Reading: Action
Action, Adventure,True Crime - Recommended Books!
If you like stories that are fast-paced and thrilling, check out these titles. The books labeled as nonfiction are even true!
Recommended Action Books
- Before I Go to Sleep byThe riveting story of a woman who has lost her short term memory and wakes up every morning scared because she doesn't recognize the man in bed with her. Not to worry, it's her husband. Or is it? Fiction. 360 pages.
- Blacktop Wasteland byA gritty thriller about a former getaway driver who thought he had escaped the criminal life who is pulled back in by race, poverty, and his own former life of crime. Fiction. 303 pages.
- But I Trusted You byA chilling collection of real cases where unsuspecting victims suffered violent crimes--at the hands of a spouse, lover, family member, or helpful stranger. Nonfiction. 433 pages.
- Chain Gang All Stars byIn a dystopian alternate United States, people incarcerated in an expansive private prison system have the option to fight for their freedom in gladiator-style death matches. Fiction 363 pages Available as audiobook
- Code Name Verity by"This historical fiction tells the riveting tale of a British fighter plane that crashes in 1943 in Nazi-occupied France. A story of friendship of two women, a pilot and a secret agent spy, who find themselves in enemy territory." Young Adult Fiction. 339 pages.
- Dirty Money Honey byHoney’s job as an ATF agent falls apart after blowing the whistle on the wrong people, then she catches her husband with another woman and flips out. She’s now a blackjack dealer in Vegas about to pull off the crime of the century! Fiction. 223 pages.
- The Girl on the Train byA London commuter train is the setting for a missing person story with an an unreliable narrator. Prepare for twists and turns in this fun, creepy, best selling thriller. Fiction. 316 pages. Available as ebook
- Gone Girl byOn their fifth anniversary, Nick's clever and beautiful wife Amy disappears. Is he the killer? Find out in this fast-paced, devilishly dark and ingeniously plotted, best selling thriller Fiction. 419 pages. Available as ebook
- The Hunger Games byThis action thriller is set In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting youth against one another. First part of a trilogy that includes Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Young Adult Fiction. 374 pages. Available as ebook Catching Fire and Mockingjay also available as ebooks.
- In Cold Blood byTruman Capote’s masterpiece is the intensively researched narrative of the lives of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, and of the two men, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, who brutally murdered them. A True Crime classic. Nonfiction. 343 pages.
- Invisible byObsessed with finding the link between hundreds of unsolved cases, Emmy Dockery has taken leave from her job as an FBI researcher. More murders are reported by the day--and they're all inexplicable. No motives, no murder weapons, no suspects. Could one person really be responsible for these unthinkable crimes? Fiction. 422 pages.
- Little Brother byAfter being interrogated by Homeland Security following a terrorist attack on San Francisco, Marcus is released into what is now a police state and uses his expertise in computer hacking to set things right. A rousing tale of techno-geek rebellion. Young Adult Fiction. 429 pages.
Recommended Action Books
- The Martian byAn edge-of-your-seat thriller about an astronaut stranded on Mars. Mark Watney draws on his ingenuity, his engineering skills, and a dogged refusal to quit as he confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Fiction. 369 pages. Available as ebook
- Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit byDiscover the classic, behind-the-scenes chronicle of John E. Douglas’ twenty-five-year career in the FBI Investigative Support Unit, where he used psychological profiling to delve into the minds of the country’s most notorious serial killers and criminals. This book is the basis of a Netflix original series. Nonfiction. 375 pages.
- Miracle in the Andes byIn October 1972, a plane carrying an Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes. Not immediately rescued, the team turns to cannabilism to survive. Nonfiction. 291 pages.
- The Power byIn this alternate world, teenage girls and women now have immense physical power-- they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And everything changes. Described as "fast paced, thrilling, and even funny." Fiction. 386 pages
- Red Sparrow byDrafted against her will to serve the regime of Vladimir Putin as an intelligence seductress, Dominika Egorova engages in a charged effort of deception and tradecraft with first-tour CIA officer Nathaniel Nash before a forbidden attraction threatens their careers. Fiction. 434 pages.
- The Revenant byBased on a true story, The Revenant is a tale of obsession, the human will stretched to its limits, and the lengths one man will go for retribution. One of the greatest tales of the nineteenth century West. Fiction. 262 pages. Available as audiobook
- The Stranger Beside Me by"The #1 ""New York Times""-bestselling true crime writer tells the chilling tale of how she came to learn that Ted Bundy, her close friend and colleague at a Seattle crisis hotline, was in fact a savage serial killer. Nonfiction. 548 pages.
- Those Who Wish Me Dead byThis fast-paced, suspenseful mystery is a riveting read. A 13-year-old boy witnesses a brutal murder and, for his safety, is sent away to be part of a teenage delinquents’ survival program in the Montana wilderness. Unfortunately the killers, two brothers who are as evil as they come, are on his trail and slaughtering everyone who gets in their way. A breathtaking thriller. Fiction. 392 pages.
- True Grit byMattie Ross is fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150. She leaves home with Marshal Rooster Cogburn to avenge her father's blood. Fiction. 235 pages. Available as ebook
- Unbroken byIn May of 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean Lt. Louis Zamperini is captured by the Japanese and driven to the limits of endurance. Zamperini answered desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor. Adult Nonfiction. 473 pages.
- The Yellow Birds byA novel written by a veteran of the war in Iraq, the Yellow Birds is the unforgettable story of two soldiers trying to stay alive. Fiction. 226 pages.
True Crime
Here are some additional recommendations for fans of True Crime books.