Best crime fiction books 2016

From a serial killer in mid-century Glasgow, to a Texas Ranger taking on white supremacists in the backwoods, to the deaths of hundreds in the Guyanese jungle, it was a hard-hitting, provocative year in crime literature, a genre well-suited to the messy brutality of modern times. We present to you our idiosyncratic selection of favorites from Denise Mina, The Long Drop. The short length of this brilliant, vicious send-off of mid-century Glasgow belies its thought-provoking complexities. As they get drunker, the lines between killer and mourner blur along with their vision. Read Denise Mina on telling the true crime stories of gritty Glasgow. Sarah Pinborough, Behind Her Eyes.

The Goodreads Choice Awards have three rounds of voting open to all registered Goodreads members. Winners will be announced December 06, Voting opens to 15 official nominees, and write-in votes can be placed for any eligible book see eligibility below. The top five write-in votes in each of the categories become official nominees. Additional write-ins no longer accepted. The field narrows to the top 10 books in each category, and members have one last chance to vote!