Best Mystery and Crime Novels of 2017

The last year saw the release of a variety of great Mystery and Crime reads, including double entries by some popular authors. These are the best novels of the year that were reviewed by this blog:

Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin - The irascible John Rebus returns, when the retired former Edinburg, Scotland police inspector is called in as a civilian consultant on a new assault case. But Rebus soon finds himself digging into an old serial murder case he could never solve earlier.

Vicious Circle by C.J. Box - Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is back to renew his violent feud with the roughneck Cates clan, who terrorized Joe and his family once before and aren't finished yet.

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins - Suspense puzzle of memory and deceit set in a rural English village, where a local pool has claimed the lives of a series of women over the years.

Golden Prey by John Sandford - A new Lucas Davenport crime thriller. Lucas has recently joined the U.S. Marshals and he's on the track of a cold blooded robbery crew in a wild chase across Texas.

Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves - Latest book in the mystery series set in the Shetland Islands off the east coast of Scotland. Heavy rains and a landslide expose a woman's dead body inside a wrecked house.

The Late Show by Michael Connelly - Gripping police procedural that introduces a new main character, LAPD detective Renee Ballard, who works the overnight shift, dubbed the "late show."
Ballard works two violent cases she was supposed to let go of, one of which leads her toward her own imminent death.

Deep Freeze by John Sandford - Quirky crime escapade featuring Minnesota State Police detective Virgil Flowers. It's the middle of a Minnesota winter and there's a murder in a small town, where the victim had just left a high school reunion meeting before she was clubbed to death by someone.

Paradise Valley by C.J. Box - In this Western-set crime thriller, sheriff's detective Cassie Dewell renews her hunt for an elusive serial killer called the Lizard King, a long haul trucker who abducts and murders his female victims across the country. He got away from Cassie once before and she's been obsessed with getting him ever since.

TWO KINDS OF TRUTH a new Harry Bosch Case from Michael Connelly

Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly is new police procedural in the series that features former LAPD detective Harry Bosch. After being run out of the LAPD, Harry now works for the small city police force of San Fernando. He's a valuable addition with his long years of police experience.

Bosch is called into a new double homicide case, where a father and son team of pharmacists are coldly shot to death inside their store. It's soon apparent that the execution-style murders are about more than a random robbery. The investigation leads toward a prescription drug fraud operation with a ruthless and violent reach.

At the same time, an old LAPD case comes back to entangle Bosch. A murderer he once put in prison petitions for a new trial, based on newly discovered evidence that will show he is innocent, and that Bosch planted material to frame him. This new charge puts Harry's whole police record into question.

Bosch must find a way to show this accusation against him is baseless and the supposed new evidence is a fraud. Meanwhile, the pharmacy homicide case leads him to go undercover, where things go wrong in a deadly way.

Two Kinds of Truth is slowed at times by a complicated plot and stretches of background material and over-explanation. But it's still a solid read for fans of Michael Connelly and his obsessive, hard nosed detective, Harry Bosch.