Serial Killer Mystery Fiction

On her sixtieth birthday, a woman commits suicide. When the case lands on Detective Carl Mørck’s desk, he can’t imagine what this has to do with Department Q, Copenhagen’s cold cases division since the cause of death seems to be clear. But his superior, Marcus Jacobsen, is convinced that this is not in fact a suicide, but a murder related to an unsolved case that has been plaguing him since 1988.

Each time he struck, he took two victims. He waited for the first body to be discovered - a body containing all the clues the investigators needed to find the second victim. The clock ticked - the police were never in time. Years have passed and the game begins again. Two girls have disappeared...and the clock is ticking. Rookie FBI agent Kimberly Quincy knows the killer's deadline can be met. But she'll have to beat a criminal at a game he's had time to perfect.

The X and O Killings A novel by Logan Carter Brooklyn, 1997. The borough is caught in the grip of terror. Bodies are turning up across the city—marked with cryptic symbols: an X... an O. At first, the police dismiss the deaths as random violence. But Dispatch reporter Frankie Moretti sees a pattern emerging: a deadly game of Tic-Tac-Toe being played out in blood across the map of a gritty, pre-digital New York. As the victims pile up, two killers—one brutal and impulsive, the other cold and calculating—race to complete the board. With pagers buzzing, payphones ringing, and the streets...

The Crystal Killer’s latest casualty was discovered in a sleepy town in the Pacific Northwest, Misted Pines. His years in the FBI, and tracking the Crystal Killer, have taken their toll on Rus. He lost his marriage to the job. And the burdens he carries for the victims was crushing him. Misted Pines has recently survived a killer’s rampage and a town scandal that made global news. The media was primed to devour a new story. So Rus already has his work cut out for him. But it’s more. Something is just not right with this latest victim.

Commander Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard has just published a new book of poems and has taken a brief respite from publicity on the remote Larksoken headland on the Norfolk coast. A psychotic strangler of young women is at large in Norfolk, and getting nearer to Larksoken with every killing. And when Dalgliesh discovers the murdered body of the Acting Administrative Officer on the beach, he finds himself caught up in one of the most baffling murder cases of his career.

Madison Colson knows deep down that her father—a convicted serial killer—is innocent. Duty calls her back to Fog Lake, Tennessee, where terrifying events begin to unfold. The Good Samaritan Killer—or a copycat—is back. FBI Special Agent Shane Townsend is determined to stop the deadly rampage that has sent the tight-knit community into a frenzy. But he needs to earn Madison’s trust first. The task feels impossible, especially considering his father is the one who put her dad in prison.

Her mind holds her captive. Nellie has no memory of life before the cabin. Pleasing Jack and caring for her small daughter are her entire life. Living far in the woods, away from the chaos of the destroyed world keeps them safe. Life is simple. Jack goes scavenging, she stays home and cares for Aster. Above all else, keep Jack happy. Everything changes when she finds the doll. A chance encounter forces Nellie to realize life outside the woods may not be what it seems. Her entire life may be built on a lie. Is the wooden box Jack hides the key? Nellie starts to question her past and question...

Baltimore city Homicide Detective JD Fitzpatrick has seen a lot of horrific violence, both as a cop and during his deployment in Afghanistan, but nothing like the trail of tortured bodies that are turning up throughout the city. He’s up against a brutal killer with a very personal vendetta. And now JD is beginning to suspect that his medical examiner may be shielding some crucial evidence linked to the case.

On the day she returns to active duty with the Serial Crimes Unit, Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley is called to a crime scene. Dismembered body parts from two victims have been found by the river. The modus operandi bears a striking resemblance to Peter Olivier, the notorious Jigsaw Killer, who has spent the past two years behind bars. When he learns that someone is co-opting his grisly signature - the arrangement of victims’ limbs in puzzle-piece shapes - he decides to take matters into his own hands.

In her masterful new novel, Ivy Pochoda creates a kaleidoscope of loss, power, and hope featuring five very different women whose lives are steeped in danger and anguish. They’re connected by one man and his deadly obsession, though not all of them know that yet. There’s Dorian, still adrift after her daughter’s murder remains unsolved.

A decorated police officer is found dead in a farmer's field, covered in what appear to be wasp stings. Except it's almost Thanksgiving in New York, and three inches of snow cover the ground. Days later, a prominent businessman with a fear of heights leaps from Harmon's tallest skyscraper. Are the deaths related?

FBI special agent Zoe Spencer uses skeletal remains to recreate the faces of murder victims through sculpture. Though highly scientific, the process is also sensitive and intimate; she becomes attached to the individuals she identifies, desperate to find justice for each. As Zoe examines old remains, she sees a teenage girl looking back at her - the victim in a cold case from over a decade ago.

Carmen Sanchez is a tough Homeland Security agent who plays by the rules. But when her sister is attacked, revealing a connection to a series of murders across Southern California, she realizes a conventional investigation will not be enough to stop the ruthless perpetrator. With nowhere else to turn, Sanchez enlists the aid of Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert who, unlike Sanchez, believes rules are merely suggestions. The two have a troubled past, but he owes her a favor and she’s cashing in.

Austin homicide detective Jordan Poe is hunting a serial killer she fears is the same man who assaulted her sister, Avery, two years ago. The details line up: the victims are the same age, same type, dead by the same grim MO. Luckily Avery survived. But the terrible memories linger, making Jordan more determined than ever to stop this monster in his tracks.

Capri Sanzio knows that when you give serial killer walking tours for a living, unexpected situations are more common than San Francisco's famous fog. So, when one of her guests claims to see a woman being attacked during a tour, Capri remains unphased. The police search the apartment in question and find no evidence of anything amiss, so they chalk it up to a false report from a true crime fanatic looking to be a part of a case. And Capri thinks they might be right, since lately her tours have been attracting even more obsessives than usual.

Award Winner! "Honorable Mention," Contemporary Fiction, 2021 Writers Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards If you like stories told in unusual ways, enter the emotional, funny, and scary world of Backstory—a single mom’s search for new love and Hollywood fame. But wait: Is a serial killer stalking her and her daughter? Told with a series of letters and brief screenplay scenes, this story's dynamic format will make you laugh, cry, and cheer for Merry Mayfield, a mid-life Columbia University film school grad, who relocates to Austin, Texas, after a devastating divorce. Through her diary-...

A boy vanishes on his way home from school. His frantic mother receives a ransom call: pay or else. It’s only hours before the deadline, and the police have no leads. Enter Timothy Blake, an FBI consultant with a knack for solving impossible cases but whose expertise comes at a price. Every time he saves a life, he takes one, trying to satisfy an urge he fears he can only control for so long. And this time Blake may have met his match. The kidnapper is more cunning and ruthless than any he’s faced before.

Two years ago, Maria Fontana, the head of the Psychology Department at Columbia University, sat on a jury for one of the most depraved cases ever to pass through the hallowed halls of City Hall. Wyatt Butler, an antique watch restorer and alleged serial killer, was portrayed in the courtroom as a brutal monster. But Maria had to make the tough choice.

In the dead of a swelteringly hot summer's night, Detective Erika Foster is called to a murder scene. The victim, a doctor, is found suffocated in bed. His wrists are bound and his eyes bulging through a clear plastic bag tied tight over his head. A few days later, another victim is found dead in exactly the same circumstances. As Erika and her team start digging deeper, they discover a calculated serial killer - stalking their victims before choosing the right moment to strike.

He performs his profane ceremony in a wooded Minneapolis park, anointing his victims, then setting the bodies ablaze. He has already claimed three lives, and he won't stop there. Only this time there is a witness. But she isn't talking. Enter Kate Conlan, former FBI agent turned victim/witness advocate. Not even she can tell if the reluctant witness is a potential victim or something more troubling still.