I'd like recommendations for works with higher literary value than the usual potboilers. I've read a few of the super-popular mystery/thriller writers (Harlan Cobain and Preston/Childs, off the top of my head), and they aren't my thing at all, at all.
I'm also not a big fan of "cozy mysteries." I seem to trend toward darker psychological dramas with complex characterizations and excellent (or at least good, strong) writing. For my purposes, I'm talking about books about a crime or crimes (which usually tend to be murder), a mystery, and suspense in the unraveling of the tale - so it's pretty much a wide open field, as you'll see from this list of some of the mystery and/or suspense fiction I've enjoyed:
The Alienist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and sequel),
The Talented Mr. Ripley,
Alias Grace,
Generation Loss,
Out: A Novel,
Smilla's Sense of Snow;
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer;
The Name of the Rose;
The Secret History;
The Wasp Factory ... and I'm forgetting many others.
See? Really open. Series books are fine, historical mysteries, gritty urban thrillers, international... whatever. So, watcha got? Even if my tastes may not seem clear, that's okay; if you like it, I'm interested in checking it out.
Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 5:27am.
Hm. something a little buggy here... I don't know why The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo won't link. It shows up as linking in edit, but not after submit. Anyway, here it is:
http://www.librarything.com/work/1541442Alan Furst writes good, moody mysteries set in backwaters of the second world war. I havent read them in a few years and no one really stands out in my memory. I am currently reading James Ellroy (not sure why thats not loading) trilogy about 1960-1970 America, a delicious paranoid fantasy which starts with
American Tabloid. The better Ross Macdonald books are very good,
The Ivory Grin for example. I believe languagehat has recommended
a coffin for dimitrios before, though I haven't read it. Many people also like
Ward Just, though he is not my cup of intrigue. Hope this gives you something to chew on.
Taz-
I am beyond a fan of Laurie R King. She's got some standalone novels and two series - I have not read the series that is a fictionalized reinterpretation of Sherlock Holmes, but I've read all of her others. Her writing is fantastic. To Play the Fool is a great one from one of the series and Keeping Watch and Folly are two of the solid standalones. Keeping Watch in particular blows me away ever time.
Gorky Park, by Martin Cruz Smith. A police procedural set in Brezhnev-era Moscow. I really enjoyed Smith's ironic humor.
I think A Conspiracy of Paper and its sequel would fit the bill.
I just discovered Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series and I really enjoy it. Might fit your bill. I'd recommend reading them in order if you can.
Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 3:18pm.
Our household is obsessed with the Scandinavian mystery writers.
Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series (set in Sweden), Arnaldur Indridason's Erlandur series (set in Iceland--one of the best in the series is The Silence of the Grave, IMO), and Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series (set in Norway) are all excellent. They tend to be rather male dominated, but I do also like the Detective Inspector Irene Huss series by Swedish author Helene Tursten. The writing and plots of these series are excellent, and none seem to have suffered from translation.
And dark themes...well, one of Helene Tursten's books is called The Torso, if that gives you an indication. I have found several of her books quite disturbing indeed (but in a good way).
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