Crime/Thriller Reccommendations

panda100

So I recently finished Steig Larsson's Millenium triology and absolutely loved it. I was quite suprised as usually I like period or historical fiction and thrillers/crimes was a genre I had never delved into before.

I read a Henery Mankell book there last week and while It was good it didnt draw me in as much as Larsson's books. I found Wallander old,drab and Boring compared to Blomvkist.

Im looking for a crime/thriller book with a hint of romance or sexual liasons.I liked that about the Larssons books.
Does anyone have any reccommendations??

Thanks

cyning

There are so many: Karin Slaughter's books. But make sure you read them in order! They are definately my fave! Tess Gerritsen is very good as well, but not so many romantic liasons in them but they are intriguing. Any of James Patterson's books with Alex Cross are a good bet aswell. I love crime / thrillers so they are some of my fave books

Anouilh

Crime and romance don't seem to make good bedfellows. Dorothy L Sayers is very humourous, rather than romantic, but worth reading for the quaint rituals of the British upper classes.

Here's an excerpt from "Winterland" by Alan Glynn, just published by Faber.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/0571250033/ref=sib_dp_bod_ex?ie=UTF8&p=S00D#reader-link

There is very fine descriptive writing in this book and Dublin lives as a vibrant, and somewhat romantic city.

panda100

cyning wrote: »

Any of James Patterson's books with Alex Cross are a good bet aswell. I love crime / thrillers so they are some of my fave books

Yeah someone mentioned those to me. I brought two today and so far so good

panda100

cyning wrote: »

Any of James Patterson's books with Alex Cross are a good bet aswell. I love crime / thrillers so they are some of my fave books

So I finished 'Along came a Spider'. It was definaitely a good crime story that kept you thinking till the end. However,I just couldnt understand half the book. I really dont like that colloquial style of writing and I really didnt have a clue what they were talking about in their American Slang?!

Will try the Karin Slaughters one next and then Alan Glynn

cyning

Start with Blindsighted because if you don't read in order the ending will be spoiled!!!

jackthekipper

panda100 wrote: »

So I finished 'Along came a Spider'. It was definaitely a good crime story that kept you thinking till the end. However,I just couldnt understand half the book. I really dont like that colloquial style of writing and I really didnt have a clue what they were talking about in their American Slang?!

Will try the Karin Slaughters one next and then Alan Glynn

James Patterson is like chinese take away, you keep on going thinking it'll be good then you wonder why you bothered.
Denis Lehane is quite good, or James Elroy.

Eoin

cyning wrote: »

Start with Blindsighted because if you don't read in order the ending will be spoiled!!!

I didn't really enjoy that book too much, though Triptych was OK.

jackthekipper wrote:

James Patterson is like chinese take away, you keep on going thinking it'll be good then you wonder why you bothered.

Ha ha, I don't think he's that bad - but I do get bored of the perfect hero that is Cross.

cyning

Blindsighted is my least fave but if you don't start at the satrt the ending will be totally ruined!!

Have to agree about Cross but they are still good!

panda100

eoin wrote: »

Ha ha, I don't think he's that bad - but I do get bored of the perfect hero that is Cross.

Its the "English" he uses that makes it unreadable. Its just so poorly written,I think I prefer a more classic English style. And yes perfect Cross is grating after a bit.

chenguin

Agree with Karin Slaughter I think her books are brilliant.
Alex Barclay is really good aswell!!!

KRIS VL

two names at random : Lee Child ; Lisa Scottoline

panda100

cyning wrote: »

Blindsighted is my least fave but if you don't start at the satrt the ending will be totally ruined!!

I Started with Blindsighted and now onto Skin privelege. Thanks for the Karin slaughter reccomendation, I think she's excellent!

ian8746

Jeff Lindsay is a must read. The Dexter series of books is a fantastic read. Once started they cannot be put down. Also Lee Child and his Jack Reacher books are well worth a read.

John Connolly might just come into the crime/thriller scene. Charlie Parker, Louis and Angel are the set of charaters I have read in the last few years

ektsoc

How could you not like Karin Slaughter she is brillant and sooooo gruesome. The best thriller writer ever. Shocked you don't like her althought her last book wasn't up to her gruesome standard.

Kaizer Sosa

OP, Try Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. It's a really good thriller set in Stalinist Russia about an elite up and coming policeman who starts to investigate child murders. As crime isn't supposed to exist in a perfect communist state, the state is covering up these murders while children are dissapearing. He becomes an enemy of the state and goes from having unwavering faith in Stalins Communist Ideal to questioning everything he has previously believed. The book was longlisted for the booker prize in '08.

Child 44

I would also recommend George Pelecanos' "The Night Gardener". He is a writer for "the Wire" in his spare time and is a brilliant crime writer. From an Irish perspective and although I haven't read her yet, Tana French is getting really positive reviews. Her debut novel "In the Woods"(?) was very highly rated.

Final recommendation is Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series. Really dark, well written series. Think "The Poet" is probably his standout novel within that series although its been ages since I read anything by him.

PattheMetaller

Here's a link to a website I've found usefull when looking for a new Crime/Thriller series to read. You can search by author or character

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/

Kimia

Sorry for bumping and old thread but I have to add something to this.

I am an avid reader of thrillers and love all the usual - Tess Gerritsen, Jilliane Hoffman (love her), etc, but one writer stands out for me among the rest. I am hardcore into my thrillers - love the gore and all that - but this book made me cry. It was beautifully written and really made you sincerely interested in the protagonist's fate:

Cody McFayden - The Face of Death.

He has 3 others, and I haven't read his latest (am going to buy it asap) but his others are amazing. I actually think he's the best I've ever read.

allprops

Slaughter is great. Denis Lehane is probably one of the best writers writing in any genre especially the kenzie/gennaro series. his last book is epic in scale and theme. Some of the other scandanavians are good. Jo Nesbo is probably the best but Indidadson, Ake edwardsson and Asa Larrsson are also worth a read. Scotland has two of the best in Rankin and if you like Karin Slaughter, you should definately check out Stuart MacBride. Plenty gruesome with a nice line in cynical and offbeat humour. Mark Billingham another one Worth dipping into. The Tom Thorne series is excellent

Mink

I love RJ Ellory as a crime/thriller writer.

The one of his that stands out to me as having a romantic thread was the first one Candlemoth.

Another one is A Quiet Belief in Angels. Some it is pretty harrowing/gruesome in terms of sexual crimes but still readable. Great twists - I didn't figure them out & usually do.

smlballjunkie

All the above are very good reads, one that I am a recent convert to is David Baldacci.I have read a few of his now and the storylines are really good

Eoin

The writing can be a little corny though! I thought that Last man standing was one of his better ones.

fredthebookworm

Can't beat our own Ken Bruen for a good crime yarn well told, particularly the Jack Taylor books.

Oral Slang

One of the best thrillers I've ever read is The Pinocchio Syndrome by David Zeman. The only book from this author, but it's fantastic.

Love Allan Folsom, David Hosp & John Case books.

Also the Treatment & Birdman from Mo Hayder are brilliant. Tokyo is totally different though, I wouldn't recommend it.

Karin Slaughter, Tess Gerrittsen, Karen Rose, Alex Kava, Jeffrey Deaver, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Paul Carson, Harlan Coben (except the Myron Bolitar series), Jeff Abbott, Mark Billingham, Nicci French, Lisa Gardner, Richard Montanari & Erica Spindler are good thrillers/detectives too.

James Patterson is ok - the earlier books mainly. More recently I doubt that they are written by him at all, they're just drivel.

Shakeandbake!

Try these two by Don Winslow : The Power of the Dog and The Winter of Frankie Machine. Brilliant.

annR

Best Thriller I ever read

Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson

Why I love it
It's just so bizarre - never read a book based in Siberia before
Manages to be fantastic but believable in a way that makes you think, he must have lived there for a while
It has a great love story

I'm so heartbroken that he never wrote another book after it . . .I love this book so much.