Crime Books (Detective Novels)

[Dolls]

Have been reading loads of these lately! Can anybody recommend a good author? Other than what we know know? IE.....Colin Dexter,Patricia Cornwall etcetc. Peter Robinson ! Have read all of his books and they are brill.

[Bowker's cat]

David Peace, David Peace and David Peace. he's a bit like a psychotic James Ellroy on speed.

[No Chance]

Ian Rankin and R.D Wingfield, creator of 'A Touch of Frost' are both good. Actually, the Frost novels are great.

[littlelawchick]

Martine Cole, John Grishman, Jack Higgins and Steve Berry.

[ThinBoy]

I like John Dickson Carr aka Carter Dickson. He's a bit of an oldie & may be a bit old-fashioned for you - wrote in the 30s to 50s I think, and his books aren't that easy to find, but most libraries should have his most famous one, which is The Hollow Man (also known as The Three Coffins). I picked up a few from Oxfam book shops and I've ordered others online from the USA. They're locked-room murder mysteries. Agatha Christie (who's work I particularly don't like btw) was a big fan and she reckoned she could solve all other writer's mysteries except JDC's. The ones I would recommend are

The Peacock Feather Murders
The Judas Window
The Plague Court Murders
The Case of the Constant Suicides
The Hollow Man/The Three Coffins

Bit more modern - Kinky Friedman writes good private detective stuff. The one I read is Elvis, Jesus & Coca Cola
Similar but older stuff - Erle Stanley Gardner is also great. I loved his one Crows Can't Count

[wotsit2]

i prefer real crime
the books i can recommend if any of you are into it and if still available
are forty years of murder by prof keith simpson,mostly murder by sydney smith ,murder squad ,and sir bernard spilsburys biography
fascinating stuff

[Dolls]

i prefer real crime
the books i can recommend if any of you are into it and if still available
are forty years of murder by prof keith simpson,mostly murder by sydney smith ,murder squad ,and sir bernard spilsburys biography
fascinating stuff

I read those a few years ago wots and yes they really good.

[Dolls]

I like John Dickson Carr aka Carter Dickson. He's a bit of an oldie & may be a bit old-fashioned for you - wrote in the 30s to 50s I think, and his books aren't that easy to find, but most libraries should have his most famous one, which is The Hollow Man (also known as The Three Coffins). I picked up a few from Oxfam book shops and I've ordered others online from the USA. They're locked-room murder mysteries. Agatha Christie (who's work I particularly don't like btw) was a big fan and she reckoned she could solve all other writer's mysteries except JDC's. The ones I would recommend are

The Peacock Feather Murders
The Judas Window
The Plague Court Murders
The Case of the Constant Suicides
The Hollow Man/The Three Coffins

Bit more modern - Kinky Friedman writes good private detective stuff. The one I read is Elvis, Jesus & Coca Cola
Similar but older stuff - Erle Stanley Gardner is also great. I loved his one Crows Can't Count

Sounds very interesting...... Cheers TB

[wotsit2]

i prefer real crime
the books i can recommend if any of you are into it and if still available
are forty years of murder by prof keith simpson,mostly murder by sydney smith ,murder squad ,and sir bernard spilsburys biography
fascinating stuff

I read those a few years ago wots and yes they really good.

i used to read them over and over dolls ,keith simpson was my hero from his auto biography writings "acid bath" haigh
harry dobkin etc
keith simpson still gets a mention on discovery in a series called crime museum UK with martin kemp

[Bowker's cat]

Actually you could just go for James Ellroy, LA Confidential and The Black Dahlia have both been made into films, but both the books are much darker and involved.

[Tin Can]

Reginald Hill

[Channel Hopper]

Never found them interesting, but that was because my English teacher told the class that anyone can write a decent crime / murder / mystery story by working methodically backwards from the solution. What made a good story great was nothing more than a bit of character manipulation in an unsolvable crime, leaving the reader looking forward to a sequel.

[robinnia]

Never found them interesting, but that was because my English teacher told the class that anyone can write a decent crime / murder / mystery story by working methodically backwards from the solution. What made a good story great was nothing more than a bit of character manipulation in an unsolvable crime, leaving the reader looking forward to a sequel.

i think that comment from your english teacher is a bit elitist and leaning towards literary snobbery.

case in point is iris murdoch. her first published book--under the net--was actually quite funny but bore very little resemblance to her subsequent works.
under the net couldn't be described as a crime story but it does involve a kidnap and ransom--of a dog called mr.mars.

just scuppered my own argument

[Bowker's cat]

Never found them interesting, but that was because my English teacher told the class that anyone can write a decent crime / murder / mystery story by working methodically backwards from the solution. What made a good story great was nothing more than a bit of character manipulation in an unsolvable crime, leaving the reader looking forward to a sequel.

i think that comment from your english teacher is a bit elitist and leaning towards literary snobbery.

Also shows a complete lack of appreciation of style and quality of writing.

[Channel Hopper]

Also shows a complete lack of appreciation of style and quality of writing.

It was directed at the mass of rollout detective stories at the time (some 30 years ago) most of which were the American 'whodunnits'.

Mickey Spillane springs to mind, but then having seen a few of the Columbo episodes on TV, and the ever present on BBC 'Diagnosis Murder' I can see there was some method in his madness.

Series that have bypassed the 'work backwards from the butler did it' would be Monk, Quincy MD and Sledge Hammer, the last of which would probably not worked well as a set of paperbacks owing to the skill of David Rasche, who neatly sent up Dirty Harry in the 41 TV episodes.

[danahowards]

David Peace, David Peace and David Peace. he's a bit like a psychotic James Ellroy on speed.

Yes, yes and yes again! I loved him. Only read a couple of his books but really enjoyed them!
Maybe I should order online another one of his books...

[Swing]

David Peace, David Peace and David Peace. he's a bit like a psychotic James Ellroy on speed.

Yes, yes and yes again! I loved him. Only read a couple of his books but really enjoyed them!
Maybe I should order online another one of his books...

Always liked GB84 especially. Even more tragic if you read Seamus Milne's 'The Enemy Within' immediately after to identify the parallels.

[Hobbes]

Mark Billingham is my favorite by miles. I love his Thorne series.

[Dolls]

Mark Billingham is my favorite by miles. I love his Thorne series.

Me too love Peter James!!!

[Dolls]

I also like Peter Robinson!!!