Mystery lovers, got recs for me?

[scribblinlenore]

Once upon, I was a very avid reader of mysteries. I loved Patricia Cornwell's early books. I love Minette Walters. I like Nancy Picard's amateur detective Jenny Cain. But at some point, mysteries and I just seem to drift apart, and I have no idea who's writing what in the genre anymore. Recently, though, I read The Thirteenth Tale, which I adored.

Comments

[lycomingst]

Reginald Hill, especially his Dalziel & Pascoe books. I rec him to everybody, all the time.

[black_bird_777]

yes, me too. He's an stunningly perfect writer!

[scribblinlenore]

Thanks so much for the rec! I'm definitely going to check these books out.

[scribblinlenore]

*rubs hands together* This is great! I have so many wonderful sounding writers to check out. Thanks so much for the rec!

[astrothsknot]

Spooky-ish contempory fic would be John Connolly's Charlie Parker books, even though they're about a male PI. They may fit your WIW bent.

For something more cat and mouse twisty-turny, try the Scots writer Val McDermid. I'd also recommend reading The Hound of the Baskervilles, even though everyone knows the story. There's something about the original prose.

I'm not doing well for female protagonists, am I?!

[scribblinlenore]

I love spooky! That sounds great. And, hey, didn't Val McDermid write the books that the TV series Wire in the Blood is based on? Because I LOVE that series.

Thanks so much for the recs!

[astrothsknot]

Indeed she did. You might also try The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, but I forget who writes them and Ian Rakin's Rebus novels

I forgot to mention, Jane Hill writes about women who find themselves in mysterious circumstances. She's just about to publish book three.

And hey, don't mention it. Good books need to be advertised amongst friends, because you can't trust critics.

[tzi]

I'm a complete whore for Elizabeth Peter's "Amelia Peabody" series. The first couple of books are slow, but once you get past that, it's all fun and games. Also, I'm not so secretly in love with Ramses. And possibly a little bit with David.

[scribblinlenore]

Cool! Thanks so much for the rec, doll. I'm going to check it out.

[beledibabe]

Seconding Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody books, and also Donna Andrews' Meg Lanslow series -- she also did 3 books with an artificial intelligence sleuth, named Turing Hopper, which are great fun.

Elaine Viets has a couple of series, all of which are very funny. Dana Cameron's sleuth is an archeologist in New England, and her books are excellent. Ellen Crosby's Virginia wine country books are fascinating. SJ Rozan has a series that alternates between Lydia Chin, her female sleuth, and Bill Smith, her assistant. Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan series is set in Baltimore, and is full of local color, and her standalones are brilliant.

I'll stop now, but if you'd like more recs, let me know and I'll pass them on.

[scribblinlenore]

These all sound great! I grew up in Virginia and had many a happy jaunt to the VA wine country while I was in college, so that sounds especially appealing.

Thanks so much for the recs!

[beledibabe]

Cool! Then Donna Andrews' Meg Lanslow books should also appeal -- many of them are set in a small, (fictional) college town in that area of Virginia. And the characters are a hoot!

Oh, and (tooting my own horn, here) if you like mystery short stories, Chesapeake Crimes 1, 2 and 3 are full of good ones. (My own small offerings are in vols 2 and 3.)

[tehomet]

Smilla's Sense of Snow (a.k.a. Ms Smilla's Feeling for Snow, or Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow, depending on the publisher/translator/phase of the moon) is fecking brilliant! I recommend it to you. :)

[tehomet]

I should also mention that it has a female detective (as you probably gathered from the title), is totally rivetting, has some killer lines, and its mystery is utterly unguessable.