Five Crime Thrillers Featuring Cars

There are few things more useful to a crime writer than a car.

It can be a getaway vehicle, a murder weapon, a place to hide a body, a clue that cracks a case wide open... or simply the means by which someone gets themselves into a whole heap of trouble.

And cars bring something else to a crime thriller: movement. A chase, a high-speed escape, a suspicious accident or even an ordinary journey can turn a perfectly normal scene into something much more dangerous.

So, as I’ve recently been spending rather a lot of time thinking about cars and crime myself, I thought I’d take a look at five crime thrillers in which cars, driving or racing play an important part.

Buckle up. Here we go.

I'll start with one that's particularly close to home.

Driven To Murder is a British police procedural set in the world of stock car racing. When a top driver is found murdered, DI Charlie Steele and her team have to investigate a world of racing, rivalry, money and secrets.

And, of course, putting a murder investigation into the middle of a world where people deliberately drive cars into each other provides plenty of opportunities for action.

There are stock cars, expensive sports cars, races and some seriously adrenaline-fuelled driving scenes. But underneath all the noise and speed is a murder investigation with a killer who has every reason to want to stay ahead of the police.

If you like your crime fiction with a little extra horsepower, this one might be for you.

Fasten your seat belt. Things are about to get interesting. Available on Amazon HERE

What looks like a tragic road accident isn't necessarily an accident at all.

One More To Die is another British police procedural, and it begins with a suspicious fatal car crash. As the investigation develops, it becomes clear that there is considerably more to the incident than meets the eye.

I love this kind of crime plot because it takes something completely ordinary and makes you look at it differently. A car crash happens every day. But what if someone deliberately caused it? And what if the person who appears to be the victim isn't quite as innocent as they first seem?

It's a great reminder that, in crime fiction, sometimes the most important clue is sitting right there in front of everyone. Available on Amazon HERE

The title rather gives this one away.

A police pursuit by road is fundamental to the abduction plot of Running Out Of Road, making cars and the road itself an important part of the story rather than simply a way of getting the characters from A to B.

I first discovered Cath Staincliffe through her brilliant Blue Murder series, so I had high expectations when I picked this one up. Thankfully, it didn't disappoint.

There's something particularly effective about a crime thriller involving a pursuit on the road. You have speed, uncertainty and the constant possibility that something can go catastrophically wrong in a matter of seconds.

And when someone is being pursued, "Where are they going?" suddenly becomes a much more interesting question than "Where are they driving?" Available on Amazon HERE

Imagine walking back to your car and discovering that your child has been taken.

That's the nightmare at the heart of Taken While She Slept. A father is attacked and his car stolen, with his toddler still inside it.

It's a terrifying premise because the car is not just part of the crime. The car is where the child is.

That immediately creates a race against time and gives the story an incredibly strong emotional hook. Every minute matters, and every mile the stolen vehicle travels makes the situation more desperate.

It's the sort of premise that makes you think, What would I do?

And that's exactly what you want from a thriller.

Buckle up. This one is seriously tense. Available on Amazon HERE

IAnd finally, another one of mine.

In Wheel Spin, Rose Marsden recovers her stolen car only to discover something she really wasn't expecting to find inside it.

A dead body.

Even worse, the victim turns out to be a friend of Birdie, the new employee at the convenience store Rose manages.

Rose has every reason to worry that the body was left in her car as a warning. And when she starts digging into the murder, she finds herself caught up with a violent drug-dealing gang.

Before long, Rose and Birdie are on the run, with a gang threatening to kill them unless Birdie finds the drugs his friend stole and returns them within twenty-four hours.

So yes, there is a car.

There is also a body, a gang, stolen drugs, a desperate race against time and one very unhappy shop manager.

And, naturally, there are a few opportunities for some rather exciting driving. Available on Amazon HERE

Cars, crime and a lot of trouble

Looking at these five books, it's easy to see why cars turn up so often in crime fiction.

They give writers an almost endless supply of possibilities. A car can conceal evidence, provide an escape route, put someone in terrible danger or become a crucial piece of evidence in a murder investigation. Add a pursuit, a stolen vehicle or a racing track, and you've got an instant opportunity to increase the tension.

And perhaps that's why I find them so much fun to write about.

After all, when you're writing crime fiction, you don't necessarily want to take your characters on the safest journey.

Sometimes you want to put your foot down and see what happens.

If you enjoy crime thrillers with a little extra speed, I hope you've found something here to add to your reading list.

Just remember: if you see a suspicious car, don't get in it. And if there's a body in the boot, definitely don't get in it.

Happy reading!

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