9 Brilliant Crime Fiction Novels Perfect For Father’s Day and Beyond

The Devil May Dance is an atmospheric thriller set amidst the political upheaval of the 1960s. Charlie and Margaret Marder are rising stars in the thorny world of D.C. politics. Their quiet life is shattered when Attorney General Robert Kennedy sends them to Hollywood to investigate a threat to the US government. In LA, they find Frank Sinatra at the center of the investigation, and soon they're knee-deep in scandal, corruption, and more than a little danger.

The President's Daughter is a fast-paced thriller about a powerful man determined to do whatever it takes to save his daughter. Former US President and Navy SEAL Michael Keating just wants to live as quietly as he can in rural New Hampshire. When he learns about an imitate threat to his daughter, he has to call on all his old SEAL training—because all the political savvy in the world might not be enough to save her.

Set in 1950s LA, A Gambling Man stars Aloysius Archer, a World War II vet just out of prison and badly in need of a fresh start. A surprise win at a casino in Reno helps him get to California, where he's heard a man without scruples can get rich. He lands a job with a private investigator, but his first case soon goes from blackmail to murder. If Archer isn't careful, he might end up getting himself killed.

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Political intrigue, global superpowers, and lethal bioweapons make for a deadly combination in Jack Carr's latest thriller. The US has just elected a new president. On the other side of the world, the leader of a regional superpower makes a plan to defeat the US once and for all. And in a mysterious underground research center, a PhD student discovers some of the world's deadliest weapons. The Devil's Hand is an action-packed thrill-ride full of twists you'll never see coming.

Truth-talking, no-nonsense private investigator Easy Rawlins is back in the latest installment of Walter Mosley's popular crime series. In Blood Grove, Rawlins agrees to take on a case for a fellow veteran, even though he knows it'll bring him nothing but trouble. On top of that, the uncle of his adopted daughter shows up unexpectedly, asking questions Rawlins would rather not answer. Mosley has written another superb suspense novel full of historical detail, unforgettable characters, and crackling dialogue.

Jonathan Ames infuses plenty of biting humor into his latest mystery, A Man Named Doll. A veteran of the Navy and the LAPD, Happy Doll now makes his living as a private investigator. He works the night shift at a Thai spa, acting as general security, and dealing with any customers who try to harass the employees. But when things get out of control with a violent patron one night, Doll realizes he'll need more than his sharp wit to keep himself—and the women who work at the spa—safe.

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Windsor Horne Lockwood III isn't a detective, but his interest in solving crimes increases considerably when a suitcase belonging to him, along with a stolen family painting, turns up at the scene of a murder. He's soon caught up in two linked cases that have been stumping the FBI for decades. Win may not be a professional, but he has a few things the FBI doesn't: a vast fortune, and his own particular kind of justice, unencumbered by morals.

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For thirteen-year-old Graham, 1972 is a year that changes everything. First, he moves with his family to Beirut, Lebanon—ostensibly for his dad's State Department job, but Graham has his suspicions. But moving is only the first upheaval. He soon witnesses two murders and the collapse of his parents' marriage. Adrift in a brand new country, Graham is soon caught up in dangerous political forces he doesn't understand.

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Heaven's a Lie is a fast-paced cat-and-mouse adventure about a young woman ensnared in a web of violence. Between her own rent and her mother's medical bills, Joette Harper is struggling to stay afloat. So when she finds a huge stash of cash in the wreckage of a car crash, she takes it without looking back. But the money may be more trouble than it's worth, because the ruthless dealer who left it there is out to get it back at any cost.