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Forensic Fiction
The last few years have seen a surge in interest in the science of crime scene investigation and analysis, a trend reflected in popular fiction. Lincoln City Libraries staff has put together a list of titles from our collection that deal with forensic crime solving. These novels appeal to mystery lovers but are not for the faint-hearted. Gore and violence levels vary. These works are meant to be realistic.
Books we classify as “forensic” involve crime scene investigation utilizing a number of scientific specialties. We’ve subdivided our list by these specialties, listing the books in order by author and then chronologically by title. Many of these books are series featuring a main character or team of characters. We’ve focused on on the characters who are part of a team who actually are forensic scientists and indicated the character/series name in bold underlined type. Some series, such as the popular “Cracker” stories (based on the British television series Cracker), are written by various authors. We’ve tried to tie these together for clarity’s sake. This list is primarily composed of forensic fiction owned by the Lincoln City Libraries. One popular series which the library has carried are the CSI novels by Max Allen Collins, based on the television series CSI, CSI: Miami and CSI: New York. There are a few instances where the library does not own all the titles in a series. For the missing volumes, we would encourage readers to request these through our Interlibrary Loan service.
Jump to the following specialties: Forensic Artists or Photographers | Forensic Archeaologists and Anthropologists | Forensic Entomologists | Medical Examiners, Doctors/Pathologists & Dentists | General Forensics | Historical Forensic Detectives | Geologists and Historians | Psychologists and Psychiatrists
Forensic Artists or Photographers
William Bayer
David Weiss
Switch (1984)
Pattern Crimes (1987)
Dream of Broken Horses (2002)
Leslie Forbes
Claire Fleetwood
Fish, Blood & Bone (2001)
James W. Hall
Alexandra Rafferty
Body Language (1998)
Iris Johansen
Eve Duncan
The Face of Deception (1998)
The Killing Game (1999)
Body of Lies (2002)
Blind Alley (2004)
Countdown (2005)
Stalemate (2006)
Quicksand (2008)
Blood Game (2009)
Chasing the Night (2010)
Eight Days to Live (2010)
Eve (2011)
Quinn (2011)
Bonnie (2011)
Sleep No More (2012)
Taking Eve (2013)
Hunting Eve (2013)
Silencing Eve (2013)
Shadow Play (2015)
Hideaway (2015)
Night and Day (2016)
Mind Game (2017)
Shattered Mirror (2018)
Dark Tribute (2019)
Smokescreen (2019)
The Persuasion (2020)
The Bullet (2021)
A Face to Die For (2022)
Captive (2022)
The Survivor (2023)
Doris Mortman
Amanda Maxwell
The Lucky Ones (1997)
Out of Nowhere (1998)
Forensic Archaeologists/Anthropologists
Jefferson Bass
Bill Brockton/The Body Farm
Carved in Bone (2006)
Flesh and Bone (2007)
The Devil’s Bones (2008)
Bones of Betrayal (2009)
The Bone Thief (2010)
The Bone Yard (2011)
The Bones of Avignon (2012)
Cut to the Bone (2013)
Breaking Point (2015)
Without Mercy (2016)
Beverly Connor
Lindsay Chamberlain
A Rumor of Bones (1996)
Questionable Remains (1997)
Dressed to Die (1998)
Skeleton Crew (1999)
Airtight Case (2000)
Diane Fallon
One Grave Too Many (2003)
Dead Guilty (2004)
Dead Secret (2005)
Dead Past (2007)
Dead Hunt (2008)
Scattered Graves (2009)
Dust to Dust (2009)
The Night Killer (2010)
One Grave Less (2010)
Aaron Elkins
Gideon Oliver
Fellowship of Fear (1982)
The Dark Place (1983)
Murder in the Queen’s Armes (1985)
Old Bones (1987)
Curses! (1989)
Icy Clutches (1990)
Make No Bones (1991)
Dead Men’s Hearts (1994)
Twenty Blue Devils (1997)
Skeleton Dance (2000)
Good Blood (2003)
Where There’s a Will (2005)
Unnatural Selection (2006)
Little Tiny Teeth (2007)
Uneasy Relations (2008)
Skull Duggery (2009)
Dying on the Vine (2012)
Switcheroo (2016)
Chris Norgren
A Deceptive Clarity (1987)
A Glancing Light (1991)
Old Scores (1993)
Jim Lehrer
Don Spaniel
No Certain Rest (2002)
Sharon McCrumb
Elizabeth MacPherson
Sick of Shadows (1984)
Lovely in Her Bones (1985)
Highland Laddie Gone (1986)
Paying the Piper (1988)
The Windsor Knot (1990)
Missing Susan (1991)
MacPherson’s Lament (1992)
If I’d Killed Him When I Met Him (1995)
The PMS Outlaws (2000)
Darian North
Iris Lanier
Bone Deep (1995)
Kathy Reichs
Temperance Brennan [who is also a medical examiner]
Deja Dead (1997)
Death Du Jour (1999)
Deadly Decisions (2000)
Fatal Voyage (2001)
Grave Secrets (2002)
Bare Bones (2003)
Monday Mourning (2004)
Cross Bones (2005)
Break No Bones (2006)
Bones to Ashes (2007)
Devil Bones (2008)
206 Bones (2009)
Spider Bones (2010)
Flash and Bones (2011)
Bones Are Forever (2012)
Bones of the Lost (2013)
Bones Never Lie (2014)
Speaking in Bones (2015)
A Conspiracy of Bones (2020)
The Bone Code (2021)
Cold, Cold Bones (2022)
The Bone Hacker (2023)
Bones TV Series novel tie-in
Buried Deep (2006) (novel by Max Allan Collins, based on the versions of the characters in the Bones TV series, rather than the versions in Reichs’ series of novels)
Forensic Entomologists
Tim Downs
Nick Polchak — The Bugman series
Shoofly Pie (2003)
Chop Shop (2004)
First the Dead (2007)
Less the Dead (2008)
Ends of the Earth (2009)
Nick of Time (2011)
Medical Examiners, Doctors/Pathologists, and Dentists
Lori Andrews
Alexandra Blake [geneticist]
Sequence (2006)
Silent Assassin (2007)
Immunity (2008)
Dennis Asen
Peter Roberts [dentist]
Root of Deception (1998)
Michael Baden and Linda Kenney
Dr. Jake Rosen and Philomena Manfreda
Remains Silent (2005)
Skeleton Justice (2009)
Simon Beckett
David Hunter [general practitioner/former forensic anthropologist]
Chemistry of Death (2006)
Written in Bone (2007)
Whispers of the Dead (2009)
The Calling of the Grave (2010)
The Restless Dead (2017)
The Scent of Death (2019)
Rick Boyer
Doc Adams [dentist]
Billingsgate Shoal (1982)
The Penny Ferry (1984)
The Daisy Ducks (1986)
Moscow Metal (1987)
The Whale’s Footprints (1988)
Gone to Earth (1990)
Yellow Bird (1991)
Pirate Trade (1994)
The Man Who Whispered (1998)
Robin Cook
Contagion (1995)
Vector (1999)
Patricia Cornwell
Kay Scarpetta
Postmortem (1990)
Body of Evidence (1991)
All That Remains (1992)
Cruel and Unusual (1993)
The Body Farm (1994)
From Potter’s Field (1995)
Cause of Death (1996)
Unnatural Exposure (1997)
Point of Origin (1998)
Black Notice (1999)
The Last Precinct (2000)
Blow Fly (2003)
Trace (2004)
Predator (2005)
Book of the Dead (2007)
Scarpetta (2008)
Scarpetta Factor (2009)
Port Mortuary (2010)
Red Mist (2011)
The Bone Bed (2012)
Dust (2013)
Flesh and Blood (2014)
Depraved Heart (2015)
Chaos (2016)
Autopsy (2021)
Livid (2022)
Winston Garano
At Risk (2006)
The Front (2008)
Desmond Cory
Dr. Kate Coyle and John Dobie
Even If You Run (1972)
A Bit of a Shunt Up the River (1974)
The Catalyst (1991)
The Mask of Zeus (1992)
The Dobie Paradox (1993)
D.J. Donaldson
Andy Brossard
Cajun Nights (1988)
Blood on the Bayou (1991)
No Mardi Gras for the Dead (1992)
New Orleans Requiem (1994)
Louisiana Fever (1996)
Sleeping With the Crawfish (1997)
Bad Karma in the Big Easy (2016)
Assassination at Bayou Sauvage (2017)
Susan Dunlap
Kiernan O’Shaughnessy
Pious Deception (1989)
Rogue Wave (1991)
High Fall (1994)
No Immunity (1998)
Leonard Goldberg
Joanna Blalock
Deadly Medicine (1992)
A Deadly Practice (1993)
Deadly Care (1996)
Deadly Harvest (1997)
Deadly Exposure (1998)
Lethal Measures (2000)
Fatal Care (2001)
Brain Waves (2002)
Fever Cell (2003)
Mary Kittredge
Edwina Crusoe
Fatal Diagnosis (1990)
Rigor Mortis (1991)
Cadaver (1992)
Walking Dead Man (1992)
Desperate Remedy (1993)
Kill or Cure (1995)
Marsha Landreth
Samantha Turner
The Holiday Murders (1992)
Richard La Plante
Joseph Tanaka
Mantis (1992)
Leopard (1994)
Steroid Blues (1995)
Mind Kill (1997)
Herbert Lieberman
Crawlspace (1971)
The Eighth Square (1973)
City of the Dead (1976)
The Climate of Hell (1978)
Nightbloom (1984)
The Green Train (1986)
Shadow Dancers (1989)
Thomas Noguchi
Unnatural Causes (1988)
Physical Evidence (1990)
Ridley Pearson
Joe Dartelli
Chain of Evidence (1995)
Bill Pomidor
Calista Marley
Murder by Prescription (1995)
The Anatomy of Murder (1996)
Skeletons in the Closet (1997)
The Little Medicine Men (1998)
Mind Over Murder (1998)
Kathy Reichs
Temperance Brennan
[ See titles under Forensic Archaeologists/Anthropologists ]
Karin Slaughter
Sara Linton/Jeffrey Tolliver
Blindsighted (2001)
Kisscut (2002)
A Faint Cold Fear (2003)
Indelible (2003)
Faithless (2005)
Beyond Reach (2007)
Sara Linton/Jeffrey Tolliver cross over with Will Trent series starting in 2009
Undone (2009) (a.k.a. Genesis)
Broken (2010)
Fallen (2011)
Criminal (2012)
Unseen (2013)
The Kept Woman (2016)
The Last Widow (2019)
The Silent Wife (2020)
Robert W. Walker
Jessica Coran
Killer Instinct (1992)
Fatal Instinct (1993)
Primal Instinct (1994)
Pure Instinct (1995)
Darkest Instinct (1996)
Extreme Instinct (1998)
Blind Instinct (2000)
Bitter Instinct (2001)
Unnatural Instinct (2002)
Grave Instinct (2003)
Absolute Instinct (2004)
The Edge of Instinct (2013)
The Fear Collectors (2014)
The Devil’s Instinct (2015)
Dead on Instinct (2018)
True Instinct (2020)
General Forensics
Noreen Ayres
Smoky Brandon
A World the Color of Salt (1992)
Carcass Trade (1994)
The Juan Doe Murders (2000)
Elizabeth Becka
Evelyn Jones
Trace Evidence (2005)
Unknown Means (2007)
“CSI/CSI:Miami/CSI: New York” [tv tie-ins]
[varied casts]
[these books were written by a variety of different authors]
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI #1: Double Dealer (2001) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI #2: Sin City (2002) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI #3: Cold Burn (2003) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI #4: Body of Evidence (2003) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI #5: Grave Matters (2004) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI #6: Binding Ties (2005) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI #7: Killing Game (2005) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI #8: Snake Eyes (2006) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI #9: In Extremis (2007) (Ken Goddard)
CSI #10: Bad Rap (2008) (Max Allan Collins
CSI #11: Nevada Rose (2008) (Jerome Preisler)
CSI #12: Headhunter (2008) (Greg Cox)
CSI #13: Brass in Pocket (2009) (Jeff Mariotte)
CSI #14: The Killing Jar (2009) (Donn Cortez)
CSI #15: Blood Quantum (2010) (Jeff Mariotte)
CSI #16: Dark Sundays (2010) (Donn Cortez)
CSI #17: Skin Deep (2010) (Jerome Preisler)
CSI #18: Shock Treatment (2010) (Greg Cox)
CSI #19: The Burning Season (2011) (Jeff Mariotte)
CSI Miami
CSI Miami #1: Florida Getaway (2003) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI Miami #2: Heat Wave (2004) (Max Allan Collins)
CSI Miami #3: Cult Following (2005) (Donn Cortez)
CSI Miami #4: Riptide (2006) (Donn Cortez)
CSI Miami #5: Harm for the Holidays: Misgivings (2006) (Donn Cortez)
CSI Miami #6: Harm for the Holidays: Heart Attack (2007) (Donn Cortez)
CSI Miami #7: Cut and Run (2008) (Donn Cortez)
CSI Miami #8: Right to Die (2008) (Jeff Mariotte)
CSI New York
CSI New York #1: Dead of Winter (2005) (Stuart Kaminsky)
CSI New York #2: Blood on the Sun (2006) (Stuart Kaminsky)
CSI New York #3: Deluge (2007) (Stuart Kaminsky)
CSI New York #4: Four Walls (2008) (Keith R.A. DeCandido)
Catherine Coulter
Dillon Savich & Lacey Sherlock
Eleventh Hour (2002)
Blindside (2003)
Jeffery Deaver
Lincoln Rhyme
The Bone Collector (1996)
The Coffin Dancer (1998)
The Empty Chair (2000)
The Stone Monkey (2002)
The Vanished Man (2003)
The Twelfth Card (2005)
The Cold Room (2006)
The Broken Window (2008)
The Burning Wire (2010)
The Kill Room (2013)
The Skin Collector (2014)
The Steel Kiss (2016)
The Burial Hour (2017)
The Cutting Edge (2018)
The Midnight Lock (2020)
A Perfect Plan (2021) novella
Lisa Gardner
The Other Daughter (1999)
The Survivor’s Club (2002)
Kimberly Quincy
The Perfect Husband (1998)
The Third Victim (2001)
The Next Accident (2001)
The Killing Hour (2003)
Gone (2006)
Say Goodbye (2008)
Right Behind You (2017)
Elizabeth George
A Place of Hiding (2003)
Simon St. James [in Inspector Lynley series]
A Great Deliverance (1988)
Payment in Blood (1989)
Well-Schooled in Murder (1990)
A Suitable Vengeance (1991)
For the Sake of Elena (1992)
Missing Joseph (1993)
Playing For the Ashes (1994)
In the Presence of the Enemy (1996)
Deception On His Mind (1997)
In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner (1999)
A Traitor to Memory (2001)
With No One as Witness (2005)
What Came Before He Shot Her (2006)
Careless in Red (2008)
This Body of Death (2010)
Believing the Lie (2012)
Just One Evil Act (2013)
A Banquet of Consequences (2015)
The Punishment She Deserves (2018)
Something to Hide (2022)
Ken Goddard
Colin Cellars, forensic technician
First Evidence (1999)
Outer Perimeter (2001)
Final Disposition (2011)
P.D. James
Death of an Expert Witness (1977)
Harry Levy
Chain of Custody (1998)
John Lutz with David August
Final Seconds (1998)
Ridley Pearson
Chain of Evidence (1995)
Beyond Recognition (1997)
The First Victim (1999)
Body of David Hayes (2004)
Historical Forensic “detectives”: (forensic detection and detectives in the past)
Rennie Airth
John Madden
River of Darkness (1991) [WWI setting]
The Blood Dimmed Tide (2003)
The Dead of Winter (2009)
The Reckoning (2014)
The Death of Kings (2017)
The Decent Inn of Death (2020)
Caleb Carr
Laszlo Kreizler [Late 1890s early 1900s setting]
The Alienist (1994)
Angel of Darkness (1997)
The Alienist at Armageddon (2019) (??)
The Strange Case of Miss Sarah X (2023) (??)
George Harmon Coxe
The Ring of Truth (1966)
Margaret Frazer
Sister Frevisse [medieval setting]
The Novice’s Tale (1992)
The Servant’s Tale (1993)
The Outlaw’s Tale (1994)
The Bishop’s Tale (1994)
The Boy’s Tale (1995)
The Murderer’s Tale (1996)
The Prioress’s Tale (1997)
The Maiden’s Tale (1998)
The Reeve’s Tale (1998)
The Squire’s Tale (2000)
The Clerk’s Tale (2002)
The Bastard’s Tale (2003)
The Hunter’s Tale (2004)
The Widow’s Tale (2005)
The Sempster’s Tale (2006)
The Traitor’s Tale (2007)
The Apostate’s Tale (2008)
The Witch’s Tale (2010)
The Midwife’s Tale (2010)
The Stone-Worker’s Tale (2011)
Winter Heart (2011)
Sins of the Blood (2012)
Richard Austin Freeman
The Singing Bone (1965)
The Red Thumb Mark (1967)
Helen McCoy
[Red Badge Mysteries]
Mr. Splitfoot (1968)
Ellis Peters
Brother Cadfael [medieval setting]
A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)
One Corpse Too Many (1980)
Monk’s Hood (1980)
Saint Peter’s Fair (1981)
The Leper of St. Giles (1981)
The Virgin in the Ice (1987)
The Sanctuary Sparrow (1981)
The Devil’s Notice (1983)
Dead Man’s Ransom (1984)
The Pilgrim of Hate (1984)
An Excellent Mystery (1985)
The Rose Rent (1986)
The Raven in the Foregate (1986)
The Hermit of Eyton Forest (1988)
The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988)
A Rare Benedictine (1988)
The Heretic’s Apprentice (1990)
The Potter’s Field (1990)
The Summer of the Danes (1991)
The Benediction of Brother Cadfael (1992)
The Holy Thief (1992)
Brother Cadfael’s Penance (1994)
Geologists and Historians
Sarah Andrews
Em Hansen [geologist]
Tensleep (1994)
A Fall in Denver (1995)
Mother Nature (1997)
Only Flesh and Bones (1998)
Bone Hunter (1999)
An Eye for Gold (2000)
Fault Line (2002)
Killer Dust (2003)
Earth Colors (2004)
Dead Dry (2005)
Rock Bottom (2012)
Valena Walker [geologist]
In Cold Pursuit (2007)
Jo Dereske
Ruby Crane [forensic documents analyst]
Savage Cut (1996)
Cut and Dry (1997)
Short Cut (1998)
Sarah Shaber
Simon Shaw [historian]
Simon Says (1994)
Snipe Hunt (2000)
The Fugitive King (2002)
The Bug Funeral (2004)
Shell Game (2007)
Tony Strong
Terry Williams [historian]
The Poison Tree (1997)
The Death Pit (1996)
Psychologists and Psychiatrists
Keith Ablow
Frank Clevenger
Denial (1997)
Projection (1999)
Compulsion (2002)
Psychopath (2003)
Murder Suicide (2004)
The Architect (2005)
Roderick Anscombe
Paul Lucas
The Interview Room (2005)
Virgin Lies (2007)
Arthur W. Bahr
Simon Rose
Certifiably Insane (1999)
Molly Brown
Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald (a.k.a. “Cracker”)
To Say I Love You (1994)
Philip Caputo
Leander Heartwood
Equation for Evil (1999)
Vivian Chern
Tamsyn Bayn
Homicidal Intent (2002)
“Cracker” [tv tie-ins]
Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald
[also listed under individual author’s names in this list]
The Madwoman in the Attic (1994)
To Say I Love You (1994)
One Day a Lemming Will Fly (1994)
To Be a Somebody (1995)
The Big Crunch (1995)
Men Should Weep (1995)
White Ghost (1996)
Brotherly Love (1996)
Best Boys (1996)
True Romance (1996)
D.J. Donaldson
[ See titles under Medical Examiners etc. ]G.H. Ephron
Peter Zak
Amnesia (2001)
Addiction (2001)
Delusion (2002)
Obsessed (2003)
Guilt (2005)
Brian Freemantle
Claudine Carter
Mind/Reader (a.k.a. “The Profiler”) (1998)
Joseph Glass
Dr. Susan Shader
Eyes (1997)
Blood (2000)
Thomas Harris
Dr. Hannibal Lector
Red Dragon (1981)
Silence of the Lambs (1988)
Hannibal (1999)
Hannibal Rising (2005)
Liz Holliday
Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald (a.k.a. “Cracker”)
One Day a Lemming Will Fly (1994)
The Big Crunch (1995)
True Romance (1996)
Jonathan Kellerman
Dr. Alex Delaware
When the Bough Breaks (1985)
Blood Test (1986)
Over the Edge (1987)
Silent Partner (1989)
Time Bomb (1990)
Private Eyes (1992)
Devil’s Waltz (1993)
Bad Love (1994)
Self Defense (1995)
The Web (1996)
The Clinic (1997)
Survival of the Fittest (1997)
Billy Straight (1998)
Monster (1999)
Dr. Death (2000)
Flesh and Blood (2001)
The Murder Book (2002)
A Cold Heart (2003)
Therapy (2004)
Twisted (2004)
Rage (2005)
Gone (2006)
Obsession (2007)
Compulsion (2008)
Bones (2008)
Evidence (2009)
Deception (2010)
Mystery (2011)
Victims (2012)
Guilt (2013)
Killer (2014)
Motive (2015)
Breakdown (2016)
Heartbreak Hotel (2017)
Night Moves (2018)
The Wedding Guest (2019)
The Museum of Desire (2020)
Serpentine (2021)
City of the Dead (2022)
Unnatural History (2023)
Shirley Kennett
Burning Rose (2002)
P.J. Gray & Leo Schultz
Gray Matter (1996)
Fire Cracker (1997)
Chameleon (1998)
Act of Betrayal (2000) (writing as Morgan Avery)
Time of Death (2005)
Sarah Lovett
Sylvia Strange
Dangerous Attachments (1995)
Acquired Motives (1996)
A Desperate Silence (1998)
Dante’s Inferno (2001)
Dark Alchemy (2003)
Philip Luber
Harry Kline
Deadly Convictions (1986)
Deliver Us From Evil (1997)
Pray For Us Sinners (1997)
Jim Mortimer
Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald (a.k.a. “Cracker”)
The Madwoman in the Attic (1994)
Men Should Weep (1995)
Brotherly Love (1996)
Ridley Pearson
Daphne Matthews
Undercurrents (1988)
The Angel Maker (1993)
No Witnesses (1994)
Beyond Recognition (1997)
The Pied Piper (1998)
The First Victim (1999)
Middle of Nowhere (2000)
Art of Deception (2003)
The Body of David Hayes (2004)
John Philpin
Lucas Frank
The Prettiest Feathers (1997)
Tunnel of Night (1998)
Dreams in the Key of Blue (2000)
The Murder Channel (2001)
Gareth Roberts
Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald (a.k.a. “Cracker”)
To Be a Somebody (1995)
Best Boys (1996)
Anna Salter
Dr. Michael Stone
Shiny Water (1997)
Fault Lines (1998)
White Lies (1999)
Prison Blues (2002)
Faye Sultan
Portia McTeague
Over the Line (1998)
Help Line (1999)
Stephen Walsh White
Alan Gregory
Privileged Information (1991)
Private Practice (1993)
Higher Authority (1994)
Harm’s Way (1996)
Remote Control (1997)
Critical Conditions (1998)
Manner of Death (1999)
Cold Case (2000)
The Program (2001)
Warning Signs (2002)
The Best Revenge (2003)
Blinded (2004)
Missing Persons (2005)
Kill Me (2006)
Dry Ice (2007)
Dead Time (2008)
The Siege (2009)
The Last Lie (2010)
Line of Fire (2012)
Compound Fractures (2013)
Marilyn Wooley
Cassie Ringwald
Jackpot Justice (2000)
R.D. Zimmerman
Todd Mills
Closet (1995)
Tribe (1996)
Hostage (1999)
Outburst (1998)
Innuendo (1999)
Adapted for the web May 2004 sdc/rs | last updated October 2022 sdc