The best crime fiction books to complete your MBA in murder

Why am I passionate about this?

I wear so many hats that if I murdered you, you wouldn’t know which one of me struck. I am a crime fiction writer, a producer, a public speaker, and an entrepreneur. I have to admit I am an accidental writer who wanted to leave a legacy behind and, ergo, wrote a book in 2010. But I found writing crime fiction so addictive I became a serial killer…err…writer. In my spare time, I read—spoiler alert!—crime fiction and binge-watch crime shows. I am an avid golfer, I love music and traveling, and I find something in the sound of water that encourages me to write and murder a few more people (fictionally, of course).


I wrote...

Bhendi Bazaar

By Vish Dhamija,

Book cover of Bhendi Bazaar

What is my book about?

This book is the story of two extraordinary women: Viviane Casey and Rita Ferreira. Viviane, a Russian tourist, a victim of human trafficking in Mumbai shackled by destiny, challenges the norms but fails and becomes another fatality of history, a mere file in police annals that Deputy Commissioner Rita Ferreira has to pull out, a quarter of a century later when Mumbai awakens to the first serial killer within living memory.

The account of Rita’s investigation is interspersed with episodic flashbacks of Viviane’s life story that transports the reader into the life in Mumbai's vicious red-light area, Viviane’s falling in love with an underworld don, and an insight into the Indian justice system that fails her. The story is set against the quintessential glamour and grime of Mumbai. 

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Caper

Vish Dhamija Why did I love this book?

Once in a while, every author reads a book they wish they had written. This book is the one for me.

Jannie, a once-bestselling-now-struggling crime writer, unable to lend authenticity to her plots and voice, decides to carry out a multi-million-dollar heist to give a fact-based and realistic account. However, to accomplish her plan, she teams up with her partner to recruit men from the wrong side of town. Together the team members scout targets and rehearse the various escape routes. Jannie’s plan is to call off the make-believe caper a day before the heist. But…the hustlers she’s recruited won’t take orders from her any longer, not when over a million dollars are within touching distance. 

In the words of Sanders himself: “Crime never felt so good!” 

By Lawrence Sanders,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Caper as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Vintage paperback


Book cover of The Lincoln Lawyer

Vish Dhamija Why did I love this book?

I wouldn’t lie; I love legal thrillers. And Michael Connelly is a crime-writing genius. The book is titled The Lincoln Lawyer because Mickey Haller, a criminal lawyer, works out of the back seat of a chauffeur-driven Lincoln.

In this first book by Connelly featuring Mickey, he has raised the bar for all legal thrillers to come. He puts Mickey, the lawyer, at the centre of the story as someone who is hoodwinked into accepting a case that can destroy him. Mickey has to run with his arms tied behind his back. Talk about being stuck between the Devil and his mother. 

A brilliant story and a fantastic trial—both in and out of the courtroom. 

By Michael Connelly,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Lincoln Lawyer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

They're called Lincoln Lawyers: the bottom of the legal food chain, the criminal defence attorneys who operate out of the back of a Lincoln car, travelling between the courthouses of Los Angeles county to take whatever cases the system throws in their path.

Mickey Haller has been in the business a long time, and he knows just how to work it, how to grease the right wheels and palms, to keep the engine of justice working in his favour. When a Beverly Hills rich boy is arrested for brutally beating a woman, Haller has his first high-paying client in years.…


Book cover of Bluff

Vish Dhamija Why did I love this book?

Like me, you won’t see it coming. I read a lot, and yet I couldn’t imagine this.

Natalie, once a budding card trick magician, is now history. One mistake is all it took—she trusted an older performer who stole her tricks and then discredited her. Her reputation as a magician is in tatters, and she has no way to support herself. So, she eagerly accepts when a magazine asks her to research and write an article on card cheating, and she travels to Atlantic City.

You can be gaslit in a variety of ways, but this one steals the show for me. Like Mike Tyson said: “Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth.”

By Michael Kardos,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Bluff as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fast-paced, page-turning thriller for fans of Michael Connelly and Linwood Barclay. With nothing left to lose you might as well risk it all. Natalie Webb has taken the gamble of her life. To survive the night, she will have to use every trick she can - each stack of the deck could be her last. Lured by a $1.5 million payoff, former card-trick prodigy Natalie has accepted a dangerous proposal from a beguiling card shark: to cheat the table at a high rollers' private poker game. But blindsided by her own dazzling sleight of hand, Natalie hasn't realised the…


Book cover of Innocent

Vish Dhamija Why did I love this book?

Remember Presumed Innocent? I remember finding it one of the most astonishing legal thrillers at the time. But the sequel Turow wrote after 23 years is the mother of all sequels.

Judge Rusty Sabich is suspected of murder yet again (wife, this time; it was his mistress in the previous one). Presumably, Rusty’s wife has died of a heart attack induced by one of her own medicines. Rusty is, once again, prosecuted by the same relentless prosecutor, Tommy, who has had a hard-on for Rusty since they were both prosecutors. He believes Rusty got away with murder the last time around. To add to Tommy’s anguish, Rusty hires the same devious and deceitful defense attorney, Sandy Stern.

 If you, like me, think that sequels are never as good, this one will change your opinion too.

By Scott Turow,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Innocent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Scott Turow's Innocent is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the huge bestselling landmark legal thriller Presumed Innocent.

Twenty years ago, Tommy Molto charged his colleague Rusty Sabich with the murder of a former lover; when a shocking turn of events transformed Prosecutor Rusty from the accuser into the accused. Rusty was cleared, but the seismic trial left both men reeling. Molto's name was dragged through the mud and while Rusty regained his career, he lost much more . . .

Now, Rusty - sixty years old and a chief judge - wakes to a new nightmare. His wife Barbara has…


Book cover of Here To Stay

Vish Dhamija Why did I love this book?

I’ve always hated guests who overstay their welcome. And this story about unwanted guests made me cringe.

I wanted to personally help Elliot, who invited his wife, Gemma’s parents into his home. To Elliot’s surprise, his in-laws settle into his house all too comfortably and start encroaching on his life and privacy. Imagine that. And then as Elliot finds out: Gemma’s parents have no intentions of ever leaving.

They are here to stay in his lovely house.

By Mark Edwards,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Here To Stay as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Mark Edwards always delivers! Taut, gripping, scary and original - a fabulous read!"-Robert Bryndza, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author

A beautiful home. A loving wife. And in-laws to die for.

Gemma Robinson comes into Elliot's life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige - he just doesn't quite know what he's signing up for.

The Robinsons arrive with Gemma's sister, Chloe, a mysterious young woman who refuses to speak or leave her room. Elliot…


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Medical Hostages

By Shawn Jennings,

Book cover of Medical Hostages

Shawn Jennings Author Of Locked In Locked Out: Surviving a Brainstem Stroke

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

The five recommended nonfiction books on my list profoundly affected my life in my time of need. I struggled when a minor accident led to a brainstem stroke and being locked in at 45. How would I find happiness now? How can I go on? These five books gave me the strength to work hard, accept what couldn’t be improved, and be grateful for each day of good health. I hope the recommended books will help you prepare for the day your life will change...and it will.

Shawn's book list on accepting and moving on from a tragedy

What is my book about?

Duke, the leader of a bike gang, is in custody for murder. He plans an escape by feigning illness and hospitalization. But an unexpected turn of events results in two gang members and Duke holding a medical floor of patients hostage. Patients will die if the police don't meet their demands within hours.
The drama follows Duke and Drs. Mindy Fletch, director of the Intensive Care Unit, and Craig Russell, a family medicine resident, in this tense hostage stand-off.

Will the bikers find freedom? Will hostages die? Can Mindy and Craig survive and prevent deaths? In times of stress, people often discover new directions and strengths.

Medical Hostages

By Shawn Jennings,

What is this book about?

Duke, the leader of a bike gang, is in custody for murder. He plans an escape by feigning illness and hospitalization. But an unexpected turn of events results in two gang members and Duke holding a medical floor of patients hostage.


Patients will die if the police don't meet their demands within hours.


The drama follows Duke and Drs. Mindy Fletch, director of the Intensive Care Unit; and Craig Russell, a family medicine resident; in this tense hostage stand-off.


Will the bikers find freedom? Will hostages die? Can Mindy and Craig survive and prevent deaths?


In times of stress, people…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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