Mysteries/Thrillers

[Deleted]

Thanks for the recs, spordelia. I do like Kathy Reichs, but you're right about the nitpicking. I watch Bones, but it's only possible to do so if I forget it's based on the books (which isn't too hard, since they aren't really the same at all).

Stephen Booth's series sounds like it'd be up my alley as well.

And speaking of Kathy Reichs, I think any of her books stand up well against Patricia Cornwell, who IMO has gotten worse and worse. Gah! Benton 2.0 is just as insufferable as before he "died", Kay's gone from interesting with issues to creepy paranoiac, and don't even get me started on Lucy and Marino. She's a rough-trade lesbian! He's an embittered alcoholic! Eh...whatever.

Another series I really like is Linda Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper series. Sometimes Alex can be just too oh so perfect, with her money, fabulous apartment, summer home on the Vineyard, etc., but unlike Cornwell, Fairstein never lets Alex become a character that's sooooo important that every serial killer in America is gunning for her.

[Deleted]

fernbeau said:

And speaking of Kathy Reichs, I think any of her books stand up well against Patricia Cornwell, who IMO has gotten worse and worse. Gah! Benton 2.0 is just as insufferable as before he "died", Kay's gone from interesting with issues to creepy paranoiac, and don't even get me started on Lucy and Marino. She's a rough-trade lesbian! He's an embittered alcoholic! Eh...whatever.

I quit reading Cornwell after "Trace," because I couldn't stand it any longer. "Trace was actually somewhat tolerable in comparison to "Blowfly," which was utter tripe. (Oddly enough, my mother didn't read "Blowfly," so was totally baffled by Benton's sudden reappearance.)

Another series I really like is Linda Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper series. Sometimes Alex can be just too oh so perfect, with her money, fabulous apartment, summer home on the Vineyard, etc., but unlike Cornwell, Fairstein never lets Alex become a character that's sooooo important that every serial killer in America is gunning for her.

I enjoy the Fairstein books, but you're right about how Alex lives - I think there was much eye-rolling at the first book. Now, it's just how it is.

[kafka]

fernbeau said:

I love the whole spectrum of mystery/thrillers, from talking cats and quilting circles to hard boiled to spy thrillers to serial killers. I've recently gotten into John Sandford's Prey series, which I really like--I'm currently reading Hidden Prey, about a rogue band of still-functioning Soviet-era Russian spies in Northern Minnesota. Any other recommendations for books like these? I guess they'd be police procedurals, sort of? I like the Rebus series, the Lloyd/Hill series by Deborah Crombie, and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, but I never quite warmed to the men of the 87th (?) precinct.

I read a lot of serial killer mysteries but, like you, I could never get into Connelly's 87th Precinct books. Actually, none of Connelly books. I know that's an unpopular opinion but... <shrug>

Sandford's Prey series was great until a few years ago when the quality slipped. If you like his stuff, I highly recommend James Neal Harvey whose books are even better and have been compared to Thomas Harris. "By Reason of Insanity" is great and one of his other books (it might be "By reason of insanity") has probably one of the most chillingly evil serial killers in ANY book I've ever read.

In terms of police procedurals, John Lutz (author of the book which "Single White Female" was based on) has received a lot of acclaim, and both the Edgar and Shamus prizes (several times over) but I'm not very keen on him. I just finished "Fear the Night" and it was a little too long-winded for my tastes. I'd suggest William Diehl instead. He wrote Primal Fear, which was turned into the movie with Richard Gere and Edward Norton. Primal Fear was actually the first in a trilogy, and I recommend all 3 of the books.

[groovethang]

I love the whole spectrum of mystery/thrillers, from talking cats and quilting circles to hard boiled to spy thrillers to serial killers. I've recently gotten into John Sandford's Prey series, which I really like--I'm currently reading Hidden Prey, about a rogue band of still-functioning Soviet-era Russian spies in Northern Minnesota. Any other recommendations for books like these? I guess they'd be police procedurals, sort of? I like the Rebus series, the Lloyd/Hill series by Deborah Crombie, and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, but I never quite warmed to the men of the 87th (?) precinct.

Harry Bosch is great, as is Lucas Davenport (Prey series). I'm a big fan of McBain's 87th Precinct series and while I don't love all of the detectives, Carella is my favorite. I'm really sad that McBain has passed since there won't be any others coming. And I probably wouldn't continue reading the series if they hire someone else to continue writing it.

[queequeg]

I think any of her books stand up well against Patricia Cornwell, who IMO has gotten worse and worse. Gah! Benton 2.0 is just as insufferable as before he "died", Kay's gone from interesting with issues to creepy paranoiac, and don't even get me started on Lucy and Marino. She's a rough-trade lesbian! He's an embittered alcoholic! Eh...whatever.

I totally agree. Her early books are some of the best in the genre in my opinion, but it all went wrong with the whole loup-garou thing. The last book I read of hers was Blowfly and it was so incredibly pretentious and boring that I just gave up.

[Carolinian]

Folks who like Kathy Reichs might want to try Aaron Elkins. His protagonist is a forensic anthropologist, so the bones are dry. I've learned some interesting things about the effect of one's job stresses on one's skeleton-- it makes me wonder how my work has affected my bones-- plus other interesting tidbits, like scatter patterns in open-air disposal of cremated remains. His books are not as grim as Reichs' (you don't get the sense that the characters are going to be in years of therapy after their experiences, for instance) but they are decently written and plotted.

Elkins has also written some Nazi thrillers. (Is there a term for this genre? Novels set post-WWII that revolve around an incident during the war that has repercussions in the modern day.)

[biondetta]

Patricia Cornwall's books these days annoy the heck out of me. The earlier ones were interesting, but the current ones are a joke. Kathy Reichs is much better -- more human, if nothing else.

I'm a huge fan of British detective series, so the mention of Deborah Crombie leads me to suggest the following authors who write in a somewhat similar vein: Ann Granger, Peter Robinson, Jill McGown, and C.F. Roe. Of course Elizabeth George and Martha Grimes are two big names in this genre, as well.

Julie Smith writes two series -- one set in San Francisco, and one set in New Orleans, focusing on Det. Skip Langdon. I've only read the New Orleans books, mainly because I used to live there, but they've been really entertaining. I was particularly amused to see that a character got killed on the street I used to live on!

A quirky series that I like are the books by Dorothy Cannell about Ellie Haskell and her husband Bentley. They're slightly more tea-cosy in style, but they're fairly young in character and filled with humor. Cynthia Smith has also written a series of books around her Emma Rhodes character that sees Emma going off to locations around the world.

If you don't mind a little bit of supernatural thrown into your mystery, I highly highly recommend Phil Rickman's Rev. Merrily Watkins series. She's a Church of England vicar (with a teenage daughter who's a pagan) who is also the deliverance expert for the diocese (i.e., an exorcist). The majority of the characters aren't strongly religious and are often pagans of some sort, so you get a fascinating mix. I'm an athiest, but I love these books. He's such an incredible writer and his characters really come alive. Fantastic dialog and just the right amount of spookiness without any real gore and without having to have too much suspension of belief.

[Deleted]

I've just discovered Peter Robinson, and he's exactly what I'm looking for! I'm dependent on the library, so even though I'm trying to read them in order, there are big gaps. I started with Past Reason Hated, then Wednesday's Child, and now I'm reading In a Dry Season. I feel I've missed a lot of the backstory, though. In Wednesday's Child, Alan Banks still has a respected career, and his marriage has hit a rocky patch but still seems workable, but In a Dry Season opens with him separated from his wife and being stuck with shitty jobs because he's apparently earned the ire of his higher-ups?

I really like Elizabeth George, with a couple of caveats. The character of Deborah grates on my nerves something fierce. I was barely able to finish the one about the brother and sister who had been her friends in California. Maybe I'm insensitive, but she's just so self-pitying and whiny! I also thought the death in the last book was too much. I can't imagine where EG is going to go from there. Perhaps Tommy will completely come unglued? My hope is that we'll get more of Havers and her developing friendship with her neighbor and his daughter. It's been a pleasure seeing Havers move into a semi-normal life, her considerable work problems aside.

[NappingAthena]

fernbeau said:

Another series I really like is Linda Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper series. Sometimes Alex can be just too oh so perfect, with her money, fabulous apartment, summer home on the Vineyard, etc., but unlike Cornwell, Fairstein never lets Alex become a character that's sooooo important that every serial killer in America is gunning for her.

I do enjoy that Fairstein is sure to explain in every book that Cooper's money is inherited from her father, and not that she makes that much as an ADA, even as head of a unit.

[biondetta]

Fernbeau, I haven't read all of the Peter Robinson books yet, and I haven't read them in order, either, so I've gotten a bit confused, as well, although generally, I think the books stand fairly well on their own once they get going. I agree also about the Elizabeth George books. Deborah basically needs to get over herself, and the Havers storyline with the neighbor is great. The interest on both sides that can't quite be acted upon is really enjoyable.