Crime, Thrillers, Horror and Mystery Recommendations

[Maud Fitch]

.....Have you read much of Cormack McCarthy? If you like dark and foreboding, noir-type writing I think you will like him....I've read all of his books and if I read one more I will have to start seeing a therapist. Very dark ... very deep ... like Kafka without a bug fetish.

Thanks, DATo. I was hanging by a thin thread of sanity after reading The Road and will take a breather before attempting another of his works.

Just finished reading "When The Devil Drives" by Chris Brookmyre.

I have not read any of Brookmyre’s more humorous novels but being a journalist and theatre reviewer he acquits himself well with this thespian based mystery. He has vast knowledge of plays and productions and Macbeth features throughout although he doesn't hesitate to use his characters to expound his own theories. The book title itself is a quote pre-dating Shakespeare which basically means taking no responsibility for your actions. Quite fitting really.

Jasmine Sharp has inherited her Scottish uncle Jim’s private investigation agency and often gets hired to locate missing persons. She is given the task of finding out where Mrs Alice Petrie’s younger sister, actress Tessa Garrion, might be now. After an estranged silence lasting three decades, fledgling PI Jasmine is sure the ending will not be a happy one.

During the course of her explorations, a wealthy privileged suspect gets his head blown off at a stately home hence the introduction of the ‘polis’. The reader then meets Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod, who suffers the increasingly obligatory family troubles at home. We trek across Scotland following both Jasmine and Catherine’s line of enquiry, albeit two different victims, yet leading to the one theatre company which disbanded in 1981 nursing a big secret. At the same time Tessa went missing. Questions come thick and fast regarding failed actors, professional jealousy, illicit drugs, snuff videos, a circuitous rise to fame and a clandestine pact of evil. Plus an aberrant mixture of egos and blatant lies.

There’s a couple of tense scenes involving Jasmine which I think are well handled and credibly written but not fast-paced, so settle in for a longish read. And perhaps it's a book for those who want a break from graphic details. I like resolution at the end of crime fiction and this one delivers.

[Weegrum]

Thanks for some of the recommendations on this post I look forward to checking some of these books and authors out!

[claire mckay]

Stuart MacBride for fast and funny crime and John Connelly for a more supernatural edge!

[LD025767]

Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy Collins (Horror)
this is a female vampire killer like Blade but written well before that movie was released. She's a no-nonsense punk virtuoso fashioned from a poor little rich girl life. It will keep you guessing, and often cringing in sympathy for her foes.

The Anita Blake Series by Laurell K. Hamilton
I'm addicted to Ms. Hamilton's books. This series features a heroine who has no qualms about being smaller than average in a job traditionally reserved for big, tough men. Anita Blake does not pull her punches and Ms. Hamilton does not shy away from accuracy in any area, whether it's firearms used, fighting styles, details of a murder, or the complicated romance, morals, and conscience of her heroine.

[sarahcraig43]

Thank you for the recommendation on the Karen Rose books. I just checked them out on Amazon - I can't wait to start reading them!

[mazarellirp]

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?

The Reacher books are better as a series. Each book can stand alone but as a whole they all become much better.

Lee Child's books are like an addiction to some. As long as you're able let go of reality ... they provide a fun ride. Jack Reacher is the ex-cop who skirts the border of being criminal ... but to the reader ... it's all for the right reasons.

[Eggroll]

Been reading Raymond Chandler's (see avatar) Philip Marlowe books. Classic hard boiled detective fiction. He really makes vintage 40s LA come alive. Maybe my favorite author ever.

[Njkinny]

I like Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle's books.. They provide the right mix of mystery, suspense and great detective work..

[sarabeara]

a good mystery/crime book is the nancy drew series!!!

[autocash]

You really can't go wrong with the Vince Flynn series of books. Mitch Rapp is the man. Just a shame that Vince passed away this year.

[Edkurt1]

I recommend William Diehl, Primal Fear and its sequel, Show of Evil. Nicely done!

[cadetjpj8]

A great read wold be "The Husband" by Dean Koontz. It is a great representation of how brothers and sisters can be raised in the same psychologically disturbing environment and come out completely different. This alone makes the book good.

However, if you want something more primal read "Shadowfires" by the same author. Made me fall in love with the genre.

[jeromysangel6]

I've been a little stuck on Heather Grahm books. And Sherilyn Kenyon the chronicals of nick. Soo good!

[suzy1124]

at times i'm in the mood for a good mystery ( and /or a good sandwich )...Saunders always left me hungry w/his unusual concoctions...master sleuth, and chef too .. ...who knew?

[aamnaally78]

ive just started reading the the study in scarlett in the Sherlock holmes series after the bbc hit show sherlock