I grew up devouring every science fiction, fantasy, and even-remotely-weird book I could get my hands on, so it’s not a complete surprise that I would end up writing science fiction, myself. What may be surprising is that I don’t read that much of it anymore. Not even the wonderful, mind-bending stuff that can be had at a touch of a button these days (not all of it, anyway— I loved 14, by Peter Clines; 11/22/63 by Stephen King; and Spoonbenders, by Daryl Gregory; The Border, by Robert McCammon).
I used to feel like a real jerk for not reading extensively in my own field. What the heck happened? But it didn’t take too much soul-searching to figure out the problem. I work in the SF field. When I read fiction, I want to goof off. And the best way to do that is to read a different genre. Mystery fits the bill perfectly—it’s still nicely weird, and it uses its own form of the scientific method to solve problems. The characters are heroes or anti-heroes (or some interesting point on that spectrum) engaged in an age-old battle to maintain the balance. Shazam! Sign me up for Audible (my favorite format)!
I couldn’t give you the numbers, but my impression is that at least as many mystery novels are written every year as science fiction/fantasy novels, so I usually have a wide range of talented writers to choose from when I’m using my monthly credit for a new audio book. But I do have my favorite characters, and I’ll buy a book about them without a second thought.
Kay Scarpetta (Patricia Cornwell)
Kay is a smart gal, obsessed with detail and consumed by the particulars of any puzzle that’s put before her, and those are interesting qualities in medical examiner. But what I like about her is that she’s a bit of a sore-nosed bear. She’s got good reasons to feel that way: a lifelong struggle to prove her worth in a field dominated by men; some vicious and implacable enemies she’s earned along the way (on both sides of the law); a collection of screwed-up family members and friends about whom she’s constantly worrying; and a large pile of sorrows that grows bigger with every year she continues to Fight the Good Fight. Kay practices restraint so diligently, when she finally does lose her temper about something, she doesn’t kid around. Afterward, she vacillates between feeling bad about losing her temper and being pissed off that she’s got a reputation for being difficult. I love that about Kay Scarpetta.
Dr. Alex Delaware (Jonathan Kellerman)
Dr. Delaware’s stories are a slow burn, because he’s not the sort of guy to jump to conclusions. Abnormal (criminal) psychology isn’t even his specialty – his field is pediatric psychology, and when he’s not treating young patients, he’s testifying in custody hearings. But Alex’s good friend is Milo Sturgis, a homicide detective, and Dr. Delaware has a talent for helping to puzzle out motives and leads in the most peculiar cases that pop up in a landscape famous for odd people: Los Angelis. Alex’s sensitive approach to witnesses and suspects, and his knack for asking the right questions, make him a fascinating guy to follow through the labyrinth of a case. But it’s no lark for him—he’s suffered personal consequences for his involvement, and he sometimes walks a knife edge between professional curiosity and obsession.
Harry Bosch (Michael Connelly)
Harry Bosch is a knight in tarnished armor, a brave and honorable detective who has stepped over a lot of lines in his time. But you can definitely see how and why that happens, and Harry is the sort of guy you’d want fighting in your corner. He’s had a tough life, not the least of which was his time fighting in the tunnels under Viet Nam. Harry has had as many conflicts with the chain of command at the police stations where he’s worked as he’s had with suspects. His personal life is a bit of a mess, too. But his willingness to work through all of that and keep his eyes on the target keeps me fascinated with his stories.
Mickey Haller (also Michael Connelly)
Mickey Haller had me at The Lincoln Lawyer, and I wish there were more books about him. He’s Harry Bosch’s half-brother, but the only thing they have in common is dedication. Mickey has no problem defending people who are guilty—in fact, he never asks them if they did the deed. What’s important to him is the Rule of Law in court, and standing up for people who wouldn’t otherwise get a vigorous defense. These ideals don’t always mesh well with the real world, so Mickey has painted himself into a corner with a few clients who have proven to be as dangerous to him as they were to the people they killed. How he fights those clients while still maintaining his role as their lawyer is engrossing.
Matthew Shardlake (C.J. Sansom)
In Matthew Shardlake’s stories, killers and bad players aren’t the only threat to him and his loved ones. The very society in which they live is a danger. Matthew is practicing law in the courts of King Henry VIII, and often finds himself embroiled in the intrigues of the powerful and the ruthless, during a time when the Church is sundering and being on the wrong side of that argument can get you burned at the stake. Add to that the fact that Matthew is a hunchback in a time when people assumed a physical problem was a sign of bad character, and Master Shardlake has quite a lot to contend with. Sometimes it’s courage that gets him through, sometimes it’s sheer desperation. But it’s always engrossing.
Emily Devenport’s short stories have appeared in Asimov’s SF, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Clarkesworld, Uncanny, and the Mammoth Book of Kaiju. Her day job is at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. She is an aspiring geologist, an avid hiker and gardener, and a volunteer at the Desert Botanical Garden. Her novel Medusa Uploaded is now available from Tor Books.
I still like the scientist/detective Wendell Urth in Asimov’s Mysteries by Issac Asimov.
They may be more suspense than mystery, but check out Greg Rucka’s Atticus Kodiak novels if you haven’t already. Start with Keeper and read them in publication order. Each of the first four work as self-contained stories, but they all build on the previous installments.
Great post. I love Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller. Plus the TV series on Amazon is excellent. Titus Welliver IS Harry Bosch.
Here are a few other suggestions:
Lincoln Rhyme by Jeffrey Deaver.
Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, by Robert Crais.
Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell, by James Lee Burke
And of course, Harry Dresden. But that’s fantasy too.
According to the last trade figures I saw, the mystery genre is bigger than sf/f so no surprise there. Urban fantasy’s plots are mysteries. The early Harry Dresden novels were noir detective plots, Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels started out as amateur detective novels, and Simon Green’s Eddie Drood novels were spy novels. Essentially, every mystery type has urban fantasy examples. There’s also paranormal mysteries, one of my particular favorites. Science fiction mysteries tend to be of the more humorous variety including the works of Jason Fforde and John Travis. So, you need not step out of your comfort zone for a mystery or two.
I’ll second the recommendation for Robert Crais, and not only Elvis and Joe, but also his new team: Scott James and Maggie, a German Shepherd back from Iraq.
Phryne Fisher, by Kerri Greenwood. Smart, sexy, thoroughly modern, and great escapism, both for the decadent luxury and the adventures.
I enjoy Lindsey Davis’s Falco (now Albia) series set in Flavian-era Rome: I’m not an expert on the mystery genre but I find the characters and the sense of humour particularly appealing (these books led to some entertaining discussions in an online course I took on Ancient Rome).
Robert Van Gulik’s Judge Dee novels and stories, set in Tang Dynasty (7th century) China. The works cover Dee serving as district Magistrate, solving and judging cases around the Empire, eventually being promoted to Lord Chief Justice. In many of the novels, he’s working on two or three cases simultaneously, but, unlike a lot of Western detective fiction, they are usually unrelated. Several of the works have borderline-supernatural elements. Van Gulik was a Dutch diplomat stationed in the Far East during the 1940’s-1950’s, and was an amateur Sinologist who also published monographs on Chinese art and culture, and who was highly respected by Chinese scholars.
For a similar flavor to the Lindsey Davis books, try John Maddox Roberts’ SPQR series. John is an SF writer as well, so great world-building.
I also love Sarah Caudwell’s work starring Hilary Tamar- an historian of law. Set in England, and dealing with the British legal system, the books are hilarious. Jo Walton reviewed them several years ago.
https://www.tor.com/2011/02/04/charming-quirky-delightful-sarah-caudwells-hilary-tamar-mysteries/
Dresden!
Lots of good suggestions in the comments. I’ll definitely second Falco and Robert Crais.
I got turned off of Jonathon Kellerman pretty early on when everything always wound up being a huge conspiracy, though his one-off about a homicide team on the Jerusalem police force was pretty good. I’ve always preferred his wife Faye’s series with an LAPD detective and Orthodox Jews.
I would also strongly recommend the Dr. Siri Paiboun series by Colin Cotterill. Set in Laos in the 70s right after the Communists came to power. They’re even essentially fantasy or magical realism, since Dr. Siri frequently sees the ghosts of the victims whose deaths he is investigating. It is one of those series that steadily amasses secondary characters (like the Amelia Peabody books; also recommended), but they’re always fun even when they deal with really serious things like the Cambodian Killing Fields.
Don’t forget the british, scotish and irish writers and their series. Ian Rankin with John Rebus, Brian McGill way with Inspector Devlin, Benjamin Black with ME Quirk, John Lawton with Frederick Troy, Gordon Ferris with Douglas Brodie, Stuart Neville with Jack Lennon, Declan Hughess, Declan Burke, Tana French, Denise Mina, Barry Maitland, Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and lastly William McIllvanney with Laidlaw.
I have long been a fan of M.C. Beaton’s Scottish Constable Hamish MacBeth. I also liked the TV show, although it had a very different feel than the books.
Janet Evanovich’s “Stephanie Plum” books are an occasional guilty pleasure of mine. I mostly don’t read mysteries, because they always seem to be murder. Stephanie’s shenanigans are nothing like that.
I highly recommend Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett novels, which begin with Speaks the Nightbird. That book is set in 1699; the others, a few years later. The series has been described as early-American James Bond crossed with Sherlock Holmes. Matthew is one of America’s first detectives.
http://www.matthewcorbettsworld.com/
Nice to see that someone else has read and loves C.J. Sansam’s Matthew Shardlake novels! They’re all excellent.
Full disclosure: I run Robert McCammon’s website, but I was a fan long before that.
Hunter
I forgot to mention another Matthew series that I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed: James McGee’s Matthew Hawkwood series, which I think qualifies.
John Connolly with the Charlie Parker series. His touches of the supernatural are awesome, and the larger narrative thread running through the series is getting better and better. The next book, The Woman in the Woods, is out later this year and I cannot wait.
These days, transarency counts. I’ve worked with and for Tom Doherty and the Tor oranizattion for lotsa years–from back in the ’70s until, well–i still show up in nyc’s first skyscraper to say howdy when my body allows it. (not often enough.)
that said, i started with and in sf under rhe guidance of the late David Hartwell. But i was “started” as a mystery editor because my boss at the time discovered that i spent much of myn time in fatigues (or in MP gear) reading mysteries. Wormhole to the near present, about 50 years later, and my cv drips blood. I’ve edited crime fiction, written it (i prefer crime fictio if forced to use a category laebl, but that”s a discussion for another plane).
what brought me out of my public slumber was the above comment from brendaa who doesn’t read mysteries because they always seem to be murder.
but that is the ocasionaly beating heart of the genre has to be a crime worth solving and a match for the sleuth. crime isn’t cute or funny–ask anyone who’s suffered a housebreaking.
that said, it’s tiime for another: here’s lookin’ at you, kids.
I’m a fan and loyal follower of Agent Aloysius Pendergast from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Some have come close but there can never be another.
@@@@@ #5 srEDIT, Yes, my bad. I should have mentioned Scott and Maggie, my new favorite character. I especially love her POV chapters.
@@@@@ #19 WildSpirit Yes, Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast is a fantastic character.
I also forgot the Joe Pickett/Nate Romanowski mysteries from C. J. Box.
@17 Gaz – glad to see someone post this, I am really enjoying this series myself.
Sam Vimes — Discworld
John Taylor — Nightside
Torn between elijah baley / r.Daneel and Dirk Gently myself..
Jen Blood ‘S Erin Solomon series are great. Harlan Coban , lee Child, Cody mcfayden and Alison Brennan write great series
A number of the original recommendations seem to be clustered over in the “pyschological thriller” and “hard-boiled PI” corners of the mystery genre, whereas I grew up on the latter end of what we might call the “classical detective” era — late Agatha Christie (Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy & Tuppence) through “Ellery Queen”, Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe), and Ngaio Marsh (Roderick Alleyn). In particular, I was a regular reader of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and an admirer of legendary short story writer Edward D. Hoch, creator of a great many memorable series sleuths. My tastes have remained in what’s now evolved into the “cozy” end of the genre, although what we call cozies have evolved a great deal over the last few decades, and not (to my mind) entirely for the better.
That said, I will enthusiastically echo the recommendation for van Gulik’s Judge Dee mysteries at #8; they’re a little dated now, and openly anachronistic in some respects, but they are excellent mysteries nonetheless. In addition, here are a handful of authors and series I’ve found rewarding, presented in roughly chronological order. Note that the earlier works may take some effort to track down nowadays.
• Emma Lathen – Pen name for two women from Wall Street; their series character is investment banker John Putnam Thatcher.
• P. M. Carlson – If you can find the short series of mysteries featuring mathematics scholar Maggie Ryan and actor Nick O’Connor (the first is Audition for Murder), you’re in for a treat. The academic and theatrical settings are vividly convincing, and the plotting is wonderfully intricate.
• Peter Tremayne – Author of the “Sister Fidelma” historical mysteries set in Ireland shortly after the Catholic Church has established itself therein.
• Mary Monica Pulver – Indirectly mentioned above; Murder at the War (also published as Knight Fall) is both a hysterically authoritative field guide to the SCA (featuring as it does a murder at Pennsic) and a first-rate puzzler; the short series it begins is excellent. Pulver later became first half of “Margaret Frazer” (the “Sister Frevisse” Chaucerian-era historical mysteries) and “Monica Ferris” (the “Crewel World” series of needlecraft-themed mysteries).
• Elizabeth Peters – Her early books were marketed as “romantic suspense”, but most are just as readable as light mysteries; she is best known for her series featuring Amelia Peabody and her family of early 20th-century Egyptologist sleuths, but don’t overlook her other series characters, Vicky Bliss and especially Jacqueline Kirby.
• Gigi Pandian – One of Pandian’s two series is a spiritual cousin to Peters’ Vicky Bliss books with a distinct nod toward Indiana Jones; the other is a curious but fascinating hybrid of mystery and paranormal adventure involving an immortal alchemist and a French gargoyle turned master chef (though that description, while completely accurate, will give you an entirely wrong idea about the tone, which is far more thoughtful than it is wacky).
Denise Mina, Elizabeth George, Fred Vargas, Ken Bruen, Peter robibson
George C. Chesbro’s Mongo series:
The series begins with Shadow of a Broken Man.
I run his website, too, but was a fan long before that.
http://www.dangerousdwarf.com/
Hunter
Last post: Ellis Peters’s Cadfael mysteries, which were also adapted as a great TV show starring Derek Jacobi.
The Stewart Hoag & Lulu books by David Handler. Stewart Hoag wrote one critically acclaimed best seller and has been ghost writing memoirs of Hollywood luminaries ever since, which gets him involved things people would rather keep secret. Handler’s Berger & Mitry books never clicked with me, but I reread the Hoagy books periodically just experience fine writing.
Reginald Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe novels are great fun. Pascoe is the nice detective, Dalziel, his boss, is the horrible one and is also very funny. The first couple are not so hot, then the series really caught fire though some fans may find the later novels (which self-consciously comment on the detective/crime genre) a bit much. I liked them myself, but its the mid-series ones which are the most fun.
No Elijah Baley?
Detective Inspector Wei Chen from Liz Williams’ Snake Agent and its sequels. It’s a future-noir detective story mashed up with Chinese mythology and it works wonderfully!
Robert B Parker’s Spenser.
Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell series. What if Sherlock Holmes, at the end of his career, had taken on an apprentice — and in the 1920s, a young woman at that?
If you enjoy Kay Scarpetta, also look into Temperance (Tempe) Brennan, the creation of Kathy Reichs. Her forensic examiner travels between Charlotte, SC and Montreal, as a kind of examiner-for-hire; her persona is a little more heavy on the science than Scarpetta. She has dealt with organ smugglers, a murder in a nunnery, the strange ties between Louisiana and Acadia, and a plane crash, not in that order.
@25: Some current writers who are great at the “puzzle” plot (as exemplified by Christie and “Ellery Queen”):
Fred Vargas, who has been mentioned. French writer whose books are now being translated, with their sly sense of humour intact. She (yes, Fred is a woman) reminds me of “Ellery Queen” in that her plots and solutions are completely bizarre, but in the end completely logical. Great fun.
John Verdon. His first was Think of a Numb3r. He writes classic puzzle plots (with a bit of modern angst thrown in).
There was a third, but it escapes me. If you enjoy the Golden Age detective novels, and can find Leo Bruce’s A Case for Three Detectives, you are in for a treat. It was written in 1947 and parodies three **very** well-known heroes of the Golden Age.
Interesting how many SFF fans enjoy mysteries, too. I am always looking for a good SF or fantasy mystery that actually qualities as a mystery.
Second Cadfael – in testing to see how the law works way before police.
Kate Wilhelm’s post sci-if career contains some brilliant mysteries, including the Barbara Hollaway courtroom procedurals and the Constance Leidl/Charlie Meikljohn private investigator series. I particularly like the former, because they’re set here in my hometown, Eugene, Oregon.
@14, I highly recommend Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity mysteries. Great world-building, engaging characters, and not a murder in the lot.
I didn’t mind the first few Scarpetta books, but the writing style was never that great, the melodrama and increasingly-implausible plots were annoying (the nuclear station one was the final wall-banger for me), and even before I learned anything about Cornwell’s personal life, her characterisation of Kay’s neice Lucy seemed to be more about the author working out some “issues” of her own more than anything else. Is there such a thing as a negative Mary Sue character?
No one’s mentioned Barbara Hambly’s Ben January books, so I must. These are historical mysteries centered in pre-Civil War New Orleans (though the characters have traveled rather a lot). These are heavily informed by real history and social issues are not dumbed down so they can be kind of rough. She has also written mysteries under the pen-name of Barbara Hamilton where Abigail Adams investigates mysteries during the start of the Revolutionary War.
What, no Poirot, Holmes, Father Brown?
Even worse, no Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files) or Gil Hamilton (The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton by Larry Niven)?
Just badly written best sellers?
What has civilization come to?
I’ve always been fond of the Diana Tregarde books by Mercedes Lackey, as well as the R.Daniel Olivaw stories by Issac Asimov. :-)
Can’t forget In Death Series by J.D. Robb.
Awesome series and Eve Dallas is an awesome detective.
Might give a shout-out to Brawne Lamia, from Dan Simmons’ Hyperion…she was pretty awesome!
I think many of you would like to follow Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache, in the fictional Quebecois town of Three Pines. He’s a fine protagonist detective, with a substantial life of his own, and many of the characters in the town are developed in different novels . Start with Still Life and read in order. You’ll find definite hints of speculative events as well as a great immersion in a culture that’s so close to the US, and yet different in many subtle ways. Penny is English-speaking, though the Inspector is originally Francophone from Montreal.
For non-F&SF mysteries, my favorite authors* include Sue Grafton and Dana Stabenow. For mysteries with a fantasy element, Seanan McGuire and Ben Aaronovich.
*Modern authors – I also love the classics, Sayers, Chandler, Hammett.
Giles Blunt’s John Cardinal series. A little bit dated in the written form, but the CBC series is very good.
Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series. (Not as well adapted to the screen, sadly.)
Louise Welsh’s crime novels don’t really feature classic detectives, but are still well worth the read.
OTOH, William McIlvanny’s Laidlaw is an absolutely classic hard-boiled detective with a slow motion collapsing private life, while the stories are also something of a love poem to Glasgow of the 1970s and the folk who inhabited the rough edges of the city.
Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski and Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan also shouldn’t be missed, nor Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone.
Frances Brodie’s Kate Shackleton will likely go down well with folks who’ve enjoyed Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher.
Geonn Canon’s Riley Parra is definitely urban fantasy flavoured crime, but with a good dash of proper police procedural, and also boasts a whole cast of lesbian characters, too. (The Tello Films adaptation is awesome!) Nicola Griffith’s Aud Torvingen and Mari Hannah’s Kate Daniels are also lesbian, however, solving more conventional crimes.
Boris Akunin’s Ernst Fandorin brings a Russian flavour to the genre. While Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell brings a whole new dimension to the Holmesian genre. (On which point, go at once and read Ailette de Bodard’s The Tea Master and the Detective!)
I also rather like David Ashton’s Inspecter McLevy.
Nicholas Blake, a writer of classic mysteries, is one of my favorites. As is Margery Allingham. Both of these authors wrote thoughtful, well-crafted books that were published from the 1930s to the 1960s.
R. Daneel Olivaw and Elijah “Lije” Baley in Issac Asimov’s Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn surely represent the pinnacle of science fiction detectives. The mysteries were pretty good, too. After all, Asimov wrote the Black Widowers series and many other “pure” mysteries.
No one has mentioned John Gilbraith’s (J.K. Rollins) PI detective Cormoran Strike. He lost part of his leg serving in Afghanistan and he is a bit out of shape and out of time for making it as a PI. Then in walks a man with a mystery and we are off. This is a 3 book series with each a different mystery. I hope desperately she writes another book about him.
If you like Niven’s Long Arm series, you should definitely check out Anthony Ryan’s Slab City Blues series. Actually, you owe it to yourself to check it out in any case. Great new writer, interesting concepts, engrossing sci-fi mysteries.
I heartily recommend Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone. I told Muller I thought what she wrote was soft-boiled detective fiction and she liked it. It’s really best to start with the first or at least an early book McCone grows and changes throughout the series, and she too collects secondary characters around her as some mentioned above
I probably read more mysteries than sf these days. I started reading both about the same around 10 or 11 and swing back and forth as which dominates at any given time. I love the classics esp Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, and Margery Allingham.
Charlotte MacLeod is always fun and funny.
For more hard-boiled types there’s Jeffrey Deaver and Daniel Silva. Both partake of both mystery and thriller. As a rule I don’t like thrillers so these guys are REALLY good.
if anybody wants too many recommendations for GOOD cozies instead of the shallow crap that is mostly published today, let me know off line (marykaydotkareatgmail.you know. My standards for cozies are very high.
Then there are historicals. For Roman Britain try Jane Finnis. For Rome Steven Saylor is the best. Cora Harrison has an Irish detective somewhat later than Tremayne (mentioned above). And the Victorians, there are so many! I like Anne Perry’s series about Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. Never got into the Monk books as I have a down on amnesia stories. The Interwar period has been very popular lately. I like Rhys Bowen’s Her Royal Spyness books. I seriously liked Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, but have been less thrilled with later books in that series.
Um. This is already too long isn’t it? And i’ve barely scratched the surface. Sigh. Feel free to contact me at the address I gave above. I know a lot about cozies and historical mysteries. Cheers!
Charlotte Macleod’s Peter Shandy mysteries are somewhat surrealist cozies, including “The Curse of the Giant Hogweed”, which is a portal fantasy (via a Welsh pub) as well as a very good mystery. Magic, both real and fake, actual monsters and witches, star-crossed lovers bearing a strong resemblance, and an invasion of Heracleum mantegazzianum.
@0: my impression is that at least as many mystery novels are written every year as science fiction/fantasy novels. Judging by the new-books shelf at the Boston Public Library central branch, there are 3-4x as many mysteries as SFF published.
If we’re recommending old genre detectives as well as current mundane, Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy should be mentioned. Contemporary London in an alternate world where Richard I survived Chaluz and magic has been systematized; Darcy’s collaborator is an Irish sorcerer whose work replaces forensic basics but doesn’t provide a Reveal Killer spell. Too Many Magicians is a special delight because of the number of real SFF people (and a few fictional mystery people) who have cameos.
Having been a devotee of the first four authors, I enjoyed Kathy Reich’s new character Sunday(Sunnie) Night in “Two nights : a novel”. This is the first in this series and I’m looking fwd to the future ones.
@34- Kathy Reich’s books are great reads, and the science is awesome. @38- I love the Aunt Dimity series, the family at the center is so well fleshed out as is the town. Rhys Bowen has written several mystery series, the latest of which is the Royal Spyness… how about Constable Evans in Wales and Molly the Irish immigrant detective in turn of the century New York? And Phil Rickman’s Merry the vicar series are awesome blends of small town living, supernatural overtones and religious puzzles. Harry Dresden always surprises me, and is a solid read because Jim Butcher never gives it away! Now I have a hankering…….
@44, on the other hand, she wasn’t doing that much detecting.
@12, don’t forget the Swedish, French, Belgian, Icelandic, and Italian writers, either: Many of these don’t get translated to English, which severely hampers a monoglot’s appreciation
Simenon’s Maigret,
Wahlöö & Sjöwall’s Martin Beck (The Laughing Policeman is well known)
Stieg Larsson’s Salander
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s Þóra Guðmundsdóttir
The expanded mystery genre has some of the best writing in popular fiction, and has had for well over a century.
May be out of place, since the topic seems to be pure detective/mysteries (Earle Stanley Gardner anyone?), but since this IS a science-fiction/fantasy blog, I’d like to nominated Glen Cook’s Garrett series. Always humorous, sometimes very creepy, and often deliciously twisted (but logical in a twisted sort of way). Pure entertainment.
Although not about a detective, a great character is Estelle Ryan’s Genevieve Lenard, an insurance fraud investigator for a company that insures art. Definitely worth a read!
+1 to the Comoran Strike novels by “Robert Galbraith” (London-based detective), and the John Rebus books by Ian Rankin (Edinburgh).
If British mysteries are your thing, here’s a series not yet mentioned here, the Sean Duffy novels by Adrian McKinty. Northern Ireland in the 1980s, and so, so well written.
Lord Peter Wimsey. No love for Windowpane?
Gordianus the Finder, by Steven Saylor.
Julian Kestrel, in a series of four mysteries by Kate Ross (alas, she joined the Library Eternal far too soon). Enjoy!
Jesse Stone and Spenser by Robert Parker, Repairman Jack by F. Paul Wilson ( definitely supernatural ), Thomas & Charlotte Pitt by Anne Perry, Matthew Scudder by Lawrence Block, and Kinsey Milhone by Sue Grafton. These have been my faves for years !!
DCI Banks, from Peter Robinson, Lynley and Havers in Elizabeth George’s series, Caroline Graham’s Chief Inspector Barnaby, and Lisbeth Salander
Evan Hunter’s (writing as Ed McBain) 87nd Precinct, set in it’s-not-New York-really-wink-wink-nudge-nudge. Not a detective, but an ensemble of them.
———-
Finding good detectives in literature isn’t that difficult. Finding good ones on US commercial TV is nearly impossible.