100 books like The Cartel

By Don Winslow,

Here are 100 books that The Cartel fans have personally recommended if you like The Cartel. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics

John Houle Author Of The Siberian Candidate

From my list on political thrillers that teach you about real world events.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a political consultant for much of the first half of my nearly 30-year career in communications. Having run statewide and local political campaigns, I experienced many of the personalities I write about today. What is behind the political decisions elected leaders make? Can you truly be a dedicated public servant in politics today? If you only play to win, how do you keep from becoming your own worst enemy? My writing and the works I gravitate towards explore these challenging issues, which are as prevalent today as they were analyzed by the Greeks, Shakespeare, and 20th-century writers.

John's book list on political thrillers that teach you about real world events

John Houle Why did John love this book?

Primary Colors is one of the finest illustrations of the coming of age of modern politics. 

Ripped from the headlines of the day, Primary Colors provides a true-to-life experience of what it was like leading up to Clinton’s upset over Bush. It’s a fine expose and morality play in which we see how ethics can be compromised in the pursuit of power.

By Anonymous,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A novel provocatively based on an insider's devastating account of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. The anonymous author is reported to be someone close to the Clintons.


Book cover of No Country for Old Men

Steve Saroff Author Of Paper Targets: Art Can Be Murder

From my list on literary that mix old noir with modern themes.

Why am I passionate about this?

20 years ago a software company I founded had been acquired and my life should have been good. Instead, it was a Herculean mess. I had just been fired by a billionaire whom I had accused of crimes, and now I was out of work and broke. It would still be four more years before Bernie Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison (where he became blind and demented and died) for the world’s largest fraud. But when I was writing the first words of Paper Targets, the executives who had pulled me into their world of the “Lie” were freely strutting on the World Stage of Greed. 

Steve's book list on literary that mix old noir with modern themes

Steve Saroff Why did Steve love this book?

This book is Cormac McCarthy’s most accessible novel. It reads like a screenplay and hits all of the high spots with low blows and grit. It is political, involving drug deals gone wrong that involve Mexican cartels while also being absolutely lonely and isolated. This is noir in the bright desert daylight, mixed with some high-tech of modern criminals. Dark, terrible, and entertaining.

By Cormac McCarthy,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked No Country for Old Men as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Llewelyn Moss, hunting antelope near the Rio Grande, instead finds men shot dead, a load of heroin, and more than $2 million in cash. Packing the money out, he knows, will change everything. But only after two more men are murdered does a victim's burning car lead Sheriff Bell to the carnage out in the desert, and he soon realizes that Moss and his young wife are in desperate need of protection. One party in the failed transaction hires an ex-Special Forces officer to defend his interests against a mesmerizing freelancer, while on either side are men accustomed to spectacular…


Book cover of The Last Hurrah

John Houle Author Of The Siberian Candidate

From my list on political thrillers that teach you about real world events.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a political consultant for much of the first half of my nearly 30-year career in communications. Having run statewide and local political campaigns, I experienced many of the personalities I write about today. What is behind the political decisions elected leaders make? Can you truly be a dedicated public servant in politics today? If you only play to win, how do you keep from becoming your own worst enemy? My writing and the works I gravitate towards explore these challenging issues, which are as prevalent today as they were analyzed by the Greeks, Shakespeare, and 20th-century writers.

John's book list on political thrillers that teach you about real world events

John Houle Why did John love this book?

O’Connor’s expose on old-time politics was an inspiration for my first novel.

Set in the mid-1950s, O’Connor describes the transition from machine politics to the modern political system that dominates American politics today. For a true glimpse and understanding of the political world, I recommend starting with The Last Hurrah.

By Edwin O'Connor,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"We're living in a sensitive age, Cuke, and I'm not altogether sure you're fully attuned to it." So says Irish-American politician Frank Skeffington-a cynical, corrupt 1950s mayor, and also an old-school gentleman who looks after the constituents of his New England city and enjoys their unwavering loyalty in return. But in our age of dynasties, mercurial social sensitivities, and politicians making love to the camera, Skeffington might as well be talking to us.

Not quite a roman a clef of notorious Boston mayor James Michael Curley, The Last Hurrah tells the story of Skeffington's final campaign as witnessed through the…


Book cover of A Line to Kill

William J. Warner Author Of Gold Line to Lenox: An Odyssey of Crime, Love & Betrayal

From my list on cops in pursuit of the bad guys.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion is writing crime fiction and more. William J. Warner is my name. I am a retired FBI Agent who worked violent crime cases. I developed a wealth of experience interviewing seedy people around the globe. As such, I love writing their dialogue and incorporating it with those of good intentions. I’ve written seven books. My degrees are in business, forensic psychology, and law. My novels include Holdup Number Six, Appalachian Impasse, Gold Line to Lenox, Going Knee to Knee with FBI Polygraph, Ohio Boys, Hoosier Fields, and Jewels In The Sand where I digressed into a love & war saga with a tear-jerking finish.

William's book list on cops in pursuit of the bad guys

William J. Warner Why did William love this book?

From the days of my youth, I’ve always had an interest in stories relating to the pursuit of murderers by a Sherlock Holmes type of character. Anthony Horowitz excels in this novel with his character, Daniel Hawthorne, an ex-detective who is determined to solve the mystery Horowitz so artfully lays out. While attending a literary festival at an island once held by the Nazis, two murders take place which throw shadows over those attending as they each are faced with Hawthorne, now on loan by the police, to aid in finding the killer. As a former federal investigator, I found myself relating to the characters, their personalities, and how they parlayed back and forth with Hawthorne. As such,  I heartedly recommend it.

By Anthony Horowitz,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Line to Kill as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Pre-order the brand new Anthony Horowitz novel The Twist of a Knife, coming August 2022!

'EASILY THE GREATEST OF OUR CRIME WRITERS' Sunday Times

'A homage to the Golden Age of mystery - it is pure delight.' NEW YORK TIMES
'This is crime fiction as dazzling entertainment' SUNDAY TIMES
'Witty, wry, clever, a fabulous detective story and perfect summer reading' KATE MOSSE
'Funny, intriguing, thrilling and thought-provoking: a marvellous mystery' ADAM HAMDY
'A golden-age whodunnit on steroids' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'My favourite literary hero at the moment is Anthony Horowitz' SHARI LAPENA
__________________

Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and the writer Anthony…


Book cover of The Da Vinci Code

Michael Davies Author Of Outback

From my list on action-adventure books that are not crime thrillers.

Why am I passionate about this?

Inspired by my dad–a fan of Hammond Innes, Alistair MacLean, and the like–and two older brothers, I discovered Desmond Bagley as a teenager. My passion for his style of action-adventure has never dwindled. As the crime thriller genre appears to move relentlessly in the direction of dark, gritty, serial-killer territory, I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t something to be said for the now less-fashionable escapist worlds these writers created. Thanks to HarperCollins, I was given the chance to work on Bagley’s last posthumous novel, Domino Island, and my own original books inevitably followed.

Michael's book list on action-adventure books that are not crime thrillers

Michael Davies Why did Michael love this book?

I can never understand why so many critics and readers are snooty about Dan Brown. For me, he does what every good storyteller should do: takes you on a page-turning journey. And his style is both readable and erudite, whatever the snobs might say.

Although this could technically be described as a crime thriller, it remains perhaps Brown’s best action-adventure so far, and regardless of whether Tom Hanks is your idea of Professor Robert Langdon or not, the thrills just keep on coming as you follow breathlessly through the streets and landmarks of Paris, London and beyond. Stylish and swaggering.

By Dan Brown,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Da Vinci Code as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Harvard professor Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call while on business in Paris: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered inside the museum. Alongside the body, police have found a series of baffling codes.

As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, begin to sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to find a trail that leads to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci - and suggests the answer to a mystery that stretches deep into the vault of history.

Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine code and quickly assemble the…


Book cover of Prince of Thieves

William J. Warner Author Of Gold Line to Lenox: An Odyssey of Crime, Love & Betrayal

From my list on cops in pursuit of the bad guys.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion is writing crime fiction and more. William J. Warner is my name. I am a retired FBI Agent who worked violent crime cases. I developed a wealth of experience interviewing seedy people around the globe. As such, I love writing their dialogue and incorporating it with those of good intentions. I’ve written seven books. My degrees are in business, forensic psychology, and law. My novels include Holdup Number Six, Appalachian Impasse, Gold Line to Lenox, Going Knee to Knee with FBI Polygraph, Ohio Boys, Hoosier Fields, and Jewels In The Sand where I digressed into a love & war saga with a tear-jerking finish.

William's book list on cops in pursuit of the bad guys

William J. Warner Why did William love this book?

Having worked bank robberies as a former FBI Special Agent, I have a keen sense as to what makes these people tick. Most are quite ignorant, however, occasionally clever planning takes place by those as brazen as Hogan has portrayed here. A true masterpiece, Chuck Hogan does a splendid job bringing his characters to life in all the real-life depictions you will enjoy. This is a gut-wrenching roller coaster mixing crime with romantic infatuation to the point you can’t stop reading. I’ll admit, once the movie came out, I had to get the book and now it’s one of my all-time favorite crime thrillers.

By Chuck Hogan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From the author of The Strain comes a tense, psychologically gripping, Hammet award-winning thriller.

Four masked men—thieves, rivals, and friends from the tough streets of Charlestown—take on a Boston bank at gunpoint. Holding bank manager Claire Keesey hostage and cleaning out the vault were simple. But career criminal Doug MacRay didn't plan on one thing: falling hard for Claire. When he tracks her down without his mask and gun, their mutual attraction is undeniable. With a tenacious FBI agent following his every move, he imagines a life away from his gritty, dangerous work—a life centered around Claire. But before that…


Book cover of The Power of the Dog

John Houle Author Of The Siberian Candidate

From my list on political thrillers that teach you about real world events.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a political consultant for much of the first half of my nearly 30-year career in communications. Having run statewide and local political campaigns, I experienced many of the personalities I write about today. What is behind the political decisions elected leaders make? Can you truly be a dedicated public servant in politics today? If you only play to win, how do you keep from becoming your own worst enemy? My writing and the works I gravitate towards explore these challenging issues, which are as prevalent today as they were analyzed by the Greeks, Shakespeare, and 20th-century writers.

John's book list on political thrillers that teach you about real world events

John Houle Why did John love this book?

I am fascinated with the application of power and its intersection with business and politics.

Winslow’s expose on the Mexican drug cartels provides a real-life description of the tragedies of America’s longest war and the unexpected consequences. It is thought provoking as well as entertaining, opening up my own world to new thoughts on the realities of American intervention in South America to prevent the spread of Communism.

By Don Winslow,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Power of the Dog as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Breathtaking' JEREMY CLARKSON
'Winslow's masterpiece (so far) ... should have a place on every crime freak's bookshelf. Superb' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
_______________________
A brilliant page-turning thriller of power and revenge on the front lines of the drug war.

Drug lord Miguel Angel Barrera is head of the Mexican drug federacion, responsible for millions of dollars worth of cocaine traffic into the US and the torture and murder of those who stand in its way. His nephew, Adan Barrera, is his worthy successor.

Art Keller is a US government operative, so determined to obtain revenge for a murdered colleague that his…


Book cover of The Chase

William J. Warner Author Of Gold Line to Lenox: An Odyssey of Crime, Love & Betrayal

From my list on cops in pursuit of the bad guys.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion is writing crime fiction and more. William J. Warner is my name. I am a retired FBI Agent who worked violent crime cases. I developed a wealth of experience interviewing seedy people around the globe. As such, I love writing their dialogue and incorporating it with those of good intentions. I’ve written seven books. My degrees are in business, forensic psychology, and law. My novels include Holdup Number Six, Appalachian Impasse, Gold Line to Lenox, Going Knee to Knee with FBI Polygraph, Ohio Boys, Hoosier Fields, and Jewels In The Sand where I digressed into a love & war saga with a tear-jerking finish.

William's book list on cops in pursuit of the bad guys

William J. Warner Why did William love this book?

My Clive Cussler favorite, The Chase kept me in pursuit of the villain with all the suspense and adventurous imagination I’ve come to expect from Cussler’s long line of good guy/bad guy novels. I identified with Detective Isaac Bell as I, too, once pursued bank robbers and killers from one State to another while employed as an FBI agent. In this story, Bell is put to the challenge in an audacious plot of robbery and murder. To identify this despicable felon, Bell finds that a woman plays into it adding intrigue to the outcome.

By Clive Cussler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Chase as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14.

What is this book about?

Turn-of-the-century detective Isaac Bell pursues a blood-thirsty bank robber-and perhaps one of the world's first sociopaths-in the first novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series.

In 1906, the western states of America suffer a string of bank robberies by a single man who then cold-bloodedly murders any and all witnesses, and vanishes without a trace. Fed up by the depredations of "The Butcher Bandit," the U.S. government brings in the best man it can find: a tall, lean, no-nonsense detective named Isaac Bell, who has caught thieves and killers from coast to coast.

But Bell has never had a…


Book cover of Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less

Paddy Hirsch Author Of The Devil's Half Mile

From my list on glimpse into the dark heart of the financial markets (without being bored to tears).

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a career financial and business journalist, only recently turned novelist. I’m obsessed with the way that history repeats itself in the financial markets and that we never seem to learn our lessons. Fear and greed have always driven the behavior of bankers, traders, and investors; and they still do today, only barely inhibited by our regulatory system. I want to help people understand how markets work, and I like combining fiction with fact to explain these systems and how they’re abused. With that in mind, I work during the day as a reporter at NPR and by night as a scribbler of historical fiction with a financial twist.

Paddy's book list on glimpse into the dark heart of the financial markets (without being bored to tears)

Paddy Hirsch Why did Paddy love this book?

I love the way that Archer turns the dry ins and outs of the workings of the British stock market into an adventure tale. I can’t quite believe how many explanations of market activities he manages to describe and explain in the simplest, most easy to understand terms. All while keeping the action going.

I learned from Archer what short selling is, how Ponzi schemes work, the meaning of insider trading, and how pump and dump schemes are set up and executed. I also learned how flawed the British financial markets were until their reform. A fascinating, highly entertaining romp through the city of London.

By Jeffrey Archer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jeffrey Archer's first novel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, is page-turning tale of fraud, revenge and determination as four men stop at nothing to get back what was stolen from them.

One million dollars - that's what Harvey Metcalfe, lifelong king of shady deals, has pulled off with empty promises of an oil bonanza and instant riches. Overnight, four men - the heir to an earldom, a Harley Street doctor, a Bond Street art dealer and an Oxford don - find themselves penniless. But this time Harvey has swindled the wrong men. They band together and shadow…


Book cover of Never Coming Home

Jessica Cunsolo Author Of Best Vacation Ever

From my list on fun summer reads for lazy days by the pool.

Why am I passionate about this?

There’s nothing better than sitting down at the pool to read a fun, engaging story that transports you into another world and keeps you entertained. I’ve always loved reading to escape, and when I started writing and posting my stories for free online at 17 years old, I discovered my true calling. My first story amassed 140 million reads with millions of comments, where people shared how much fun they had reading the story and how it helped them escape from their lives. Since then, I’ve continued writing stories I’m passionate about and sharing them with people who love a good, fun, romance.

Jessica's book list on fun summer reads for lazy days by the pool

Jessica Cunsolo Why did Jessica love this book?

Not a big romance/romcom reader? No worries, Never Coming Home is the perfect poolside book for you.

This summer YA mystery/thriller follows a group of teen influencers who are invited to a hot new exclusive island, but everyone’s hiding secrets, and then people start dying. I enjoyed this book as a poolside summer read because it’s so fast-paced and intriguing that I was sucked right into the story.

It’s a summer slasher read full of twists and perfectly unlikeable characters that kept me turning pages until it was done in one sitting.

By Kate M. Williams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Never Coming Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

The escapist read you have been dying for! When ten of America’s hottest teenage influencers are invited to an exclusive island resort, things are sure to get wild. But murder isn't what anyone expected. Will anyone survive?

Everyone knows Unknown Island—it’s the world’s most exclusive destination. Think white sand beaches, turquoise seas, and luxury accommodations. Plus, it’s invite only, no one over twenty-one is allowed, and it’s absolutely free. Who wouldn’t want to go?

The mysterious resort launched with a viral marketing campaign, and now the whole world is watching as Unknown Island opens its doors to the First Ten,…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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