Cozy crime?

[buggyRunner]

I'm a new convert (mainly as I've exhausted Tami hoag at our library and Linda le plante gives me night mares!)
I'm currently reading Hazel holt- but her main character is a lot older. Any other recommendations? I like the character depths and the flow

For God's sake, do not read Chris Carter if you like cosy. He's getting rather carried away with the murder methods. I have a cast iron gut, but have found my tipping point. I love cheap disposable crime novels but tend to buy more of them on kindle or secondhand. Slaughter/Gerritsen/Carter and Gardner I buy in book form.

I read Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardiner, Tess Gerritsen, Alex Kava, M J Kerley, Lisa Jackson - I only like American crime. I used to read Cornwell but have grown weary of the character. Oliver Stark writes more complex character driven crime novels- 'American Devil' and '88 Killer' are two of his titles but they are not cosy.

Oh, and Andrea Camilleri's 'Inspector Montalbano' series- recommended by DH.

Montalbano - yes,yes,yes!!! Avidly reach every one a s soon as it is translated, and the recent tv series was very true to the characters.

We love the series also. The food..........They are good on Kindle also as such quick reads compared to doorstop books that they seem comparatively expensive.

Any other suggestions for translated crime /thrillers?

Montalbano - love it! Current addiction.

Have recently accidentally borrowed Laurie King's Mary Russell books - may not be everyone's cup of tea though. Might be considered sacrilegious in some quarters. But easy reading. Somehow reminds me of Smilla's Feeling for Snow.

HOw about Lindsay Davis' Roman mysteries? They are quite good.

Agatha Raisin? By MC Beaton, Hamish Macbeth author.

OOh, have just seen that the Montalbano series is being repeated on BBC4. starting tonight with the first episode ( which I previously missed) - have already detailed DS to record it...

Not much good if you don't like period, but Georgette Heyer's crime books are fab. I got 4 from the charity shop and found them really readable and good for unwinding (if I read books with an 'excitable' plot I struggle to sleep!)

Wrt Agatha Raisin series, start from the first one. I read one random one first and thought it a bit crap, but a friend recommend I try again but read them in order and I really enjoyed it.

Has anyone come across Colin Cotterill's books set in Laos, of all the unlikely places? The main character is the country's only coroner. There are quite a few of them now and I keep meaning to read the first one ('The Coroner's Lunch') which I have kicking around somewhere. Judging by reviews they're slightly akin to the Montalbano books, ie quite gentle and nothing too gruesome.

Also, I can recommend a series of books by Ann Purser which are set in a small English village and feature a cleaning lady called Lois Meade. It's distinctly Midsomer Murders-ish, iyswim. They're called things like 'Murder on Monday', 'Terror on Tuesday', etc etc. (and I've just noticed, on Googling, that she's written 12 of them, blimey). At one point they weren't easy to get over here and only seemed to be published in the States (they're mad for a cosy mystery, those Yanks!), but I think you can get most of them on Amazon now.

In fact Ann P has started another spin-off crime series with a heroine/private 'tec from her 'Round Ringford' village sagas, which is also good 'cosy' reading and surprisingly well-written and involving.

Cara Black - aimeé Le duc mysteries set in Paris- Murder in the Marais
Claude Izner - victor legris mysteries set in 1900 Belle Époque Paris written by two French sisters under the pen name Claude Izner
Eg The Montmartre Investigation
Camilla Lackberg- murder mysteries set in seaside Swedish village of Fjallbäcka.
Liza Marklund - stories about journalist Anita Bengtzon in Stockholm. Some grizzly but mostly q light reading.
Yrsa Sigadurdöttir - novels about Reykjavik solicitor , Thora gudmundsdottir not too gorey- lol

Yay for montalbano's return. Me and dd love him

I liked the Montalbano books so far, but for some reason can never quite watch a whole episode even though I like the bits where he strips off and goes for a swim and I like the shots of Ragusa etc

think reading is just somehow easier than watching stuff, when you are reading you just forget everything else but when watching feel horribly irritated at thought of having to sit still for so long?

Have just finished 2 montalbano books in a row. What to do from now until tv montalbano time!? I suppose I could go and see about food ...

Eat large bowl pasta with a bottle of chianti with at least 4 interruptions and 2 urgent phone calls

Well there's always Alexander McCall Smoth who is very cosy.

I second Ann Cleeves. She's a wonderful writer in the tradition of Agatha Christie but more naturalistic, and not too graphic. Cosy-ish.

He eats more different stuff in the books than in the tv shows.

yes, books lead to nightmares about dumplings made from neonatal sea creatures

There are some lovely books by Simon Brett called the Fethering Mysteries - the first one is called The Body on the Beach and believe me, I was delighted when I read it to hear that there are about 12 more! They are about Carole, a retired stiff-upper-lipped civil servant, and Jude, her unlikely homeopathic friend, and are set on the Sussex coast. (yeay!). I found them in our library as the author is a local.

Also if you like Cornwall, try Janie Bolitho - her Rose Trevelyan novels are very good, although I really couldn't get the critics' comparison of the heroine to Miss Marple.

Hmm, maybe will try the Simn Brett, tho' I find his radio series irritatingly smug-middle-class-north-london-home-counties

I've only read one Simon Brett (Hanging in the Hotel or something like that). I'll probably read more if I see it but I didn't like it that much. Maybe because I read it after reading a Diana Wynne Jones book. Her writing flowed, his read like one sentence after another, if you see what I mean ...

Like the sound of Colin Coterill- Would never have imagined a crime series set in Laos although I am sure they have their fair share of crime too.

Agree with ann cleeves and elly griffiths, also try Dorothy Simpson, if you want some cosy, very english crime, set in kent with inspector thanet, feels a little dated sometimes, i always imagine 80s dresses and hairdos...

if you don't mind very dated, you could try ngaio marsh, an author from new zealand, for me has a very simialr feel to agatha christie, often set in/around the theatre