During a discussion of mysteries and crime fiction in general, it was alleged that the author Anne Perry had an inside knowlege of crime since she and a girl friend had been convicted of murder as juveniles. Can any one confirm or deny this tale? It’s obviously not part of her official bio-blurb. She was supposed to have come from Australia, I believe.
Driven by my morbid curiosity, that’s all.
All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.
The bio I found said that she was convicted at 15 of being an accessory to murder and she served several years in prison (or whatever passes for a prison for teenage girls).
Found the bio on a google search.
I heard this as well, and saw her being interviewed a few years ago about it on TV.
She was the Kate Winslet character in Heavenly Creatures.
“His eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad,
His hair is as dark as a blackboard,
I wish he was mine, he’s really divine,
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.”
This is definitely true…it happened in New Zealand. Check out the movie…pretty good. Although, I stopped reading Anne Perry after I found out about this. It just creeped me out.
I’m a HUGE fan of British police procedurals, though, so if you’re looking for other authors, just let me know!
Thanks, all.
I read her first book,The Carter Street Hangman(?) and found it thoroughly average with nothing to really recommend it, and was never moved to read the others.
I’m just entering my annual mystery binge, so if you’ve got good ones to share let me know.
All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.
Yankee: Anything by Ruth Rendell.
“His eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad,
His hair is as dark as a blackboard,
I wish he was mine, he’s really divine,
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.”
And Minette Walters. Generally, the Brits aren’t psycho enough to suit me (and I don’t read mysteries much anyway), but The Scold’s Bridle was pretty good.
A friend keeps pushing Janet Evanovich, but she might be too light for you.
You want psycho writers, read anything by Michael Slade – Headhunter, Ghoul, Cutthroat, Ripper, Evil Eye, Primal Scream. Be warned, though; you need a strong stomach.
YankeeBlue, I also recommend Dick Francis, Sue Grafton, P.D. James and Ellery Queen if you like mysteries.
I like Ellis Peters’s Cadfael mysteries. Martha Grimes has created some memorable characters. I’m just getting started on Elizabeth George–she seems pretty good.
“I used to think the brain was the most important organ in the body, until I realized who was telling me that.”
Emo Phillips
Elizabeth George is my favorite! She’s an American who writes British Police Procedurals…her characters are just great and I suggest you read these in the order they were written.
Others mentioned that I’m a fan of are P.D. James, Ruth Rendell (aka Barbara Vine), Minette Walters. Ruth Rendell has some good psychological thrillers, too.
Colin Dexter (Inspector Morris) is good, but sometimes not as neat & tidy as the others. I’m almost through reading all of his, so I’m on the lookout for a new writer.
I wasn’t impressed with Anne Perry’s writing, either.
Two other good British police procedural writers are John Harvey (who’s also a noted poet) and Peter Robinson.
My personal favorite American writers are mostly in the hardboiled line, from the classics (Ross Macdonald and Chandler) to moderns like Lawrence Block and Sue Grafton. Block also does funnier books (the Bernie Rhodenbarr series). Also in the funny line are the Dortmunder books by Donald E. Westlake. (Parenthetically, there’s only a handful of writers who are so good that I’ll read anything at all they write – and Block and Westlake are two of them.)
I’m familiar with more American than British writers, but (since I think the tendency in this thread is to the other side of the pond), I’ll keep them to myself.
I’m your only friend
I’m not your only friend
But I’m a little glowing friend
But really I’m not actually your friend
But I am
I’ll second Ruth Rendell and P.D. James.
As far as “caper” stories, I think that the best living writer for those is Elmore Leonard. His characters are unpretentious and funny.
The (american) master of police procedurals is Evan Hunter, who writes under both his real name and the pen name Ed McBain. His most popular books are the 87th Precinct series but he’s also known for writing Blackboard Jungle and the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. I’ve also been reading some great books by Patricia Cornwell featuring a female lead who does forensics for the FBI. Good stuff.
I’m looking forward to digging into all the recommendations here.
Adrock, light up the place
And if you pull my card you pull the ace
And if you ask me turn up the bass
And if you play Defender I could be your hyperspace