Bestselling Crime: Connelly to Grisham Shelf
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- Michael Connelly published The Black Echo, his debut Bosch novel, in 1992 and has written over 30 crime novels since.
- John Grisham's The Firm (1991) spent 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and launched his dominance in legal thrillers.
- The Boys From Biloxi (2022) is Grisham's 40th novel, a Mississippi courtroom saga spanning two families over decades.
- Mark Billingham's Tom Thorne series debuted with Sleepyhead in 2001 and has run for 20+ books set in London.
- Ian Rankin's Rebus novels began with Knots and Crosses in 1987 and inspired the BBC series Rebus, which aired from 2000 to 2016.
- As of July 2026, Patina's crime shelves carry rotating preloved editions of Connelly, Grisham, Billingham, and Rankin alongside curated anthology titles.
The Waiting: The Brand New Ballard & Bosch Thriller — Michael Connelly
The team-up crime-fiction fans have been waiting for, delivered with Connelly's trademark procedural precision.
When LAPD Detective Renée Ballard enlists Harry Bosch to help crack open a cold case, you know Connelly's about to weave forensic detail with character depth the way only a 30-book veteran can. This one's got the late-night stakeouts, the database deep-dives, and the morally compromised witnesses that make Connelly novels feel like you're riding shotgun in an unmarked Crown Vic through LA at 2 a.m. If you've been following Bosch since The Black Echo or Ballard since The Late Show, this is the crossover that pays off decades of loyalty. Explore our current copy of The Waiting or browse more Crime books at Patina.
Desert Star — Michael Connelly
Ballard and Bosch tackle LA's coldest cases with the forensic obsession that made Connelly a household name.
When a decades-old murder resurfaces and the evidence doesn't line up, Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch do what they do best: refuse to let it go. Connelly's gift is making bureaucratic police work — database searches, witness re-interviews, evidence logs — feel as tense as a car chase, because the stakes are always human. This is the procedural slow-burn that rewards patience, and if you're the kind of reader who annotates timelines in the margins, Desert Star will keep you up past midnight double-checking alibis. Explore our current copy of Desert Star or browse more Crime books at Patina.
The Boys From Biloxi: Two Families. One Courtroom Showdown — John Grisham
Grisham's Mississippi epic delivers the courtroom fireworks and generational betrayal his readers line up for.
Two childhood friends grow up on opposite sides of the law in 1960s Biloxi — one becomes a prosecutor, the other inherits his father's criminal empire — and when their paths collide in court, decades of loyalty and resentment explode. This is Grisham doing what he's done since The Firm: legal strategy as blood sport, small-town corruption as Greek tragedy. If you're the kind of reader who appreciates a morally compromised protagonist and a third-act twist that reframes everything, this one's a must-grab. Explore our current copy of The Boys From Biloxi or browse more Crime books at Patina.
The Killing Habit — Mark Billingham
DI Tom Thorne hunts a London serial killer with a chilling MO that'll make you double-check your locks.
When victims start turning up alongside their brutally murdered pets, Thorne knows he's dealing with a killer who understands psychological torment. Mark Billingham's Thorne novels — 20+ books since Sleepyhead in 2001 — trade Connelly's LA sprawl for London's claustrophobic boroughs, but the forensic rigor is just as sharp. If you're a fan of procedural tension and detectives who bend the rules when the system fails, Billingham delivers that in spades. Explore our current copy of The Killing Habit or browse more Crime books at Patina.
Even Dogs in the Wild: The number one bestselling series that inspired BBC One's REBUS — Ian Rankin
Rankin's Rebus returns to a corrupt Edinburgh where old secrets and new bodies keep piling up.
When a lawyer turns up dead and the investigation leads straight into Police Scotland's closet, DI Siobhan Clarke and the semi-retired John Rebus are pulled back into the moral quicksand that's defined Rankin's series since 1987. The Rebus novels — which inspired the BBC series that ran for seven seasons — are the Edinburgh answer to LA noir: rain-soaked, whisky-fueled, and cynical about power. If you've worked your way through Connelly and want the British counterpart with sharper edges, this is where you land. Explore our current copy of Even Dogs in the Wild or browse more Crime books at Patina.
These are the crime thrillers that anchor modern bestseller lists — Connelly's procedural patience, Grisham's courtroom theatrics, and the transatlantic grit of Billingham and Rankin. If you're building a shelf of page-turners that reward close reading, this is the cohort. Shop all Crime books at Patina Paperbacks →
Where can I buy secondhand copies of Michael Connelly books in Australia?
Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved editions of Michael Connelly's Bosch and Ballard novels, including recent titles like The Waiting and Desert Star. We're Sydney-based and ship Australia-wide, with free shipping over $29. Check the Crime collection for current availability — our 13,000+ secondhand titles turn over regularly.
What's the best John Grisham book to start with if I've never read him?
Honestly, The Firm (1991) is the classic entry point — it's the one that made Grisham a household name and it moves like a freight train. But if you want something more recent that shows his range, The Boys From Biloxi is a sprawling, multigenerational courtroom saga that's peak Grisham without needing 30 years of context. Both are page-turners that'll spoil you for lesser legal thrillers.
Are Ian Rankin's Rebus novels connected or can I read them standalone?
The Rebus series has a chronological arc — characters age, relationships evolve, Edinburgh's political landscape shifts — but Rankin writes each book so it can stand alone if you need it to. That said, the emotional payoff is way bigger if you start with Knots and Crosses (1987) or at least pick up one of the earlier novels before jumping into Even Dogs in the Wild. The BBC adaptation pulled from multiple books, so if you've seen the show, you've got a decent map of the series.
How do Mark Billingham's Tom Thorne books compare to other British crime series?
Billingham's London is grittier and more psychologically bleak than, say, the cozy village mysteries — think closer to Rankin's Edinburgh noir but with more focus on serial killers and forensic psychology. Thorne's been through 20+ books since 2001, so if you're looking for a long-running British procedural with morally compromised detectives and no easy answers, this is the series. It's the UK counterpart to Connelly's LA procedurals, just with more rain and less sunshine.
Does Patina Paperbacks carry first editions or rare crime thriller titles?
We focus on readable preloved paperbacks rather than collector's editions — our 13,000+ secondhand titles are curated for readers who want the story, not the investment portfolio. That said, older printings and out-of-print titles do turn up on the shelves, especially in our Crime section. If you're hunting something specific, check the Crime collection regularly — stock turns over fast.