Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

Original poster

Searching for an intelligent crime novel

114 replies

Finbar · 10/10/2016 15:00

Am new to this thread so apologies if this has been done before.,,
I like crime thrillers on TV, BUT any I've read have been frankly pants.
Quite obvious who the killer is OR so obtuse you'd never get it until the last page. Plus the female lead seems to have to sleep with at least one of the potential suspects.
Any suggestions for something a bit more meaty?

OP posts:
bertdynamite · 12/10/2016 19:38

Stuart Macbride - his novels set around Aberdeen have such a dark humour. I think it's better to read them in order.

beatricequimby · 12/10/2016 19:32

V I Warshawski series by Sara Paretsky. Intelligent, feminist detective stories set in Chicago, often with a political background. Detective has aged in real time over the years so is now in her fifties.

TheCrowFromBelow · 11/10/2016 21:19

Great thread thank you I shall try some of these. I've been caught out by a lot of kindle stuff recently.
I really enjoyed Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie novels, they are not run of the mill crime style.
Ian Rankin is great. I'm re-reading the series at the moment.

OnceMoreIntoTheBleach · 11/10/2016 21:14

Joanna Price has done a couple and they were great. She's a friend of a friend but I'm not biased, didn't realise until I had read them! They are set in Somerset and great female lead.

snowman1 · 11/10/2016 21:11

So many new novelists, I am so glad I clicked on this! I would also try Poppet by Mo Hayder - very scary stuff. Out by Natsuo Kirino is a novel translated from the Japanese, completely plausible stories of people doing extreme things in extreme circumstances.

cherrytree63 · 11/10/2016 21:07

Ruth Rendell/ Barbara Vine.
Margaret Atwood.
Anita Shreve.

2catsandadog · 11/10/2016 21:00

I like Stephen Booth. He writes novels set in the Peak District, which is very local to me. The early ones are better, in my opinion.

Doubleaxel · 11/10/2016 20:55

Brainy crime fiction?
Rankin
Cleeves
Susan Isaacs

Cloeycat · 11/10/2016 20:53

Anything by Tana French. Also i quite like Camilla Lackbergs books- there is an order to them but also work stand alone if you can't get your hands on them in order.

Forgetmenotblue · 11/10/2016 20:51

Also place marking for when I can write these down!

Agree with pp that Tana French is excellent.

ffon · 11/10/2016 20:46

I gave up on Harlan Coben as they seemed very repetitive.
I enjoy Lee Child though really not what I thought I liked. They are macho American, the hero sleeps with a female character in many of them.
I love Peter Robinson.
If you go earlier then I'd recommend Ngaio Marsh.

Clawdy · 11/10/2016 20:38

The early P D James and Ruth Rendell were excellent.

dovesong · 11/10/2016 15:17

Cannot recommend Tana French's books highly enough. Intelligent, beautifully written etc.

takesnoprisoners · 11/10/2016 15:14
froubylou · 11/10/2016 15:06

I liked the Simon Serralier series and also the Shetland and Vera series by Anne Cleeves.

Have just read the newest Shetland one over the weekend and am scouting around for something new to get my teeth into.

I love autumn/winter for a good crime series to snuggle up with.

PlasticBertrand · 11/10/2016 15:00

Fred Vargas for intelligent and offbeat.

SenecaFalls · 10/10/2016 20:21

Some that have already been mentioned but I second
Rankin
PD James
Ruth Rendell
Ann Cleeves
Susan Hill

Also earlier books by Patricia Cornwell (later ones not so good)

Ylvamoon · 10/10/2016 20:15

The Corpse Reader by Antonio Garrido
It's not a pure crime novel. More of a fictional account of the early years of Song Ci, the Chinese founding father of forensic sciences. So, plenty of "crime" mixed with history and fiction! Different & definitely not boring.

I loved it, but than I do love historical novels.

Lucienandjean · 10/10/2016 19:50

Peter Lovesey's Peter Diamond novels

Kate Ellis' Wesley Peterson novels.

Soozikinzi · 10/10/2016 19:45

Walter Mosely American writer

Soozikinzi · 10/10/2016 19:43

Jo Nesbo Norweigan police/political writer
Dashiel Hammet ,Ed McBain, Raymond chandler ...old school
Ann Cleeves who writes Vera

Kettricken · 10/10/2016 19:33

How about PD James? I've only read a few but liked them.

Sidge · 10/10/2016 19:31

Oh yes! How could I forget Harlen Coben?!

Sidge · 10/10/2016 19:31

My favourite intelligent crime authors are:

Dennis Lehane
Robert Crais
Lee Child
Mark Billingham

Soozikinzi · 10/10/2016 19:29

Have you tried Harlen Corben ?

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.