If you liked
Books like Invisible
by David Ellis
David Ellis's Invisible put Emmy Dockery on the field as one of the best obsessive-detail investigative protagonists in current thriller fiction. These five reads carry that same patient-and-precise investigative spirit forward.
The shortlist
What to read next
The Hidden Manby David Ellis
“The Hidden Man by David Ellis 2009 review. A Chicago defense attorney walks his oldest friend through a child-murder trial. Twenty-seven years ago, the victim was the attorney’s own kidnapped sister.”
The Murder Houseby David Ellis
“The Murder House by David Ellis and James Patterson 2015 review. A Bridgehampton detective with a tarnished badge investigates a brutal mansion killing that mirrors a sixty-year-old open case.”
15 Secondsby Andrew Gross
“15 Seconds by Andrew Gross 2012 review. A standalone thriller about a Florida cosmetic surgeon framed for a cop killing and forced to run as the noose tightens.”
The Jesterby Andrew Gross
“The Jester by Andrew Gross and James Patterson 2003 review. A medieval-set thriller about a Crusader innkeeper turned court jester who infiltrates a French duke’s castle to find his wife.”
Make Meby Lee Child
“Make Me by Lee Child 2015 thriller review. Reacher rolls into a Mother Wells, South Dakota for a single name on a sign and stays for the bodies underneath the wheat.”
FAQ
Common questions about Invisible read-alikes
- Are these all FBI procedural?
- No. Invisible is FBI; The Murder House is local detective; The Hidden Man is Chicago legal thriller. The connective tissue is the obsessive-detail investigative voice that Ellis brings to all three.
- Will there be more Emmy Dockery books?
- The Ellis-Patterson Black Book series shares some thematic DNA but features a different lead. The most reliable next read in the Dockery register is The Hidden Man's Jason Kolarich.
- I want more serial-arsonist thrillers specifically. What else?
- John Sandford's Storm Prey and Karin Slaughter's Faithless are the two best non-Ellis examples in the lane.
The original