Many of my favorite authors were listed by Pat and colormeconfused, so IÂll just list some additional favorite crime authors:
William Kent Krueger  Start with Copper River
Julia Spencer-Fleming  Start with In the Bleak Midwinter
Jim Fusilli  Start with Closing Time
Jan Burke  Especially recommend Bones and Bloodlines
Mark Billingham  Start with Sleepyhead
Michael Robotham  Start with Suspect
P.J. Tracy  Start with Monkeywrench
David Rosenfelt  Start with Open and Shut

Of the stand-alones, these were some of my favorite reads:
Silent Joe, T. Jefferson Parker
Red Leaves, Thomas H. Cook
The King of Lies, John Hart

cc -- Hope you enjoy him.

Nobody's mentioned my favorite: Tony Hillerman.

I've also enjoyed books by:
Sue Henry - she writes about Alaska
Nevada Barr - Anna Pigeon books

Crime fiction is one of my fav genres too.

I like:

Mark Billingham
Elizabeth George
J A Konrath (funny as, or funnier than, Evanovich but with a much better crime part)
P J Tracy (but thought the last, Snow Blind was poor NB the first in Australia is called Want To Play)
C J Sansom (set in the time of Henry VIII)
Agatha Christie
Jack Kerley
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (subtle, dry English humour)

Authors I tired of:
Cornwall (too much about the sad/weird life of the characters)
Grafton (ditto)
Fairstein

I'm sure I'll think of more when the excellent Zema Estate Coonawarra Cab-Sav wears off :-)

P D James, Ruth Rendell....I've read all of theirs, I think.

I am a fan of the Nero Wolfe series...especially the early books. The stories are kind of a combination of cozy and hardboiled mysteries. I appreciate the humor and the atmosphere of 1930s and 1940s New York.

Has anyone mentioned Simenon and Ellis Peters?

Most of my favorites have been mentioned but how about Peter Robinson?

I also love Susan Hill's new mystery series and Charles Todd writes a WW1 era series with Inspector Ian Rutledge that I like.
I'm sure I'll think of more.

Nobody's mentioned J. Robert Janes. Set in Vichy France during WWII, the detective must work with a Gestapo partner. Very well written with real ambience and a terrific feel for the time and place.

Here's a few that are really, really good. Maybe a little less mainstream.

Stephen Greenleaf. The John Marshall Tanner Series

James Crumley. His books might be hard to find. Decadent but heroic main characters.

Jack O'Connell. Even harder to find. Weird and almost indescribable. The novels are all connected by being set in a surreal, crumbling, fictitious Massachusetts city.

As stated earlier, James Lee Burke is great. The Matt Scudder novels by Lawrence Block are also very good. George Pellecanos also writes terrific novels. I love the Greek characters in Washington, DC.

The Penguin Black Lizard series spans decades worth of the best hard boiled fiction ever written. Many of the best less well known noir writers.

Of course no list is complete without Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.

Kevin

Wrasslin' with Hodags.

My favorites are the Inspector Rostnikov books by Stuart Kaminsky. I also like:
Martin Cruz Smith and James Lee Burke.

James Lee Burke's name has appeared a few times. I must track his books down. I'm curious though, as to what makes his fiction particularly interesting?

Picassocat, I think that James Lee Burke's lyrical and descriptive prose makes him one of the finest authors working today in any genre. He's written two series, I think, and I much prefer the Dave Robicheaux series to the Billy Bob Holland series. Burke is a true stylist, and while his books are primarily classified most often as mystery or crime fiction, they are so much more than that. The classic battle between good and evil is very much in evidence in Burke's work, not only as Robicheaux fights to pursue justice, but also in Robicheaux's constant struggle with his own demons. Burke's books are gritty yet poetic, and there aren't many authors who have his ability to make the location or setting a character in itself.

Anne Perry. She writes victorian murder mysteries.

Beverly Connor-just "found" her-she writes about Dr. Diane Fallon, a forensic anthropologist turned museum curator. The first book is very good. I think there are 4 so far. The character is interesting as is the supporting cast. I think she has written another series but I never tried those.

According to "Stop, You're Killing Me" she did write another, but also about a forensic anthropologist named Lindsay Chamberlain-affiliated with U. of Georgia. There are 5 titles in that series.

Lindsay Chamberlain is an archaeologist and less tortured a character than Diane Fallon. Connor is fun in that she sites the novels in a part of the country I know and has taught me history I didn't.

colormeconfused: thanks for the information on James Lee Burke. I'm keen to read some of his novels soon. Can you please recommend some specific books of his that I could start with?

I'm not CMC, but if you go to the link below, you can find a list of all Burke's books in order of publication-very helpful with series.
cece

Here is a link that might be useful: Stop You're Killing Me mystery resource

Thanks for that link CeCe. I saw that his new book is out in a month and I can't wait. From the Booklist review on Amazon:
"I wanted to wake to the great, gold-green, sun-spangled promise of the South Louisiana in which I had grown up. I didn't want to be part of the history taking place in our state." That sentence wouldn't be out of place in any of Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels, all of which have been distinguished by their elegiac tone, but it's only fitting that it should appear in his latest, a heartfelt post-Katrina ode to a lost New Orleans and a lost world. ... Burke writes about its aftermath as vividly and powerfully as any nonfiction chronicler.

Robicheaux's life goes through some pretty serious changes so it's a good idea to take James Lee Burke's series in order. I started with #5, In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead, however, and didn't suffer terribly for it.

Fell over another new series, which I had to start because of RP...
Marianne Macdonald writes a mystery series featuring Dido Hoare, a bookseller in London, England.

Whew... I am a list maker and I just finished writing down all of the authors/titles/series listed on this thread that are new and/or unknown to me. Even though I am an avid mystery fan, my list is wonderfully long. Thanks all.

There were also many on the list I've enjoyed and I have a few of my own to add:

John Dunning - his main character is an ex-cop turned used bookseller whose mysteries focus on book themes - first additions, collections, forgeries, etc.

Kate Sedley - for the life of me, I cannot figure out why this series is not front and center on the bestseller lists. It's great. Set in medieval England, the main character is Roger the Chapman. The mysteries are craftily woven and the historical detail is fantastic. I've not a bad thing to say about any of them. Read them in order as there is much character development.

Hazel Holt - cozies...featuring Mrs. Mallory. Sweet and non-graphic, perfect for reading when your attention to detail is a bit "off".

Kathy Reichs - A much better version of Patricia Cornwell.

My absolute favorite Agatha Christie - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

PAM

CeCe, thanks for posting the link. I had forgotten about that site.

I can't remember which James Lee Burke novel I started with in the Robicheaux series, but I know it wasn't the first. Chris is very correct in that there's a lot that happens in his personal life, and if the books are read out of order, it becomes very confusing. I'm not sure how other readers feel about it, but I think that Burke has gotten better and better with each novel, and I can't wait for the next one.

PAM, I've read all of Kathy Reichs books and really liked the series until the last one or two books. They don't seem to have the same sparkle as the first few. How do you feel about it? Is it just me?

I came to Reichs after I'd soured on Cornwell and overdosed on CSI. While I like them well enough, I haven't found them special. Although I did learn from and enjoy the one involving bones in an Israeli burial cave, Cross Bones, I think. I'd followed the James, Brother of Jesus, ossuary story closely and was convinced it was a forgery. Reichs gave an opposing view and while I still think it is a forgery, I no longer think everyone who thinks differently is an idiot.

I find enjoyable Eric Ambler a bit old fashioned maybe, but I like the atmosphere. I only read four of his book, but I'm going to read more

grelobe

Chris and Color,
Yes, the last few Kathy Reichs books have set me off a bit.. but I was thinking that was just me. I had a wee bit of trouble adjusting to the setting in Israel instead of Canada.. these mysteries are supposed to be in SNOW, not sand... and that tweaked me a bit. But I am not ready to give up on her. Patricia Cornwall I gave up on... I was SOOO tired of the endless descriptions of the HUGE LONG MERCEDES and THE ENORMOUS HOUSE and on and on and on. Blah.

As I just posted on the "What are you reading" thread, I just finished Lynda La Plante's new one, Red Dahlia. I won't repeat myself word for word as most of us check out that thread. I never read this author before and I think that Elizabeth George fans would really enjoy it.

PAM

read and enjoyed the third (but first that the library had) Upfield-Wings Over the Diamatina-thanks, Sarah, for the recommendation. Another on its way from the library.
Now reading Rinehart.

Thanks all for the information on Burke, I appreciate it.

Have a question for you: Have any of you read "Gunpowder Plot" by Carola Dunn? It's a Daisy Dalrymple mystery and someone suggested it for a book club read, but I am not sure. Is it a fluffy mystery? I've never heard of this series myself but then I am not a big crime reader.

Do you think this would work for a book club discussion?

I have not read that title, but I have read others in the series-definitely cozy, with overtones of romance, and occasionally doubtful historical accuracy.
The series is light and diverting, but not the stuff of which bookclub discussions are made. I can't imagine what you'd discuss-unless the leader went heavily into the role of women in the 1920s in England-and even then...

Here's a review:
At the start of Dunn's diverting 15th Daisy Dalrymple mystery (after 2005's Fall of a Philanderer), a pregnant Daisy joins her former school chum Gwen Tyndall at Edge Manor in Didmarsh-under-Edge for the Tyndalls' 1924 Guy Fawkes fete, an annual celebration the illustrious family has observed since 1606. As fireworks explode above the manor, Daisy realizes all is not well among the fractious family members, who include Gwen's sisters, Adelaide and Barbara; her prodigal brother, Jack; her fragile mother; and irascible father, Sir Harold. When Jack discovers the bodies of his father and an Australian visitor, Mrs. Gooch, it appears Sir Harold shot Mrs. Gooch and then himself. Daisy's husband, DCI Alec Fletcher, arrives to investigate the case, while Daisy exhibits her usual common sense and charm in solving it.

cc - Glad you enjoyed the Upfield. Unfortunately, our library only has two of his books. I'd really like to read some more of them.

I have been reading mystery novels that feature recipes recently (not that I cook, mainly reheat other people's efforts!) but I find it most annoying to have a page note for the recipe in the story. It kills the mental picture that I have built up. I KNOW that the recipes can be found at the end of the book, so I wish this intrusion would stop. Do other RP'ers feel this way?

Speaking of mistery books, but in this case is more a detective ones, with recipes featured, you can
find plenty of them in Manuel Vazquez Montalban books.
They are set in Barcelona (Spain) in the 80Âs. The main character is a disillusioned detective, Pepe
Carvhalo, who also is, a great cook. So in the stories there are long descriptions of him buying food in
little markets and preparing dinners. Besides there are plenty of clue and descriptions about
Barcellona both as a city and as a society in those years.
Thay are not classic detective stories, where you have to find the culprit, they are a bit like
R.Chandler books.

grelobe

Here is a link that might be useful: Manuel Vazquez Montalban

I can recommend:

Simon R. Green's series about The Nightside -- a bit supernatural and creepy with twists and turns

teacats,
Is Green's "the Nightside" a series? Tell us more, please.
PAM

Yes -- basically it is set in a magical dangerous alternative London -- with a cast of very odd characters. The main character -- a detective -- is hired (or finds his way) to solve crimes. There is a backstory that follows through the books -- about the "history" of the Nightside -- and the "history" of the hero.

The "Dresden" series (from Jim Butcher -- and now featured as a series on the Sci-Fi channel) is similar ....

Peter Temple just received the UK Crime Writer's Association award - known as the Gold Dagger - for his novel The Broken Shore, last night. I think he might be the first Australian to win this award.

Annpan, I like recipes in the middle of the text. I've never noticed them breaking up the flow, but that could be because the novels I've read that have them have never been tensely plotted mysteries.

Recipes in cozies don't bother me either, except that it usually means I need to get up and go into the kitchen...

Redux: I am a little surprised that no one else has mentioned Stuart Kaminsky. The Rostnikov books are so good and seem to be loved by his readers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stuart Kaminsky's home page

anyone read The Wrong Man-John Katzenbach? very exciting mystery thriller...

A heads up for those who mentioned liking Jack Kerley. Did you know that the fourth book in the Carson Ryder series (Little Girl Lost) may not be published in the U.S.? Apparently it's just been released in the UK, but Kerley's American publisher is nervous about a controversial plot line. I don't know the whole story so I'm not going to make judgments. I just know I have to get a hold of the book somehow, as Kerley is one of my favorite new authors and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

So can anyone tell me exactly how I can order the book from Amazon UK? Will they accept my credit card? Just how expensive will the shipping be? (Sorry to sound stupid but I've never ordered anything from the UK before.)

DorieAnn: I ordered a CD from Amazon UK not too long ago. They took my card. I don't remember if I had to enter the information again or not. Check the exchange rate before you order though so you aren't surprised when your bill arrives. A £6 CD became a $35 CD. There's quite a few sites on the internet that give daily exchange rates.

Okay, thanks Disputantum. I'll have to give it a try.

They will take an internationally accepted credit card-Visa, Mastercard, American Express...the shipping will run you as much as the book, possibly. Just depends. I've ordered through A. UK and had no problems. Sometimes takes a while to get here. Right now £1= about $2. No free shipping to non-UK addresses. Last book I investigated was £15 plus £6 pounds for shipping. I didn't order that one-$44 was a little too salty.
As a side note, a message to his American publishers about your disappointment in their decision wouldn't hurt either for the future.

Ccrdmrbks, thanks for the info. I'm prepared to pay through the nose, and have decided to buy it at the end of August when I can combine it with the purchase of Mark Billingham's newest, which won't be published in the US for at least another year.

I will definitely be dropping a note to the publisher. I already sent an encouraging email to Kerley telling him I'd be ordering the UK edition and wishing him well finding a publisher. I believe he is still looking. It's difficult for me to believe this can happen in light of the huge amoung of sheer crap that is published every year. I wonder how far away warning labels on books can be.

teacats, I need your help, please. Stop you're killing me has no info on Simon Green and I cannot find a listing of the series' order anyplace. Can you provide it?

Many thanks,
PAM

I have finally caught up with all the mysteries available so far by Stephen Booth. He is an English author whose books take place in the Peak District. I really like his writing style and his characters - a local policeman Ben Cooper & a female transplant from Birmingham named Diane Fry.

I use the web site Fantastic Fiction a lot and saw that he had other books available in England and found that it takes approx 2 years for his books to get over here.
He has a really lovely web site with a slide show of the Peak District and I wrote to him (email) about the 2 yr delay and was delighted to get a response from him within a couple of hours-I was impressed!
He said he changed publishers and this new one was still trying to catch up...so I will have to wait til sometime in 2008 to get the next one in the series.

I recommend his books for those that enjoy English mysteries.

Pat

I'm happy to know I'm not alone...I've been ordering mysteries and many other books from the UK for what seems like years. Many times they finally begin to publish an author here several years after I'm deep into a series, but then of course you have the long wait between publishing there and here-by the way who is Jack Kersley....here I go again!?

According to the Fantastic Fiction web site Jack Kerley lives in Alabama.
I have read his first 3 books and enjoyed them - The Hundreth Man, The Death Collectors & The Garden of Vipers.
He has a new one out Little Girls Lost which I plan to look for.

Pat

Regarding author Jack Kerley, here is his response to the email I sent him that contains a bit more information and clarification:

"It seems that my UK publisher has delayed publication of Little Girls Lost until after the 2008 book, feeling it's a little too different, and they want the next book to be part of the Carson Ryder-Harry Nautilus series. Carson is in Little Girls Lost, but doesn't narrate it. It's my impression that publishers think too much.

I wish I could tell you the title of the 2008 book, but I haven't come up with one yet. I'm right now staying in my little hideaway in Fairhope, Alabama, writing furiously on it. Did I mention that crazy-brother Jeremy has escaped and is ÂVacationing in Manhattan?"