Mysteries/Thrillers

[girlnamedcarl]

Huge fan of the genre here, especially the subcategory of serial-killer-on-the-loose, FBI-profiling, etc.

I've discovered some pretty good authors; John Connelly, Michael Marshall and Jack Kerley are some of my recent favorites.

What about you guys? Any favorite sub-genres? Favorite authors? Least favorites? Dish!

[dnt]

Ooh, I love mysteries! John Connelly is one of my favorite writers. I love the relationship between Angel, Louis and Bird. Other favorites: Andrew Vachss, Carol O’Connor, Anna Salter, Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. I also just discovered Tess Gerrittsen. Some of her stuff is a little uneven, but on the whole, nice leisure reading.

I really wish Judy Mercer would come out with a new book. She started this great series with an amnesiac protagonist and then just…stopped. No new book in a few years and yet the last one wasn’t like a series finale or anything.

[Deleted]

I'm not a huge mystery fan, but I just love Agatha Christies. I've read them all, some of them several times.

One more recent mystery, "All Emergencies, Ring Super" by Ellen Emerson White was a fun book to read, and I saw somewhere that a sequel is "projected for fall 2005," but it's almost winter and I'm still waiting.... I keep checking on Amazon/Barnes and Noble.com--yes, I'm a bit pathetic that way, I freely admit it.

[sleepy]

Oooh, my guilty pleasure! I love this stuff. Even when it's bad.

But yes, Connelly is quite good. Although I haven't liked his other books as much as the first one I read (Poet).

I finally read the book before Silence of the Lambs...uh....forgot the title...Red Dragon? Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, Hannibal, on the other hand, can suck it.

And I used to love Patricia Cornwell. Now? Not so much. I keep trying with her, though, because I figure she's got to come out with a good one again eventually.

[Laira]

I love Steven Saylor's historical mysteries set in ancient Rome. They give a lot of historical detail without turning into a dry history lesson, and the characters are interesting.

[Deleted]

I have just finished the first in that series, Laira, and enjoyed it heaps. I ordered some more from Amazon, enough to tide me over until the Xmas list kicks in. I've also read everything in print from a couple other mystery series set in ancient Rome, if you haven't tried them already, by Lindsey Davis and David Wishart.

I don't really care about "whodunit" when I read historical mysteries, I like the escapism of being taken to a different time and place. And I feel like I'm learning something, if the books appear to be well-researched. I know way more than I ever expected to about ancient Rome (thanks to above authors), Elizabethan England (Fiona Buckley, Philippa Gregory), Wales at the time of Edward I (Sharon Kay Penman), 8th Century Ireland (Sister Fidelma mysteries by Peter Tremayne...after reading them I am quite convinced the Irish saved civilization, just like that book title says they did), 14th Century Cambridge (Brother Bartholemew series by Susannah Gregory) and whatever century England Brother Cadfael inhabits (13th?)

[pepper67]

whatever century England Brother Cadfael inhabits (13th?)

The 12th, I think. 1148 or so?

I love the Brother Cadfael mysteries, and I think it's a shame there's only 21 of them. I like most of Ellis Peters' books though, and fortunately there are quite a few of them.

Another author I love is Margery Allingham. Her Campion series is tons of fun, IMO. Well written, and Campion is quirky enough to entertain.

But one of the best (again, IMO) has to be Dorothy L. Sayers, especially her Lord Peter Wimsey series. I've raved about the TV series in the British TV thread, but the books are fantastic reads and thoroughly entertaining.

[girlnamedcarl]

Agggggggh! I just listened to the worst thriller ever[/i] on audiobook: "Blindside," by Catherine Coulter. It was horrible: the plot was predictable, the dialogue was awful, the messages about women's role in society were reprehensible. Even the voice reading was terrible. Worst of all were the voices and dialogue attributed to two children, ages 5 and 6. For starters, kids that age don't speculate about a parent's ability to telecommute. They just don't. And the whiny voices -- gaah!!

Why has this woman sold umpteen bajillion books? WHY?

[dnt]

I'm pretty sure Catherine Coulter's fan base is from her romance books. Maybe she saw the success Janet Evanovich had and thought she'd give mysteries a try.

I am so sad that Evan Hunter is dead. I really loved his 87th Precinct series and he usually has a new book out around Christmas. I hate that there won't be any more. And I refuse to read any posthumously published books if someone tries to do the VC Andrews thing.

I suppose amongst the next to go will be John Mortimer, creator of the Rumpole series, which I also love. There's no new Rumpole book out this year; instead, he's published a memoir.

[sleepy]

Evan Hunter also seemed like a very nice man. My mom and stepdad used to own a small independent bookstore, and he happened to come in one day when my step-dad was sitting at the counter reading one of his books. He was way cool and unassuming, according to my stepdad. I tease my stepdad -- of course he was nice, he caught you reading one of his books! But he came across as genuinely kind.