Holiday reading suggestions please - NOT CHICK-LIT like HMC!

[GDG]

Like books by Dan Brown, Harlan Coben, Stephen King and quite like Donna Tartt.

Any suggestions?

I like Mark Billingham books - first one is called Sleepyhead. They're about a police detective in London solving some fairly nasty crimes (I'm not selling this am I??) but they're written in a really relaxed easy-reading and the characters & situations are believable.
Also Dean Koontz, Mark Morris, Graham Masterton & Shaun Hutson are all a bit Stephen King-y

I like Mark Billingham and can loan GDG a couple

The River by Tricia Wastvedt

Have you tried Richard North Patterson? V. good legal-y thrillers, bit like Scott Turow.

Oh, didn't see anyone had replied earlier! Thanks - will borrow something from JT by Mark Billingham. Thanks for other suggestions -will have a look and read the backs of those while out tomorrow

Jeffrey Deaver.
Kathy Reichs.

do you like English police stuff/thrillers?

"What a Carve-Up!" by Jonathan Coe.
It's a murder mystery of sorts, a really good read, though not at all schlocky.
I defy you not to laugh - he throws in hilarious little bits though it is not a comedy novel at all. Not at all.

Any suggestions for really good crime thrillers?My particular fav is Ian Rankin- Rebus is a great character.Ive read them all now so need to find another excellent sleuth

Have you read any Martina Cole?

Donna Leon's series set in Venice is absolutely brilliant (and there are about 15!)
Am going through them and am totally addicted (am not usually a crime/thriller reader)

wt - Peter Robinson - Inspector Banks series - not quite as bleak as Rebus, best ones IMHO "The Summer that Never was" and "Aftermath".
Ian Harvey - Resnick series
Dalziel and Pascoe series by Reginald Hill - (some of the more recent ones are IMHO a bit whimsical and indulgent), so would avoid the most recent ones.

Oh yes, the Donna Leon ones are good. I also like the Michael Dibdin Aurelio Zen series set in Italy.

If you are into the scottish settings, the Garnethill trilogy by Denise Mina is good, very hardhitting at times. Also Christopher Brookmyre Jack Parlablane books (very very black humour!)

I like Margaret Atwood - would recommend Cat's Eye and The Robber Bride.

I love Harlan Coben, would recommend a new author called Stuart Macbride, Stone Granite and the follow up Dying light..... couldn't put em down.

Also Bad Moon Rising by Sheila Quigley was good.

both of these books are cop thillers which are not american as I prefer english ones, although I would worship at the temple of Harlan

I agree with wrinkly - if you haven't read the Ian Rankin Rebus detective series then I would certainly recommend it. Start from the beginning though and read them in order.

Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander detective series is also very good. You don't have to read them in order - I think I started with Sidetracked - see if you like any of them and if you do, you could always read the whole lot.

Other than that, I noticed Ottakars have got a section at the moment on 'books that have changed people's lives' (or something like that - probably not so dramatic!) - they had some great novels in that section that might be worth revisiting.

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse is very good, another 'grail' gripper.

martha grimes writes a great series with insp richard jury and a host of quirky characters wrapped around a good mystery. Some more darker than others, start with the early ones and work up.