The list starts with the author, then the setting, and a good starter title.
|
Jerrilyn Farmer |
Maddie Bean, Hollywood caterer, in fun mysteries |
Sympathy for the Devil |
|
Robert Ferrigno |
Fast-paced darkly-funny crime novels in So. Cal. settings |
Flinch |
|
Monica Ferris |
Minnesota needlecraft store owner as amateur sleuth |
Crewel World |
|
Kate Clark Flora |
Spunky educational consultant doubles as sleuth |
Chosen for Death |
|
Joanne Fluke |
Bakery shop owner cooks up murder action |
The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder |
|
G.M. Ford |
Seattle-set mysteries with P.I. or journalist detectives |
Fury |
|
Earlene Fowler |
Young widow/curator leads quilting-theme mysteries |
Fool’s Puzzle |
|
Dick Francis |
Action-filled mysteries in horse-racing settings |
Whip Hand |
|
Antonia Fraser |
TV reporter solves mysteries in classic English style |
Quiet as a Nun |
|
Margaret Frazer |
Medieval nun in Canterbury Tales inspired mysteries |
The Novice’s Tale |
|
Nicholas Freeling |
Quick-witted Inspector Castang on the case in Belgium |
The Night Lords |
|
Shelley Freydont |
Lindy Haggerty solves murders in the dance world |
Backstage Murder |
|
Kinky Friedman |
Offbeat Texan PI in politically incorrect NY cases |
Elvis, Jesus, and Coca-Cola |
|
Sarah Frommer |
Symphony manager solves crimes in small town Indiana |
Murder in C Major |
|
Dale Furutani |
Itinerant samurai sleuths in 17th century Japan |
Death at the Crossroads |
|
Eric Garcia |
Another LA private eye series—except this PI is a dinosaur |
Anonymous Rex |
|
Carolina Garcia-Aguilera |
Cuban-American PI Lupe Solano in Miami mysteries |
Bloody Waters |
|
Erle Stanley Gardner |
Perry Mason and The Case of the Prolific Writer |
The Case of the Velvet Claws |
|
Jonathan Gash |
Capers with Lovejoy, a crooked East Anglian antiques dealer |
Gold by Gemini |
|
Roberta Gellis |
The Madame of a 12th century London brothel as detective |
A Mortal Bane |
|
Anne George |
Polar-opposite sisters sleuth in a southern setting |
Murder on a Girls’ Night Out |
|
Elizabeth George |
Upper-crust Inspector Lynley in modern Scotland Yard |
A Great Deliverance |
|
Bartholomew Gill |
Inspector McGarr in Dublin police procedurals |
McGarr and the Politician’s Wife |
|
Dorothy Gilman |
Grandmother globetrots as a CIA operative |
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax |
|
Philip Gooden |
Mysteries connected to Shakespearian era theater company |
That Sleep of Death |
|
Alan Gordon |
A professional fool and his wife solve 13th century crimes |
Thirteenth Night |
|
Joe Gores |
Fast funny adventures of an auto repossession team |
32 Cadillacs |
|
Edward Gorman |
Midwestern P.I. against nostalgic 50s and 60s backdrop |
The Day the Music Died |
|
Sue Grafton |
Sassy Kinsey Millhone, California PI |
A is for Alibi |
|
Caroline Graham |
Chief Inspector Barnaby tops English village mysteries |
The Killings at Badger’s Drift |
|
Ann Granger |
British couple sort out their relationship and murders |
A Season for Murder |
|
Sarah Graves |
Leaving NY, finance guru finds home repair and murder in Maine |
Dead Cat Bounce |
|
Andrew Greeley |
Two series set in Chicago with Irish-American protagonists |
Irish Gold |
|
Susanna Gregory |
Doctor chases evildoers in 14th century Cambridge |
An Unholy Alliance |
|
Martha Grimes |
Inspector Jury leads ensemble cast in mysteries with humor |
The Man With a Load of Mischief |
|
Elizabeth Gunn |
Small town police procedurals in chilly Minnesota |
Triple Play |
|
Jane Haddam |
Ex-FBI man mixes with cast of great series characters |
Precious Blood |
|
Carolyn Haines |
Unconventional belle detective in zany Zinnia, Mississippi |
Them Bones |
|
Parnell Hall |
Mysteries with a crossword puzzle theme |
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady |
|
Robert Lee Hall |
Benjamin Franklin as detective |
Benjamin Franklin Takes the Case |
|
Barbara Hambly |
1830s doctor and musician fights crime and racism in New Orleans |
A Free Man of Color |
|
Lyn Hamilton |
Globetrotting antiques dealer mixes art objects and murder |
The Xibalba Murders |
|
Steve Hamilton |
Retired city cop fights crime on Michigan's Upper Peninsula |
A Cold Day in Paradise |
|
Dashiell Hammett |
Continental Op and Sam Spade novels defined noir |
Red Harvest |
|
Gerald Hammond |
Character driven hunting and fishing mysteries in Scotland |
Dead Game |
|
David Handler |
NY film critic and black policewoman in funny, romantic series |
The Cold Blue Blood |
|
Lauren Haney |
Ancient Egyptian police solve crimes for Queen Hatshepsut |
A Face Turned Backward |
|
Karen S. Harper |
Not just Elizabethan era: Elizabeth I is the detective |
The Poyson Garden |
|
Charlaine Harris |
Cleaning woman battles killers in Shakespeare, Arkansas |
Shakespeare's Landlord |
|
Lee Harris |
Ex-nun as detective in holiday-themed cozies |
The Good Friday Murder |
|
Jamie Harrison |
Life and crime in a very small Montana town |
The Edge of the Crazies |
|
Janis Harrison |
Gardening sowed with a healthy crop of murders |
Roots of Murder |
|
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles |
Inspector Bill Slider in clever London police procedurals |
Orchestrated Death |
|
Donald Harstad |
Iowa police procedurals with a Midwestern style |
Eleven Days |
|
Carolyn G. Hart |
South Carolina cozies set in a mystery bookstore |
Death on Demand |
|
Robin Hathaway |
Doctors double as amateur sleuths in two series |
The Doctor Digs a Grave |
|
Steven Havill |
Investigations of the sheriff’s office in tiny Posadas County, NM |
Heartshot |
|
Simon Hawke |
Young Will Shakespeare as detective with sidekick actor |
A Mystery of Errors |
|
Sparkle Hayter |
TV newswoman Robin Hudson in outrageous comedy mysteries |
What’s a Girl Gotta Do? |
|
Jeremiah Healy |
Boston P.I. John Francis Cuddy |
Blunt Darts |
|
Lauren Henderson |
London sculptress in satirical, bawdy murders |
Black Rubber Dress |
|
April Henry |
Feisty Oregon amateur sleuth solves romantic mysteries |
Circles of Confusion |
|
Sue Henry |
Sled dog racer and state trooper in Alaska mysteries |
Murder on the Iditarod Trail |
|
Joan Hess |
Comic mysteries featuring eccentric Maggody, Arkansas residents |
Malice in Maggody |
|
Patricia Highsmith |
Crimes from the point of view of a charming sociopath |
The Talented Mr. Ripley |
|
Reginald Hill |
Dalziel and Pascoe in sharp Yorkshire police procedurals |
A Killing Kindness |
|
Tony Hillerman |
Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee in Navajo reservation crimes |
The Blessing Way |
|
Chester Himes |
Classic, gritty, streetwise Harlem noir |
Cotton Comes to Harlem |
|
Hazel Holt |
British cozies featuring literary critic Sheila Mallory |
The Cruellest Month |
|
Hugh Holton |
Chicago-set action mysteries with supernatural elements |
Presumed Dead |
|
Susan Holtzer |
Computer whiz Anneke Hagen headlines suburban Mich. cozies |
Something to Kill For |
|
Fred Hunter |
Homicide cop and whip smart elderly female friend in Chicago |
Presence of Mind |
|
Bill James |
Harpur & Iles lead darkly humorous British procedurals |
Halo Parade |
|
P.D. James |
Scotland Yard Commander Dalgliesh in psychological classics |
Shroud for a Nightingale |
|
J.A. Jance |
Sheriff’s widow turned sheriff in Cochise County, AZ |
Desert Heat |
|
|
Seattle homicide detective J.P. Beaumont |
Until Proven Guilty |
|
Michael Jecks |
Medieval derring-do from the 14th century |
The Last Templar |
|
Roderic Jeffries |
Mallorca, Spain’s Inspector Alvarez in long-running series |
Mistakenly in Mallorca |
|
Maureen Jennings |
Class conflict and murder in late 19th century Toronto |
Except the Dying |
|
Sharon Kahn |
Kosher cozies with a rabbi’s widow in Texas |
Fax Me a Bagel |
|
Stuart Kaminsky |
Murder, nostalgia, and humor in old time Hollywood |
Bullet for a Star |
|
|
Russian police procedurals from Soviet era to present |
Death of a Dissident |
|
H.R.F. Keating |
The adventures of Inspector Ghote of Bombay, India |
The Perfect Murder |
|
Faye Kellerman |
LAPD detective and wife in mysteries featuring Jewish community |
The Ritual Bath |
|
Jonathan Kellerman |
LA child psychologist Alex Delaware in psychological thrillers |
When the Bough Breaks |
|
Nora Kelly |
Cozies featuring a Canadian history professor |
In the Shadow of King’s |
|
Toni L.P. Kelner |
Southern girl turned Yankee returns to Carolina as amateur sleuth |
Down Home Murder |
|
Harry Kemelman |
Massachusetts Rabbi is amateur detective |
Friday the Rabbi Slept Late |
|
William X. Kienzle |
Detroit Catholic priest solves morality tale mysteries |
The Rosary Murders |
|
Karen Kijewski |
Woman P.I. tries to avoid violent cases but gets dragged in |
Katwalk |
|
Michael Kilian |
Pinkerton spy looks into Civil War crimes |
Murder at Manassas |
|
Laurie R. King |
Sherlock Holmes takes on female teen apprentice |
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice |
|
Peter King |
Gourmet detective meets murder while chasing culinary wonders |
The Gourmet Detective |
|
Kate Kingsbury |
Murder against WWII British manor house background |
A Bicycle Built for Murder |
|
Daniel M. Klein |
Elvis Presley as detective |
Kill Me Tender |
|
Charles Knief |
Over the top adventures of Navy SEAL turned Hawaii PI |
Diamond Head |
|
Rochelle Majer Krich |
Orthodox Jewish true crime writer fights felons |
Blues in the Night |
|
William Kent Krueger |
Native American ex-sheriff in atmospheric Minnesota series |
Iron Lake |
|
Jane Langton |
Harvard prof Homer Kelly solves history-themed mysteries |
Dark Nantucket Noon |
|
Virginia Lanier |
Them dogs do hunt…killers in the Southland |
Death in Bloodhound Red |
|
Joe R. Lansdale |
Gruesome but humorous East Texas action |
Mucho Mojo |
|
Martha C. Lawrence |
California P.I. has psychic powers |
Murder in Scorpio |
|
Dennis Lehane |
Kenzie and Gennaro trade Boston banter and chase murderers |
A Drink Before the War |
|
Donna Leon |
Commissario Brunetti leads Venetian police procedurals |
Death at La Fenice |
|
Laura Levine |
Freelance writer Jaine Austin in LA comedy mysteries |
This Pen for Hire |
|
Robert S. Levinson |
Hardboiled school meets Nick-and-Nora style banter |
The Elvis and Marilyn Affair |