Recommendations based on "Strangers"

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 for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.

A sensation across Europe—millions of copies soldA spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age—and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it—who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism—and an unexpected connection between themselves.It’s a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and about the intimate lives of a brilliantly realized cast of characters, all of them forced to face the darker aspects of their world and of their own lives.

A fantastically gripping thriller from the best-selling author of The Snowman. Christmas shoppers stop to hear a Salvation Army concert on a crowded Oslo street. A gunshot cuts through the music and the bitter cold: one of the singers falls dead, shot in the head at point-blank range. Harry Hole--the Oslo Police Department's best investigator and worst civil servant--has little to work with: no suspect, no weapon, and no motive. But Harry's troubles will multiply. As the search closes in, the killer becomes increasingly desperate, and Harry's chase takes him to the most forbidden corners of the former Yugoslavia. Yet it's when he returns to Oslo that he encounters true darkness: among the homeless junkies and Salvationists, eagerly awaiting a savior to deliver them from misery--whether he brings new life or immediate death. With its shrewdly vertiginous narrative, acid-etched characters, and white-hot pace, The Redeemer is resounding proof of Jo Nesbø's standing as one of the best crime writers of our time.

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year #1 NYT Bestseller #1 USA Bestseller #1 WSJ Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Black Widow comes the thrilling new summer blockbuster featuring legendary spy, assassin and art restorer Gabriel Allon. A heart-stopping tale of suspense, Daniel Silva’s runaway bestseller, The Black Widow, was one of 2016’s biggest novels. Now, in House of Spies, Gabriel Allon is back and out for revenge – determined to hunt down the world’s most dangerous terrorist, a shadowy ISIS mastermind known only as Saladin.   Four months after the deadliest attack on the American homeland since 9/11, terrorists leave a trail of carnage through London’s glittering West End. The attack is a brilliant feat of planning and secrecy, but with one loose thread.  The thread leads Gabriel Allon and his team of operatives to the south of France and to the gilded doorstep of Jean-Luc Martel and Olivia Watson. A beautiful former British fashion model, Olivia pretends not to know that the true source of Martel’s enormous wealth is drugs. And Martel, likewise, turns a blind eye to the fact he is doing business with a man whose objective is the very destruction of the West. Together, under Gabriel’s skilled hand, they will become an unlikely pair of heroes in the global war on terror. Written in seductive and elegant prose, the story moves swiftly from the glamour of Saint-Tropez to the grit of Casablanca and, finally, to an electrifying climax that will leave readers breathless long after they turn the final page.   But House of Spies is more than just riveting entertainment; it is a dazzling tale of avarice and redemption, set against the backdrop of the great conflict of our times. And it proves once again why Daniel Silva is “quite simply the best” (Kansas City Star).

An incredible new unputdownable thriller which will keep you gripped from the first page to the last! He watches your every move We’ve all experienced it. That creeping sensation of eyes on your back, the faint echo of footsteps following yours. He controls you Across the country, a madman is carefully choosing his victims. Once he has you in his sights, he won’t let go. He will make you pay You think you’re in control of your own life? Think again. Because The Puppet Master is coming for you, and he won’t stop until you’re dead... What readers are saying about The Puppet Master ‘I was gripped from the very beginning until the very last page!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I love a dark and messed up serial killer book and The Puppet Master is exactly that!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The conclusion will have you holding your breath’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A gritty, emotional rollercoaster of a story’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Real on-the-edge-of-your-seat stuff’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Hook you in from the start and keeps you glued to the pages from beginning to end’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘It's dark, it's creepy, just so unsettling and I loved every second’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Cancel all your plans because once you start you won't want to stop’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Without a shadow of a doubt, Sam Holland is a natural born storyteller with a very vivid and disturbing imagination!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘DCI Matilda Darke is the perfect heroine’ Elly Griffiths A short story and prequel featuring DCI Matilda Darke, star of Michael Wood’s darkly compelling crime series. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, Mark Billingham and Val McDermid. It’s Christmas in Sheffield. But not everyone is enjoying the festive season... A man has been found brutally murdered in his own home. The victim is Iain Kilbride, a once-famous TV star who has faded into obscurity. All signs point to a break-in, but why has nothing been taken? For DCI Matilda Darke, this is the perfect chance to prove her newly formed Murder Investigation Team are up to the task. Matilda suspects the clue to finding the killer lies in Iain’s past, but she’s about to discover how dark that past really is...

As DCI Matilda Darke unravels a chilling cold case, she discovers some truths are deadly – and someone will stop at nothing to keep the past buried... ‘Matilda Darke is the perfect heroine’ Elly Griffiths RUNNING FROM HER PAST Leaving behind Sheffield, her friends and her job, a grieving DCI Matilda Darke finds solace in the wild, untamed beauty of the Lake District. But she can’t outrun her reputation. A COLD CASE PC Alison Pemberton is living in the shadow of her twin sisters, who were abducted thirty years ago. As the only witness, Alison has spent her life trying to remember the details of that fateful summer day and discover the truth about what happened to her sisters and why, a few months later, her father also disappeared. A TRUTH THAT SHOULD HAVE STAYED BURIED Matilda finds herself agreeing to try and unearth the truth about the Pemberton twins. With nothing left to lose, Matilda throws herself into the cold case, but someone doesn’t want her digging up the past and will do anything to keep the truth hidden... Praise for Michael Wood ‘A master of horror and suspense’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'One of the best books ever, in one of the best series ever! It is THAT good!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow what a book... I adore this series and every book is better and better’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This book sets off at a hundred miles an hour and never lets off... this is my favourite detective series’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Exciting, tense and compelling... shocking and brilliant’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow! Wow! Wow! The twists keep on coming to the last page’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I don’t have words! Wow just wow! This blew me away. DCI Matilda Darke and her team are my favourite detectives’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This book had a bit of everything... some crazy twists and turns’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Another cracking, nail-biting read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The new historical crime thriller from #1 bestseller S. J. Parris, perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Hilary Mantel Venice, 1576. Giordano Bruno, heretic, philosopher and spy, is on the run from the Inquisition. He flees to Venice, but the beautiful city proves no safe haven. The killing of an aristocrat and the arrest of his wife and secretary for murder are causing unrest. When an anonymous letter, written in code, proclaims the woman’s innocence, the city’s chief of intelligence employs Bruno to find the writer. But the death is mired in a tangle of dangerous secrets, and Bruno soon learns there are some very powerful people who will stop at nothing to suppress the truth... READERS LOVE S. J. PARRIS... ‘Top class historical crime’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘Another fantastic historical thriller from master of the Elizabethan mystery’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘A straight 5* for me! A very compelling novel I highly recommend’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘I loved the characters. The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that it kept me reading way past midnight’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘The richly detailed Elizabethan setting and clever twists kept me hooked from start to finish’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘The murder mystery is layered with political intrigue, keeping you second-guessing every revelation’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘Excellently researched, great plot, beautiful execution. I love the combination of historical menace and a thriller’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘SJ Parris does it again’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘I didn't know who to trust or who to believe the whole way along’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘Another glorious dive into the murky world of Elizabethan spies and lies’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ S. J. Parris's book Alchemy was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 03-07-2023 S. J. Parris's book 'Traitor’s Legacy' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2025-05-12.

Award-winning and international bestselling author Lynda La Plante brings back her popular series character, London Detective Chief Inspector Anna Travis of the Murder Squad, to work a seventh case in Blood Line. La Plante, who bestselling crime fiction author Karin Slaughter (Blindsided) says “practically invented the thriller,” is best known for her Prime Suspect novels, the basis for the wildly popular BBC series starring Helen Mirren and a recent U.S. incarnation featuring Maria Bello. In Blood Line, Anna takes on a high profile missing person investigation which might well develop into the hunt for a murderer, especially when a pool of blood is discovered but no body. Crime fiction fans who appreciate a good cop and a good murder—especially Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George, Peter Robinson, and Val McDermid readers—will be eagerly following the trail of evidence every step of the way.

Winter 1963: two children have disappeared off the streets of Manchester; the murderous careers of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady have begun. On a freezlng day in December, another child goes missing: thirteen-year-old Alison Carter vanishes from her town, an insular community that distrusts the outside world. For the young George Bennett, a newly promoted inspector, it is the beginning of his most difficult and harrowing case: a murder with no body, an investigation with more dead ends and closed faces than he'd have found in the anonymity of the inner city, and an outcome which reverberates through the years. Decades later he finally tells his story to journalist Catherine Heathcote, but just when the book is poised for publication, Bennett unaccountably tries to pull the plug. He has new information which he refuses to divulge, new information that threatens the very foundations of his existence. Catherine is forced to re-investigate the past, with results that turn the world upside down. A Greek tragedy in modern England, Val McDermid's A Place of Execution is a taut psychological thriller that explores, exposes and explodes the border between reality and illusion in a multi-layered narrative that turns expectations on their head and reminds us that what we know is what we do not know.A Place of Execution is winner of the 2000 Los Angeles Times Book Prize and a 2001 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel.