Crime writer recommendation please

egan2020

I really enjoy crime/thriller books, especially by the following authors:-Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Lee Child, Patricia Cornwell, Tess Gerritsen. I think I've read just about all their books so would like a recommendation on an author similar to these. Any suggestions?

Wicklowrider

I've enjoyed the authours you have listed and have also greatly enjoyed John Connolly - http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/

Wicklowrider

Dupe

thomasm

James Lee Burke is amazing, RJ Ellory is right up there also.
John Connolly as advised is a great read also.

dinorebel

James Lee Burke is very good as is Dennis Lehane.James Ellroy is a genius but people either love or hate his books as they can be tough going.George Pelecanos is also worth a read.

Manach

Rick Castle, but only if you are of a fan of the TV series.

mari2222

Paul Carson
Arlene Hunt
Donna Leon
Michael Dibdin

egan2020

Thanks so much for the replies. I'd forgotten about James Lee Burke. I've read all the Robicheaux novels but I see there's a few more that he wrote so I'll give them a try as well as John Connolly. Right then, off to amazon with me!

PattheMetaller

I'd recommend Mark Billingham, Stuart MacBride, Graham Hurly and Peter Robinson.

Also, try this website for reference

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/

bullpost

THe crime novels of Andrea Camilleri are very good.

Set in Sicily . Big emphasis on his love of seafood if that floats your boat.

fontanalis

James Ellroy; real seedy underbelly stuff.

x_Ellie_x

I'd recommend Kathy Reichs and Jane Casey. Kathy Reichs is an American forensic anthropologist and the crime she writes about are fiction but are based on crimes she's seen throughout her career. Jane Casey is an Irish author and has only written 3 books so far but they have been very good.

Emiko

I quite enjoy an Elmore Leonard from time to time.

Always sharp characters and dialogue.

Norderburse

Having read Cornwell, Connelly and Gerritsen myself, I think you'd enjoy Mo Hayder and Linda Fairstein too

The Princess Bride

Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag both worth a try.

Ciaran_B

Another vote for James Ellroy here - the best crime writing I've ever read.

Also recommend George Pelecanos, Ian Rankin and Ken Bruen.

doomed

Jo Nesbo - Top Notch Thrillers that will keep you reading till the small hours

Henning Mankell - all of the Wallander series

Michael Dibdin - Brilliant Aurelio Zen books - set all around Italy but a great style to them.

Gerald Seymour - not so much crime as thrillers but superbly written with a great grasp of detail

John Connolly - agree with previous posts

With the exception of Seymour, all of the above are best read in sequence.




Not recommended (based on much more limited sample of 1 in each case)

Mark Giminez
Benjamin Black
Alex Barclay

shaywest

robert b parker

shaywest

garry disher very good australian crime

Morlar

I'd second James Ellroy, the best crimewriter of all time in my opinion. Chandler is also very good. Elmore Leonard to a lesser extent. If you like the more pulpy ones Ed McBain is worth a quick read.

fontanalis

Someone else in the Ellroy category is David Peace; his Red Riding Quartet is very good. Takes a couple readngs to get what's really going on though.

x_Ellie_x

I'm just posting this here because I thought you'd all be interested in it since its for crime fiction. This website is selling the 1st ten novels in Kathy Reich's crime series for £9.99. That's 10 books for a £1 each, not bad. :cool:

shaywest

another one .the lucas davenport series by john sandford

E.T.

shaywest wrote: »

robert b parker

Only discovered him recently, and have been devouring his books as fast as I can read them.

If you like Harlan Coben, Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais, you'll definitely enjoy Parker, he influenced them!

I second the recommendation for Andrea Camilleri above, and Donna Leon is another author who sets books in Italy. Her Venetian based books are excellent.

Karin Slaughter is one of my favourites. Not dark in the same way as Jo Nesbo or Val McDermid, but set in meth-ridden, backwoods rural USA. The Grant County series are well worth a read.

hooplah

My current favourite would be Gene Kerrigan, he just writes incredibly well and his books have an air of realism thats lacking in a lot of crime writing.

Other Irish favourites would be Alan Glynn, Cormac Millar and Declan Burke.
For a resource on Irish crime writing people should really check out 'Down these Green streets', an anthology published this year containing essays, analysis and short stories. Great book altogether. The editor has a blog which is also fantastic and can be checked out here.

Further afield I'd go for James Ellroy, Walter Mosley (the Easy Rawlins series is great) and Chandler.

Lastly anyone interested in crime writing might be interested in attending the rest of a series of talks in the Central Library, ILAC Centre called 'Crime and The City: Crime and Drugs'. Speakers are John Lonergan (former governor of Mountjoy), Cormac Millar (author of the critically acclaimed 'An Irish Solution ' and 'The Grounds') and Paul O'Mahony (criminologist and author of 'The Irish War on Drugs'). Talks happen at lunchtime each Thursday in September. For further details check out http://bit.ly/qEZH2r

Hercule Poirot

Ian Rankin - a great scottish author who created Inspector Rebus

John Connolly - already mentioned a few times but well above many of his peers so he deserves another mention

Christopher Fowler - an english author for those who like there crime novels to be slightly off-centre, his May and Bryant series is fantastic

Have read the first Harlan Coben novel (Play Dead) it was ok, nothing major IMO.

Read 'Basket Case' by Carl Hiassen, thought it was a decent read.

Bearhunter

Definitely Rankin, a superb series of books.

Dennis Lehane, his books are excellent, gritty, well-plotted and funny in places.

Joseph Wambaugh - will never quite equal the Choirbys, but spins a great yarn.

Gordon Gecko

Colin Dexter's "Inspector Morse" novels are all excellent mysteries. For sheer enjoyment I'd recommend RD Wingfield's Frost novels and I'd also recommend a liberal helping of Conan Doyle because, well, it's Conan Doyle!

Caros

Karin Slaughter, Chelsea Cain, Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag, Chris Carter are my recco's.

Tabnabs

I'd second Jo Nesbø (you can get some of his books cheap in tesco)

also

Karin Fossum
Arnaldur Indridason (quite bleak, but well worth a read)


I have good things about the Sjöwall-Wahlöö team, the original Scandinavian crime writers.