Books Like Faceless Killers

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Dick Hill narrates Mankell's detective with a voice that sounds like it hasn't slept in three days and doesn't intend to — flat, deliberate, carrying the particular exhaustion of a man who keeps solving murders without believing it changes anything. The nine-hour runtime matches the book's unhurried logic: this isn't a thriller that accelerates toward a reveal, it's one that accumulates, and Hill never lets you forget you're deep inside a tired mind in a cold country. Most of what follows leans on the same combination — eight of the ten are by Hill himself, nearly all run to a similar length, and the best of them share that grey-sky patience that makes Scandinavian crime feel less like entertainment and more like weather.

10 books for fans of Faceless Killers

  1. 1
    The Preacher cover

    The Preacher

    Fjällbacka • Book 2

    by Camilla Läckberg, Steven T. Murray

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    Läckberg interweaves 1940s Nazi collaboration with contemporary murder when skeletal remains bearing German medals surface, threatening to expose Fjällbacka's buried wartime shame and current deadly secrets.

    ★ 3.83 Goodreads (48.6K ratings)
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  2. 2
    Long Time No See cover

    Long Time No See

    87th Precinct • Book 32

    by Ed McBain

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    Detective Carella hunts a killer specifically targeting blind victims, starting with a Vietnam veteran found nearly decapitated. The investigation leads into the first victim's dreams, exploring how war trauma intersects with criminal psychology.

    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (1.5K ratings)
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  3. 3
    Poison cover

    Poison

    87th Precinct • Book 39

    by Ed McBain

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    Investigating the deaths of Marilyn Hollis's former boyfriends, Detective Hal Willis finds himself romantically entangled with his prime suspect. McBain weaves classic police procedural with dangerous attraction in this 87th Precinct installment.

    ★ 3.95 Goodreads (2.2K ratings)
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  4. 4
    Tricks cover

    Tricks

    87th Precinct • Book 40

    by Ed McBain

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    Halloween turns deadly for the 87th Precinct as one shift brings costumed murders, dismembered bodies, and the city's darkest depravity to light.

    ★ 3.95 Goodreads (1.5K ratings)
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  5. 5
    Eight Black Horses cover

    Eight Black Horses

    87th Precinct • Book 38

    by Ed McBain, Mark T. Sullivan

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    Bodies pile up around cryptic notes featuring dancing horses as the Deaf Man plays his deadliest game yet with the 87th Precinct detectives. McBain's criminal mastermind creates patterns that seem meaningless until the horrifying truth emerges.

    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (1.6K ratings)
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  6. 6
    Heat cover

    Heat

    87th Precinct • Book 35

    by Ed McBain, Dick Hill

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    Kling pursues a questionable suicide case while suspecting his wife's infidelity and dodging a vengeful ex-convict's hunt for revenge. McBain explores how personal stress affects professional judgment.

    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (1.7K ratings)
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  7. 7
    Lightning cover

    Lightning

    87th Precinct • Book 37

    by Ed McBain

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    Double lightning strikes as the 87th Precinct hunts both a hangman killer stringing up college women and a serial rapist who won't leave his victims alone. McBain's police procedural crackles with urban menace.

    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (1.4K ratings)
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  8. 8
    Calypso cover

    Calypso

    87th Precinct • Book 33

    by Ed McBain

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    Calypso King George Chadderton dies violently on a wet city street, leaving detectives to piece together motives in the autumn rain.

    ★ 3.84 Goodreads (1.3K ratings)
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  9. 9
    Lullaby cover

    Lullaby

    87th Precinct • Book 41

    by Ed McBain

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    Even hardened detectives are shaken when a New Year's celebration ends with the murder of an infant and teenage babysitter. McBain explores how the most heinous crimes test both professional duty and personal humanity.

    ★ 3.81 Goodreads (1.6K ratings)
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  10. 10
    The Longmire Defense cover

    The Longmire Defense

    Walt Longmire • Book 19

    by Craig Johnson

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    After his last case forced him to confront ghosts and question the nature of justice, Sheriff Longmire encounters a crime scene unlike any he's seen in Wyoming.

    ★ 4.54 Goodreads (11.0K ratings)
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