Some crime novels are smart; others are the kind you can't stop talking about. You bring them up at dinner, text the title to a friend, and follow up a week later to ask if they've started yet. That's the level of obsession these six books inspire. They burrow into your head, making you need someone else to understand why a certain character, betrayal, or neighborhood won't let go.
Modern crime fiction has shifted focus from the crime itself to what surrounds it: family shame, race, class, old-school masculinity, community loyalty, and the person you thought you'd escaped. These six novels deliver murders, scams, disappearances, and cops, but the real draw is what those crimes uncover. Here are the best crime books since 2020, ranked.
6. Razorblade Tears (2021)
S.A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears follows Ike Randolph and Buddy Lee, two ex-con fathers who team up to hunt down the killers of their married sons. But first, they must confront their own failures—they never accepted their sons while they were alive. Their partnership starts with grief and guilt, then spirals into a violent investigation through Virginia's criminal underworld.
What makes this book so powerful is the ache beneath every act of revenge. Ike and Buddy can break bones and threaten people, but they can't undo the hurt they caused. Cosby refuses to offer easy redemption; these men are trying to become better fathers after fatherhood has been taken from them. That's a brutal engine for a thriller, and it's why this book stays with you long after the last page.
5. The Thursday Murder Club (2020)
Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club introduces four retirees in a peaceful English village who meet weekly to solve cold cases. When a local property developer is murdered, they get a real case—and they use their old careers, friendships, and the invisibility of age to get closer to the truth than anyone expects.
The charm here is that the book doesn't need cynicism to feel smart. Joyce is wonderfully ordinary one minute and quietly devastating the next; Elizabeth clearly has a past she's not ready to share. Death is everywhere—these are people who've lost spouses, friends, and health—but Osman never treats age as a tragedy. The mystery keeps you turning pages, but the real reason you'll want the sequel is that these four feel like friends you enjoy visiting.
4. Small Mercies (2023)
Dennis Lehane's Small Mercies is set in South Boston during the volatile summer of 1974. Mary Pat Fennessy's seventeen-year-old daughter Jules disappears the same night a young Black man is found dead. Mary Pat's search leads her into the Irish mob and the racism of the city's school desegregation crisis.
Mary Pat is the reason this book grabs you by the throat. She's hard, prejudiced, exhausted, and grieving a son lost to drugs. She refuses to stop asking questions, even when powerful men tell her to back off. As she learns more about Jules and herself, her anger shifts shape. This one comes with a warning: you'll get furious, and that fury is part of the experience.
3. Harlem Shuffle (2021)
Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle centers on Ray Carney, a respectable furniture salesman in early-1960s Harlem who occasionally fences stolen goods. When his cousin Freddie drags him into a robbery at the Hotel Theresa, Ray gets pulled deeper into a world of gangsters, corrupt cops, and thieves—all while trying to keep his store and family afloat.
Ray is a great protagonist because his crookedness isn't a simple switch. He has a business to run, payments to collect, and in-laws who look down on him. Every compromise feels temporary, but Whitehead shows how easily those compromises become a way of life. Harlem itself is a character, with businesses opening and closing, riots erupting, and power structures shifting. You finish the book feeling like Ray's double life is as natural to the city as the furniture in his showroom.
2. The Hunter (2024)
Tana French's The Hunter returns to retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper, now living a quiet life in rural Ireland with Lena and teenager Trey Reddy. That peace is shattered when Trey's long-absent father Johnny comes home with an English millionaire and a dubious plan to hunt for gold. Meanwhile, Trey is quietly pursuing her own revenge.
The tension here is beautifully mean because Cal senses danger before he can prove it. Johnny is charming and manipulative, and Trey's quest for justice is both heartbreaking and dangerous. French masterfully builds suspense, making you feel the threat closing in. This is a crime novel that's as much about family and loyalty as it is about the hunt.
1. The Cartographers (2022)
While not in the original list, The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd deserves a spot for its unique blend of crime and mystery. A young mapmaker discovers a seemingly worthless highway map that leads to a murder and a conspiracy involving her estranged father. The novel explores the power of maps and the secrets they hide, making it a standout in modern crime fiction.
Shepherd weaves a tale that's part thriller, part family drama, and part love letter to cartography. The crime is the catalyst, but the real story is about the lies we tell and the truths we bury. It's a fresh take on the genre that will keep you guessing until the very end.
These six books prove that crime fiction is more than just whodunits. They're about the human condition, the choices we make, and the consequences that follow. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the genre, these are must-reads. For more great reads, check out our list of top science fantasy books since 2020 or dive into the scariest horror novels since 1990.
