Looking for a solid detective story with clever sleuths, good clues, and satisfying twists.
Loved:
Sherlock Holmes (especially The Hound of the Baskervilles)
Agatha Christie (Poirot books like Murder on the Orient Express)
The Thursday Murder Club (light & fun)
Preferences:
Classic golden age or modern mysteries
Fair-play puzzles preferred
Not too dark/gory
Standalone or first in a short series
Strong characters and atmosphere
Any favorites? Classic (Sayers, Marsh, etc.) or newer (Tana French, etc.) welcome. Thanks!
by michelledenaultrox
13 Comments
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
A good girl’s guide to murder by holly Jackson
Shutter Islane – Dennis Lehane
Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
I heartily recommend Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie series. They are not cozy but the writing is great, and she juggles plot threads like one of the folks keeping 8 plates aloft on sticks especially in the last few. The earlier ones are somewhat darker.
Five Decembers by James Kestrel [Jonathan Moore]. My most pleasantly surprising read of the last 5 years.
Old school recommendation – Raymond Chandler. He’s the OG noir detective novelist. *The Big Sleep* and *Farewell My Lovely* are two of my favorites. If you like that style Dashiell Hammett is good too – *The Maltese Falcon* is a classic.
Laurie King’s Mary Russell series
Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody series
Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Peter Wimsey series
Peter Grainger’s DC Smith Investigation series and Kings Lake Investigations series (they exist in the same literary universe)
Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series
William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series
THE CAT WHO by Lilian Jackson Braun. There are 26 books in the series.
So many –
The Second Girl by David Swinson
When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block
The Galton Case by Ross Macdonald
Miami Blues by Charles Willeford
The Guards by Ken Bruen
Where it Hurts – Reed Farrell Coleman
L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
[The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40605285-the-sweetness-at-the-bottom-of-the-pie?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=FGBkwpyha6&rank=1) by Alan Bradley, first in the Flavia de Luce series