need help finding romance/mystery/suspence novels with morals

Reader9000 · 05-04-2012, 12:13 AM

Okay, Im just kind of irritated. I started reading christian romance/mystery/suspense novels. But I dont want to be preached at, even thought Im a christian. I dont need that in my novels. Also im not against more that a kiss. Hopefully someone can help me! I dont know where to look for go novels where people arent just backstabbing and cheating and swearing all over the place either.

Any recommendations on authors i should check out would be great!

ATDrake · 05-04-2012, 12:39 AM

If you think you might like historical mysteries, especially ones with aviation and safari adventures in them, I recommend the Jade del Cameron series by Suzanne Arruda. They're set during the 1920s in the British East Africa colony that would become Kenya, and the author maintains a blog which tells you about the historical background that she incorporates into the books.

IIRC, they have no swearing beyond maybe a few mild hells and damns, there is a slow-growing romantic subplot that isn't too obtrusive, so you won't get annoying relationship drama but can see the characters get to know each other, there isn't much in the way of gory violence which is only briefly described, and there's no on-screen sex, and developing friendships and helping people in need are important in the stories.

If you don't mind occasional strong swearwords (maybe about 2-3 times per chapter at most), Barbara Hambly has two excellent historical fiction series, and 1 standalone novel which you may find of interest as it's set amongst early Christians in Rome and the stereotypes that people had about them back then.

Possibly her series written as Barbara Hamilton which is set just prior to the American Revolution, with future First Lady Abigail Adams as the amateur sleuth, will be most to your taste, as it is written from Adams' viewpoint, and not that many characters swear in front of a prominent society matron.

Her Benjamin January series set in antebellum New Orleans about a freed ex-slave educated as a physician and a musician is even better, but contains more violence and coarser language due to his life circumstances and the grittily realistic approach to the types of historical experience that tend to get overlooked or glossed over. However, if you think you can stand it, I highly recommend it as a truly excellent series with wonderful writing and clever whodunnits.

The standalone mystery Search the Seven Hills is, as mentioned, involves early Roman Christians and I don't particularly recall any serious swearing in it, though there might be the occasional words in a couple of sporadic scenes. ETA: Actually, this one may not be for you. It's got a brief scene of a somewhat orgiastic Roman dinner party in it, and the viewpoint characters are disgusted by the excesses which go on, but you'll probably find it too much for your personal taste.

Needless to say, there's no explicitly described onscreen sex in Hambly's detective novels and backstabbing and cheating are generally engaged in by the villains, or at least the characters who are revealed to be the villains, and there are subtle developing or ongoing romantic relationships in almost all her books, which generally emphasize compassion and understanding, in a secular way. She has some descriptions on her website, if you're interested.

Hope this helps, and welcome to MobileRead!

Elfwreck · 05-04-2012, 12:44 AM

How explicit are you willing to deal with? I read a lot of romances with a wide range of heat levels & subgenres, but I'm not sure what qualifies as "Christian values."

Can look for "no swearing" and "no sleazy, vicious, or criminal behavior in the protagonists." Does it mean "no pre/extra-marital sex?" And if there is sexual activity, what level of explicit is okay? Does it matter if the characters are Christian, or is any book within the right range of content okay?

And are you looking for contemporary only, or are historicals okay?

rkomar · 05-04-2012, 02:37 AM

I just finished reading "The Ranch on the Wolverine" by B.M. Bower (published 1914, and available at Project Gutenberg). It's billed as a Western, but really more of a Romance novel. Of course there are people behaving badly in it, but it's wholesome overall and insightful. Moral rectitude was more in literary fashion one hundred years ago, so old, public domain novels may be what you're looking for.

carpetmojo · 05-04-2012, 02:49 AM

" need help finding romance/mystery/suspence novels with morals "

Morals ?

Now where's the suspense in that .............

GA Russell · 05-04-2012, 02:57 AM

In regard to mysteries, some of the best hard-boiled mysteries are about "white knights" such as Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe. I think you would approve of all of Raymond Chandler's stories.

Catlady · 05-04-2012, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reader9000

Okay, Im just kind of irritated. I started reading christian romance/mystery/suspense novels. But I dont want to be preached at, even thought Im a christian. I dont need that in my novels. Also im not against more that a kiss. Hopefully someone can help me! I dont know where to look for go novels where people arent just backstabbing and cheating and swearing all over the place either.

Any recommendations on authors i should check out would be great!

What about some older writers like Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Mary Stewart?

jbcohen · 05-04-2012, 11:30 AM

Here is another suggestion:

The Mack Bolan saga of books at mackbolan.com are edge of your seat thrillers each one of them, if you can take the shooting of the bad guys. Mack has a code of morality that he sticks closely to: He has never ever shot a cop ever

and if he can help it never allows a bystander or someone on his team to get dead. There has been plenty of times that a bystander has been shot, however there was nothing mack could do about the matter. He has had several team mates killed in the line of duty but its not like he could do anything about it.

Synamon · 05-04-2012, 11:41 AM

Mack Bolan?? He's an executioner and there are explicit sex scenes sprinkled in the books to break up all the violence. I doubt that's what the OP is looking for.

There are plenty of cozy mysteries that would fit your criteria, although backstabbing and cheating are common motives for murder so you'll have a hard time avoiding those altogether. As others have recommended, older books are a good option.

Reader9000 · 05-05-2012, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

" need help finding romance/mystery/suspence novels with morals "

Morals ?

Now where's the suspense in that .............

LOL!!!! Good point! I guess what I'm saying is that christian books are too uptight but I don't want to read smutty books. I can deal with mild swearing and it's not like te morals have to be perfect. I just want there to be morals
In the sense of characters who have monogamous relationships and build a relationship before having sex. Does that make more sense?

I'll check out some of your recommendations!! Thanks guys!

Reader9000 · 05-05-2012, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synamon

Mack Bolan?? He's an executioner and there are explicit sex scenes sprinkled in the books to break up all the violence. I doubt that's what the OP is looking for.

There are plenty of cozy mysteries that would fit your criteria, although backstabbing and cheating are common motives for murder so you'll have a hard time avoiding those altogether. As others have recommended, older books are a good option.

Yeah, your right... In mysteries there will be raw issues but I'm ok with that just nothing too heavy.

See my problem with Christian novels is they're seeming to all 'tip toe' around real life issues. It's like even the bad guys aren't that bad in order to keep their uptight Christian audience happy! I'm just not impressed with the writing so I need to find what else is out there!

Thanks everyone for counseling me through this predicament!

Xanthe · 05-07-2012, 10:54 PM

"Cozy" mysteries are probably your best bet.

http://www.cozy-mystery.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozy_mystery

To add to Catlady's suggestion of Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Mary Stewart, in the romance/suspense category there's:

Helen MacInness
Jane Aiken Hodge
Dorothy Eden

Re suspense, there's:

Alistair MacLean
Desmond Bagley

HarryT · 05-08-2012, 02:04 AM

Any of the classic mystery writers should fit the bill: Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, etc. Superb books, with no swearing or explicit sex.

ElsieC · 05-08-2012, 02:26 AM

You might like the Hamish MacBeth series by M. C. Beaton, and the Amelia Peabody Series by Elizabeth Peters. I think these are classified as "cozy" mysteries. I read them as audio books because I enjoyed hearing the accents. I also think Agatha Christie (although I haven't read very many yet) would work for your purposes as well.

05-04-2012, 12:13 AM	#1
Reader9000 Member Posts: 18 Karma: 159998 Join Date: May 2012 Device: Kindle	need help finding romance/mystery/suspence novels with morals Okay, Im just kind of irritated. I started reading christian romance/mystery/suspense novels. But I dont want to be preached at, even thought Im a christian. I dont need that in my novels. Also im not against more that a kiss. Hopefully someone can help me! I dont know where to look for go novels where people arent just backstabbing and cheating and swearing all over the place either. Any recommendations on authors i should check out would be great!

05-04-2012, 12:39 AM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	If you think you might like historical mysteries, especially ones with aviation and safari adventures in them, I recommend the Jade del Cameron series by Suzanne Arruda. They're set during the 1920s in the British East Africa colony that would become Kenya, and the author maintains a blog which tells you about the historical background that she incorporates into the books. IIRC, they have no swearing beyond maybe a few mild hells and damns, there is a slow-growing romantic subplot that isn't too obtrusive, so you won't get annoying relationship drama but can see the characters get to know each other, there isn't much in the way of gory violence which is only briefly described, and there's no on-screen sex, and developing friendships and helping people in need are important in the stories. If you don't mind occasional strong swearwords (maybe about 2-3 times per chapter at most), Barbara Hambly has two excellent historical fiction series, and 1 standalone novel which you may find of interest as it's set amongst early Christians in Rome and the stereotypes that people had about them back then. Possibly her series written as Barbara Hamilton which is set just prior to the American Revolution, with future First Lady Abigail Adams as the amateur sleuth, will be most to your taste, as it is written from Adams' viewpoint, and not that many characters swear in front of a prominent society matron. Her Benjamin January series set in antebellum New Orleans about a freed ex-slave educated as a physician and a musician is even better, but contains more violence and coarser language due to his life circumstances and the grittily realistic approach to the types of historical experience that tend to get overlooked or glossed over. However, if you think you can stand it, I highly recommend it as a truly excellent series with wonderful writing and clever whodunnits. The standalone mystery Search the Seven Hills is, as mentioned, involves early Roman Christians and I don't particularly recall any serious swearing in it, though there might be the occasional words in a couple of sporadic scenes. ETA: Actually, this one may not be for you. It's got a brief scene of a somewhat orgiastic Roman dinner party in it, and the viewpoint characters are disgusted by the excesses which go on, but you'll probably find it too much for your personal taste. Needless to say, there's no explicitly described onscreen sex in Hambly's detective novels and backstabbing and cheating are generally engaged in by the villains, or at least the characters who are revealed to be the villains, and there are subtle developing or ongoing romantic relationships in almost all her books, which generally emphasize compassion and understanding, in a secular way. She has some descriptions on her website, if you're interested. Hope this helps, and welcome to MobileRead! Last edited by ATDrake; 05-04-2012 at 12:48 AM.

05-04-2012, 02:49 AM	#5
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Ummmm.......... " need help finding romance/mystery/suspence novels with morals " Morals ? Now where's the suspense in that .............

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05-04-2012, 12:44 AM	#3
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,187 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	How explicit are you willing to deal with? I read a lot of romances with a wide range of heat levels & subgenres, but I'm not sure what qualifies as "Christian values." Can look for "no swearing" and "no sleazy, vicious, or criminal behavior in the protagonists." Does it mean "no pre/extra-marital sex?" And if there is sexual activity, what level of explicit is okay? Does it matter if the characters are Christian, or is any book within the right range of content okay? And are you looking for contemporary only, or are historicals okay?

05-04-2012, 02:37 AM	#4
rkomar Wizard Posts: 3,054 Karma: 18821071 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633	I just finished reading "The Ranch on the Wolverine" by B.M. Bower (published 1914, and available at Project Gutenberg). It's billed as a Western, but really more of a Romance novel. Of course there are people behaving badly in it, but it's wholesome overall and insightful. Moral rectitude was more in literary fashion one hundred years ago, so old, public domain novels may be what you're looking for.

05-04-2012, 02:57 AM	#6
GA Russell Stampeders are hot! Posts: 7,692 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	In regard to mysteries, some of the best hard-boiled mysteries are about "white knights" such as Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe. I think you would approve of all of Raymond Chandler's stories.

05-04-2012, 11:30 AM	#8
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,032 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	Here is another suggestion: The Mack Bolan saga of books at mackbolan.com are edge of your seat thrillers each one of them, if you can take the shooting of the bad guys. Mack has a code of morality that he sticks closely to: He has never ever shot a cop ever and if he can help it never allows a bystander or someone on his team to get dead. There has been plenty of times that a bystander has been shot, however there was nothing mack could do about the matter. He has had several team mates killed in the line of duty but its not like he could do anything about it.

05-04-2012, 11:41 AM	#9
Synamon Lunatic Posts: 1,691 Karma: 4386372 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Land of the Loonie Device: Kindle Paperwhite and Keyboard, Kobo Aura, iPad mini, iPod Touch	Mack Bolan?? He's an executioner and there are explicit sex scenes sprinkled in the books to break up all the violence. I doubt that's what the OP is looking for. There are plenty of cozy mysteries that would fit your criteria, although backstabbing and cheating are common motives for murder so you'll have a hard time avoiding those altogether. As others have recommended, older books are a good option.

05-07-2012, 10:54 PM	#12
Xanthe Plan B Is Now In Force Posts: 1,894 Karma: 8086979 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Surebleak Device: Aluratek,Sony 350/T1,Pandigital,eBM 911,Nook HD/HD+,Fire HDX 7/8.9,PW2	"Cozy" mysteries are probably your best bet. http://www.cozy-mystery.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozy_mystery To add to Catlady's suggestion of Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Mary Stewart, in the romance/suspense category there's: Helen MacInness Jane Aiken Hodge Dorothy Eden Re suspense, there's: Alistair MacLean Desmond Bagley

05-08-2012, 02:04 AM	#13
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Any of the classic mystery writers should fit the bill: Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, etc. Superb books, with no swearing or explicit sex.

05-08-2012, 02:26 AM	#14
ElsieC Zealot Posts: 121 Karma: 21024 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ohio, USA Device: Sony PRS-505	You might like the Hamish MacBeth series by M. C. Beaton, and the Amelia Peabody Series by Elizabeth Peters. I think these are classified as "cozy" mysteries. I read them as audio books because I enjoyed hearing the accents. I also think Agatha Christie (although I haven't read very many yet) would work for your purposes as well.

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