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.