Difference between revisions of "Adult Mystery"

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Article in Mystery and Adult Fiction

This is a general article for adult mysteries worth reading.

History

Mystery novels trace their roots to Edgar Allen Poe (1809 - 1849)

1920s and 1930s: the so-called golden age of mysteries, highlighting the English aristocrat

1940s and 1950s: the rise of the hard-boiled detective and crime in the mean streets of major cities

1960s and 1970s: police procedural; sleuths with more interpersonal relationships

1980s and today: detectives any age or ethnic background associated with a particular city or country; courtroom drama and legal thrillers

New Mysteries Just Received!

Awards

The Edgars (Edgar Allan Poe Awards) presented by Mystery Writers of America in several categories: Grand Master, Best Novel, Etc.

Classic Authors & Immortal Sleuths

Edgar Allen Poe, Murders in the Rue Morgue

Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone, The Woman in White

Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)

Dorothy L. Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey)

also see other authors like her.

Frederic Dannay (Ellery Queen)

Earl Derr Bigger (Charlie Chan)

Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin)

Raymond Chandler (Philip Marlowe)

Dashiell Hammett (Sam Spade; Nick & Nora Charles)

Ross Macdonald (Lew Archer)

Short List of Bestselling Authors

David Baldacci,

Lilian Jackson Braun,

Sandra Brown,

Gerry Boyle,

James Lee Burke,

Mary Higgins Clark and authors like her

Michael Connelly,

Patricia Cornwell,

Catherine Coulter,

Dick Francis,

Erle Stanley Gardner,

Sue Grafton,

W.E.B. Griffin,

John Grisham,

Tony Hillerman,

P.D. James,

Jonathan Kellerman,

Elizabeth Lowell,

John D. MacDonald,

Steve Martini,

Robert B. Parker,

Lawrence Sanders,

John Sandford,

Sidney Sheldon,

Mickey Spillane,

Robert Traver,

Joseph Wambaugh

Selected Authors by Type

Detective Story:

James Lee Burke,

Deborah Crombie,

Colin Dexter,

Peter Dickinson

John Dunning,

Elizabeth George,

Sue Grafton,

Martha Grimes,

Georgette Heyer,

P.D. James,

Ed McBain,

Ross MacDonald,

Anne Perry,

Dorothy L. Sayers,

William Tapply

Legal Thrillers:

William Diehl,

John Grisham,

Scott Turow,

Richard Patterson,

Steve Martini,

Philip Margolin

Women Detectives:

Agatha Christie,

Janet Evanovich,

Sue Grafton,

Sara Paretsky

Historical Mysteries:

Caleb Carr,

Wilkie Collins

Umberto Eco

Elizabeth Peters

Crime Capers:

Carl Hiaasen

Elmore Leonard

Forensic Scientists:

Patricia Cornwell

Serial Killers:

Kathy Reichs

John Sandford

Psychiatrists:

Jonathan Kellerman

Psychological Mysteries

Ruth Rendell

Read wikipedia's article about Ruth Rendell

Reader Favorites

• The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill

The juxaposition of an psychopathic killer's diary to recognizable characters living in the British countryside structures this intense novel. A young, likable policewoman Freya Graffham becomes suspicous as village people begin to disappear. The author introduces enigmatic Chief Inspector Simon Serrallier in this first of a series of three crime novels. Author Ruth Rendell, known for her psychological mysteries writes that she loved this book.