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Original poster

Crime fiction recommendations please

39 replies

stainesmassif · 26/06/2014 06:57

I want a gripping, unputdownable crime thriller. Eg, girl with dragon tattoo before we realised it was actually a bit rubbish. I love Elmore Leonard, especially for the dialogue and Barbara vine for the suspense.

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HovePaul · 10/07/2014 21:20

Elizabeth Haynes
Lisa Cutts
Nina De La Mer
Mel Sherratt
Sheila Quigley.

Why do women so often write better crime than men? (Present company excluded of course...) :)

dingalong · 08/07/2014 23:52

This reply has been deleted

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Cocolepew · 30/06/2014 20:51

Im reading tbe new Peter James atm. Its very good so far.

honeybeeridiculous · 30/06/2014 19:54

Anything by Peter James
Iv read all his, the Roy Grace series are the best, can't wait to get his new one

Original poster
stainesmassif · 30/06/2014 08:11

Didn't like kathy reichs. Too much extrapolation iirc.

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Original poster
stainesmassif · 30/06/2014 08:10

I tried pd James as a kid when I ran out of agatha Christies. Bit of a reach back then, will investigate now.

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Original poster
stainesmassif · 30/06/2014 08:09

BlushBlushBlushBlushBlushBlush When I wrote Barbara vine, my brain was thinking minette Walters. What can I say?

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SconeRhymesWithGone · 29/06/2014 20:59

I really do need to read Karin Slaughter, especially since I grew up in a small town in Georgia similar to the setting of some of her books.

SconeRhymesWithGone · 29/06/2014 20:52

My favorite PD James is, and forever will be, Shroud for a Nightingale. One of my most treasured possessions is an inscribed copy a friend got for me at a book signing in London years ago.

lairyhegs · 29/06/2014 20:47

Kathy Reichs, Karen Slaughter. Both have series, both good writers, easy to read, leave you wanting to get hold of the next one.

SconeRhymesWithGone · 29/06/2014 20:46

I have read a couple of Stuart MacBride's which I liked. Speaking of the "Tartan Noir" genre, Denise Mina is very good.

LeBearPolar · 29/06/2014 20:35

Interesting that you enjoy Barbara Vine but not Ruth Rendell Grin

I love crime fiction and am a fan of American authors particularly. I didn't enjoy Chelsea Cain but am a fan of John Sandford, Jeffrey Deaver, Karin Slaughter and Richard Montanari.

Jenbob80 · 29/06/2014 20:26

P. D. James all the way. Her early novels were brilliant and spine chilling. Try 'Unnatural Causes' - fairly short but will give you a great taste of her style.

SconeRhymesWithGone · 29/06/2014 18:38

I recommend the Britt Montero series by Florida writer Edna Buchanan. They are mostly set in Miami.

BobPatandIgglePiggle · 29/06/2014 10:18

Danielle Ramsay - crime set in the North East of England - Whitley Bay. Fantastic.

Lovelydiscusfish · 29/06/2014 10:15

Yes, the Scarpetta novels are just dreadful now, in my opinion. Just endless dialogue and nothing really happening. And the characters have all become smug, introspective and entirely unsympathetic.
Yet I still read them, so more fool me!

Original poster
stainesmassif · 29/06/2014 09:53

Yep, scarpetta went downhill, didn't she.

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SconeRhymesWithGone · 28/06/2014 19:18

Patricia Cornwall's earlier books in her Kay Scarpetta series are really good; the later ones not so much.

SconeRhymesWithGone · 28/06/2014 19:17

Ian Rankin's Rebus series.

I second Ruth Rendell, Susan Hill, and PD James.

DoctorTwo · 27/06/2014 09:43

The Charlie Parker novels by John Connolly.

SaltyandSweet · 27/06/2014 09:40

JD Robb's "In Death" series, there are 30+ books, and I'm on book 22 and seriously hooked! Think the first in the series is "Naked In Death"

Original poster
stainesmassif · 27/06/2014 06:45

I've read one of the Harry Holes, but I found it dragged quite a bit. And for some reason I can't pinpoint, I've never enjoyed Ruth rendell. Love scandy wallander on TV, and fairly sure I've read a couple of those, too.

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Lovelydiscusfish · 27/06/2014 06:33

If you like Scandinavian things, then the Harry Hole books by Jo Nesbo, the Wallander books (forget who wrote them), and the Martin Beck books by Wahloo and Sojwall are all great in my opinion.
I also love PD James, Ruth Rendell, and, as someone recommended earlier, the Inspector Banks books are brilliant, and lovely to read because of the setting.

Original poster
stainesmassif · 27/06/2014 06:07

Just downloaded the hundredth man - reads a bit like Miami vice!

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ameliarose2012 · 26/06/2014 22:42

I second Sophie Hannah, but start at the beginning. The earlier ones are much better than the last 2. I also like the Peter Robinson Inspector Banks series. Though that's partly because it's set in the Yorkshire Dales, which is almost where I live, so I recognise a lot of the locations

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