Thanks to Uke, Scotti, and Kinsey! I appreciate everyone’s help with my question about the gay detective series. Ike, I think Joseph Hansen may be the one I am thinking of. David Brandstetter sounds vaguely familiar.
I can’t believe no one else has mentioned Elizabeth George. IMHO, she is a wonderful writer.
Uke:
I do have the Zomba edition. I got it for “Night of the Jabberwock”, because Martin Gardner recommended it in “The Annotated Alice”, and ended up hooked on the other stories. Ed and Am Hunter showed up in several other novels and a few short stories by Brown – but try to find them! The Salt Lake City public library had a few when lived there. Any large city library is likely to have one or two. I’ve been collecting Brown novels for years, but I’m missing quie a lot of them. For a while book companies were re-issuing about one Brown novel a year, but it’s been about a decade since the last one came out.
According to the back cover of the Zomba edition some of Brown’s stories have been made into films. I’ve et to see one of the films based on his mysteries. The science fiction of Brown that has been adapted is pretty bad. “Martian, Go Home!” could have been wonderful, but the film is awful. I understand it was made by the guys responsible for Independence Day and Godzilla (obviously before they had any money). “Arena” is regarded as one of the best science fiction short stories ever (I have it in at least four anthologies in my library). It has been ripped off many times for movies and TV. They nominally based an episode of the original “Star Trek” on it – the one where Kirk fights the lizardlike Gorn. If you only know this story through that episode, find the original and read it! They changed it completely! There’s no gunpowder in Brown’s story. And they changed the ending! Maybe someday someon will adapt it for real.
Okay, since I promised to shut up, do you want me to continue my silence, or do you want more authors?
I’m okay with either, or.
More authors, more authors!
Don’t make us beg. 
Good lord, am I really the only one here who’s crazy about Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone?
I’ve always read Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, and Sandra Scoppetone. Scoppetone’s lesbian PI, Lauren, will be missed by me greatly.
Let’s see, where to start. The 87th Precinct series from Ed McBain (police procedurals with great characters), Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe and Archie, Gardner’s Perry Mason, Agatha Christy, mostly Hercule Poirot, but some Miss Marple, the annual Dick Francis, Holmes of course, the above mentioned Laurie King Holmes pastiche series, “The Cat Who…” books by Lilian Jackson Braun. Those are the main mysteries I pick up. Almost forgot the MacDonald McGee novels. And John Dickson Carr is the master of locked room mysteries.
I don’t really enjoy the hardboiled detective school. But it is just about the only kind. Oh yeah, the Lord Darcy stories by Randall Garrett. Mysteries in the Anglo-French Empire in the 1960s and 70s. Lots of fun.
I can’t believe I forgot Lord Peter and Harriet Vane by Dorothy Sayers. I think I need to get some sleep.
I love her, too, especially since we share the same name!!!
When is "P is for… " coming out? Isn’t she due for another one soon?
Hastur – I actually appear as a minor character in one of Scoppetone’s novels – her first, a YA called Trying Hard to Hear You). Most of the characters are based on high school friends of mine.
I’m don’t read a lot of mystery, but I do like Ellery Queen (for the puzzles), Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dashiel Hammet, and Raymond Chandler. Isaac Asimov wrote some very good science fiction mystery short stories (i.e., “The Singing Bell,” and “The Dying Stone”).
I’m a mystery fiend. Favorites are Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, Martha Grimes’ Richard Jury (and Melrose Plant and Brian Macalvie and Sgt. Wiggins–all great characters), Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford series, Robert Parker’s Spenser…I could go on and on (ooh, I forgot Holmes and Watson–my bad). I prefer character-driven series (you could probably tell) and I prefer whodunits to suspense.
I’m even on a Nero Wolfe listserv–we discuss the books and all subjects tangential–which, for a Nero Wolfe fan pretty much means anything, but especially the English language and food.
Kinsey:
According to responses in the forum on http://www.suegrafton.com, “P” Is For Peril will be out on April 9, 2001.
Chaim Mattis Keller
Thanks ** CMK ** another Grafton fan checking in. Love mysteries, have since childhood.
Also, the gay detective in the J. Kellerman novels was named “Milo Sturgis”, eventually opened up his own detective agency with the word “Blue” in it’s name.
Lawrence Sanders, Lawrence Sanders, Lawrence Sanders.
The First Deadly Sin is the greatest police procedrual ever.
Also, I’m another big Donald Westlake fan. He’s the king of the caper novel. Dortmunder kicks ass!
And check out Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books (One for the Money et al.
Hastur: Why are you going to miss Lauren? Is Scoppetone not writing anymore?
RealityChuck: how cool! Which character? Not the victim, I hope. And what did you mean by “a YA”? Is this early novel under her name or another nom de plume (Is she the one who wrote as Jack Early at one time?)
Wring: I like Jonathan Kellerman (have to like a fellow psychologist!), but I like his wife’s writing even better. Have you read her stuff? The Ritual Bath is the first of the series.
Frankd6: I like Stephanie Plum, too. I am reading High Five right now. Do you think she might end up with Ranger???
STILL no one who likes Elizabeth George? Sigh.
I forgot to mention – Toni L.P. Kelner’s mysteries.
** Brynda ** of ** course ** I’ve read Faye’s stuff, too. From back when Peter first met Rina.
I’ve got a friend who recommended Elizabeth George to me, haven’t started in on her stuff yet, though (she advised me to start with the oldest of the books and it’s tough to determine which one it is, plus find it.)
As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a major Agatha Christie fan. I own almost all of her books, which is no small feat. My favourite books are locked door mysteries where I can solve the crime myself. Solving an Agatha Christie is the best, and so hard to do. Thank god no one spoiled the endings of books like Ten Little Indians or Murder of the Orient Express for me. Of course, I read them in grade 7, so I guess none of my friends had read them at that point.
Another AC fan mentioned that if I would like Ngaio Marsh. Can anyone tell me if they have a similar style? Pluto? Anyone?
Oh, and I grew up on Sherlock Holmes. Read all of them when I was in grade 4.
** lola ** have you read the books by Agatha Christie under a different name??? (blanking, of course on it now). Very, very different stlye, but fascinating, nonetheless.
I bought one of the Mary Westmacott books. I still haven’t read it though.
You’re right though. I like her writing style, so I’ll probably enjoy it.