Crime Fiction series

PattheMetaller · 22-07-2008 9:08pm #1

Hi all,

I'm a big fan of crime fiction. Favourites are, Mark Billingham (the Tom Thorne series), Stephen Booth (Fry & Cooper series), Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch series), Graham Hurley (Joe Faraday series), Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware series), Ian Rankin (Rebus series) and Peter Robinson (Alan Banks series).

Must rate the Alan Banks series followed by Fry & Cooper series and Tom Thorne series as 1,2,&3.

Any comments out there?

Pat

JuliusCaesar · 22-07-2008 11:18pm

The number series:
One for the ..
Two ...
etc Janet Evanovitch - hilarious!

And Sue Grafton's Alphabet books. A is for.... etc, think she's got to T now.

Alan Smith · 25-07-2008 7:21pm

I read the first two parts of the long firm trilogy by Jake Arnott.
It's good except it gives some very detailed descriptions of gay sex etc. So if you don't find thatacceptable stay away from it, other than that it's qute good

pwd · 25-07-2008 7:34pm

stephen donaldson did "the man who" series which I read a couple of books from and enjoyed a lot. He used a pseudonym because he was better known for his sci fi and fantasy.
Thomas Harris' books are very good too.

Eoin · 25-07-2008 9:41pm

I'd like to give some James Ellroy books a go, as I really enjoyed LA Confidential. I think I started one of his books a while ago, but for some reason or other didn't get too far. I think it was written in the slang of the time, which made it quite slow going.

Bosch books are definitely my favourite, though I must check out some of the others that the OP mentioned.

One of the stranger crime books I read recently was "The Yiddish Policemen's Union", but it was quite good.

Gillie · 25-07-2008 9:54pm

I like James Patterson myself.
Really like the Alex Cross series of books.
Think there is one more to come.

Eoin · 25-07-2008 10:57pm

I used to enjoy those books, but I am getting a bit sick of Cross being just a little too perfect. I much prefer to see a more flawed (i.e. realistic) character. Sometimes it feels like you're reading a Hallmark card with all the sentimentality.

John Connolly is well worth a read. He's probably classified as crime, but there's a hint of the supernatural in a good few of his books.

PattheMetaller · 03-08-2008 8:50pm

eoin_s wrote: »

I'd like to give some James Ellroy books a go, as I really enjoyed LA Confidential. I think I started one of his books a while ago, but for some reason or other didn't get too far. I think it was written in the slang of the time, which made it quite slow going.

Bosch books are definitely my favourite, though I must check out some of the others that the OP mentioned.

One of the stranger crime books I read recently was "The Yiddish Policemen's Union", but it was quite good.

If you like Bosch, check out "The Lincoln Lawyer" which features Mickey Haller. The second book in the series is due this month and Harry Bosch is in it. Word is that Bosch and Haller are half brothers but don't know it yet!!!

tSubh Dearg · 03-08-2008 9:11pm

I quite enjoy the Adam Dalgliesh series by PD James, though her other crime books and her sci-fi novel (Children of Men) are very good also.

The Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George are also a good read. The main characters in both her books and PD James' are flawed in a very human way which makes them excellent in my opinion.

I admit I'm also a sucker for Agatha Christie's Poirot and Miss Marple.

Eoin · 03-08-2008 9:58pm

PattheMetaller wrote: »

If you like Bosch, check out "The Lincoln Lawyer" which features Mickey Haller. The second book in the series is due this month and Harry Bosch is in it. Word is that Bosch and Haller are half brothers but don't know it yet!!!

Already got it! Not too bad, probably the best of his non-Bosch books. I think Bosch does know who his half brother is though.

Graceland · 13-08-2008 9:57pm

Gillie wrote: »

I like James Patterson myself.
Really like the Alex Cross series of books.
Think there is one more to come.

I love this series of books as well. I think the stories are very exciting. James Patterson is my favourite author.

kovski · 14-08-2008 12:52am

I like pretty much all the writers the op mentions, especially Rankin and Michael Connolly. John Banville has written two good detective novels set in Ireland in the 50's if you'd like something slightly different. Agree with Yiddish Policeman's Union as well. Fantastic book, reminded me a bit of Robert Harris' Fatherland. One thing I would say is avoid James Patterson like the plague. I don't know what people see in this guy. I read one of the Cross series called London Bridges. Laughably bad. I quite liked the two Cross movies with Morgan Freeman though funnily enough.

Gillie · 14-08-2008 11:29am

kovski wrote: »

One thing I would say is avoid James Patterson like the plague. I don't know what people see in this guy. I read one of the Cross series called London Bridges. Laughably bad. I quite liked the two Cross movies with Morgan Freeman though funnily enough.

That is funny as the movies were terrible and nothing like the books.

I guess each to their own huh?;)

Black Swan · 14-08-2008 4:15pm

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle might be fun to read. I enjoyed it. I did not care for the films produced for this series, except for those starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock produced by Granada Films (over 20 in this series).

gogglebok · 14-08-2008 4:23pm

kovski wrote: »

One thing I would say is avoid James Patterson like the plague. I don't know what people see in this guy. I read one of the Cross series called London Bridges. Laughably bad.

So true. Watching him construct a sentence is like watching a drunk tie knots in an eel.

Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series is terrific, if you like police procedurals. The first couple of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series are good too, but I think he goes right off.

r3nu4l · 14-08-2008 4:27pm

eoin_s wrote: »

John Connolly is well worth a read. He's probably classified as crime, but there's a hint of the supernatural in a good few of his books.

Yeah, John Connolly is great! I love his books.

PattheMetaller wrote: »

If you like Bosch, check out "The Lincoln Lawyer" which features Mickey Haller. The second book in the series is due this month and Harry Bosch is in it. Word is that Bosch and Haller are half brothers but don't know it yet!!!

The Lincoln Lawyer was easily the best of the non-Bosch novels.

Irish author Ken Bruen is excellent. I really like his stuff, dark, violent and lots of humour. If you like Mark Billingham you'll love those. His stuff is set in both the UK and Ireland depending on which novels you read and the characters he's using.

Anyone ever read Paul Carson's stuff? That's fantastic. Mostly set in Ireland and mostly involving medical doctors in tricky situations (he's a medic himself so he's writing what he knows (with exaggeration I hope!!)

Stephen leather is great too. I've only read one of his pieces and loved them.

American authors I like are Karin Slaughter (The Sara Linton series) and Lee Child (Jack Reacher series).

I'm a big fan of Rankin, Robinson and Billingham as well. OP you could also try the Inspector Morse series of books, they are quite good and Morse really is a dislikeable character, unlike in the TV show

PattheMetaller · 22-08-2008 9:56pm

OP you could also try the Inspector Morse series of books, they are quite good and Morse really is a dislikeable character, unlike in the TV show

[/quote]

Yep, got them in a book club, excellent

Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series is terrific, if you like police procedurals. The first couple of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series are good too, but I think he goes right off.[/quote]

Got about 10 of them years ago, would like to complete the series, but I think a few are out of print. Any tips?

rosboy · 24-08-2008 10:09pm

eoin_s wrote: »

I'd like to give some James Ellroy books a go, as I really enjoyed LA Confidential. I think I started one of his books a while ago, but for some reason or other didn't get too far. I think it was written in the slang of the time, which made it quite slow going.

I'd highly recommend James Ellroy. "American Tabloid" is one of my favourite books of all time. As you said though, can be a little tough going. He has a particular style of writing that can take a little time to get into. The sequel is "The Cold Six Thousand", which I haven't gotten around to reading yet.

bullpost · 27-08-2008 5:23pm

Andrea Camilleri novels , set in Sicily featuring Inspector Montalbano - Great combination of Food and Crime.

Fred Vargas - French Crime with Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg.

James Lee Burke - the Dave Robicheaux series.

All feature flawed, quirky lead characters.

Eoin · 27-08-2008 5:31pm

bullpost wrote: »

James Lee Burke - the Dave Robicheaux series.

Just started reading him - picked up one of those 3 in 1 books at the airport a while ago. Not bad so far, though a slow enough pace.

rosboy wrote:

I'd highly recommend James Ellroy. "American Tabloid" is one of my favourite books of all time. As you said though, can be a little tough going. He has a particular style of writing that can take a little time to get into. The sequel is "The Cold Six Thousand", which I haven't gotten around to reading yet.

Yeah, I really want to give some of them a go again.

Mesenger1 · 01-09-2008 1:26am

Jeffery Deaver would be high on my list! Strong plotline, interesting historical links and gripping storyline - IMHO:)

MeTV · 11-09-2008 6:30pm

Ah, excellent; was just dropping in to start a similar topic

After learning my lesson with Doyle's Holmes books that reading an entire series back-to-back can be rather tedious (although I still love Holmes), I'm currently alternating between:

Reginald Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe,
Jeff Lindsay's Dexter, and,
R. D. Wingfield's Inspector Frost.

And Caroline Graham's Inspector Barnaby (Midsomer Murders) series is sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be added into the rotation.

I've also started picking up:

Ian Rankin's Rebus,
Val McDermid's Tony Hill, and
Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone.

And on my list of books to buy is:

William Diehl's Martin Vail trilogy,
Agatha Christie's Poirot & Miss Marple,
Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse,
Patricia Highsmith's Ripley, and,
P. D. James' Inspector Dalgleish

And, if I ever make my way through all that lot, I might give the following a look, but am looking for feedback on them:

W. J. Burley's Wycliffe,
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe,
James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet,
Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy,
Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford,
Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley,
James Patterson's Alex Cross,
Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason, and,
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.

*Whew* Didn't realise my list was quite so long! And I think I might have to add some of your recommendations to it! :eek:

linsdaydasher · 07-08-2014 4:25pm

PattheMetaller wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm a big fan of crime fiction. Favourites are, Mark Billingham (the Tom Thorne series), Stephen Booth (Fry & Cooper series), Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch series), Graham Hurley (Joe Faraday series), Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware series), Ian Rankin (Rebus series) and Peter Robinson (Alan Banks series).

Must rate the Alan Banks series followed by Fry & Cooper series and Tom Thorne series as 1,2,&3.

Any comments out there?

Pat

I just discovered Ed McGinnis. He recently published a few crime novels which I think you'll like. His latest, NIGHT TRAIN EXPRESS was a lot of fun.

Dirty Dingus McGee · 09-08-2014 1:01am

I'm currently in the middle of a few different crime series.Ones I'd recommend would be.

Dennis Lehane - Kenzie and Gennaro
Michael Connelly - Harry Bosch
Ian Rankins - Rebus
Robert B Parker - Spenser

The best series of all has to be Raymond Chandlers Philip Marlowe series.Pure brilliance.

I've read the first 4 of John Connolly's Charlie Parker.I don't think I am going to continue with them as although the books were all very good I felt as the series has progressed a change in emphasis more towards the more supernatural elements of the story line. There was nice balance in the first couple of books but I though the third and fourth showed signs of things going too far.

Crime Fiction series

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