Crime Fiction Recommendations - Page 21

Steve Anderson · 05-27-2011, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

I'm sorry if he's been mentioned previously, haven't had a chance to work through recently, but Peter Robinson's "police procedurals" are excellent stuff - and there's a lot of them ! Top notch.

Very well written, believable characters, and spot-on details (I was reliably informed by a member of the Met recently), and can be read stand-alone, but as a series even better.

Like James Lee Burke.................... oh, have I mentioned him before ?

James Lee Burke is a great one. I agree with carpetmojo once again!

I've never read Peter Robinson and haven't been into procedurals much. Sounds good though. Maybe I'll have to branch out.

CRussel · 05-28-2011, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

There's nothing like a classic. I recently read my first Ngaio Marsh novel, the second of the Roderick Alleyn tales, Enter A Murderer. Somehow I've never managed to see even the PBS/Brit TV episodes. In this 1935 adventure, Inspector Allen and his sidekick journalist Nigel Bathgate are the scene of a murder that takes place, literally, on stage to a packed house. The dialogue is delicious and the twists-and-turns great fun. Marsh had a solid bead on theatrical people and conjures them up in a delightful manner. Her style is also a reminder of how British mystery writers -- from Agatha Christie to Ian Rankin -- often add a special "readability" ingredient: the way one word follows another reflects an intelligence and "groundedness" not often found elsewhere outside of so-called "literary fiction".

The Ngaio Marsh books are still great today, and there are also excellent Audible.com versions of them.

For fans of higher suspense novels, such as those of Michael Connelly and Robert B. Parker, let me suggest the Jane Whitefield novels of Thomas Perry. My wife and I just discovered them and are reading our way through them. But we have a rule - you can't start one until you have a day free when you can read it, cause otherwise work is NOT going to get done. Once you start...

silverraven · 05-28-2011, 10:38 AM

I didn't see Beverly Connor's Diane Fallon series mentioned. I just finished the second one. They are along the lines of a Kathy Reichs/Patricia Cornwell. I don't know if they are available in ebook, I found them for a quarter each at the library. They are pretty good though.
S

benham · 05-28-2011, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

The Ngaio Marsh books are still great today, and there are also excellent Audible.com versions of them.

For fans of higher suspense novels, such as those of Michael Connelly and Robert B. Parker, let me suggest the Jane Whitefield novels of Thomas Perry. My wife and I just discovered them and are reading our way through them. But we have a rule - you can't start one until you have a day free when you can read it, cause otherwise work is NOT going to get done. Once you start...

So far, I have read Vanishing Act and Death Benefits by Perry. VA is a Jane Whitefield. That was about a year ago and I can't say why I quit

them because I liked them.

for the reminder!

SensualPoet · 05-28-2011, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverraven

I didn't see Beverly Connor's Diane Fallon series mentioned. I just finished the second one. They are along the lines of a Kathy Reichs/Patricia Cornwell. I don't know if they are available in ebook, I found them for a quarter each at the library. They are pretty good though.
S

First in the series: One Grave Too Many
Latest (9th) in the series: One Grave Less

You can find most of these as Kobo and Kindle books for under $6.50.

stonetools · 05-28-2011, 06:05 PM

While listening to the BBC, I came across a radio dramatization of a novel of the Lennox detective series, written by Craig Russell and set in 1950s Glasgow. The dramatization was quite good. You can listen to it HERE

The author's website is HERE.

It appears that the BBC does quite a few dramatizations of mystery novels. Its a good place to discover and research mysteries.

SensualPoet · 05-29-2011, 01:00 PM

Craig Russell's two series -- Jan Fabel in Hamburg and the Lennox series in Glasgow -- sound like great reading. But virtually none of his output is in ebook form. Pity.

sheilalacon · 05-29-2011, 01:48 PM

Yes what about Ian Rankin

John K · 05-29-2011, 08:26 PM

I haven't seen Tony Hillerman mentioned yet. He wrote an 18 book series featuring Navajo Tribal Police detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee available as ebooks.

It's been awhile but I recall reading that his primary objective was to write about the culture of the Native Americans living in the four corners area of the western USA. This is where the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada all meet. He taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and seemed to both understand and admire these people.

The mysteries were all right but I most enjoyed learning about that culture.

SensualPoet · 05-30-2011, 09:46 PM

I would give Giles Blunt's Forty Words for Sorrow, published in 2000, a resounding five stars, if by the highest rating I also meant, most satisfied. It is a brilliant book: the tale drags the reader along, mercilessly, into the warm hearts of the flawed good guys, the chilling heartlessness of the efficient bad guys, their brutality lashing out, page after page. A brilliant book? A deeply disturbing book ... I need a cleanser after this.

Giles Blunt's hero is Detective Inspector John Cardinal, 10 years already on the Algonquin Bay police force somewhere near Huntsville, Ontario. He's a dedicated cop, always struggling to be the best he can, weighed down by an action in his past, and by a wife whose mental illness does collateral damage on his soul, while he tries every day to be the best father to his Yale attending daughter. He's a cop with issues and he's a very, very good cop.

Stir into this mix: Toronto drug mafia infesting his home town of Algonquin Bay; a serial killer on the loose who targets teenagers; a frozen body found in a mine-shaft, a 13 year old whose case Cardinal worked on; and a new female partner who has one foot in Special Investigations and the target is John Cardinal ... the inside snitch who is feeding the local mafia guy "helpful" information for a fee. It's a police procedural with forensics and lead tracking; and a thriller, with a relentlessly suspenseful playing out as another teenage victim runs out of time and Cardinal and his team inch closer ... and closer.

Recommended with the caveat: it's a hard tale to put aside; it's a hard tale not to. And another half dozen books beckon when you're done.

It's on Kindle and Kobo, for under $9.

benham · 05-30-2011, 10:20 PM

FWFS- Great book!

wallcraft · 05-31-2011, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

I would give Giles Blunt's Forty Words for Sorrow, published in 2000, a resounding five stars, if by the highest rating I also meant, most satisfied.

It's on Kindle and Kobo, for under $9.

In the US it is agency priced at $12.99 (on Kindle ASIN: B000OIZV7K).

NightBird · 05-31-2011, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

I would give Giles Blunt's Forty Words for Sorrow, published in 2000, a resounding five stars, if by the highest rating I also meant, most satisfied.

Quote:

Originally Posted by benham

FWFS- Great book!

I agree! I love Giles Blunt. I have read 3 books in this series and have The Delicate Storm but haven't read it yet. Unfortunately, it looks like the latest one in the series, Crime Machine, which came out last year, is going to be very hard to find at a decent price.

issybird · 05-31-2011, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

I'm sorry if he's been mentioned previously, haven't had a chance to work through recently, but Peter Robinson's "police procedurals" are excellent stuff - and there's a lot of them ! Top notch.

Very well written, believable characters, and spot-on details (I was reliably informed by a member of the Met recently), and can be read stand-alone, but as a series even better.

I'm a huge fan of these books. They're in the same class as Reginald Hill, IMO.

orlok · 05-31-2011, 06:53 PM

Has anyone read the last Spenser book (Sixkill) by Robert B. Parker yet? I have loved this author and the Spenser series for so long that I can't bring myself to read it yet, as I know then it will be the last one I'll ever read. I once went back to the start and read every book in the series non-stop, and I may well do it again one day.

If you have read it, I'd be interested to know what you thought of it.

05-31-2011, 06:53 PM	#315
orlok Close to the Edit! Posts: 9,797 Karma: 267994408 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"	Has anyone read the last Spenser book (Sixkill) by Robert B. Parker yet? I have loved this author and the Spenser series for so long that I can't bring myself to read it yet, as I know then it will be the last one I'll ever read. I once went back to the start and read every book in the series non-stop, and I may well do it again one day. If you have read it, I'd be interested to know what you thought of it. Last edited by orlok; 06-01-2011 at 04:09 AM.

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05-28-2011, 10:38 AM	#303
silverraven Guru Posts: 974 Karma: 3438612 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle 4NTB x 4	I didn't see Beverly Connor's Diane Fallon series mentioned. I just finished the second one. They are along the lines of a Kathy Reichs/Patricia Cornwell. I don't know if they are available in ebook, I found them for a quarter each at the library. They are pretty good though. S

05-28-2011, 06:05 PM	#306
stonetools Wizard Posts: 2,016 Karma: 2838487 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Ipad, IPhone	While listening to the BBC, I came across a radio dramatization of a novel of the Lennox detective series, written by Craig Russell and set in 1950s Glasgow. The dramatization was quite good. You can listen to it HERE The author's website is HERE. It appears that the BBC does quite a few dramatizations of mystery novels. Its a good place to discover and research mysteries.

05-29-2011, 01:00 PM	#307
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Craig Russell's two series -- Jan Fabel in Hamburg and the Lennox series in Glasgow -- sound like great reading. But virtually none of his output is in ebook form. Pity.

05-29-2011, 01:48 PM	#308
sheilalacon Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: sony reader	Yes what about Ian Rankin

05-29-2011, 08:26 PM	#309
John K Reader Posts: 266 Karma: 13465550 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle DXG, Kobo Forma	I haven't seen Tony Hillerman mentioned yet. He wrote an 18 book series featuring Navajo Tribal Police detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee available as ebooks. It's been awhile but I recall reading that his primary objective was to write about the culture of the Native Americans living in the four corners area of the western USA. This is where the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada all meet. He taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and seemed to both understand and admire these people. The mysteries were all right but I most enjoyed learning about that culture.

05-30-2011, 09:46 PM	#310
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	I would give Giles Blunt's Forty Words for Sorrow, published in 2000, a resounding five stars, if by the highest rating I also meant, most satisfied. It is a brilliant book: the tale drags the reader along, mercilessly, into the warm hearts of the flawed good guys, the chilling heartlessness of the efficient bad guys, their brutality lashing out, page after page. A brilliant book? A deeply disturbing book ... I need a cleanser after this. Giles Blunt's hero is Detective Inspector John Cardinal, 10 years already on the Algonquin Bay police force somewhere near Huntsville, Ontario. He's a dedicated cop, always struggling to be the best he can, weighed down by an action in his past, and by a wife whose mental illness does collateral damage on his soul, while he tries every day to be the best father to his Yale attending daughter. He's a cop with issues and he's a very, very good cop. Stir into this mix: Toronto drug mafia infesting his home town of Algonquin Bay; a serial killer on the loose who targets teenagers; a frozen body found in a mine-shaft, a 13 year old whose case Cardinal worked on; and a new female partner who has one foot in Special Investigations and the target is John Cardinal ... the inside snitch who is feeding the local mafia guy "helpful" information for a fee. It's a police procedural with forensics and lead tracking; and a thriller, with a relentlessly suspenseful playing out as another teenage victim runs out of time and Cardinal and his team inch closer ... and closer. Recommended with the caveat: it's a hard tale to put aside; it's a hard tale not to. And another half dozen books beckon when you're done. It's on Kindle and Kobo, for under $9.

05-30-2011, 10:20 PM	#311
benham Guru Posts: 882 Karma: 5565888 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Townsend, WI Device: Palm TX, PRS-505 (BLUE)	FWFS- Great book!