# Who is you favorite crime novelist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656 "2006-05-29T20:25:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/21 "2006-05-30T03:32:50Z")
Jim Thompson. He wrote terrific noir (_very_ noir) crime novels, many of which were republished by Black Lizard Press a few years ago. His most famous is _The Grifters_, which was turned into that movie with John Cusack and Anjelica Huston. _The Nothing Man_ is a goood place to start; here’s the jacket blurb: > [@](#): > > Clinton Brown is smart, good-looking, and the best rewrite man on the Pacific City Courier. The wife he divorced is still in love with him, as is the alluring and well-heeled widow who will do anything to make him happy. But Brown is missing something, and without that one thing there’s no possibility of happiness — no possibility of anything but knocking back the booze and punishing anyone foolish enough to try to take away his loneliness. What Clinton Brown lacks may be enough to make him murder. We find out very early in the book what he’s missing: his penis. This is taut, dark, vicious writing. Great stuff. If you happen to start reading him, though, do NOT read _The Rip-Off_; he never finished it, and it was published posthumously. It is maybe the most appropriately titled novel I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/22 "2006-05-30T03:43:19Z")
Connelly Leonard many of the other’s mentioned but numero uno for mine is James Lee Burke. Lovely writing, loads of violence great characters both in his series books ,Dave Robicheaux (a cop)and Billy Bob Holland (a lawyer), and his non-series works. Strongly evocative of Burke’s home in New Iberia, Louisiana. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/23 "2006-05-30T04:37:22Z")
Barbara Seranella. She writes a series about “Munch” Mancini, a former hooker, junkie and motorcycle chick who is trying to stay sober and rebuild her life. Seranella’s own life isn’t that different from her character’s, so she brings a real sense of authenticity to the crime and to the struggle to get sober. > **[Goksites Zonder Cruks — Top 10 Casino's 2026 🎰](https://www.barbaraseranella.com/)** > > Een casino zonder CRUKS is een online gokplatform dat niet verbonden is met het Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen. Bij een buitenlands casino zonder I don’t read mysteries much anymore. I used to read them a lot as a teen-ager, and my all-time favorite is Dorothy Sayers and her Peter Wimsey novels. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/24 "2006-05-30T05:52:43Z")
Stephen Greenleaf; the John Marshall Tanner series. Robert B. Parker, 'til about 10 books ago. (It got a bit cutesy and repetitive.) Elizabeth George. ---
**Author:** ![Phantom\_Dennis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/51bf81/32.png) [@Phantom\_Dennis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phantom_Dennis)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/25 "2006-05-30T06:17:32Z")
[QUOTE=koeeoaddi] Does Carl Hiaasen count? Can I sneak him in as a comic crime novelist, maybe? He cracks me right up. [/QUOTE] Yeah, Hiaasen definitely counts. He’s not only a talented dark humorist, but a pretty solid crime writer as well. It’s a shame none of his books have translated well to movies… ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/26 "2006-05-30T06:27:50Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] I’m going to have to stay with Raymond Chandler. [/QUOTE] For #1 I have to go with this. Chandler established much of the tone and grammer of the genre. And he told a damn good story. [QUOTE=jakelope] Jim Thompson. [/QUOTE] I agree with every word you wrote. Seriously darker than Chandler but clearly a descendent and one of my favorites. [QUOTE=koeeoaddi] Does Carl Hiaasen count? Can I sneak him in as a comic crime novelist, maybe? He cracks me right up. [/QUOTE] This is why I jumped in here. HELL YES, Hiaasen counts. He represents a unique and wonderful voice clearly influenced by both of these writers. Chandler and Thompson make me laugh. Hiaasen makes me laugh more because Florida is that much more ripe for ridicule than California ever was. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/27 "2006-05-30T06:31:18Z")
[QUOTE=Phantom Dennis] Yeah, Hiaasen definitely counts. He’s not only a talented dark humorist, but a pretty solid crime writer as well. It’s a shame none of his books have translated well to movies… [/QUOTE] I don’t know if you read his young adult novel “Hoot” but it was really good and the movie looks to be the best translation of his work to the screen yet. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/28 "2006-05-30T06:35:13Z")
This is great. Thanks to all. I haven’t read much of the genre (Leonard, Chandler) and wanted to taste a little more of it. And as someone famous once said: “Life is short, read the good books first.” Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/29 "2006-05-30T06:58:38Z")
Admittedlty he is the only crime novelist (…or at least I assume him to be one) that I have read outside of Arthur Conan Doyle, but I quite like Andrew Vachss. ---
**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/30 "2006-05-30T08:31:39Z")
The late and great Ed McBain. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/31 "2006-05-30T12:15:26Z")
[QUOTE=Kolak of Twilo] Hiaasen makes me laugh more because Florida is that much more ripe for ridicule than California ever was. [/QUOTE] Yeah, the hit man with the weed eater starpped to his stub, the governor who eats road kill…There’s a humor and quality there, but I picked one guy. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/32 "2006-05-30T12:28:50Z")
[QUOTE=Tinkertoy] The late and great Ed McBain. [/QUOTE] I’ll second McBain. He was the Grand Old Master of the genre. I grew up reading his books, and I miss him. I also like the roman noir aspects of Andrew Vachss, and the hysterically funny Kinky Friedman. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/33 "2006-05-30T12:33:29Z")
james lee bourke and his Dave Robechiux novels set in Cajun country. Kinky Friedman ;j Raymond Chandler is the standard by which all others are measured. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/34 "2006-05-30T12:44:27Z")
Martha Grimes is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/35 "2006-05-30T13:10:14Z")
I just started reading Hiaasen in the last year and I’ve read several. The few I’ve read were a little uneven, but I just finished “Sick Puppy” and it was hilarious. I like Elmore Leonard a lot, and Lawrence Sanders and Ed McBain. I was big into police procedurals for a while and I love the older 87th Precinct novels, the newer ones seemed so, I don’t know, modern or something. I find it slightly amusing that the cops go from tautly muscled super heroes in the older novels to middle-aged tubs in the newer ones. Which is only realistic, but it highlights the sillier aspects of the attitude behind the older novels (that the cops were super heroes instead of real people). Eugene Izzi (I think that’s the name) wrote some good ones too, before hanging himself, the SOB. And I’ll pick up some of the other mentioned here. ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/36 "2006-05-30T13:44:55Z")
I don’t miss a Michael Connelly book. I love Harlen Coben’s stuff. Robert Crais turns me on. But I really LOVE Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries, set in Venice, of course. (Does this make me a wuss?) ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/37 "2006-05-30T13:59:04Z")
**Donald Westlake** - especially his “Parker” novels (written under his **Richard Stark** pseudonym.) ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/38 "2006-05-30T14:19:33Z")
I can’t believe we’ve gotten through 36 posts and nobody has said John Grisham. 😉 Seriously, I am surprised no one has said Poe. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/39 "2006-05-30T17:45:31Z")
**beagledave** , thanks so much for that website - I’m loving it!! My reading list is definitely increasing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656/40 "2006-05-30T17:59:32Z")
Although mostly set in Boston, there are a few of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels that take the lead into LA, and Parker is one of the masters of the detective story, which involves crime, right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-you-favorite-crime-novelist/358656.md?page=3)