK BILLINGHAM you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer. THE DETECTIVE DCI Sopie Allen is head of the recently formed Violent Crime Unit in Dorset. A beautiful English county which includes a stunning section of the coastline, but whose beauty belies darkness beneath the surface. She is 42 as the series starts, and lives with her husband and younger daughter in Wareham. Her elder daughter is studying in London. Sophie has a law degree and a master’s in criminal psychology. Her brilliant mind conceals some dark secrets from her past.

The Call : Part One ‘Mumbai’


Vipul Barpute - 2020
    

Caliber Detective Agency - Legendary


Remington Kane - 2017
    He attempts to locate a frightened man before the ex-con who threatened the man's life catches up with him.Jake Caliber the Fifth receives an honor.

The Search


Vishal Anand - 2021
    ACP Rathore is investigating the homicide. As the events begin to unleash Rathore digs upon secrets too dark and dangerous. As he proceeds, the question becomes more and more haunting - Who Killed Roger? Michael Rodriques, the Deputy Chief Minister of Goa? Shirley Fernandes, Roger's wife? One or more of the other artists? Or, an individual for whom Roger refused to perform? The Search is the most astonishingly impudent, ingenious and altogether a fast-paced murder mystery ever written by an Indian author.Note: This is an expanded version of the short story Who Killed Roger.

The Unlucky Wedding Guest: A Clara Fitzgerald Mystery (The Clara Fitzgerald Mysteries Book 23)


Evelyn James - 2021
    

Shoot Don't Shoot


Robert White - 2014
    When her regular partner takes the night off to attend a birthday party, she is paired with rookie cop Brent Ashcroft. Its a quiet Sunday night, so what could possibly go wrong? Short, sharp storytelling from the Amazon best selling author of THE FIX, DIRTY and UNREST.

Michael


Donald Wells - 2013
    Jessica White and her husband travel to meet three men, one of whom may be the missing brother of the doctor's husband.As they try to solve that mystery, they also hunt The Times Square Stalker, a serial killer who has been murdering New York City's young women.Meanwhile, Summer Gray schemes to kill her ex-husband, Todd, before he can ruin her life by revealing the truth in a tell-all memoir.From REMINGTON KANE, the author of The TANNER SERIESTAKEN! - MICHAEL - Book 16 of the TAKEN! Series

All Other Sins


J.K. Ellem - 2020
    So when the ordinary housewife from Nebraska, finds a bag of cash on the side of the road and has the chance to run, to flee, to leave her husband, her loveless marriage and her hopeless life behind, she takes it.The problem is Diane's husband, Greg, isn't any of the things she thinks he is.He is all three....The people whose money she has taken want to find Diane too. Alex Romano is the Harvard educated, Consigliere of the Romano crime family from New Jersey. As her father's only daughter and most trusted advisor, she wields significant influence within the family hierarchy. But such influence doesn't extend to her older brother, Vincent Romano, the heir apparent, whose raw ambition and brutal methods Alex has trouble controlling. Thrown together, brother and sister are tasked with tracking down the missing money.For Diane Miller to survive, she needs to become the person she knew she always could be, if given another chance--and if she can live long enough.Two women. Two opposite backgrounds. One collision course.All Other Sins, is the latest, "Up until 4:00 a.m., reading" thriller from Amazon #1 Bestselling Thriller Author, JK Ellem.How fast can you run?

Night Attack: The Naval Odyssey of Professor James Brand


J. Eugene Porter - 2021
    

The Sandman


McClelland & Stewart - 2014
    For readers of Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, and Jo Nesbo.      During a cold winter night in Stockholm a man is found walking alongside a railway bridge, suffering from hypothermia and legionella. After he's rushed to the hospital, it's discovered that, according to a death certificate, the man has been dead for over seven years. He is believed to be a victim of notorious serial killer Jurek Walter, who was arrested years ago by Detective Inspector Joona Linna and sentenced to a life of total isolation in forensic psychiatric care. As Joona Linna investigates where the "dead man" has been all these years, some unexpected evidence leads to the reopening of a cold case. Danger is imminent, and someone needs to get under the skin of the serial killer--fast--as they are running out of time.

Long Shadows


John Oakes - 2016
    Winton Chevalier has lightning wits and surprising tenacity. He’s not a cop, but comes from a family of lawmen, and possesses a mind that’s as limber with evidence analysis as it is with a cutting joke. In many ways he’d be the perfect man for the job — but he has physical limitations and no experience investigating a kidnapping. Nevertheless, his dying father’s last wish propels him headlong into a sinister world where men kill for nothing. If he and his brother are to survive, Winton must harness old wounds and his indomitable will. In a world of shadows, he must cast the longest shadow of them all.

Fatal Fall (A Miranda and Parker Mystery Book 18)


Linsey Lanier - 2021