Crime, Thrillers, Horror and Mystery Recommendations

[Tapir]

Harlen Coben... mmm, must look for his books. thanks for the tip! Currently I'm reading Ludlum- lots of thrills and spills. Had to stop myself at 3 a.m, working next day... sigh....

[Clio_hk]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this group, and am looking forward to learning about new names in crime stories to look out for. I enjoy most of Agatha Christie's books, but the ones with Tommy and Tuppence are not as interesting, I think. I enjoyed 'Death on the Nile', and the murderer in 'The End House' really freaked me out. I enjoyed the ending, the twist, to 'The Roger Acroyd' one too.

Her stories can seem deceptively simple, but I like the sparse dialogue. I also like the fact the her two most famous protagonists are usually underestimated by people. Nowadays with tv heroes like in the CSI series, 'The Mentalist', 'Bones' etc, the main characters are usually good looking, quite unlike Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. I like the 'don't judge a book (!) by its cover element.

I am currently into Ian Rankin's books. His books are set in Scotland, and I'm reading a few books starring John Rebus.

Glad to know that you are reading the Inspector Rebus series. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

BTW, 'Bones' & 'The Mentalist' are my favourite TV dramas too.

Happy reading!

[Tapir]

Dear Clio_hk
Thanks! I find the Inspector Rebus books fascinating because it always seems that the odds are against him, but nothing stops him from getting at the truth. It's a bit scary though, the amount of alcohol he imbibes! It's nerve wrecking from start to finish, these books. At first I didn't really like them because he always seemed so messed up, but now I'm trying to read all the Rebus books I can find.


Also, as I'm from Malaysia, at least I get to visit Scotland through the books. I've never been to Europe , the UK, or Scotland, and I don't think I ever will because it would be too expensive for me. Reading books about other place and countries enables me to visit at least in my imagination. Do people in Scotland, and the British Isles really drink so much tea?! in books, someone is always making a cuppa. Do tell me- I'm curious.

[Fran]

Dear Clio_hk
Thanks! I find the Inspector Rebus books fascinating because it always seems that the odds are against him, but nothing stops him from getting at the truth. It's a bit scary though, the amount of alcohol he imbibes! It's nerve wrecking from start to finish, these books. At first I didn't really like them because he always seemed so messed up, but now I'm trying to read all the Rebus books I can find.


Also, as I'm from Malaysia, at least I get to visit Scotland through the books. I've never been to Europe , the UK, or Scotland, and I don't think I ever will because it would be too expensive for me. Reading books about other place and countries enables me to visit at least in my imagination. Do people in Scotland, and the British Isles really drink so much tea?! in books, someone is always making a cuppa. Do tell me- I'm curious.

On the tea issue ... making tea is a sort of 'security blanket' reaction. When we don't know what else to do or say we make tea & this gives us time to think through how best to respond to whatever has discommoded
us. It also has roots in the importance of hospitality in our culture - in most cultures offering food & drink is a minimum hospitality requirement.

By the way if you think we in the British Isles drink a lot of tea you should read 'Three Cups of Tea' by Greg Mortenson about Afghanistan ... an absolutely amazing book & fascinating read.

[Jakamoe]

( both are nonfiction of course.)

I finished this book last week and I highly recommend it.
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

Last night I read this book which I also recommend. In Contempt by Christopher A. Darden, the O.J. Simpson prosecutor.

April 15, EDIT: Try this book if you like medical/mystery books: Dr. Mary’s Monkey: How the unsolved murder of a doctor, a secret laboratory in New Orleans and cancer-causing monkey viruses are linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, the JFK assassination and emerging global epidemics. by Edward T. Haslam

Long subtitle isn't it? I strongly recommend this book to any nonfiction (true) mystery lover.

Yea! I loved the The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum. It was an excellent book that was very well written & easy to read for someone w/o a science background. I enjoy reading those type of true stories. Another great one is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Not really true crime, per se, but a very interesting story. & I will look for Dr. Mary's Monkey, thanks!

[Harry64]

I just read Lee Child's Persuader. It was okay, kind of dark, but at the end I wondered why I had read it. Didn't leave a good feeling. It was a good read though. Are any of his other books better?

I am a huge fan of Lee Child and his hero Big Jack Reacher, have read all in the series at least twice !! The most recent "Worth Dying For" is 1st class. If only Lee could write a new book every month.

[NikkiMoe]

I just read "Devil's Knot: the true story of the West Memphis Three" by Mara Leveritt.
About: The guilty verdicts handed out to three Arkansas teenns in a horrific capital murder case were popular in their home state- even upheld on appeal. But after two HBO documentaires called attention to the witch-hunt atmosphere at the trials, artists and other supporters raised concerns abou the accompanying lack of evidence.
For weeks in 1993, after the murder of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas, seemed stymied. Then suddenly, detectives charged three teenagers-alleged members of a satanic cult-with the killings. Despite stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were tried and convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison. They sentenced Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, o death. Ten years later, all three remain in prison. Here, Leveritt unravels this seemingly medieval case and offers close-up views of its key participants, including one with an uncanny knack for evading the law.....

[Yolanda Morgenstern]

I just read Paris '97 by Eric Hamilton, which is the pen name of Eric Wilson, the famous Canadian children's author. It's a crime/thriller/conspiracy novel based around the factual circumstances of Princess Diana's death. It's a really exciting book (I couldn't put it down) that's full of suspense, chases and action, but the best part is the twist at the end. I'm not going to tell you what that is because, but it's a theory I've never heard before and it's totally believable.

For those of you who are familiar with his children's book, Paris 97 has a similar fast-paced style, but Eric Hamilton has stepped it up for adults. A lot of authors can't pull that off but I found that he kept true to his writing style while creating an appropriate novel for adults. The book has a website if you want to check it out. I think there's some info on Amazon as well.

[Lapssone]

In The Woods by Tana French was amazing. I'm reading her second book, The Likeness, now and it's shaping up to be even better

[Jennyfields]

Harlen Coben... mmm, must look for his books. thanks for the tip! Currently I'm reading Ludlum- lots of thrills and spills. Had to stop myself at 3 a.m, working next day... sigh....

Harlan Coben has quickly become one of my favorite authors in the crime genre. If you like him you may also like Jonathan Kellerman and Robert B. Parker.

[Fanlynne]

I started reading mystery The Fourth Watcher by Tim Hallinan. It is set in Bangkok and living in Thailand I decided to pick it up. It is really stupid. First of all, though the author lives in Thailand you could have fooled me. It seems like New York or Cleveland or anywhere but here. Then there is a secret service guy who acts like no one in real life. I worked with plenty of feds in my career and they are all real polite. The guy in this book would not have even made it through academy. Then at one point this spy says the secret service investigates counterfeiting but you would think the treasury dept. would do this. Everyone knows secret service is part of treasury dept., or at least it was. Mybe its in DHS now but still it was always part of treasury. Then there is an 8 year old Thai street kid who speaks English in a more sophisticated manner than my own daughter in US who has 2 masters degrees. Also there is a 6 foot tall Thai girlfriend who runs an agency for high paid maids. All the maids I know of here are very low-paid Burmese illegal immigrants. If you want to know about Thailand, crime or reality, do not read this mishmash.

[Fran]

Harlen Coben... mmm, must look for his books. thanks for the tip! Currently I'm reading Ludlum- lots of thrills and spills. Had to stop myself at 3 a.m, working next day... sigh....

Harlan Coben has quickly become one of my favorite authors in the crime genre. If you like him you may also like Jonathan Kellerman and Robert B. Parker.

Agree totally Harlan Coban is superb as is Jonathan Kellerman .... I'm not familiar with Robt Parker but I'll give him a try

[Scottbuda]

Just finished True Blue by Baldacci-pretty good.

[Chand]

So I've just began reading novels, and James Patterson's "Alex Cross", series has just been amazing for me. However my problem is now I haven't been able to find other books that have been keeping my interest. I tried The Camel Club, by David Baldacci, but it put me to sleep, now i'm just lookin for something similar to another Alex Cross. Anyone have any ideas??

[BookWorm15]

This is the first Julie Myerson book that I have read and I really enjoyed it.

In the opening chapter it had the feel of a ghost story and although it wasn't one, it never really lost that ethereal quality. Seen through the eyes of a thirteen year old, the story was like that of a very dark fairytale. Its hard to find a book that you just don't want to put down.