Crime Fiction Recommendations

[Penforhire]

Dark, most of Connelly's work (the Bosch series) is probably best described as police procedural in the Los Angeles area but heavy on the character development, with just a dash of noir. Some of the others are courtroom thrillers but he still places a lot of emphasis on out-of-court scenes.

[DarkRoast]

Cheers, Penforhire. I heard Michael Connelly on the radio recently. He was giving a talk at a writers festival somewhere. One of the things he talked about was the importance of characters in crime fiction, even more than plot.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by DarkRoast

Cheers, Penforhire. I heard Michael Connelly on the radio recently. He was giving a talk at a writers festival somewhere. One of the things he talked about was the importance of characters in crime fiction, even more than plot.

That was true of Raymond Chandler -- who wrote great (lead) characters, with incredibly subtle bu solid style, but for plot ... not so much.

[Libbyfh]

Don't know if he's been mentioned, but I really love Daniel Silva's thrillers. THe writing is elegant, the plots hold together, and the characters are always interesting. And you never know when he's going to throw you a curve.

I'm reading SWORN TO SILENCE right now by Linda Castillo. About a serial killer in Amish country. Castillo is a former romance writer, but she's writing so dark you'd never know it. I'm liking the story a lot.

[NightBird]

I just saw mentioned over on the Kindle boards that Amazon now has some of John Dickson Carr's books in Kindle format. I checked this out and they are being published by Langtail Press.

The Langtail Press brings back books that have been out of print, or unavailable...The list is primarily geared around Crime/ Mystery novels.

Managing Director James Prichard is a lifelong fan of the Crime/ Mystery genre. Prior to founding The Langtail Press, he has spent a career in publishing, predominantly at HarperCollins where he was most recently Commercial Director. Being from a literary family, James has a lasting link to crime fiction, as his great grandmother was Agatha Christie.

They only have the rights to a few authors and they are only available at Amazon at this point and going for $8.00 a piece.

ANTHONY BERKELEY
*ELIZABETH FERRARS
ELLERY QUEEN
FREDRIC BROWN
FREEMAN WILLS CROFTS
GAVIN BLACK
JAMES HADLEY CHASE
JOAN FLEMING
JOHN DICKSON CARR
P M HUBBARD
RICHARD HULL

They are supposed to be getting 20 new books next month.

http://www.langtailpress.com/

Amazon Langtail Press books:

http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=12957514...angtail&page=1

**Elizabeth Ferrars also used the name E.X. Ferrars and has 2 books published by Doubleday at Amazon at $8.25 each and also at Kobo at $8.69 each (but coupons can be used):

Seeing is Believing - at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Believi...5753083&sr=1-1

Kobo:

http://kobobooks.com/ebook/Seeing-Is...cng/page1.html

Choice of Evils - Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Choice-of-Evil...5753083&sr=1-3

Kobo:

http://kobobooks.com/ebook/Choice-Of...H9w/page1.html

[benham]

Originally Posted by DarkRoast

Cheers, Penforhire. I heard Michael Connelly on the radio recently. He was giving a talk at a writers festival somewhere. One of the things he talked about was the importance of characters in crime fiction, even more than plot.

Michael Connelly is one of my favorite authors. I have been reading him for about 10 yrs on a PDA. So he was early into the ebook format. His Harry Bosch series fits the title of this thread.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by NightBird

Amazon now has some of John Dickson Carr's books in Kindle format. I checked this out and they are being published by Langtail Press.

They only have the rights to a few authors and they are only available at Amazon at this point and going for $8.00 a piece.

It is encouraging to see authors like Frederic Brown in the list as well.

I suppose $8 per ebook isn't shocking. For the most part, these are enjoyable pulp tales locked in their age. Presumably, Langtail has formal (world) rights; the books are professionally edited and formatted; and part of the fee is a royalty to the author's heirs. As an added plus, all the titles are available as print-on-demand for around $15. In most cases, acquiring a paper or hard cover edition from a used / antiquarian book dealer, including postage, would far exceed $8.

But I must add it would be more tempting if cover art were included and some context / history / biography / reminiscences were included to make each edition unique from a mere reprint. That would also help the $8 fee seem more credible than a $4.95 one.

It is commendable, however, that Langtail is pursuing this and I look forward to a little (very) selective sampling.

[Jazz12]

Hi, where did you download the books from? free or had to pay? if you had to pay which is the cheapest site? so many questions?? cheers Jazz

[NightBird]

it would be more tempting if cover art were included and some context / history / biography / reminiscences were included to make each edition unique from a mere reprint. That would also help the $8 fee seem more credible than a $4.95 one.

Good point. Plus you can still get used copies from places like Better World Books or Abe Books for under $4.00.

I'm just hoping that they will be selling at more places than Amazon and the prices come down - or we will be able to use coupons if they go with Kobo/Fictionwise.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by Jazz12

Hi, where did you download the books from? free or had to pay? if you had to pay which is the cheapest site? so many questions?? cheers Jazz

Most of the books in this crime fiction thread are popular authors with ebook editions of their works available for a fee from Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Sony bookstore, Barnes & Noble Nookstore, and a few others. Some titles can be borrowed as ebooks from your local library. I would say a very tiny proportion of the books discussed here on this thread can be legally downloaded for free.

Since I have both a Kindle 3 and a Kobo, my preference is their stores (and the library). Cheers to you!

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by NightBird

Plus you can still get used copies from places like Better World Books or Abe Books for under $4.00.

I doubt that -- for the titles Langtail has in mind. Frederic Brown's The Screaming Mimi can be had from Better World Books "marketplace" for $6.38 + $7.97 shipping ... $14.35 total; Abebooks has a copy for $5.00 + $4.50 shipping ... $9.50 total. That $8 for an e-edition isn't looking so shabby ... but for bare-bones I still think $4.95 is more attractive.

[GA Russell]

Fredric Brown's The Screaming Mimi is available for download from Munsey's for free.

http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/title/Screaming_Mimi

[NightBird]

Good to know, GA!


I only looked at the Carr books:

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/john...n+dickson+carr

The bargain bin ones are $3.00 if you buy the minimum.

Abe:

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...sts=t&x=58&y=5

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Fredric Brown's The Screaming Mimi is available for download from Munsey's for free.

http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/title/Screaming_Mimi

So, technically, that edition may be illegal. That is part of Langtail's risk: adding value to long out of print titles that may be copyrighted, and they may have obtained copyright for, but are nonetheless freely available ... and to the very fan base they hope to carry them to profitability.

[amward]

Wow what a great thread, I haven't even read all the posts but already have lots of new authors to try. I think all of my favourites have been mentioned but I would have to give a gold star to Michael Rowbotham.

Anne