Reading Suggestions Please

[Big Kev]

Hi All

I have recently acquired a Kindle and am finding it a great alternative to chopping down trees.

I mainly read Mystery/Detective and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions that I can add to my list of authors to read as I am sure there are lots of great authors out there that I have not discovered yet.

To date my reading has covered David Baldacci, Ed McBain, Ian Rankin, James Patterson, John Grisham, Lee Child, Matthew Reilly, Nelson DeMille, Patrick Robinson, Robert Ludlum, Stephen Hunter, Steve Martini, Stieg Larsson, Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, Patricia Cornwell & Karin Slaughter.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Kevin

[edbro]

John D. MacDonald
Randy Wayne White
James Lee Burke
Harlan Coben
Michael Connelly
Robert Crais
Sue Grafton
Val McDermid
Robert Parker
Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake)
Rex Stout

And of course, the classics:
Agatha Christie
Sherlock Holmes
Gladys Mitchell

[desertgrandma]

Click on the 'mystery' genre here on our own Memorial Patricia Clark library and you'll never run out of reading material.......

I'd start with the Sherlock Holmes Omnibus.....

Click link below to get started.

[SlowRain]

Get yourself some Martin Cruz Smith novels, and quickly. He's famous for Gorky Park, the first of seven novels featuring a Russian militia investigator. The last two are not very good, but I highly recommend Gorky Park, Havana Bay, and Wolves Eat Dogs. He also wrote a great historical mystery called Rose, which is set in a coal-mining village in 19th-century England.

I'll also add Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow (but not any of his others), Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg, Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr (I haven't read his other three Bernie Gunther novels, yet), Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith, and The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster.

If you don't mind slipping into espionage (seeing as you're already reading Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum), I highly recommend the Grandmaster of Espionage himself, John le Carré. Of his works, I recommend Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, Smiley's People (read those 3 in that order), The Little Drummer Girl, The Russia House, The Night Manager, Our Game, The Tailor of Panama, The Constant Gardener, The Mission Song, and Our Kind of Traitor.

All of the ones I've listed tend to be a little on the literary side. Don't be alarmed, none of them neglect plot, they just put more emphasis on language, character, and themes than what the run-of-the-mill thriller writer does.

[JoelArnold]

[QUOTE=SlowRain;1194792]
I'll also add Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow (but not any of his others), Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg...QUOTE]

Those are a couple of my favorites! I also thought Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child was great.

[JSWolf]

Go for the Lee Child Jack Reacher series. I've read the first two and they are very good. Other who have read more say the entire series is good.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Some more authors not mentioned yet are:

Tana French
Henning Mankell
Steve Berry
Kathy Reichs
Alex Berenson
Daniel Silva

I added a few that are more espionage versus police procedural based on your list of authors you like.

Another tip to find new authors is to go to the author's page on Amazon. In the right hand column is a box called "Customers Also Bought Books By". I also like the website whatshouldireadnext.com when I am looking for something new to read.

[Big Kev]

Hi all and thank you very much for your reading suggestions.

Just what I needed and your combined suggestions should keeping me going for some time. I intend to give them all a try at least.

Thanks again
Regards & Happy Reading
Kevin

[MickeyC]

I'd add Brad Thor and Vince Flynn to your list

[Leep]

And you might like Jeffery Deavor, Philip Margolin and James Grippando.

Just for fun here's a fun website where you put in the authors you like, and it will "map" authors who write in a similar vein.

http://www.literature-map.com/

[JSWolf]

Also add to your list James Patterson....

His Women's Murder Club series and his Alex Cross series are both very good.

[pinopao]

If you're into detective/police stories, then I would suggest the book Homicide:A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon.

It's not fiction, but reads almost like a novel.
A journalist, Simon, spends a year patroling the streets with the Baltimore Police Homicide Unit.

To me it's a must read for any fan of the police procedural genre, wether in book, tv or movie form.

David Simon is one of the men behind the tv series "The Wire"

[lilac_jive]

I'm surprised that Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett aren't on this list. If you like detective mysteries, go to where it all began!

[Steve Anderson]

Originally Posted by SlowRain

Get yourself some Martin Cruz Smith novels, and quickly. He's famous for Gorky Park, the first of seven novels featuring a Russian militia investigator. The last two are not very good, but I highly recommend Gorky Park, Havana Bay, and Wolves Eat Dogs. He also wrote a great historical mystery called Rose, which is set in a coal-mining village in 19th-century England.
...
If you don't mind slipping into espionage (seeing as you're already reading Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum), I highly recommend the Grandmaster of Espionage himself, John le Carré. Of his works, I recommend Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, Smiley's People (read those 3 in that order), The Little Drummer Girl, The Russia House, The Night Manager, Our Game, The Tailor of Panama, The Constant Gardener, The Mission Song, and Our Kind of Traitor.

All of the ones I've listed tend to be a little on the literary side. Don't be alarmed, none of them neglect plot, they just put more emphasis on language, character, and themes than what the run-of-the-mill thriller writer does.

Good take there by SlowRain,

Also by Martin Cruz Smith is one titled December 6. It's similar to Casablanca but set in Japan right before Pearl Harbor with an American nightclub owner caught between two worlds. I thought it was great. Also, I have to mention Alan Furst's books for more literary, espionage-flavored mysteries. His plots aren't always cooking on high but he makes up for it (for me) with the characters and period detail.

[Steve Anderson]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

I'm surprised that Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett aren't on this list. If you like detective mysteries, go to where it all began!

lilac_jive nailed it. Chandler and Hammett helped introduce me to good crime/mystery books with their distinct style and yet readability. Made me realize the best novels period can absolutely be so-called genre novels. Then I read Graham Greene and LeCarré and I had more proof!