British Mystery Recs needed

[JLeighs]

I'd really love to discover some more great British mysteries. I've already read all of Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and Father Brown (and probably others that I can't think of at the moment). For more modern works, I absolutely loved the Inspector Jury series (the earlier ones, anyway) by Martha Grimes. Can anyone recommend any other books/series along the same lines? Thank you!

[Mike L]

Have you considered John Creasey? He wrote hundreds of crime, mystery and adventure books (over 600, I think) under many different pen-names. One that I particularly like is Gideon's Day. (You might remember the film, and I think it was also a TV series.)

Another one I like is Francis Iles.

And, of course, if you like Agatha Christie, you'll love Dorothy L. Sayers.

Mike

[orlok]

Have you tried any Robert Goddard? The master of mysteries about hidden family secrets that surface later and have a huge impact on later generations. He does not write in series, though on a couple of occasions he does return to the same charcter. I would suggest trying something like In Pale Batallions and see what you think (please ignore the awful US cover).

[Mike L]

Orlok,

Did you know that John Major cited Robert Goddard as his favourite author? I don't know whether that would increase your enthusiasm for him, or put you off entirely, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Mike

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Mike L

Orlok,

Did you know that John Major cited Robert Goddard as his favourite author? I don't know whether that would increase your enthusiasm for him, or put you off entirely, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Mike

Yes I did actually, but didn't mention it for the very reason you cite...that it may put some people off .

[HarryT]

A few authors that spring to mind are:

"Traditional" detective stories:

Dorothy L. Sayers (my all-time favourite crime author. Lord Peter Wimsey)
Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn)
Margery Allingham (Albert Campion)
Michael Innes (Inspector Appleby)
Alan Hunter (Inspector Gently)
M.C. Beaton (Hamish Macbeth, Agatha Raisin)

More modern "gritty" authors:

P.D. James (Inspector Dalgliesh)
Ruth Rendell (Inspector Wexford)
Peter Robinson (Inspector Banks)
Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus)

Hope this is some help to you. I enjoy all of the above.

[Billi]

I would suggest Dick Francis. Most of his books have something to do with equestrian sports. If you like his way of writing you will find a lot of volumes to read.

[HarryT]

I forgot about Dick Francis. Yes - very good writer. All his books are set in the world of horse racing (he was a former jockey).

[jbjb]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A few authors that spring to mind are:

"Traditional" detective stories:

Dorothy L. Sayers (my all-time favourite crime author. Lord Peter Wimsey)
Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn)
Margery Allingham (Albert Campion)
Michael Innes (Inspector Appleby)
M.C. Beaton (Inspector Gently)

More modern "gritty" authors:

P.D. James (Inspector Dalgliesh)
Ruth Rendell (Inspector Wexford)
Peter Robinson (Inspector Banks)
Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus)

Hope this is some help to you. I enjoy all of the above.

If you like Ian Rankin, then you might enjoy Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae series. Very dark & gritty detective stories set in Aberdeen.

/JB

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jbjb

If you like Ian Rankin, then you might enjoy Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae series. Very dark & gritty detective stories set in Aberdeen.

/JB

Thanks - I haven't come across him.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A few authors that spring to mind are:

"Traditional" detective stories:

Dorothy L. Sayers (my all-time favourite crime author. Lord Peter Wimsey)
Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn)
Margery Allingham (Albert Campion)
Michael Innes (Inspector Appleby)
M.C. Beaton (Inspector Gently)

More modern "gritty" authors:

P.D. James (Inspector Dalgliesh)
Ruth Rendell (Inspector Wexford)
Peter Robinson (Inspector Banks)
Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus)

Hope this is some help to you. I enjoy all of the above.

Alan Hunter writes Inspector Gently. Beaton's detectives are Hamish MacBeth and Agatha Raisin.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by issybird

Alan Hunter writes Inspector Gently. Beaton's detectives are Hamish MacBeth and Agatha Raisin.

Thanks for pointing out the error - goodness knows how I managed to do that . I edited my post to add in the detective name to the authors' names and somehow I managed to delete "Alan Hunter" and write "Inspector Gently" alongside Beaton's name. I've now corrected my original post.

[DianNC]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus)

So happy to see this author mentioned. I'm currently collecting his books for my next 'mystery marathon'.

[JLeighs]

Thank you VERY much everyone! I haven't heard of any of these authors except for Dorothy L. Sayers and M.C. Beaton, and I had forgotten about both of them.

[usuallee]

Originally Posted by jbjb

If you like Ian Rankin, then you might enjoy Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae series. Very dark & gritty detective stories set in Aberdeen.

/JB

Yeah, thanks for the recommendation! Not only do they look very much like my cup of tea, the first several books are $0.99 (In the US)! I snapped up the first 4!

Also to the OP, if you are willing to expand a bit, Tana French is a terrific Irish writer of literary mysteries. In The Woods is one of the best books, not just mysteries, that I've read. And then you have a whole universe of great Nordic crime, like Jo Nesbo, Arnaldur Indridason, Henning Mankell, and of course Stieg Larsson. Though be aware that some find the Scandinavian mysteries a bit too grim for their taste. For me, it's been a treasure trove.

Edit: Ian Rankin - just to chime in, I wanted to like the Rebus series so badly, but it just didn't work out for me. I enjoyed the first better than the second, and then I couldn't finish the 3rd. Disappointing trend. Perhaps I'll try one of the later ones in the series at some point.