Seeking recommendations for an avid mystery reader! It’s my first time posting here- hoping I’m doing it right!
Looking for mystery series, ideally:
– set outside of big North American cities (ideally detailed, atmospheric UK/Europe that transports you)
– without a ton of gratuitous swearing (doesn’t need to be proper cozy though)
– without much romance (ideally not a main focus)
– not too many confusing timelines
Top Favourites: (just listing authors as she’s read everything they’ve written):
Sue Grafton,
Ruth Rendell,
Donna Leon,
Peter May,
Anne Cleeves,
Martin Walker,
Dick Francis (+ Felix),
Elizabeth George,
PD James,
Jo Nesbø,
Peter Robinson,
Colin Dexter
Really Enjoyed :
Jussi Adler-Olsen,
Steig Larsson,
Deborah Crombie,
Richard Osman,
Ragnar Jónasson,
Camilla Läckberg,
Michael Connelly,
Arnaldur Indriðason,
Henning Mankell,
Peter Høeg,
Yrsa Siguroardottir
Fine but not her faves:
Lars Kepler,
Keith Moray,
Nele Neuhaus,
Ian Rankin,
Charles Todd,
Robert Galbraith,
Louise Penney,
Maj Sjöwall,
Fred Vargas
Has also enjoyed some sci-fi and fantasy but it’s not her go-to – she prefers more ‘believable” stuff as opposed to fantastical (Alastair Reynolds, China Miéville, William Gibson, Hugh Howey, George RR Martin, Frank Herbert, Ian M Banks)
I’m likely missing some but hopefully this gives a good idea! Thanks SO much for any suggestions you may have!!
by subdefective
7 Comments
Tony Hillerman. Mostly set in Navajo country.
Dorothy L. Sayers. Written and set in the UK between WWI and WWII.
Elizabeth Peters. The Amelia Peabody series is set in the Egyptian archeological scene in late Victorian times and through to the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. They are Victorian melodrama pastiche. The Vicky Bliss books are mostly set in more modern Europe.
Agatha Christie? Not really big city, I think, and complete focus on the mystery.
The Mermaid Singing by Val McDermid (the first in the Tony Hill & Carol Jordan series) is a mystery/thriller where a forensic psychologist and a detective inspector team up to track down a serial killer. It is a dark story but a great read. The story is set in the fictional English city of Bradfield.
Robert Gilbreth books
Brother Cadfael series.
‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt is a novel I recommend for its atmospheric and intellectual take on the mystery genre. The story of a group of classics students at an elite New England college who become entwined in a murder is both erudite and thrilling.
I suggest ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn to readers looking for a modern psychological thriller. The book’s masterful use of unreliable narrators and its dark examination of marriage make it a standout mystery that’s both sophisticated and utterly compelling.