One of my favourite genres is crime fiction. I prefer my mysteries and thrillers to be character-driven, although a convincing plot elevates a good read to an excellent one.
I have a particular affection for historical mysteries, but I’m quite picky about which ones I read as I like them to be rich in period detail without compromising on characterization and plot.
I’ve compiled a list of some of my favourite mystery and thriller authors. I’d love to hear who your favourites are.
Thrillers
Mystery
Historical Mystery
Vintage Mystery
If you’re looking for a good blog devoted to reviews of crime fiction, I highly recommend Material Witness.
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I’m bookmarking this page for future reference!
Have you read Georgette Heyer’s mysteries? She hasn’t written very many, but I am tempted to say I prefer them over Agatha Christie. The only one I couldn’t get through was Penhallow (it may have just been my mood at the time!), but I very much enjoyed her others.
@Li: Yes, I’ve read and enjoyed a couple of Georgette Heyer’s mysteries, although I wouldn’t list them among my favourites. I think I’ve only read two so far. I found them surprisingly good as I had heard negative things about them from fans of Heyer’s Regencies.
@Sarah: Mmm… interesting – I went on a bit of a Heyer glom when I first stumbled upon her romances (not that many years ago!), and while waiting for the publisher to re-release more of her backlist, I read a few of her mysteries, and wasn’t blown away. Fast-forward a few years, I decided to read another one (because of the covers – heh), and this time around, really liked them and ended up buying all.
Maybe it’s an expectations thing – if you go in expecting a Heyer historical romance-like book, you’re going to be disappointed, because they’re very different?
I like a good mystery/suspense when the mood strikes. Chelsea Cain-LOVED her books, but she scares me! And Karin Slaughter is always an auto buy for me.
I have Val McDermid to try this year (hopefully). Here is my list:
Auto-buys:
Jo Nesbo
Karin Slaughter
Dennis Lehane
Julia Spencer-Fleming
Jodi Compton (MIA right now)
Ariana Franklin
Everyone else (good writers but I don’t run out and buy their news books immediately)
Michael Connelly
Dana Stabenow (now defunct Liam Campbell series)
Ken Bruen
Chelsea Cain
William Landay
Alina Adams has an amateur sleuth in her Ice Skating mysteries that are fun. Read the first three and enjoyed. Haven’t kept up for some odd reason. Must rectify that.
That’s off the top.
@Li: I think expectations can play a huge role in how a reader reacts to a book. While Heyer’s mysteries contain her trademark humour, they are definitely not romances, not even romantic suspenses. I still have a couple of Heyer mysteries on my TBR shelf which I must read soon.
@Judi L: I still need to read Evil at Heart!
@Keishon: Thanks for that list! There are several authors on it that I’d like to try.
I love mysteries! I have a few authors I’ve read for years, and then I’ve picked up ideas here and at Keishon’s blog. Off the top of my head, I can think of these favorites:
Ruth Rendell
Dorothy L. Sayers
Jacqueline Winspear
Jo Nesbo (just bought the rest of the Harry Hole books off Book Depository)
Tana French
Julia Spencer-Fleming
Dennis Lehane
Laura Lippman
Mary Stewart
Victoria Holt
Phyllis Whitney
I like some Agatha Christie but some have also been DNFs for me. I’m planning to try Val McDermid soon, but I think Karin Fossum will be my next new mystery author to try.
Barbara Michaels (I vastly prefer these books to her Elizabeth Peabody stuff)
Have you read PB Ryan? She used to write historical romances under the name Patricia Ryan, and then she wrote a historical mystery series set in Boston a few years after the Civil War. Nell Sweeney, the heroine, is an Irish immigrant working as a governess in a Brahmin household; and the oldest son, Will, is an opium addict. The description of Nell’s visit to an opium den in the first book was so detailed and had me agog. Fascinating, hard-core stuff.
You’ve listed some of my faves already -Sayers, Marsh, Stewart, C.S. Harris.
Also in classics, I love Rex Stout (some find him too formulaic, but I love Archive Goodwin’s narrative voice) and Margery Allingham. Does P.D. James count as classic? Her books aren’t upbeat, but they’re very satisfying to me.
I’d recommend Kate Ross for Regency English mysteries. There are only four, but they’re so much fun! I am eternally sad there will be no more.
Also in historical, I highly recommend Lindsey Davis, who writes detective stories set in ancient Rome (Vespasian’s era). Her detective, Falco, has an incredibly engaging voice. There are also ongoing romantic elements. I’m maybe 6 or 7 books into the long series so far.
And have you tried Kerry Greenwood? The Phryne Fisher books are hard to come by in the US, but they’re really cool, set in 1920s Australia.
I second Margery Allingham if you like Dorothy L Sayers. I also like Harlan Coban and Donna Leon’s crime novels set in Venice. For another Aussie crime writer Leigh Redhead writes terrific stories with a PI who’s a stripper.
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