Crime Novels

[hhhhancock]

Are there any members out ther that share a similar passion to mine - the crime novel, particularly police procedurals? I'm a very fast reader and get through between 100 and 150 books a year. I am therefore rapidly running out of authors in this genre to read.



The best of the Brits (in my opinion of course) are Reginald Hill, Ian Rankin and John Harvey, Ameican writers , James Lee Burke, Ross Macdonald and Michael Connelly and others: Henning Mankell, Sjöwall/ Wahlöö and Staalessen. Also the Australian writer Peter Temple.



Any other suggestions would be gratefully received.

[billy bentley]

Not police proceeduals, but you might want to check out some of the books London Books have re-published on it's London Books Classics imprints. "Night and the City", "The Gilt Kid", "They Drive By Night" and "Wide Boys Never work" are all excellent easy reads !

[Lord Brett]

I love the Ed McBain 87th Precinct stories. Many of them are very quick reads, but very satisying.

[Nick Dando]

Green for Danger by Christianna Brandt.

The Falco series by Lindsey Davis

The Lieutenant Must Be Mad, The Night of the Generals and the 20th of July by Hans Hellmut Kirst

Dorothy L Sayers

Agatha Christie

Conan Doyle



Nick

[GRAEME]

The Gideon novels of JJ Marric (AKA John Creasey) starting with Gideon's Day the sourse for the fine John Ford movie.



Ed McBain has been mentioned - but check out Last Seen Wearing... by Hillary Waugh, the grand-daddy of US police procedurals.



The Maigret novels of Georges Simenon and Nicholas Freeling's Van der Valk stories (beginning with Love in Amsterdam) are also all universally excellent.



Don't forget the classic American hardboiled 'tecs! Hammett's Continental Op (Red Harvest, The Dain Curse) and Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Chandler's Marlowe (The Big Sleep). For a more up to date twist, Sara Paretsky's VI Warshawski books (starting with Indemnity Only) are really cracking!

[EllyMack]

I'm not a huge CF fan, but it's my preferred 'grown up' genre. A while ago, I discovered the books of Jim Kelly, whose stories are set around Ely and the Fens. The main character in his first books has been a journalist on the local rag who has lots of contact with the police. Jim's latest book, Death Wore White, is the first of a series that focuses on one of those contacts, a policeman who's working long term to clear his dead detective father of the screw-up that cost him his job.



Jim's a very competent writer, weaves a plot brilliantly and has a tremendous sense of place. Well worth reading.

[batman]

Maurice Proctor's Inspector Martineau novels are pretty good, as are the novels of Robert B Parker (Spenser, Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall). I am also fond of the work of Francis Durbridge, Raymond Chandler and (my guilty pleasure) Mickey Spillane. Closer to home we have the Hazell stories and Mark Billingham's excellent Tom Thorne novels. Boris Starling's Messiah is also pretty good too.

[will.15]

The authors I was going to mention have been mentioned. If you don't mind looking at old stuff, you might want to check out A String of Pearls, published by Oxford Press as Sweeney Todd. It is surprisingly well written and far different and superior to the George Dibdin Pitt theatrical adaptation. The final third definitely has elements of a police procedural as the magistrate investigates with the help of the Bow Street Runners. The novel under its original name is available on the internet

[hhhhancock]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I read all the Chistie, Sayers, Conan Doyle, Simenon books many years ago but you've all been very helpful. I'm certainly going to try Jim Kelly, Nicholas Freeling and Maurice Proctor, they'll be first on my list and then I'll work through your other ideas.

Thanks again.

[Windthrop]

Simon Brett writes some very entertaining crime novels



Simon Brett

[HUGHJAMPTON]

Try the Italian writer, Andrea Camilleri, his books are available in translation.Andrea Camilleri

[jaycad]

name='hhhhancock']Thanks for all your suggestions. I read all the Chistie, Sayers, Conan Doyle, Simenon books many years ago but you've all been very helpful. I'm certainly going to try Jim Kelly, Nicholas Freeling and Maurice Proctor, they'll be first on my list and then I'll work through your other ideas.

Thanks again.

i've just started reading agatha christies work,i started off with 'the hound of death' and 'the mysterious mr quin' (which are not crime stories,i know) and bought 'lord edgeware dies' over the weekend-i hope i'm in for a treat?

[HUGHJAMPTON]

name='jaycad']i've just started reading agatha christies work,i started off with 'the hound of death' and 'the mysterious mr quin' (which are not crime stories,i know) and bought 'lord edgeware dies' over the weekend-i hope i'm in for a treat?

If you like that golden age detective fiction, jaycad, you'll probably like John Dickson Carr, which are not whodunnits, but, how was it done, or the locked room mystery.



Some of his stories, have a supernatural element.



David Renwick, who created Johnathan Creek, was heavily influenced.

[jaycad]

name='HUGHJAMPTON']If you like that golden age detective fiction, jaycad, you'll probably like John Dickson Carr, which are not whodunnits, but, how was it done, or the locked room mystery.



Some of his stories, have a supernatural element.



David Renwick, who created Johnathan Creek, was heavily influenced.

cheers,that sounds like my cup of tea-i'll give him a whirl!

[HUGHJAMPTON]

name='jaycad']cheers,that sounds like my cup of tea-i'll give him a whirl!

Most are out of print now, so your search will have to be in charity shops. If you like though, PM me, and I send you a couple of doubles that I have, buckshee