Hard Boiled

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Anne Scott on January 2, 2008 at 5:52am

I'm mad for Raymond Chandler. I'd never really gotten into detective fiction before last year, so when my boyfriend handed me a weathered paperback copy of Chandler's "Trouble Is My Business," a collection of four of his early stories, I was nonplussed. But he persevered in his attempts to talk it up and I finally agreed to check it out. Once I started it, I found it difficult to put down and devoured it. I highly recommend giving him a read. If you want to start with a short story to feel him out, I recommend "Trouble Is My Business." This summer, I read a rumor that writer/director Frank Miller ("Sin City") is adapting "Trouble Is My Business" for the silver screen, starring Clive Owen; but I don't see anything on his IMDB profile. Hmmm... Chandler co-wrote the "Double Indemnity" screenplay with Billy Wilder. Chandler's prose is more muscular than I typically dig, but I'm a weak sister for him now.

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Permalink Reply by suz on January 4, 2008 at 2:17pm

Linda Fairstein (she can keep you busy for awhile)

Micah Hackler (Due for a revival)


Peter Bowen (hard to describe, offbeat unless you live in rural Montana, and often in dialect)


sample from foreign mystery writers

Donna Leon
Andrea Camilleri
Jacqueline Winspear (lives in the US but set in England where she's from)

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Permalink Reply by Jen on January 4, 2008 at 2:44pm

Other great prolific mystery/detective-ish authors:

Nevada Barr
Sara Paretsky
Margaret Maron
Marcia Muller
Stephen White
Cara Black
Beth Saulnier
(I also really enjoy Jacqueline Winspear.)

And ones set in NM/Abq:
Michael McGarrity
Judith Van Gieson (two different series)

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Permalink Reply by suz on January 4, 2008 at 2:52pm

I enoyed Van Giesen's two series also

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Permalink Reply by Mom Of Two on January 5, 2008 at 12:25pm

Diane Mott Davidson and Joanne Fluke are good girl detective books complete with recipes.

Diane Mott Davidson writes about a caterer married to a small town cop in Colorado.

Joanne Fluke writes about a single, female cookie store owner.

Both are fun and light reading, complete with recipes from what the girls in the books are cooking or baking.

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Permalink Reply by Lissa Heineman on January 7, 2008 at 10:13am

Yes, I love Sue Grafton too. I'm from SoCal so I love the landscapes and descriptions of plqces. It takes place in Santa Barbara, Sue Grafton lives or lived in Santa Barbara. Elizabeth George's mysteries take place in England, as I recall but I believe she used to live in Santa Fe. McGarrity and Van Gleison are great for New Mexico reading Nevada Barr's earlier books are better than the latest ones, she is (was) a park ranger and they take place in various national parks. The scariest is the one about a forest fire. Gotta go.

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Permalink Reply by Edith Grove on January 24, 2008 at 2:14pm

I loooove detective fiction! But I'm also pretty demanding of my writers. I've been spoiled by detective writers that can write a book that stands as a novel just as much as a genre piece. Here are some of my absolute favorites:

James Lee Burke - the Robicheaux series has a lot going for it. They're set in Louisiana and feature some beautiful and devastating prose. Black Cherry Blues is a good place to start.

Ross MacDonald - my favorite of the West Coast hard-boiled writers. More poetic than Chandler or Hammett. The Goodbye Look and The Underground Man are two good ones out of a great catalog.

Walter Mosley - He can be a little hit and miss, but most of the Easy Rawlins books are very strong. Starting early in the series (Devil in a Blue Dress) is a good idea. Set in Watts starting in the late 1940s. The character of Mouse is one of the most dynamic and deadly sidekicks ever created.

Those are just a few of my American writer recommendations. There are some fantastic British writers to check into also: Reginald Hill (the Dalziel and Pascoe series), Colin Dexter (the Inspector Morse series), P.D. James (a very reliable quality writer - particularly enjoy the Dalgliesh series) and Margery Allingham (the Campion series is a lot of fun).

In a misc. category - Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen series (set in Italy) are consistently well written. I recommend reading them in order. For a mind blast, John Burdett's three-book long (so far) series of Thai detective novels are fun, exotic and violent.

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Permalink Reply by Dana Tierney on December 29, 2009 at 10:00pm

beautiful and devastating -- I agree. Some of the few books that made me say "wow." And I agree, start at the beginning.

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Permalink Reply by hannahbee on January 25, 2008 at 9:08am

Wow, I actually feel envy that you're starting this series with so many "letters" already written! I just finished "T" recently. You're so lucky. I agree with the Diane Mott Davidson recommedation, especially if you're a foodie or into cooking! I also second Walter Mosely and offer Jonathan Kellerman. I like his Dr Alex Delaware novels -- protagonist is a child psychologist, so there's a lot of trauma/tragedy/loss of innocence in the mysteries....um, not that those things are "good" but they make for compelling reading! :P

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Permalink Reply by hettie on January 27, 2008 at 12:21am

I heartily second edith grove on james lee burke--I love the robicheaux books. make sure you begin at the beginning with burke, as the characters develop and change a lot throughout the series; the thing I enjoy most is the arc of dave robicheaux's story and how he just keeps on, solving mysteries as a balm for his own screwed up life. I haven't read his other series (I think it takes place in wyoming, maybe), so I can't speak to those.

in a completely different vein, I've enjoyed janet evanovich's "stephanie plum" series (I know I've mentioned these in book club before). plum is funny and a little bumbling and the other characters, especially her gun-toting, funeral loving grandma, are always entertaining, if not 100% plausible.

over the holiday season, I started reading the #1 ladies detective agency series and I've only got one left, so I'm trying to wait a bit before I read the most recent one. they're very different from typical detective fiction, but if you enjoy the rhythm that mccall sets and the characters he builds, it's a nice series. sort of comfortable reading, if that makes any sense.

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Permalink Reply by vashti on January 30, 2008 at 9:34pm

I agree with Samantha on Raymond Chandler...I first looked for his work after hearing Robyn Hitchcock's "Raymond Chandler Evening" and, well, that experience totally worked out for me and that remains true to this day. I also second the Walter Moseley "Easy Rawlins" recs. And - I have to say I've read every Agatha Christie mystery - the Miss Marples and the Hercule Poirots and enjoyed them every one. Thanks too for the reminder on the Sue Grafton series...it's occurred to me to check them out at the library but I haven't yet made it a priority, now I just might!

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Permalink Reply by sophie on February 21, 2008 at 3:49pm

Thanks to a really generous birthday package, I'm now reading the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich. Loving them.

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