Crime Fiction Recommendations - Page 11

SensualPoet · 11-20-2010, 06:31 PM

Certainly the category of "cozy mystery" is almost exclusively by women and, frankly, for women: often there is a romantic secondary story.

But police procedurals still have a significant number of male authors and target a broader audience: Ian Rankin comes to mind.

I think perhaps thrillers / suspense titles are a pretty mixed audience: James Patterson comes to mind.

And then, alas, there are too many supernatural tinged / overwhelmed stories with vampires in every shadow.

Russell Brooks · 11-21-2010, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Certainly the category of "cozy mystery" is almost exclusively by women and, frankly, for women: often there is a romantic secondary story.

But police procedurals still have a significant number of male authors and target a broader audience: Ian Rankin comes to mind.

I think perhaps thrillers / suspense titles are a pretty mixed audience: James Patterson comes to mind.

And then, alas, there are too many supernatural tinged / overwhelmed stories with vampires in every shadow.

I love James Patterson's Alex Cross series. I've read most of them so far.

mldavis2 · 11-21-2010, 08:34 AM

As a retired criminalist, I prefer to stay away from most literary attempts to re-create forensic evidence analysis used 'with poetic license' in many of the newer crime thrillers. Cornwell is not too off-base, usually, but many, such as the current run of CSI programs on U.S. television, are too far out. Give me a good old mystery anytime and forget trying to write of things about which too little is known with truth and accuracy....just my preference.

flhden · 12-22-2010, 01:17 PM

Gosh where to begin. Love the obvious Patterson, Connelly, John Hart, Lee Child, Greg Iles, Especially like Tess Gerritsen. Check this blog for other good authors.
www.murderati.com/

SensualPoet · 01-12-2011, 12:04 AM

Brighton's Detective Superintendent Roy Grace makes a third appearance in Peter James Not Dead Enough, published in 2007 (there are now six titles in the series). It's a fairly long read, with multiple story lines, and three murders. I did find it bogging down by the mid-point but, around 3/4s in, and with the solution to the murders clear, the pace actually picked up as all the loose ends came together.

Brian Bishop is a succesful entrpreneur, with a flat in London and gorgeous house (and wife) in Brighton. When Katie Bishop is found by the housekeeper one morning quite dead, wearing a gas mask on her naked body, Brian's world begins to collapse. With DS Roy Grace on the case, more evidence suggests Bishop's complicity and he has an alibi: he was 60 miles away, sound asleep, when the murder of his wife occured. Or was he? As more clues emerge, the details of the Bishop's family life don't add up. And then a second murder occurs, and Bishop appears tied to that one as well.

I enjoyed much of the narrative, and the dialogue range true for most of the characters. Sometimes I found the short chapters annoying -- over 100 -- which James uses like a film-maker, cross-cutting between storylines. Grace is in almost every scene, but it grew tiresome for patches. The plotting is clever although for my taste a little over-plotted and a tad too many co-incidences. But it was a worthwhile read and, for a police procedural, relatively light on highly detailed descriptions of gorey moments.

Available here for Amazon Kindle for under $8; not available for Kobo in Canada. The mass paperback is around $10 in Canada.

thaigreg · 01-12-2011, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flhden

Gosh where to begin. Love the obvious Patterson, Connelly, John Hart, Lee Child, Greg Iles, Especially like Tess Gerritsen. Check this blog for other good authors.
www.murderati.com/

Don't forget: Lisa Gardner, Sue Grafton, Dennis Lehane, John Sanford, Kathy Reichs and Harlan Corben, I'm sure there are many more that I missed.

SensualPoet · 01-12-2011, 09:12 PM

In Apr 1931, the pulp magazine publisher Street and Smith issued the first title in The Shadow series, The Living Shadow, which turned into 282 of 325 official stories penned by Walter B Gibson under the pseudonym Maxwell Grant. Though the idea actually for The shdoaw started as a narrator's introduction to a radio series Detective Story Hour in July 1930, it wasn't long before the hit pulp magazine generated its own radio series, a few years later starring a young and "undiscovered" Orson Welles as "the voice".

The opening scene is memorable: a young man is about the commit suicide leaping off a bridge in New York City but is rescued even after his feet have left the bridge by a cloaked figure. In a ride back to town, the young man must commit to "serve" his resucuer -- no questions asked! -- in exchange for his life and a handsome future lifestyle. His benefactor turns out to be The Shadow, a mysterious crime-fighting vigilante. In this story, concerned with a crime syndicate based in New York's Chinatown, current day readers may cringe at stereotypes ... but part of the charm of the stories is that they transport you back to an urban landscape just starting to feel the effects of the depression, and an age with WWI still fresh in its memory and the prohibition already in force.

Condé Nast is the current owner of the Street and Smith publications. At this time, not a single one of the over 300 The Shadow novels is in e-print, although a number of the novels are in licensed specialty small press reprint paper editions and second hand stores carry mass paperback copies issued in the 1970s and beyond. You may also be successful finding a Darknet Digital Edition.

OtterBooks · 01-13-2011, 04:24 PM

Not sure if he's been mentioned yet, but I highly recommend Chester Himes. He's one of the few black writers in the noir-crime genre, and a contemporary of Hammett and Chandler (considered their equal by many). Most notable are his books in the Harlem Detective series, such as A Rage in Harlem and The Real Cool Killers. It's the adventures of a couple detectives named "Coffin Ed Johnson" and "Gravedigger Jones." It's really hardboiled stuff, crazy violent, and of considerable literary quality to boot.

I think he wrote at least one book from prison where he was serving time for armed robbery.

flhden · 01-13-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thaigreg

Don't forget: Lisa Gardner, Sue Grafton, Dennis Lehane, John Sanford, Kathy Reichs and Harlan Corben, I'm sure there are many more that I missed.

Thanks Thai
I had not done much reading in the last 10 years, 1 or 2 books a year maybe, until I bought my first e-reader A Sony prs 300, now a kindle 3. The last 2 years I am back to over 30 books a year and loving it again. It's great when you find an author that you enjoy and there is a whole series to catch up on. There is so many books in my Amazon wish list that I can't wait to get to. Found this site the other day so I can try a few more authors that I had never heard of.
http://www.lansing.lib.il.us/readali...rs.html#Reichs

SensualPoet · 01-13-2011, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

Not sure if he's been mentioned yet, but I highly recommend Chester Himes.

Sounds interesting. Alas, no ebooks at the present time.

DoctorOhh · 01-13-2011, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

Not sure if he's been mentioned yet, but I highly recommend Chester Himes. He's one of the few black writers in the noir-crime genre, and a contemporary of Hammett and Chandler (considered their equal by many). Most notable are his books in the Harlem Detective series, such as A Rage in Harlem and The Real Cool Killers. It's the adventures of a couple detectives named "Coffin Ed Johnson" and "Gravedigger Jones." It's really hardboiled stuff, crazy violent, and of considerable literary quality to boot.

Thanks for the suggestion. It turns out I had this series on my drive, now it is in my calibre library. I only add items I know about or have been recommended here.

Libbyfh · 01-15-2011, 08:32 PM

Some I haven't seen mentioned much... who I think are excellent...

Daniel Woodrell (WINTERS BONE)
Don Winslow (SAVAGES, CALIFORNIA FIRE AND LIFE)
Val McDermid, who is definitely not cozy
Karin Slaughter, ditto

JKU · 01-16-2011, 05:59 AM

Michael Connelly (just finished The Overlook today as it happens)
Mo Hayder (she'll scare the hell out of you, especially The Treatment, but start with her first book Birdman)
John Sandford
Elmore Leonard
Minette Walters
Jeffery Deaver
Robert Crais
Carl Hiaason
R D Wingfield
Martin Cruz Smith

DarkRoast · 01-17-2011, 03:44 AM

What's Michael Connelly like? What style of crime?

Peter Temple is brilliant. Michael Robotham I like too. They write so beautifully. I am also currently enjoying Arnaldur Indridason.

Steve Anderson · 01-17-2011, 04:03 PM

I don't think Ken Bruen has been mentioned here. I'm nearing the end of his Once Were Cops (my first from him) and it's sharp, true neo noir crime fiction that doesn't hold back. No flash, just raw crimes warping minds and a lean storyline. Whoa. It's a nice though grim diversion from my usual diet of historical (1930s/40s mostly) espionage-related crime/mystery novels. I'll have to do more.

Steve

12-22-2010, 01:17 PM	#154
flhden flhden Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Rhode Island Device: sony prs300, Kindle 3 wi fi, Kindle Fire	Love crime fiction Gosh where to begin. Love the obvious Patterson, Connelly, John Hart, Lee Child, Greg Iles, Especially like Tess Gerritsen. Check this blog for other good authors. www.murderati.com/ Last edited by flhden; 12-22-2010 at 01:26 PM. Reason: Addittion of text

01-16-2011, 05:59 AM	#163
JKU Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: none	Michael Connelly (just finished The Overlook today as it happens) Mo Hayder (she'll scare the hell out of you, especially The Treatment, but start with her first book Birdman) John Sandford Elmore Leonard Minette Walters Jeffery Deaver Robert Crais Carl Hiaason R D Wingfield Martin Cruz Smith Last edited by JKU; 01-16-2011 at 07:17 PM.

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11-20-2010, 06:31 PM	#151
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Certainly the category of "cozy mystery" is almost exclusively by women and, frankly, for women: often there is a romantic secondary story. But police procedurals still have a significant number of male authors and target a broader audience: Ian Rankin comes to mind. I think perhaps thrillers / suspense titles are a pretty mixed audience: James Patterson comes to mind. And then, alas, there are too many supernatural tinged / overwhelmed stories with vampires in every shadow.

11-21-2010, 08:34 AM	#153
mldavis2 Coffee Nut Posts: 410 Karma: 298350 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Missouri Device: Kindle 3; K4PC; Calibre	As a retired criminalist, I prefer to stay away from most literary attempts to re-create forensic evidence analysis used 'with poetic license' in many of the newer crime thrillers. Cornwell is not too off-base, usually, but many, such as the current run of CSI programs on U.S. television, are too far out. Give me a good old mystery anytime and forget trying to write of things about which too little is known with truth and accuracy....just my preference.

01-12-2011, 12:04 AM	#155
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Brighton's Detective Superintendent Roy Grace makes a third appearance in Peter James Not Dead Enough, published in 2007 (there are now six titles in the series). It's a fairly long read, with multiple story lines, and three murders. I did find it bogging down by the mid-point but, around 3/4s in, and with the solution to the murders clear, the pace actually picked up as all the loose ends came together. Brian Bishop is a succesful entrpreneur, with a flat in London and gorgeous house (and wife) in Brighton. When Katie Bishop is found by the housekeeper one morning quite dead, wearing a gas mask on her naked body, Brian's world begins to collapse. With DS Roy Grace on the case, more evidence suggests Bishop's complicity and he has an alibi: he was 60 miles away, sound asleep, when the murder of his wife occured. Or was he? As more clues emerge, the details of the Bishop's family life don't add up. And then a second murder occurs, and Bishop appears tied to that one as well. I enjoyed much of the narrative, and the dialogue range true for most of the characters. Sometimes I found the short chapters annoying -- over 100 -- which James uses like a film-maker, cross-cutting between storylines. Grace is in almost every scene, but it grew tiresome for patches. The plotting is clever although for my taste a little over-plotted and a tad too many co-incidences. But it was a worthwhile read and, for a police procedural, relatively light on highly detailed descriptions of gorey moments. Available here for Amazon Kindle for under $8; not available for Kobo in Canada. The mass paperback is around $10 in Canada.

01-12-2011, 09:12 PM	#157
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	In Apr 1931, the pulp magazine publisher Street and Smith issued the first title in The Shadow series, The Living Shadow, which turned into 282 of 325 official stories penned by Walter B Gibson under the pseudonym Maxwell Grant. Though the idea actually for The shdoaw started as a narrator's introduction to a radio series Detective Story Hour in July 1930, it wasn't long before the hit pulp magazine generated its own radio series, a few years later starring a young and "undiscovered" Orson Welles as "the voice". The opening scene is memorable: a young man is about the commit suicide leaping off a bridge in New York City but is rescued even after his feet have left the bridge by a cloaked figure. In a ride back to town, the young man must commit to "serve" his resucuer -- no questions asked! -- in exchange for his life and a handsome future lifestyle. His benefactor turns out to be The Shadow, a mysterious crime-fighting vigilante. In this story, concerned with a crime syndicate based in New York's Chinatown, current day readers may cringe at stereotypes ... but part of the charm of the stories is that they transport you back to an urban landscape just starting to feel the effects of the depression, and an age with WWI still fresh in its memory and the prohibition already in force. Condé Nast is the current owner of the Street and Smith publications. At this time, not a single one of the over 300 The Shadow novels is in e-print, although a number of the novels are in licensed specialty small press reprint paper editions and second hand stores carry mass paperback copies issued in the 1970s and beyond. You may also be successful finding a Darknet Digital Edition.

01-13-2011, 04:24 PM	#158
OtterBooks Wizard Posts: 1,262 Karma: 2979086 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle 4, iPad Mini/Retina	Not sure if he's been mentioned yet, but I highly recommend Chester Himes. He's one of the few black writers in the noir-crime genre, and a contemporary of Hammett and Chandler (considered their equal by many). Most notable are his books in the Harlem Detective series, such as A Rage in Harlem and The Real Cool Killers. It's the adventures of a couple detectives named "Coffin Ed Johnson" and "Gravedigger Jones." It's really hardboiled stuff, crazy violent, and of considerable literary quality to boot. I think he wrote at least one book from prison where he was serving time for armed robbery.

01-15-2011, 08:32 PM	#162
Libbyfh Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 50000 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Ipad, Iphone	Some I haven't seen mentioned much... who I think are excellent... Daniel Woodrell (WINTERS BONE) Don Winslow (SAVAGES, CALIFORNIA FIRE AND LIFE) Val McDermid, who is definitely not cozy Karin Slaughter, ditto

01-17-2011, 03:44 AM	#164
DarkRoast Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 55272 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Australia Device: Sony Reader 650	What's Michael Connelly like? What style of crime? Peter Temple is brilliant. Michael Robotham I like too. They write so beautifully. I am also currently enjoying Arnaldur Indridason.

01-17-2011, 04:03 PM	#165
Steve Anderson Addict Posts: 226 Karma: 260821 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Portland, Oregon USA Device: iPhone, laptop, more	I don't think Ken Bruen has been mentioned here. I'm nearing the end of his Once Were Cops (my first from him) and it's sharp, true neo noir crime fiction that doesn't hold back. No flash, just raw crimes warping minds and a lean storyline. Whoa. It's a nice though grim diversion from my usual diet of historical (1930s/40s mostly) espionage-related crime/mystery novels. I'll have to do more. Steve

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