I have added a few authors who write nonfiction, and also a few authors who write noncozy books. If you love a convoluted mystery layered with clues that seem to go nowhere, then this is your book. Cecil john charles street, freeman wills crofts, alfred walter stewart and the british detective novel, 19201961 magisterialmichael dirda edgar committee, mystery writers of america, take note. I have divided the list of authors into the obvious alphabet letters, doubling up on the four letters that dont have many authors. Carolyn keene, author of nancy drew series of novels faye kellerman born 1952 jonathan kellerman born 1949 nora kelly born 1945 harry kemelman 19081996 david kessler born 1957 karen kijewski born 1943 laurie r. Americas most popular suspense novelist rolling stone delivers thrills and chills in. Ladies of mystery stories that keep you up all night. If you like crime mystery then donald westlake and his dortmunder series are worth reading. Jan 21, 2015 awardwinning mystery writer rendell also writes under the name barbara vine. Floridas governor orders a mandatory evacuation, and most residents board up their houses and flee to the mainland, but bruce decides to stay and ride out the storm. New mystery and thriller books 2020 popsugar entertainment. The top 100 best mysteries of all time this list has been compiled by members of the mystery writers of america.
Lauren beukes born 1976 claudia bishop pseudonym for mary stanton born 1947 cara black born 1951 suzanne blanc 19151999 eleanor taylor bland 19442010 enid blyton 18971968 geraldine bonner 18701930 miriam borgenicht 19151992 gail bowen born 1942 rhys bowen pseudonym for janet quinharkin. Some are new series that have a few books out, others are more established, and some are classics. The best 100 crime novels of all time this list is by the british crime writers association. Oct 21, 2019 if the focus of the book is primarily on the murder, crime, or danger, but has a romantic element, then you should pitch to the appropriate mystery, crime, or suspense agents and publishers. Abresch writes a mystery series that is set on the shores of new jersey. The state is home to dozens of mystery writers who cant resist using the woods, the lakes and the twin cities as the site of their chilling tales.
If youd like to see a favorite mystery author on the site, simply leave a comment with the authors name, and it will be added soon. And if you really cant get enough of murder mysteries, i highly recommend rincey abraham and katie mclains podcast read or dead. List of british crime writers list of scandinavian crime writers including finland and iceland. Rowling 84,102 harry potter and the goblet of fire by j. Get to know the writers behind your favorite nailbiting listens on audible. Yes, hes the steve allen who hosted the tonight show before jay leno, and even before johnny carson. Enter a thrilling world of suspense with our wide selection of mystery and crime books. A veteran thriller and mystery writer of over 20 books, cook shared his favorite mystery novels. Whats missing from this survey are the works of a number of older bestselling authors of mystery and thriller series. Top 100 mystery book blogs and websites for mystery readers. Mystery novels can be some of the most entertaining books, keeping pages turning long into the night. Use the alphabetical author and character links above or. With a new bbc series out in 2015, theres a reason that this is the best mystery by a female author.
Most of them are based on cozy mystery books like the midsomer murders featuring caroline grahams inspector barnaby. The 10 best mystery authors of all time tana french. Under her own name and several pen names, shes written a large number of thrilling mystery series and trilogies. Christie is the worlds bestselling author, and this is her bestselling title out of her 80some books. An encyclopedia of leading women characters in mystery fiction. The story is he tried to write a serious mystery in the vein of his parker novels but kept laughing too much. Over the course of the investigation, ellery proposed not one, not two, but four solutions to the crimes. Many of her books include an element of magic, adding to the fun. Parker spenser, ross macdonald lew archer, ed mcbain 87th precinct, or john d. His plot includes all the basics that you would need to get indulged into a mystery novel. A british author dead now was kyril bonfiglioli who wrote three mortdecai novels. Twisted tales of domestic treachery, mistaken identities, and dark family secrets are in. The mystery authors page is useful if you know the name of a series e.
Modern murder mystery and thriller books popsugar entertainment. If you are interested in the the detection club, you must read the book the golden age of murder by martin edward which has been published by. Literary baby names can be inspired the characters in books or, in the case of the baby names on this list, by the first and last names of authors ranging from edgar allan poe to zadie smith. In addition to our authors winning the biggest literary prizes in the genre, including thriller awards, agatha awards, edgar awards, and shamus awards, hbg had 167 books made the new york times bestseller list in 2017 alone. Theres nothing quite like racing through a suspenseful, twisty pageturner. The mystery and thriller genre has always been a rich one, full of complex stories, fascinating characters, and killer endings, and in 2018, it only got better. Ellery queen is the name of the author of this book as well as the name of the intrepid sleuth, which makes remembering the author easier. Our full az list of authors covered by the guardian, the worlds leading liberal voice. A guide to cozy mystery and other favorite books, movies, and tv allyson k. In addition to our authors winning the biggest literary prizes in the genre, including thriller awards, agatha awards, edgar awards, and shamus awards, hbg had 167 books made the new york times bestseller l. Discover gripping crime fiction, cozy mysteries, detective novels, police stories, and more pageturning books you wont be able to put down. For lists of best mysteries prior to 2014, go to older best book lists. The english crime novelist wrote dozens of mysteries, and is best known for her beloved fictional detectives hercule poirot and. Harris delivers mischief and murder to an english prep school in different class, a delightfully malicious view of privileged students with overly active imaginations.
Thriller fans rejoice, because 2020s selection of thriller and mystery books is seriously impressive. Specifically, our curated and ranked picks for the top 25 best mystery series. This is on the top of the list because its my absolute favorite. Book awards book club selections books by author books by series coming soon kids books new releases teens books this months biggest new releases. Rowling 87,667 harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban by j. Top 10 mystery and thriller series mal warwick blog on books. Robbs in death books are police procedurals with a couple, but the books primary focus is on lt.
And the list is a bit skimpy on the the donald westlakerichard stark oeuvre. Jack reacher, but it has momentarily failed you who the author is, or youre simply interested in learning about new authors you want to start catching up to. Poe started off writing short mystery stories, eventually to become the father of this genre. May 31, 2018 these are the best mystery authors that go beyond simply writing a fun mystery and really elevate or add to the mystery genre in some way.
Hachette book group publishes more than 1,400 books each year including mysteries, thrillers, crime, and suspense novels. A romance follows the story of two literary scholars researching the lives of two victorian poets, trying to uncover rumors of their alleged affair. Sep 19, 2019 if you were a regular harriet the spy as a kid, dust off your trusty notebook, polish up the old magnifying glass, and get back in the game with the best mystery books for adults. From reallife spies john le carre, ian fleming, and graham greene to politicians and journalists, mystery authors come from all walks of life and so do their protagonists. The mystery genre has been around for over two centuries, with pioneers like sir arthur conan doyle, wilkie collins, edgar allan poe and g. Cozy mystery list a guide to cozy mystery and other. Connected by a love of intriguing characters, factpaced writing and edge of your seat tension, you can find out more on the twelve authors below.
In addition, you can also check out the authorsbooks listed in the mystery genres below. The spy who came in from the cold by john le carre. The da vinci code which was also made into a movie, with the main character executed. I discovered dennis lehane through his psychological thriller. Set in 18thcentury china, the superb third novel featuring librarian li du centers on the double murder of a factory owner and his wife. After 76 rejections, the british authors first novel and the lead off book of the series, the eyre affair, was published in 2001. Jan 11, 2018 for more mystery suggestions not all murder mystery books, check out book riots 100 mustread mystery and crime novels from around the world.
I have also added a list of tv shows and movies that i really enjoy. Simply because i havent recently read anything by them recently enough, you wont find here the names robert b. Lets start with the classic writers, the royalty of the. Ive grown up looking up to a bookshelf full of john grisham books since my uncle was a diehard grisham fan. Tales of mystery and imagination by edgar allan poe. In this category, as always, feel free to look to your personal favorite writers for your baby names inspiration.
Crime, mystery and detective fiction books if you have ever wondered who created a particular character then this section may help we have stuck to mainstream characters and include both detectives and villains hyperlinked authors go to their bibliography. This series is unique in that each book is written by different authors some of the authors pen more than one book in the series. Welcome to fantastic fiction search and browse bibliographies of over 50,000 bestselling fiction authors, with the latest books and series information join our 99,999 members. Thrillers, suspense, crime novels, detective fiction whatever you call them, mystery books. So when she wanted to write something different, she picked a new. Learn the types of mystery novels before pitching your book. Her first book, the mysterious affairs of styles featuring hercule piorot was published after some difficulty in 1939. Browse through our ebooks while discovering great authors and exciting books. This entry solidifies harts position as a topnotch historical mystery author. I went to the alabama public schools at a time when my english teachers, all but one of. So find a comfortable, welllit spot and get ready to be skillfully creeped right out of your winter doldrums by the female mystery and thriller writers on the following list. Mystery and horror, llc a micropress that publishes mystery and horror stories. Best mystery and thrillers of 2014 as voted upon by the members of good reads. Germantown, tennessee, united states about blog author of masters of the humdrum mystery.
These fantastic crime stories and thriller novels that will have you on the edge of your seat til the very last page. This list focuses on the best mystery series out there. Megan abbott born 1971 christine adamo born 1965 deborah adams. And then there were none by agatha christie, the girl with the dragon tattoo by stieg larsson, gone girl by gillian flynn, murd. King born 1952 natsuo kirino born 1951 kenzo kitakata born 1947 kazuhiro kiuchi born 1960. I would put his relatively recent book the ax, about a downsized chemist who conspires to kill all of his potential rivals in the job market, in the top 5 best alltime mystery books. The twelve are awardwinning and bestselling authors writing across the boundaries of thriller, mystery, horror and crime. A dream trip turns into a nightmare when three people are. In addition to being one of the best selling romance writers of all time, nora roberts is acclaimed as one of the most popular mystery writers, too. In 1928 or 1930, a group of outstanding british mystery writers formed the detection club, and established the rules for writing mystery novels. Rowling 104,494 harry potter and the chamber of secrets by j. You might be surprised to see steve allen included on this list.
Mystery authors of the golden age of mystery fiction. Just as bruce cables bay books is preparing for the return of bestselling author mercer mann, hurricane leo veers from its predicted course and heads straight for the island. Dixon 18921982 jane adams born 1960 carolina garciaaguilera. From don quixote to american pastoral, take a look at the 100 greatest novels of all time the 100 greatest nonfiction books the 2015 version of the 100 best novels. Jul 24, 2018 modern murder mystery and thriller books 28 modern thrillers you should add to your reading list asap. This is not surprising as we have previously discussed at great length that crime fiction and mystery is increasingly a womans game see our overview of the 25 top female crime writers of the. The works of female mystery authors is so abundant and high quality that its a difficult task to develop a list of mustreads from the classics. Jan 30, 2017 agatha christies name is synonymous with mystery storiesyou expect murders, detectives, and red herrings from her books. Carol cox cox is one of the authors who pens a mystery and the ministers wife book. For avid readers, finding a series you love is especially nice, providing easy entertainment without the risk that the book will be a dud. Today i have given myself the impossible and unfair task of naming the top 10 best mystery authors of all time. He was one of the best satiricalpolitical mystery writers ever. Criss cross alex cross 25 b017y1nsr4,b000apg6as,b007roeuvm,b000aq0stc,b000apeth0,b001jshgvi,b004pv6boy.
Mystery and thriller authors are the masters of suspense. One of the most prolific mystery writers of all time, agatha christie has written the longest running mystery play of all time called the mousetrap. However, there are a few authors who, for various reasons, decided not to use their own names on their books. In addition, you can also check out the authors books listed in the mystery genres below. These are the cozy mystery book authors whose last names begin with a. These books build and expand upon the preexisting preeminent figure in mystery literature. Natsuo kirino is a japanese mystery writer who writes novels in. Last updated april 2nd, 2020 reading the james patterson books in order means delighting in his popular alex cross mystery series. The top 100 mystery novels of all time mystery writers of. Readalikes for authors with last names beginning r. Lets kick off with a hefty literary mystery romance that is highly praised as one of the most beautiful novels, and one of the greatest romances, ever written. It became an instant bestseller and helped launch her career. Read and recommended for a few months, i had time to note specific books that i read and recommended.
Of course, the author has written several other series including his womens murder club and the michael bennett series, but nothing comes close to alex cross by far. I went to the alabama public schools at a time when my english teachers, all but one of whom was a. For some authors it was a way to get a fresh start and reinvent themselves without being tied to past success while others simply wanted to ensure that their gender would not be a factor in how their books are judged. Some of the popular authors added are lee child with his jack reacher series, harlan coben with his myron bolitar series, the late tom clancy, michael connelly with his harry bosch series, james patterson with his alex cross series, and many others. If i were being completely biased which i kind of am because this is my list. Blindside michael bennett 12 the 20th victim womens murder clu. Rowling 85,933 harry potter and the halfblood prince by j.