Calling enthusiasts of crime fiction!

Ah, I forgot the famous Georges Simenon..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Simenon

I only read one of his books and that a long time ago.. remember liking it.

Conan Doyle once said that the more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult it is to bring it home...

There is no drama without a little horror...

I remembered another good writer, Donald Westlake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Westlake

I'm a fan of Robert B Parker's "Spenser" novels. If I had to pick five favorites,
they would be A Catskill Eagle, Mortal Stakes, Taming A Seahorse, Pale Kings
And Princes, and A Savage Place.

I also like the "Brother Cadfael" novels of Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter).
Too hard to pick favorites there.

ITV serialised some of the Cadfael books, with Derek Jacobi in the title role.

Speaking of English and American crime writers; one of the best current American crime writers is English.
His name is Lee Child and his protagonist is Jack Reacher.
I believe there are 15 books in the series and I've devoured everyone, sometimes in an all-night reading marathon.
If you want to read them in chronological order here is the list:
http://leechild.com/books.php

Warning: Once you start it's hard to stop.

I was trying to remember his name, like him too, Panz.

I love James Patterson's books.

Some have turned into movies, such as "kiss the girls".. He seems to make it all feel so real and follows on with his characters such as Alex Cross. Morgan Freeman played him in kiss the girls.

For me? Probably as I have always had an interest in physcology, looking for the pattern of why people murder, perhaps.. I used to read Ann Rule, she was a Detective in real life, in America. Her books were non-fiction and some, quite shocking, some she gained permission from the "Murders" to write their stories..

It's easy to read a book, not easy to be shocked or gleen a different ending than you thought was going to happen... That makes it hard to put a book down.

I so need to slow down with work and start reading again...

Whilst craving a cup of coffee, no doubt

I've heard a rumor that Tom Cruise is set to portray Reacher in One Shot...aargh! Cruise is the very last person I envision when conjuring a mental image of Jack Reacher!

Yes, we got them this side as well. Jacobi was outstanding!

Wow, this thread is great. I'm new to the genre, and i ain't never heard a most a these jokers . . .

Brother Cadfael was OK, but he didn't really get me excited. Has anyone else here read any of the novels of Ariana Franklin (i just learned that that was a pen name for Diana Norman, who has now sadly crossed the bar)? She wrote Mistress of the Art of Death, The Serpent's Tale, Grave Goods and A Murderous Procession. You can visit her web site here. The premise is an awful stretch, but if you accept it, these are cracking good mystery yarns and adventure stories. I highly recommend them.

I haven't gotten in gear yet to mention the many many many (as my friend Bonnie used to say) ex-pat writers from England, US, etc, who have written mysteries/crime procedurals set in Italy. Some hefty portion of those have to do with art theft. Oh, then there's Dan Brown, a name that causes me to swear.. not just about the writing, but now Volterra is some damned tourist magnet. I've easily read two or three hundred of these things. Some names rise to the top, later on that.

Still want to write a Soho Crime post. This'll be a good way to list my hoard in case I figure out how to sell them as a batch. It's easier though for people to just go to the site, which is plenty informative. http://www.sohocrime.com/
The backlist makes me salivate.

Panz will remember John D. MacDonald.. all of which I enjoyed, but haven't read for a long time.

If ya like horseracing, William Murray, a good writer of many genres, wrote some crime books about that. Well, so did whatsisname, a prolific writer I'm forgetting right now... but I found Murray more interesting. Edit, that was Dick Francis.

Adds, on selling my Sohos as a batch, I'm thinking of Powell's books or some similar places. Not hinting re people on a2k. There's a famous bookstore in Denver I want to check out that might buy a set like that.

I just was introduced to a new writer - Jamie Freveletti. She's a trial lawyer and came by accident into writing. So far she's written 3 books and they're so enthralling, I couldn't put the book down until it was finished.

She writes thrillers about current events - the hijacking in Somalia, the tourist kidnappings in Colombia and her latest book is about drug trafficking in Mexico. All 3 books have the same main characters - Emma Caldridge, a chemist, Cameron Sumner, works undercover for the DOD (dept. of defense), Banner and Strohmeyer are high ranking ex-military and affiliated with the DOD.

I hope she's writing her 4th book in a hurry as I am addicted now!

Listening, those sound v. interesting, CJane.

Henning Mankell and Patricia Highsmith are also favorites of mine.

There is also a German writer - Frank Schätzing who writes brilliantly.
"Death and the Devil" is so captivating. A historic thriller that plays in the
year 1260. Murders and mayhem in Medieval Germany. It's translated into English too.

Yes, you'd like her style of writing, osso. Very analytical (like a lawyer), detail oriented, yet so captivating. I am in awe with her.

I'm trying to get Roger to read Mankell.. not doing well so far. (Hi, Roger)

Highsmith, I had an early copy of hers in hardback. What the hell did I do with it.. probably salvation army.

updated list
(feel free to correct any misspellings or add any omissions):

Arthur Conan Doyle
Ngaio Marsh
Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Dorothy Sayers
P. D. James
Sue Grafton
Raymond Chandler
Phillip Kerr
Barbara Nadel
Jacqueline Winspear
Donna Leon
Henning Mankell
Agatha Christie
Sara Paretsky
China Mieville
Louise Penny.
Ian Rankin
Henning Mankell
Gianrico Carofiglio
Janwillem van de Wetering
Nicolas Freeling
Jakob Arjouni
Ed McBain
Walter Mosley
Donald Westlake
John Lescroart
John Dunning
Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza
RNatsuo Kirino
Robert Wilson
Leonardo Padura
Georges Simenon
Donald Westlake
Robert B Parker
Ellis Peters
Lee Child
James Patterson
Ariana Franklin
John D. MacDonald
William Murray
Dick Francis
Patricia Highsmith
Frank Schätzing
Jamie Freveletti

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