Are you a mystery lover looking for the Best Police Procedurals to Read? I have done all the research and have my honest and unbiased list of Must-Read Police Procedural Mystery Books!
Hello! If you got here directly, you might also want to check out my quiz on What Kind of a Mystery Thriller Reader Are You?
And then explore my Master Post of Different Types of Mystery Novels
But if you are just here to learn about Police Procedural Mysteries, that’s great! Let’s begin!
What is a Police Procedural Mystery Book?
Police procedurals first have all the criteria of mysteries, which are described at length here, but which I will review quickly:
- A crime has been committed
- There is an investigation
- The narrative consists of the presentation of clues and red herrings to the reader
- At the end of the book, the mystery is solved
In a police procedural:
- the main character is some sort of official investigator: a police officer, FBI agent, district attorney, etc.
- the plot revolves around the process of solving the crime, including investigation, forensics, and legal procedures.
Jen’s Must-Read Police Procedural Mystery Books
I decided to divide this list into American and British Procedural Mysteries
Procedurals set in Scandinavia, Ireland, and Scotland often have elements of Noir Mysteries category, so be sure to check out that list as well.
Jen’s Must- Read American Police Procedural Mystery Books of the 1990s-2000s
The Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly (20+ books): one of my favorite procedural writers. He’s had a (very few) misses, but he’s a really talented writer. His multiple books and stanadlones exist in a universe with crossover characters. The books have been adapted for Amazon Prime.
I read most of Connnelly’s books before becoming a professional reviewer, but did review Resurrection Walk and also the Lincoln Lawyer series on Netflix.
The Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffery Deaver (16+ books) I read ALL his books back in the day. He’s a master of plotting and misdirection. The first book in this series has been adapted as a movie, The Bone Collector, and also a 2019-20 TV series.
The Lucas Davenport series by John Sanford (34+ books) I have dipped in and out of this series about a Minneapolis police detective.
The Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter (12+ books) Loosely connected to Slaughter’s Grant County series (also a procedural of sorts) this series follows an FBI agent solving crime in Atlanta.
Tess Gerritsen has multiple series but her best known is probably the 13 book Rizzoli and Ives series. I also reviewed her new (sort of cozy) series that kicks off with The Spy Coast, about a group of retired former CIA agents drawn back into the spy life as amateur detectives.
Newer American Police Procedural Mystery Books of the 2020s
As I discussed in my post on Must-Read Cozy Mystery Books, in the late 2010s, a lot changed in both American culture and American crime fiction. More authors of color entered the genre, bringing new perspectives on the criminal justice system. There were more women authors writing crime fiction that incorporated MeToo elements and/or centered victims rather than perpetrators or investigators.
Jess Lourey has written standalone suspense novels based on true crime, but I really love her new series that kicked off with The Taken Ones.
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby was one of my favorite procedurals ever, about a Black sheriff fighting crime and reckoning with his town’s racist past.
Must-Read British, Irish, Scottish and Canadian Police Procedural Mystery Books
Maybe it’s me, but I feel like Police Procedurals that take place in Commonwealth countries have a completely different feel, different terminology, and slightly different investigative procedures.
The Adam Dalgleish series by PD James (14 books). These were written from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Back in the day I was OBSESSED with the omniscient POV of these. I need to pick one up today and see if I’m still in love with her writing.
The Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George (21 books). Teenage me loved these, which were part soap opera and part procedural. There was a love rectangle and a lot of fatphobia, so maybe they are a relic of the 80s. Or maybe the newer books adapted with the times. If you know, tell me in the comments.
The Dublin Murder squad series by Tana French (6 books) This series blends a procedural with psychological suspense, but it’s one of my favorite series and I am not alone. I was not a huge fan of the Hulu show, which I found jumbly.
The Kincaid and James series by Deborah Crombie (20 books). These are still coming out, though I haven’t read one since the early 2000s. I also remember some tortured romance subplots, but maybe that settled down with time. Are you still reading these? Give me the scoop in comments!
The Vera Stanhope books by Ann Cleeves (11 books) Unconventional female detective Vera Stanhope is a popular procedural main character, and she got her own PBS series.
The Inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin (24 books) A retired SAS agent now lives in Edinburgh as a homicide detectives.
The Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson (28 books) Inspector Banks is just trying to get away from the hustle and bustle of London but his new village has plenty of intrigue.
The Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny (19 books) Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec is a very popular procedural character!
If you love Police Procedural novels, you should check out my post on Noir Fiction. These often have a procedural element as well, but are darker in tone and often with a strong regional bent.