81 books like See Them Run

A stranger approaches Adam Price and tells him that Adam’s wife faked her most recent pregnancy and miscarriage. But as Adam presses for more answers, the stranger won’t tell him anything else, like how he knows this, why he’s telling him, or maybe more importantly, who he even is.

The stranger’s revelation is unsettling, but what I found the most disturbing was how creepy it is to have someone else know so much about you while refusing to divulge anything about themselves.

Dick Francis will always be one of my favourite authors even though I’ve never been to a horse race in my life! I once missed my train station because I was so wrapped up in his book. Despite always having a link to the horse racing world, they are not solely about racing. Reflex is a story of a jockey’s search for his missing sister—a sister he didn’t know existed until he receives a request from his dying grandmother to find her. It also involves a mystery surrounding the death of a photographer who is reviled because of the compromising photographs he takes of celebrities to sell to newspapers. Written over 30 years ago (before digital photography) paparazzi intrusion is as relevant to today as ever. 

I enjoy Linwood Barclay for his intriguing openings that grip right from the start and then how he racks up the tension until the end. This was his first thriller and wow—what a debut! It starts when a teenage girl, Cynthia, wakes to find her house deserted and the whole family—mum, dad, and brother missing. Jump forward to 25 years later and the mystery of her family’s disappearance is still unsolved and still haunts Cynthia. But then a letter arrives tipping her whole world upside down and placing her in grave danger… Another unputdownable read!

This is not the first in Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn series but it was the first one I read and it had me hooked right from beginning to end. The tension builds and builds—Eddie Flynn is a likeable protagonist and the killer is one scary dude. This is a courtroom drama with a difference the serial killer is on the jury! I simply had to finish this book and it kept me up until 2.00 am. I’ve since read several more books by Cavanagh and, so far, they’ve all been up to the same high standard.

I'd never read a book before which had such spectacular and horrifying opening chapters.

I found the fact that it was describing the cruel acts of a child resonated with me at the time, as everything I'd read before then – which was mainly The Famous Five books, and other books of that ilk, were pretty tame and this book was anything but that. 

MacBride’s seminal debut introduces readers not only to an erstwhile hero and a stunning ensemble of secondary characters, but also his wonderful descriptions of a foul Aberdeen winter.

Scattered in among the narrative are little vignettes that elevate the whole story with his excellent turn of phrase. Since reading this novel, his books have become must reads for me, even if the Aberdeen Tourist Board don’t have him on their Christmas card list.

Ian is probably the most famous of all Tartan Noir writers. In fact the term Tartan Noir was coined when Ian met James Ellroy at a crime fiction event in Nottingham many years ago. Ian explained that he too was a crime writer and wrote about Edinburgh and the darker side of Scottish life. He said, you could call it Tartan Noir. Ellroy laughed and signed the book 'To the king of Tartan Noir'.

Black and Blue was Ian’s breakthrough novel and when you read it you can see why. Dark and compelling and complex, with perhaps greater depth than the ones that came before, this was my introduction to Rebus and remains a favourite still. 

For anyone about to enter the world of Ian Rankin’s Rebus, Black and Blue is the ideal way in, with plenty more in store.

I love seeing rich, powerful, and corrupt figures get their just desserts, and this book delivers this in spades–very inventive spades.

Here, a gonzo journalist finds that important people he has been writing about are turning up dead, murdered in fascinatingly brutal and clever ways. Murders that make us, the readers, just as complicit as the perpetrator since, while we may want to look away, the vicarious satisfaction we get from them surely condemns us as much as the killer.

I’m using the word ‘we’ here, but maybe I just mean myself–I doubt it! This makes this book sound like a grim read, but it isn’t–Banks was a superb, funny, socially aware writer who could deliver memorable, entertaining characters, some of whom you’d like to hang out with, others not so much…

Would you break the rules or break your promise? On the outskirts of Edinburgh, just before the outbreak of WW2, Charlie finds a starving German boy called Josef hiding in the woods near his home. Josef can’t speak English and is desperately afraid, especially of anyone in uniform. Charlie promises to help Josef find his Jewish relatives in the city. It’s a journey that will force them to face their fears, testing their new-found friendship, and Charlie’s promise, to the limit

This is a beautiful story full of heart and empathy, and a welcome reminder of the kindness of strangers and the innocence of childhood.

The Shetland Bus was a great operation fighting against the German occupation of Norway and David Howarth, second in command of the organization, brings a personal and knowledgeable telling of its history in The Shetland Bus. This book inspired me to write my novel. It is an amazing story of courage and skill. Fishermen on the west coast of Norway began to run fishing boats to England at the beginning of the war. Known as the North Sea Traffic, it eventually became formalized under British command. The Bus only worked during the dark of winter, when sea and weather conditions were dangerous, bringing over arms and agents, taking back refugees. Later, submarine chasers, the Hessa, Hitra, and Vigra, served from 1943 to the end of the war.