If I like the Midsomer Murders books and Inspector Lynley mysteries, what else would I like?

[KatherineLacey]

My favourites are 'The Killings at Badger's Drift' (you'd never have guessed from my username...) and 'For The Sake of Elena' - re Elizabeth George the only thing that bugs me is her determination that practically every main character shoud have a title and/or manor house but I like the books anyway.

I have read a couple of Agatha Christies but I find them a bit sparse and all about plot and not character-driven at all.

Just wondering if anyone had read and enjoyed some similar stuff that they could suggest

Not all that similar really but Donna Leon is great and gives you a wonderful sense of place, although the place is different (Venice).

PD James. You'll love them. Enjoy.

Reginald Hill - pictures of perfection is my favourite, although I suppose they should really be read in order

The early Midsomer Murders were written by Anthony Horowitz: try House of Silk.

OP, you might like Ann Granger's 'Mitchell & Markby' series. Set in an English village, the 'tec has a girlfriend (though it's a slightly fraught relationship) - she's a diplomat but spends a lot of time in her cottage in the village and tends to get caught up in the murders he has to investigate. They're not unlike Midsomer Murders.

Nicola Upson has written a few whodunits, 3 I think, set in the 1930's with the writer Josephine Tey as the 'tec. Those are worth reading too.

As an alternative to Marple you could try some of the many Patricia Wentworth books of the 30's, 40's and 50's (there are a lot ). Her heroine is Miss Silver, basically a Marple figure complete with knitting, but actually I think they're better books - I'm not really an Agatha Christie fan.

Ooh lots of suggestions - thank you. Am looking on Amazon now...

Morse (Colin Dexter), Dalziel and Pascoe (Reginald Hill), Simon Serrailler (Susan Hill), Inspector Wexford (Ruth Rendell). I must say, if you haven't read them I'm quite envious.

I have read and re-read all the DCI Banks books by Peter Robinson, much better than the tv series. You will realise that Stephen Tompkinson is a poor choice for the character.

My dh loves the Michael Innes books. There are lots of them, but you'd have to do a bit of research, I think it makes sense to read some of them before others.

Michael Dibden - Aurelio Zen (don't be put off if you saw it on TV)
, PD James (see above) is one of the best and for something a bit darker try Peter James

Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series set in Canada is well-written, fairly non-gory crime. Interesting descriptions of the relationships between the French and English-speaking communities too.

Don't agree about Agatha Christie at all, I think her characters are more interesting than most modern murder mysteries.

I've been working my way through Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins series since I picked one up in a second hand store. They're set in Herefordshire and the main character, Merrily, is a vicar and a single mum in her 30s - her husband was killed in a car crash along with his secretary/mistress. They are all mysteries but with an element of the supernatural. By the second novel she is the disocesan exorcist, and her teenage daughter Jane leans towards paganism (as well as being quite annoying at times). If you like Midsomer Murders they might be worth a try.

try the susan hill seraillier things
are ace very morse like and middle class - lots of proper coffee and labradors

You might like the Agatha Raisin stories by MC Beaton. Also the Adamsberg novels by Fred Vargas, which are originally French.

I second Ambridge's Patricia Wentworth suggestion - also Georgette Heyer wrote quite a few detective stories. And of course Dorothy L Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey (though didn't you say you weren't overly keen on titles?!).