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Crime Fiction Recommendations?

33K views 169 replies 69 participants last post by  Garrard Hayes 
#1 ·
Hi Crime Lovers,
I wanted to start a topic where we can share our favorite crime reads. I'm starting with my top three Irish crime fiction books and will add more daily. These authors inspired me to start writing. Please joint me in and posting your favorites.

Gritty, brutal and shocking fun.
Irish crime fiction candy. I just can't get enough.

Stuart Neville:
Ghosts of Belfast, http://www.amazon.com/dp/1616952415

Ken Bruen:
The Guards, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003J48C1I

Adrian McKinty:
Dead I Well May Be, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FBJHVC
 
#4 ·
An American author who's crime fiction trilogy blew me away was James Lee Burke's Hackberry Holland novels. I actually started with the last book Feast Day of Fools. The book was so filled with tension and nasty bad guys that I was glue to it until the very last page. I usually like to read novels in order, but this had no effect on the story or the other novels. They were all absolutely outstanding.

Lay Down My Sword and Shield by James Lee Burke http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FS0K2M

Rain Gods: A Novel by James Lee Burke http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EF2AKM

Feast Day of Fools: A Novel (Hackberry Holland) by James Lee Burke http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IK98B0
 
#8 ·
Hey Cappy, I haven't read that one either, but if I was gonna recommend anything to jump your list it would be Stuart Neville, Ghosts of Belfast, http://www.amazon.com/dp/1616952415 or Shantaram: A Novel by Gregory David Roberts, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U5HKZ6. Check out the reviews. They're are both unforgettable.

Can you tell me a little about your novel Insomniac Cafe? Is it crime fiction, thriller or horror?
 
#9 ·
Garrard Hayes said:
Hey Cappy, I haven't read that one either, but if I was gonna recommend anything to jump your list it would be Stuart Neville, Ghosts of Belfast, http://www.amazon.com/dp/1616952415 or Shantaram: A Novel by Gregory David Roberts, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U5HKZ6. Check out the reviews. They're are both unforgettable.

Can you tell me a little about your novel Insomniac Cafe? Is it crime fiction, thriller or horror?
I don't think I'm meant to promote my books in this forum. I'll just mention that a Goodreads reviewer said of Cafe Insomniac..."Well, this is a strange one. It's a crime novel, it's a romance, it's urban fiction, and it's magical realism."

I'll leave it at that ;)
 
#10 ·
I was thinking of starting a post on hard boiled reads and saw this one.

I recently finished:

Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas, one of the Hard Case Crime novels, actually from the publisher himself. http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Innocence-Market-Paperback-ebook/dp/B004S2CW7A/
- Grim but enthralling mystery with good twists and turns.

and

Miami Purity by Vicki Hendricks, often called "Double Indemnity" from a female perspective. A cool book. Very steamy in more ways than one. A stripper falls in love with a dry cleaner who's under his mother's thumb, but the plot's intricate. http://www.amazon.com/Miami-Purity-ebook/dp/B004HKIKEW/

I ran across the Hendricks title in an article about forerunners to "Gone Girl."
 
#11 ·
Hi there,

Here are some great bits of crime fiction that I have discovered recently. I've enjoyed all of them.

Ray Banks should be bigger, more widely read, but until he has the bestseller he deserves I'll keep pushing him on people. The Cal Innes quartet is dark and plays with the tropes of the standard PI novel (basically because he isn't one). Start with Saturday's Child: Cal Innes Crime Novel #1 and work from there. Great stuff.

I also loved his standalone novel Wolf Tickets

Another writer I like is Roger Smith. He is dark as hell, but he always knows how to tell a good, emotionally exhausting tale. If you choose any of Sacrifices, Dust Devils or Capture then you'll not go wrong.

I recently read Queenpin: A Novel by Megan Abbott. Really enjoyed it, but the price of the Kindle file has gone up so much it's actually cheaper to buy it as a paperback!
 
#12 ·
Hey Sidney and Martin,

Thank you for contributing. These are great additions to this topic and I look forward to reading them. I've added all of them to my Amazon wish list. Please continue to post your favorites. It's become a real challenge to find good gritty crime authors.

Regards,
Garrard
 
#13 ·
Just finished

No Country for Old Men by Cormac Mccarthy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WJSB4Q

Easily a 5 Star novel. I saw the movie, but wanted to read the book. It was worth reading Cormac McCarthy is a master wordsmith.
 
#19 ·
#20 ·
Casper Parks said:
The new Virgil Flower series by John Sandford.

Hi Casper,

Thanks for contributing in the crime fiction topic today. I've added John Sanford, Virgil Flowers novel Shock Wave (A Virgil Flowers Novel) by John Sandford http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054TVW6I to my wishlist. If there's one novel that really stands out please post it here. I'm glad to know he writes crime. I only know his horror novels. Please come back and post more best crime read links if you think of any others or find something new that rock to share.

Cheers,
Garrard
 
#21 ·
James Everington said:
Three excellent ones I've read recently:

Iain Rowan: One Of Us
http://www.amazon.com/One-of-Us-ebook/dp/B007OC94I6

Steve Mosby: Black Flowers
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Flowers-ebook/dp/B004UFTQCY

Stav Sherez: A Dark Redemption
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Redemption-Carrigan-Miller-ebook/dp/B0077D8JHY

Hope one or more floats your boat...
Hey James,
These look great!

Iain Rowan: One Of Us
http://www.amazon.com/One-of-Us-ebook/dp/B007OC94I6 looks like a especially good one for me. I've heard his name thrown around.

Cheers!
 
#22 ·
#24 ·
dkrauss said:
Any of Stephen Hunter's Bob Lee Swagger books. Especially Dirty White Boys: http://www.amazon.com/Dirty-White-Boys-Stephen-Hunter/dp/044022179X Lots of crime. Lots of action.

If you want something completely different, then pick up Tom Robb Smith's Child 44 trilogy: http://www.amazon.com/Child-44-The-Trilogy/dp/0446572764. How do you investigate crimes in a system that denies their existence? Brutal.
These look great, I'm an action junkie. Child 44 looks perfect for me.
 
#25 ·
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