Mystery Advisory

Mystery - The classic mystery typically answers three questions – Whodunit? How? And why?  The mystery usually revolves around an unexplained suspicious death.  By the story’s conclusion, a motive has been discovered, the instrument of death found, murderer identified, and all loose ends tied up.

Nevada Barr

Taffy Cannon

Deborah Crombie

Barbara D’Amato

Susan Dunlap

Elizabeth George

Martha Grimes

P. D. James

Karen Kijewski

Martha C. Lawrence

Jim Lehrer

Lise McClendon

Marcia Muller

Barbara Parker

Thomas Perry

Phyllis C. Richman

Ann Ripley

Dorothy Sayers

Sarah Shankman

Julie Smith

Jessice Speart

Margaret Truman

Minette Walters

Quirky Mystery/Comedy - The light-hearted books in this genre combine the mundane, the absurd, romance, and the occasional dead body.

Nancy Bartholemew

Anthony Bruno

Diane Mott Davison

Janet Evanovich

Marne Davis Kellogg

Sarah Strohmeyer

Cozy Mysteries - Cozy mysteries provide a puzzle, without blood, gore, or messy details.  The characters are often a little quirky, a little earthy, and generally enjoyable people.

Susan Wittig Albert

Nancy Atherton

Marian Babson

M. C. Beaton

Lawrence Block – Bernie Rhodenbarr series

Lillian Jackson Braun

Rita Mae Brown

Simon Brett

Dorothy Cannell

Laura Child

Jill Churchill

Margaret Coel

Beverly Connor

Mary Daheim

Diane Mott Davidson

James D. Doss

Joanne Fluke (Hannah Swenson series)

Dorothy Gilman

Deborah Grabien

Ann Granger

Parnell Hall

Katherine Hall Page

Carolyn G. Hart

Joan Hess

Victoria Houston

Jane Langton

Margaret Maron - Deborah Knott series

Sharyn McCrumb

Barbara Neely

Joanne Pence

Elizabeth Peters (Amelia Peabody series)

Monica Quill (a.k.a. Ralph McInerny)

Elliot Roosevelt

Rex Stout

Kathy Hogan Trocheck

Forensics Mystery - Forensics mysteries focus on the nit-picky, often gruesome, details of a criminal investigation, using the latest scientific methods.

Keith Ablow

Dennis Asen (local author)

Beverly Connor

Robin Cook

Patricia Cornwell

Jeffrey Deaver

Iris Johansen

James W. Hall

Sarah Lovett

Sharyn McCrumb

Jim Mortimore

Ridley Pearson

Kathy Reichs

Robert W. Walker

Mystery/Thriller - This genre features more adventure elements than the typical mystery novel.

Barry Eisler

Kit Ehrman

Dick Francis

John Francome

Sam Llewellyn

Carol O’Connell

T. Jefferson Parker

Nevil Shute

Locked Room Mystery - From the “Golden Age” of mystery, these classics of the genre are set in a well-defined location, with a tightly controlled cast of characters.  They require the excellent deductive powers of the sleuth to piece the clues together.

Margery Allingham

M. C. Beaton

John Dickson Carr

Agatha Christie

Arthur Conan Doyle

Carolyn Hart

Michael Pierce

Elliot Roosevelt

Hard-Boiled Mystery - The hard-boiled mystery style features the loner detective, often a male private investigator.  They’re usually set in urban areas and wallow in the seamy underbelly that cities hide or ignore.

Linda Barnes

Nevada Barr

Richard Barre

Lawrence Block – Matthew Scudder series

Ken Bruen

Steven Brust  - Vlad Taltos series

Edna Buchanan

James Lee Burke

Robert Campbell

Raymond Chandler

Suzanne Chazin

Lee Child

Harlan Coben

Liza Cody

Michael Connelly – Bosch series

Robert Crais

James Ellroy

Sue Grafton

John Harvey

Gar Anthony Haywood

Jeremiah Healy (a.k.a. Terry Devane)

J. A. Jance

Dennis Lehane

Ross MacDonald

Ed McBain

Walter Mosley

Marcia Muller

Kris Nelscott

Sara Paretsky

Robert Parker

George P. Pelecanos

Bill Pronzini

Ian Rankin

Evelyn Smith

Mickey Spillane

Don Winslow

Historical Mysteries - Historical mysteries are those set a particular era, including the Roman Empire; Ancient Egypt; the Middle Ages; and Victorian and Elizabethan England.

Harold Adams

Bruce Alexander

Stephanie Barron

George Baxt

Fiona Buckley

Caleb Carr

Barbara Cleverly

Lindsey Davis

P. C. Doherty

Brad Geagley

Robert Lee Hall

Barbara Hambly

Peter J. Heck

Nicholas Kilmer

Laurie R. King

Gillian Linscott

Miriam Grace Monfred

Sharan Newman

William J. Palmer

Orhan Pamuk

Iain Pears

Sharon Kay Penman

Wilder Perkins

Anne Perry

Elizabeth Peters

Ellis Peters

John Maddox Roberts

Lynda S. Robinson

Caroline Roe

Elliot Roosevelt

Laura Joh Rowland

Steven Saylor

Charles Todd

Peter Tremayne

Police Procedural Mystery -  Police procedural novels feature a police officer or department working (usually) within the boundaries of the law to find the answers.

Mark Billingham

Ed Dee

Michael Dibdin

James Ellroy

Jonathan Gash

Elizabeth George

Ann Granger

Georgette Heyer

Reginald Hill

Tony Hillerman

J. A. Jance – Joana Brady series and Beaumont series

Quintin Jardine

Stuart Kaminsky

Donna Leon

Dan Mahoney

Michael Malone

Margaret Maron – Sigrid Harald series

J. J. Marric

William Leonard Marshall

Ed McBain/Evan Hunter

Lillian O’Donnell – Norah Mulcahaney series

Ian Rankin – Inspector John Rebus series

Ruth Rendell

Peter Robinson

Thomas Swan

Aimee and David Thurlo

Joseph Wambaugh

Robert Wilson

Psychological Mysteries - Psychological mysteries take the reader inside the mind of the criminal, and to other uncomfortable places.

Keith Ablow

Jonathan Kellerman

Laurie R. King

Sarah Lovett

Val McDermid

Ridley Pearson

Anne Salter

Stephen Walsh White