What other authors would I enjoy?

Question

I love crime novels, my favourite authors are Michael Connelly, Ed McBain, Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Robert Crais, Faye Kellerman, Jonathon Kellerman, Jessie Kellerman... who else writes like these?

Answer 1

Hmm. A lot of those authors don't write like each other. But since you said Lawrence Block, you might like Raymond Chandler, Dashielle Hammet and Mickey Spillane. These are all writers from the 30's - 50's but they pretty much defined the genre', pulled it from pulp into something respectable.

Since you like the humorous Evanovich, you might try Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard.

If you're not afraid of grim, there's Patricia Cornwall and James Ellroy.

Hope that helps! I'm also a big proponent of the library because then if you hate it at least you didn't have to *pay* for it!

Answer 2

I love Janet Evanovich too! Especially the plum series. Try the Linda Barnes books, (Carlotta Carlyle series) it lacks the humor but still has the crime aspect, enjoy!

Answer 3

James Patterson, Denis LeHane,Harlam Coben, Patricia cornwell
these guys a great to. I have read most of the authors you have except for janet Evanovich whats she like?

Answer 4

Maybe you've already read him, but how about James Ellroy? He writes crime fiction set in the 50's and 60's in Los Angeles. He wrote LA Confidential, which the movie was based on.

He writes in a unique style that takes a while to get used to, but his books are really good.

I'd recommend starting with American Tabloid. It mixes fictional characters (FBI agents, criminals, etc.) with real events from history in the 50's and early 60's, like the Bay of Pigs, the Kennedy Assasination, etc. It's a really good book with a sequel called The Cold Six Thousand.

Here's a summary from Amazon:
The story hinges on the entanglements of three 40-something government mercenaries who play major, behind-the-scenes roles in such events as the Bay of Pigs and the assassination of the president. Suave and sybaritic Kemper Boyd pimps for JFK while carrying out simultaneous undercover work for the CIA, FBI, Robert Kennedy and the Mob. Hulking, sadistic ex-L.A. cop Pete Bondurant, a hired killer for Jimmy Hoffa, digs dirt for a drug-addled Howard Hughes while training a cadre of bloodthirsty, anti-Castro Cuban exiles off the Florida Coast. Idealistic FBI wiretapper Ward Littel, following a series of disastrous anti-Mafia operations, becomes a Machiavellian mob lawyer. All three rub shoulders with an enormous cast of real-life characters, including clever, two-dimensional portraits of the Kennedy family, J. Edgar Hoover and Jack Ruby. Exercising his muscular, shorthand prose, Ellroy moves the narrative from break-in to lurid assignation to brutal hit job in a tightening gyre that culminates in the murder of the president.

Answer 5

James Patterson, Dean Koontz.

Answer 6

Hermann Hesse is good, as is Orson Scott Card....not sure who I like in the crime novel aarea though. I tend to stick with sci-fi like 'The Clockwork Orange', '1984' and 'The Left Hand of Darkness'. You might like Walter Mosely. He's a good writer.

Answer 7

You might like Iris Johansen. She does a large variety of mystery novels featuring different characters (search and rescue, forensic scientists, etc) that are really interesting. They have good plots and twists, and you also learn a lot more about the different professions, which is something I enjoy in a book.

Answer 8

Early Dean Koontz and Patricia Cornwell (esp. the Scarpetta series).

Answer 9

Have you tried Patricia Cornwell? I also like Elizabeth George.

Answer 10

My boyfriend got me into books by Kafka and Orwell. But the ones you listed are pretty good.