The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Hi Guys,

I like detective stories and have read all Agatha Christie's book.

I want to start reading other mystery/crime books but didn't know where to start since there are too many choice.

Is there any suggestion? Currently I am checking the new york bestseller list to get an indication to what books others read.

Coey

Do you want to stay with detectives or branch out into other types of mysteries?

Staying with the English writers I would recommend P.D. James, Elizabeth George, and Tana French.

American writers I would recommend are Dennis Lehane and James Lee Burke

If you like non US/UK settings there is Donna Leon (Venice), Cara Black (Paris), Leighton Gage (Brazil), and Louise Penny (Quebec).

Good gosh, what a question! My advice would be to maybe find a series or writer who is based in an area of the country you know; for example, Steve Hamilton for the Great Lakes area or Tony Hillerman for the southwest.
A Cold Day In Paradise
Tony Hillerman
That way you'll be more connected to the stories and you may recognize places and descriptions, which is fun.

portrait of a killer: case close. by Patricia Cornwell

If you like "light" mysteries, exotic locales with a real feel fot the place - Alexander McCall-Smith's books are great. I love the Botswana series (Africa) and there's also his Isabel Dalhousie series (Scotland).

If quirky characters are your "thing", try Colin Cotterill's Dr. Siri books (Laos - time frame 1970's). These are wonderful and satisfying books.

If you like the police procedural format, John Sanford's "Prey" stories are great (& fast) reads. I've also enjoyed Michael Connelly's "Harry Bosch" books, but Harry is somewhat more introspective than Lucas Davenport ("Prey").

I would probably throw in Ruth Rendell

Do you want to stay with cozies (such as Christie) or get into the darker stuff?

If you want to stay in the Cristiesque vein, there's always Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series.

If you want to branch out...well, the possibilities are endless.

try sam bourne's books. they are great.

I asked Library Thing and it suggests Dick Francis is a close match to Agatha Christie. Here's a link, it's fun to play with while you decide...
http://www.literature-map.com/agatha+christie.html

I'll second the Louise Penny Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, the first book is Still Life

Janet, all the authors you have suggested are great!!

Janet wrote: "If you like "light" mysteries, exotic locales with a real feel fot the place - Alexander McCall-Smith's books are great. I love the Botswana series (Africa)..."

I agree. The #1 Ladies Detective Agency series is light and fun. Another series I like with a female PI protagonist is the Sue Grafton Kinsey Millhone series.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I decide to try one book of each author and see how I go. From my experience, if I like his/her style of writing, I'll like all books under him

what you may want to look at is what kind of crime/mysterys interest you, the proceedural, the cozy etc...

do you want to know who did the crime and see how the police solve it, or try and follow the clues with the crime solver.
do you want to know the forensics or or jst a general ovrview.

Do you like a backstory where you see the crime and the family of the crime solvers. are you into series where the character evolves

there are so many crime.mystery topics that hard to reccomend unless you habe an idea of what type you like

I highly recommend Patricia Cornwell if you're into the forensics aspect of crime/mystery novels. If you like a good spine tingling, put your back to a wall, always be aware of your surroundings type of book then I suggest starting with Lisa Gardner or Michael Connelly. If you simply want a good, suspenseful read then Dennis Lehane might be the way to go.

Patricia Cornwall is very good or you could try James Patterson.

Coey wrote: "Hi Guys,

I like detective stories and have read all Agatha Christie's book.

I want to start reading other mystery/crime books but didn't know where to start since there are too many choice.

I agree with a couple of the other posts...try Louise Penney. One of my favourite authors for a more cozy mystery with great characters and settings.
Is t..."

Mary Higgins Clark ia always good as well.

Linda, I have never been a fan of Mary Higgins Clark. Her story lines are great but the writing style always bothered me.

Another cozy type author I have just discovered is Tarquin Hall and his Vish Puri series. I have read the first one, The Case of the Missing Servant, and will follow up with the next two shortly.


The Case of the Missing Servant (Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator, #1)

Barbara wrote: "Another cozy type author I have just discovered is Tarquin Hall and his Vish Puri series. I have read the first one, The Case of the Missing Servant, and will follow up with the next two shortly...."

Oh, yes, I read that book, too! I loved it. So different from the usual detective book, I thought. I didn't realize he had two others. I'll have to look into them. Thanks for alerting me to them.

Barbara wrote: "Another cozy type author I have just discovered is Tarquin Hall and his Vish Puri series. I have read the first one, The Case of the Missing Servant, and will follow up with the next two shortly...."

I enjoyed The Case of the Missing Servant and have the next 2 on my shelf too. I enjoy branching out with authors who use differnt setting or time periods.

Welcome to the group, Coey!

If you want to research mysteries, there's no better place than http://stopyourekillingme.com/

You can search by location, author, occupation of the sleuth, etc. or look for winners of various awards. Enjoy!