Been reading a lot of literary fiction lately so I’m looking to mix it up and delve into genre fiction again. I’d love a few good detective novels that are well-written, with interesting characters, a strong atmosphere, and a compelling mystery. Bonus points if the story is set in the 20s/30s/40s/50s/60s.
by WiaXmsky
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The Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty, starting with The Cold, Cold Ground. Irish Catholic cop in Protestant Belfast during the Troubles in the 1980s.
Farewell, My Lovely written in 1940, The Little Sister (1949), and The Long Goodbye (1953). All by Raymond Chandler. Elmore Leonard writes some fun stories peopled with eccentric characters. Tishomingo Blues and Get Shorty are two of his.
The [Mr and Mrs North books](https://www.goodreads.com/series/80883-mr-mrs-north) are fun, and run from the 40s to the 60s.
Try The Number One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.
More whimsical than breezy but the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde is the most fearlessly creative fiction I’ve ever read. The Eyre Affair is the first book. His two Nursery Crime books are also wonderful, The Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear.
Red Harvest or The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
For a mystery that delves into the art world’s depths, ‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt is a book I find myself suggesting time and again. The novel’s exploration of love, loss, and the transformative power of art is wrapped around a central mystery that’s as compelling as it is complex.