# Help me find some new authors please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056 "2017-02-05T12:39:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/1 "2017-02-05T12:39:44Z")
I typically borrow e-books on my Kindle from my local library system (using Overdrive.) I am currently out of available titles from my list of “go to” authors. I’m looking for suggestions of new people to try. I tend to like a series with the same character(s) but one-offs are fine too. Here is a list of some of the authors I enjoy. I have looked at the “If you like so-and-so, you might like…” websites with limits success and I figure Dopers are a better resource… Thanks! Baldacci, David Berry, Steve Britton, Andrew Burke, James Lee Child, Lee Coben, Harlan Connelly, Michael Crais, Robert Deaver, Jeffrey Evanovich, Janet Flynn, Vince Griffin, W.E.B. Hall, James W. Hamill, Pete Land, Jon Lehane, Dennis Leonard, Elmore Lutz, John Martini, Steve McMurtry, Larry Parker, Robert Pelicanos, George Preston/Child Rollins, James Sandford, John Silva, Daniel Stone, David Thor, Brad ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/2 "2017-02-05T13:22:44Z")
Perhaps you should share what genres you’re interested in? Readers may not be familiar with this list of names, and be unwilling to Google each to see what genre they represent. Or if they’re all one genre, or several different genres! Just a suggestion! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/3 "2017-02-05T13:54:56Z")
Those are all Crime fiction / Thriller writers, **elbows**. **SY,** have you read **Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series** , starting with Devil in a Blue Dress? Or **Chester Himes** ’ books from the '50’s and '60’s starting with Cotten Comes to Harlem? Good stuff. Read any **Dashiell Hammet** or **Raymond Chandler**? Read the folks who defined the genre? How about historical crime fiction? **The Alienist** by Caleb Carr is a serial killer thriller set in 1896 Manhattan. Or The Name of the Rose, set in a medieval monastery. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/4 "2017-02-05T14:10:49Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Flynn, Vince I’m curious what your thoughts are on the Kyle Mills, who took over for Flynn (if you’ve read _Order to Kill_). ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/5 "2017-02-05T15:12:22Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Those are all Crime fiction / Thriller writers, **elbows**. > > **SY,** have you read **Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series** , starting with Devil in a Blue Dress? Or **Chester Himes** ’ books from the '50’s and '60’s starting with Cotten Comes to Harlem? Good stuff. > > Read any **Dashiell Hammet** or **Raymond Chandler**? Read the folks who defined the genre? > > How about historical crime fiction? **The Alienist** by Caleb Carr is a serial killer thriller set in 1896 Manhattan. Or The Name of the Rose, set in a medieval monastery. Thanks, **WordMan**. I have read some of Mosley’s stuff awhile ago. I can catch up on those. Never read Himes. I’ve read everything by Chandler, and oddly, nothing by Hammett, although at the moment I’m more interested in more modern stuff (I just started reading some James Ellroy and could not get into the period.) I did love The Alienist, and the sequel when they came out. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/6 "2017-02-05T15:13:30Z")
> [@Hocus\_Pocus](#): > > I’m curious what your thoughts are on the Kyle Mills, who took over for Flynn (if you’ve read _Order to Kill_). I have not read that one yet. Would you recommend it? I have read some of the post-Parker Spenser/Stone novels and while they were readable I definitely noticed the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/7 "2017-02-05T15:15:54Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Perhaps you should share what genres you’re interested in? > > Readers may not be familiar with this list of names, and be unwilling to Google each to see what genre they represent. Or if they’re all one genre, or several different genres! > > Just a suggestion! That’s a good point, thanks. As **Wordman** noted, these are mostly in the crime fiction genre although there is some spy stuff and even some western in there. I definitely like books with some historical context to them. The Steve Berry/Jon Land style of mixing action and history/mythology. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/8 "2017-02-05T15:17:28Z")
You might like the _Berlin Noir_ trilogy from Philip Kerr: _March Violets_, _The Pale Criminal_, and _A German Requiem_. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/9 "2017-02-05T15:24:12Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I have not read that one yet. Would you recommend it? I have read some of the post-Parker Spenser/Stone novels and while they were readable I definitely noticed the difference. It was a slight step down from Flynn’s writings, but still readable. There wasn’t very much interaction between Rapp & other CIA people. I really enjoyed the Stan Hurley character, and now that he’s gone there’s a hole there. Rapp’s interactions w/ Kennedy also seemed a bit rushed as well. Mills also seemed to use hardly any humor, whereas Flynn seemed to sprinkle it here & there (Nash was a good source of humor, but I don’t recall any humorous interactions with him). I think Mills did a pretty good job w/ recreating Rapp, but he needs some improvement in writing the other characters. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/10 "2017-02-05T15:24:38Z")
I suggest Clinton McKinzie, starting with _The Edge of Justice_. I feel good about this suggestion. You might try CJ Box, starting with _Open Season_. I’m a little more tentative here. ETA: Based on liking the context and mythology, have you tried Tony Hillerman? ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/11 "2017-02-05T15:26:56Z")
I just saw your post re: genres that you like. I would highly recommend Joseph Wambaugh, especially his Hollywood Station series. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/12 "2017-02-05T16:07:47Z")
Give Steve Hamilton a try. Start with “Cold day in Paradise”. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/13 "2017-02-05T16:09:33Z")
When I started reading down your list, the first author I thought of was Robert B. Parker. Then I saw you had him listed, so next I thought of John D. MacDonald, since Parker’s Spenser somehow reminds me of Travis McGee in ways. He’s not a _new_ author, though… Maybe also Carl Hiaasen? I haven’t read a lot of his, but what I have read I’ve found entertaining, and he seems like he wouldn’t be out of place on your list. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/14 "2017-02-06T04:10:48Z")
Lawrence Block’s books about Matt Scudder might fit into your buckets, here; though these novels are perhaps a bit more “literary” (for want of a better term) than some of the authors you’ve mentioned, and maybe a little more character-driven as well. The books are often quite dark. Scudder is a sort-of private investigator, an ex-policeman in Manhattan; I think the books are extremely good and might well be something you’d appreciate. ETA: Though the books are roughly chronological and things change in Scudder’s life from one novel to the next, don’t start at the very beginning if you find the books intriguing; it took Block 5-6 books to find his stride. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/15 "2017-02-06T04:23:17Z")
based on your likes i would try: modern = gillian flynn classic = e. a. poe mc ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/16 "2017-02-06T11:09:17Z")
If you like books with historical context **Southern Yankee** , Pat Barker is well worth a go. The _Regeneration_ trilogy (_Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, The Ghost Road_) are based in part on the work of poets in the trenches and the notes of an army doctor during WWI. Brilliant, brilliant writing that takes you into an horrendous world that would be unimaginable but for the fact that people lived it. Philip K. Dick for your history and mythology mix - _The Man in the High Castle_ where the Axis powers actually win WWII. Seems it’s been made into a series (I haven’t seen it - maybe ‘yet’, maybe not) but the book’s great. For crime, has anyone mentioned James Ellroy? _The Black Dahlia_, _The Big Nowhere_. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/17 "2017-02-06T14:37:57Z")
Oh man, you are missing out on Sweden my friend… Nesbo, Jo (Particularly "The Snowman…which is being made into a movie) Kepler, Lars (I am addicted to his books when they come out) and my favorite author EVER: Starling, Boris (Messiah is my favorite book of all time) ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/18 "2017-02-06T14:47:14Z")
You might enjoy [Nelson DeMille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_DeMille). ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/19 "2017-02-08T17:14:21Z")
Author: Richard Stark (aka Donald E. Westlake), the Parker series. 24 novels (1962 - 2008) ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056/20 "2017-02-09T11:26:56Z")
I’m really surprised to see you don’t have Stuart Woods on there. His Stone Barrington novels are super fun. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-some-new-authors-please/779056.md?page=2)