Luna- Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I tend towards the depressive when I am tired in the evening, so I snuggle into bed and read, until the Sandman comes to give me some relief. I love crime and thriller fiction with a body count, but I have run out of writers to look for. Of course the fiction side in the library is alphabetically indexed so I can't go to the crime section. I have exhausted the library's stock of Agatha Christie and Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, and am almost through the Dick Francis's. Otherwise I search through the day's returned books and sometimes find one there.Not Stephen King. I have read a few of his and they never leave me feeling particularly satisfied afterwards. They seem to be gruesome for gruesome's sake and not for a good storyline. It's the clever solving of crimes that I enjoy.Can anyone tell me of other crime/thriller writers names that I can search for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endlessnight Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Hi Luna. I used to be a huge reader and crime/thrillers were my favourites too. P.D. James is one author I like a lot. Her books, especially her earlier ones, are very good. Ruth Rendell is a good read too. Josephine Tey also. The last three authors books are not high on body count though. Not long ago I read a couple of books I liked but i've forgotten who wrote them (they were leant to me by a friend). The titles always have the word 'prey' in them. One I remember is 'Eyes of Prey' *(I think!). I'm not a big fan of Stephen King either. I think he is overrated.Talking of books.....My niece and I went to the bookstore the other day and instead of buying books I found three DVD's of series i've been longing to see. They are all BBC productions: Walking with Dinosaurs/Walking with Monsters/In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. I loved all of them. They were a little expensive and I was only going to buy one and buy another next month, but knowing how things are here I was afraid I might not find them again so I bought all three. I've also watched their series called Planet Earth (on Youtube), and it was wonderful. Recommended to everyone that is interested in our planet and it's wonders!*I checked online and the name of the author is John Sandford.http://www.johnsandford.org/prey03.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finding my way Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 A friend of mine loves Ross Macdonald... his stuff has some psychological angles...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Macdonald Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindamomof7 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I'm not much of a reader esepcially of crime but I understand your passion for it Luna...Have you tried looking up on store sites like Barnes and Nobles or Borders just to see the new book lists or even what they offer in their crime section? Then you can go to the librabry and find it. Good luck on your quest.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna- Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Thank you so much everyone! This should keep me going for quite a while! EN: I think it was John Sandford who wrote the Prey books.Edit: LOL, I see you edited too! Thanks Finding, I love psychological angles. Ken. Wow. I think I have read Blow Fly. Couldn't get into Predator, should try again. I didn't know there were so many Scarpetta books.Thanks Linda.I am so grateful for all these names, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrmaJean Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Gosh, Luna, I get the creeps just reading the titles. Think I'll stick with reading sappy love stories and philosophical/psychology related books. Hope you enjoy your reading! Unfortunately I'm not very helpful with author's names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malign Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Personally, I'm fond of older stuff, probably from combing the library for stuff rather than the book store ... I'm also fond of series writers, whose characters appear in a bunch of different mysteries. They're comfortingly familiar, in a way, which helps you get past characterization into the story, and also helps if the point is to fall asleep reading. :-)Ellery Queen and Rex Stout are favorites. Somewhat dated now, but all about solving the crime rather than body count, necessarily. Queen especially is all about the logic; the novels often end with a challenge to solve it yourself, because all the clues are there.There were other more hard-boiled (and less cerebral) writers from the period, such as Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man) and Raymond Chandler. Depends how dark you like it.I also like mysteries set in the past: Peter Tremayne's sixth century Irish Sister Fidelma (a lawyer and religious sister), or Ellis Peters's much later monk, Brother Cadfael. I recently read one by C. J. Sansom, about a hunchback lawyer in London at the time of King Henry VIII. Isaac Asimov did some mystery/science fiction stories set in the future, and was actually good at it; look for The Caves of Steel to start with.Not mysteries, but I can't recommend books without mentioning Terry Pratchett. He helped me sleep many times during my separation, and that's about as strong a recommendation as I can give you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna- Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 *Happy dance* I am so delighted I asked this question here! I am currently reading a historical murder mystery set in Tudor England. There were a lot less human rights back then! If you didn't plead either guilty or not guilty, they chained you down, put a board over you and piled on the rocks until you either chose a plea or your spine broke and you died. Delightful. The point is not to fall asleep reading though. The point is that while my attention is occupied with the book, I don't sit and get morose in the evening when I am tired. I can't be depressed and be reading a book at the same time, so it's a great escape from the evening gloom. I also relax physically when absorbed in a book, so while I keep the depression at bay, I also relax, plus I get the enjoyment of a good story. Fortunately crime/thriller is a popular genre so I shouldn't run out of stories ever.Doesn't have to be a high body count. One can be enough. But killing again makes for more clues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrmaJean Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Sounds very therapeutic for you and that's a great thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malign Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Mmm, I think my process is similar; we just describe it differently.If I didn't distract my thinking mind while trying to sleep, it would head off in directions that would keep me awake. Give it enough words and a problem to solve, and it does its thing, only on harmless material that lets me relax enough to sleep.For me, the more psychological the story, even if it's not deliberately dark, the more I dwell on the emotional and get sad. So, Pratchett, which is all satire and humor in a magical alternate world, is ideal.For an analyst, it would probably be important that this is the time of day when my thinking mind most seems to affect my emotions. That suggests that what I'm thinking would make fertile therapy fodder ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna- Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Yes, our process is very similar. My thinking also affects my emotions more in the evening when I am tired, generally for the worse. It's harder to do the CBT thing when you're tired.But the more psychological the story is, the more I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrmaJean Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Interesting. I am a bit odd this way perhaps. If I get in touch with my emotions, even when they are sad emotions, I always (eventually) end up feeling more connected to myself and content. Maybe I just like the processing part...or am too caught up in being introspective. So I enjoy reading descriptive, deep, flowing type of writing. Riding the waves...At any rate, back to crime/thriller fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna- Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 That's interesting, IJ. For me, fiction is escapist. I don't introvert on it. (Perhaps because I generally go to sleep after reading. ) It takes me out of myself. When I am depressed, that is such relief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danni Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I'm a serious book addict!!! Hey....there's worse things I could be addicted to I read some of everything. I have a kindle with about 600 books on it right now....most of which I've read. I like the escapist books you talk about Luna. Those things that take me out of myself into another world. I also am addicted to learning so read a lot of non fiction about lots of different topics from history to science to current event to religion to politics. Everything. I guess psychology/therapy stuff goes without saying for me because I work in the field and continuing ed is a requirement to remained licensed But, that said, I still enjoy learning all I can to stay current and also expand my expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malign Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Thanks for raisin the topic; I too like to stay currant.Sorry, pun overload discharged. Please carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danni Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Thanks for raisin the topic; I too like to stay currant.Mailign... all I can say to that is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danni Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Luna...Have you read the "girl" books? (Girl with the dragon tatoo, Girl who played with fire, Girl who kicked the hornets nest)?? They are mysteries that were translated from swedish. I just reread them during the boring technology conference I was at in new york this week because we're talking about them at my book club this month. they are awesome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna- Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 The Millennium Trilogy. Yes, I have them and have read them. I thought the first one was the best. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindamomof7 Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 ............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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