The list starts with the author, then the setting, and a good starter title.
|
Harold Adams |
Depression-era, small-town amateur sleuth Carl Wilcox |
The Man Who Was Taller Than God |
|
Lydia Adamson |
Cozies with actress/cat-sitter or veterinarian sleuths |
A Cat in the Manger |
|
Catherine Aird |
Classic English cozies with Inspector C.D. Sloan |
A Late Phoenix |
|
Susan Wittig Albert |
Herbalist China Bayles solves crimes and life challenges |
Thyme of Death |
|
Bruce Alexander |
Blind 18th century London magistrate and helpers |
Blind Justice |
|
Margery Allingham |
Golden-age English cozies featuring Albert Campion |
The Tiger in the Smoke |
|
Donna Andrews |
Meg Andrews and oddball relatives in zany cozies |
Murder, with Peacocks |
|
|
Miss Marple as microchip—AI detective Turing Hopper |
You’ve Got Murder |
|
Nancy Atherton |
Lawyer and ghostly aunt solve English cottage cozies |
Aunt Dimity’s Death |
|
Ace Atkins |
Prof tracks blues musicians and killers in gritty South |
Crossroad Blues |
|
E.C. Ayres |
Deep South private eye with environmental themes |
The Hour of the Manatee |
|
Marian Babson |
Clever English cozies with cats |
To Catch a Cat |
|
Donald Bain |
Murder, She Wrote (the books, he writes) |
Gin and Daggers |
|
Mignon Ballard |
Touched by a Detective—guardian angel solves crimes |
Angel at Troublesome Creek |
|
Jo Bannister |
Psychological suspense related to a search business |
Reflections |
|
|
Police procedurals in Castlemere, England |
A Bleeding of Innocents |
|
Robert Barnard |
Satirical, twisty mysteries in a variety of settings |
Death and the Chaste Apprentice |
|
Linda Barnes |
PI Carlotta Carlyle solves Boston crimes with moxie |
A Trouble of Fools |
|
Nevada Barr |
Ranger Anna Pigeon fights crime in national parks |
Track of the Cat |
|
Stephanie Barron |
Jane Austen as detective |
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor |
|
Nancy Bartholomew |
Exotic dancer Sierra Lavotini leads humorous series |
Drag Strip |
|
M.C. Beaton |
Insecure, funny amateur solves cozies in the Cotswolds |
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death |
|
Carol Lea Benjamin |
New York PI and her pit bull take a bite out of crime |
This Dog for Hire |
|
Laurien Berenson |
Single mother solves crimes on the dog show circuit |
A Pedigree to Die For |
|
John Billheimer |
Country crimes for West Va. transportation investigator |
The Contrary Blues |
|
Claudia Bishop |
Culinary cozies feature an inn owner and her chef sister |
A Taste for Murder |
|
Veronica Black |
Sleuthing nun in Cornwall settings |
A Vow of Chastity |
|
Eleanor Taylor Bland |
Gritty Chicago procedurals featuring Marti MacAlister |
Dead Time |
|
Lawrence Block |
Modern noir with alcoholic ex-cop Matt Scudder |
The Sins of the Fathers |
|
|
Witty Manhattan burglar in light mysteries |
Burglars Can’t Be Choosers |
|
Michael Bond |
French food critic sleuths with his dog, Pommes Frites |
Monsieur Pamplemousse |
|
Stephen Booth |
Derbyshire detective duo delve in dark doings |
Black Dog |
|
J.S. Borthwick |
Maine grad student and doctor are amateur sleuths |
The Case of the Hook-Billed Kites |
|
Gail Bowen |
Canadian prof manages her family amid investigations |
Deadly Appearances |
|
Peter Bowen |
Metis Indian cattle inspector in moody Montana |
Coyote Wind |
|
Rhys Bowen |
Likable Constable Evan Evans in North Wales setting |
Evans Above |
|
C.J. Box |
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett in twisty mysteries |
Open Season |
|
Gerry Boyle |
Tough NY Times investigative reporter is exile in Maine |
Deadline |
|
John Brady |
Irish police procedurals mixed with political intrigue |
Stone of the Heart |
|
Lilian Jackson Braun |
Qwilleran and his cats solve light and airy mysteries |
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards |
|
Simon Brett |
Brett has several series, all done with humor |
The Body on the Beach |
|
Emily Brightwell |
1890's housekeeper makes inept Scotland Yarder look good |
The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries |
|
Rita Mae Brown |
Cat and other pets help owner solve VA crimes |
Wish You Were Here |
|
Marshall Browne |
One-legged inspector fights mafia and terrorists in S. Italy |
The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders |
|
Ken Bruen |
Jack Taylor stars in menacing Irish noir |
The Guards |
|
Anthony Bruno |
Odd-couple NJ duo hunt parole violators |
Devil's Food |
|
Edna Buchanan |
Miami crime reporter Britt Montero tracks gritty crimes |
Contents Under Pressure |
|
Fiona Buckley |
Lady-in-waiting solves crimes set in Elizabeth I's court |
To Shield the Queen |
|
James Lee Burke |
Deputy Dave Robicheaux in Big Easy and bayou settings |
The Neon Rain |
|
|
Billy Bob Holland, country attorney and former TX ranger |
Cimarron Rose |
|
Jan Burke |
Resourceful So. Cal. reporter in tensely plotted tales |
Goodnight, Irene |
|
Gwendoline Butler |
Inspector Coffin in South London police procedurals |
Death Lives Next Door |
|
Dorothy Cannell |
Interior decorator and writer/chef husband are amateur sleuths |
The Thin Woman |
|
Raymond Chandler |
Defined hard-boiled noir with P.I. Phillip Marlowe |
The Big Sleep |
|
G.K. Chesterton |
Gentle Father Brown in short crime stories |
The Innocence of Father Brown |
|
Laura Childs |
Southern cozies in teahouse and scrapbooking shop |
Keepsake Crimes |
|
Margaret Chittenden |
Divorcee and bar owner mixes amateur sleuthing and romance |
Dying to Sing |
|
Agatha Christie |
Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot of course! |
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd |
|
Jill Churchill |
Suburban single mom does cozy Miss Marple impersonation |
Grime and Punishment |
|
Jon Cleary |
Scobie Malone police procedurals with a Sydney setting |
Dark Summer |
|
Harlan Coben |
Sports agent Myron Bolitar in witty modern noir |
Deal Breaker |
|
Tim Cockey |
Undertaker and amateur sleuth solves funny Baltimore mysteries |
The Hearse You Came in On |
|
Margaret Coel |
Jesuit missionary and Arapaho lawyer on the reservation |
The Eagle Catcher |
|
Susan Conant |
Holly Winter and her malamutes in mysteries for dog lovers |
A New Leash on Death |
|
Michael Connelly |
Harry Bosch fights crime and corruption in LA procedurals |
The Black Echo |
|
Beverly Connor |
Forensic anthropologist solves with science in the South |
A Rumor of Bones |
|
K.C. Constantine |
Strong characters in West PA police procedurals |
The Man Who Liked to Look at Himself |
|
Tom Corcoran |
Hard-boiled gumbos of Key West eccentrics |
The Mango Opera |
|
Patricia Cornwell |
Gutsy forensic examiner Kay Scarpetta in VA/NC mysteries |
Postmortem |
|
Philip Craig |
Ex-cop turned fisherman solves crime on Martha’s Vineyard |
A Beautiful Place to Die |
|
Robert Crais |
Continues the L.A. private detective tradition admirably |
The Monkey’s Raincoat |
|
Hamilton Crane |
English cozies with art teacher turned sleuth Miss Seeton |
Miss Seeton Cracks the Case |
|
Bill Crider |
Several series featuring professors or sheriffs in western settings |
Murder is an Art |
|
Deborah Crombie |
Scotland Yard partners share murder and a relationship |
A Share in Death |
|
Amanda Cross |
Feminist literature professor doubles as amateur sleuth |
Death in a Tenured Position |
|
Laura Crum |
Vet Gail McCarthy solves mysteries for horse lovers |
Cutter |
|
James Crumley |
Western PIs booze and brawl through hard-boiled adventures |
The Last Good Kiss |
|
Barbara D’Amato |
Chicago-set series, one with reporter, another with police |
Killer.app |
|
Mary Daheim |
Light-hearted Washington State cozies |
The Alpine Advocate |
|
Jeanne M. Dams |
English cozies solved by American widow Dorothy Martin |
The Body in the Transept |
|
Diane Mott Davidson |
Caterer raises son, cooks up a storm, and solves mysteries |
Catering to Nobody |
|
Lindsey Davis |
Marcus Didius Falco solves crime in first century Rome |
Silver Pigs |
|
Dianne Day |
Typist Fremont Jones in exotic early-1900s San Francisco mysteries |
The Strange Files of Fremont Jones |
|
Jeffery Deaver |
Quadriplegic forensic expert gets help from cop-protégé |
The Bone Collector |
|
Ed Dee |
Former cop writes about NYPD detective pair |
14 Peck Slip |
|
Nora DeLoach |
Mama and daughter Simone in S. Car. Afro-American cozies |
Mama Traps a Killer |
|
Colin Dexter |
Difficult but gifted Inspector Morse on the beat in Oxford |
Last Bus to Woodstock |
|
Michael Dibdin |
World-weary cop Aurelio Zen solves crimes around Italy |
Vendetta |
|
P.C. Doherty |
Historicals in Edwardian England and Ancient Egypt |
The Crown in Darkness |
|
Tim Dorsey |
Zany, dark-comic Fla. crime sprees headlined by serial killer |
Florida Roadkill |
|
James D. Doss |
Tribal cop delves into reservation crimes mixed with magic |
The Shaman Sings |
|
Carole Nelson Douglas |
Cat capers with feline PI Midnight Louie |
Catnap |
|
Arthur Conan Doyle |
Some guy in a funny hat…Sherlock something-or-other |
A Study in Scarlet |
|
Carola Dunn |
Manor house cozies in 1920s England |
Death at Wentwater Court |
|
John Dunning |
Denver cop sidelines as rare book collector |
Booked to Die |
|
Ruth Dudley Edwards |
Satirical misadventures of an English civil servant |
The English School of Murder |
|
Aaron J. Elkins |
Anthropologist Gideon Oliver finds skeletons (literally) in closets |
Fellowship of Fear |
|
Kate Ellis |
Black detective with archaeological skills in South Devon |
The Merchant’s House |
|
James Ellroy |
Hard-boiled brutality in a corrupt L.A. of the 40s and 50s |
The Black Dahlia |
|
Earl W. Emerson |
Seattle PI Thomas Black in a strong hard-boiled series |
The Vanishing Smile |
|
Kathy Lynn Emerson |
Lady Susanna Appleton solves Elizabethan era crimes |
Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie |
|
G.H. Ephron |
Psychologist/expert witness looks into criminal motivation |
Amnesia |
|
Loren Estleman |
Two-fisted mysteries with strong sense of Detroit’s culture |
Whiskey River |
|
Janet Evanovich |
Stephanie Plum and company in screwball NJ mysteries |
One for the Money |