OT-Another Book Thread, Crime/Detective edition

Hardy Boys.

Finished House on the Cliff, halfway through Hunting for Hidden Gold, reading The Disappearing Floor next.

So much action and suspense.

Also, check out I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann -- about the murders of Osage Indians in early 1900s Oklahoma... about to be a blockbuster film starring DiCaprio and DeNiro, coming out 2021.

"Murder of the Century" by Paul Collins -- about a murder in NYC in the late 1800s and the rise of tabloid newspapers who covered the case.

Both books are fascinating nonfiction and ya learn a thing or two along the way.

if you really loved me by ann rule.  a true story made into a movie.   i actually testified in a different homicide that was related to this one via one of the witnesses.  interesting, true life stuff.  the depravity of mankind and the goodness of mankind on display. 

The Falcon Thief, by Joshua Hammer. 
Interesting story of a criminal who trafficked rare birds internationally and the English cop that caught him. 

The Devil in the White City. Not sure if it quite fits the bill here but I believe it is considered true crime. Larson does good work with his novels and keeps them moving and interesting. Love how he writes

I was thinking of ordering a copy of one of the books about John Norman Collins, the EMU serial killer. I was considering  the more recent "Terror in Ypsilanti" or "The Michigan Murders" from like the 70s. Can anyone recommend either/or?

For a western flair, try the Joe Pickett series by CJ Box.  Fun reads.  

Gillian Flynn, hands down. I wish I'd discovered her earlier. She's known best for Gone Girl but I think Dark Places is a much better book. 

My wife also has those TV shows on continuous record!  Anyway, maybe try 'American Kingpin : The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road'.  It's the story of the FBI's search for the owner of the Silk Road website - a dark web drug emporium using bitcoins for payments and the Post Office for delivery.  There are no murders, but the investigation is described very well, yet without the technical details that would drive away the computer forensic uninformed.  There's enough to get the gist, but nothing to keep a true nerd entertained.  Nic Bilton is the author...

Don't forget the classics of the genre, the best of which were written by Raymond Chandler.  When he wrote, he would use pencil on a legal pad.  Each sheet would contain about 300 words, and if he didn't have some action on the page, he would wad it up and start over.  Really good at capturing the dialog and grit of the era.

In a more modern context, Elmore Leonard was superb at telling stories through dialog and with collections of oddball characters.

If you just want something that's funny/weird/entertaining, it's hard to beat Tim Dorsey or Carl Hiaasen.  Both are former newpapermen who's experiences working the Florida beat exposed them to lots and lots of crazy people/situations.  Of the two, Hiaasen is somewhat less formulaic.  

Three different suggestions:

Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series -- the best genre crime I've ever read. (New Yorker writeup!) 

Jeff Toobin's Run of His Life -- this was Toobin's exhaustively reported take on the OJ trial. It's not super true crime-y, focusing far more on the mechanics (and personalities) of the trial than the underlying facts. It's really good, if that's your vibe.

David Simon (of The Wire, etc)'s Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. Simon essentially embedded with the Baltimore homicide department for a year, so it follows a set of detectives / cases, many of which don't neatly resolve. I'm actually really interested in re-reading it now, in light of recent events. The chapter on interrogation is 1.) a classic among criminal defense lawyers -- they always give it to clients and 2.) a great encapsulation of the book. Start on the bottom of page 201, where it says "You are a citizen of a free nation...".

Seconding other recommendations in the thread for I'll be Gone in the Dark (story of an internet sleuth on the trail of the Golden State Killer), Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl rules, I dunno about her other stuff but it's high on my list), Elmore Leonard for the noir-ish / hardboiled novel (I'd start with 52 Pickup; he's such a great prose stylist & this story is set in Metro Detroit). 

Laird Barron's Isaiah Coleridge series.

If you're into the narco cartel genre, I can also recommend quite a few. 

One I'm really liking at the moment is Queen of the South by Arturo Perez-Reverte.

I like Jeffrey Deaver, particularly his Lincoln Rhyme series. The books usually move at a pretty good pace, and have a few twists and turns to make things interesting.

I also like Daniel Silva, although most of his stuff moves a lot more slowly, so probably not great for your wife.

Malcom Mackay, the Glasgow Trilogy and a few sequels/prequels. Scottish noir, with each book or set of books focusing on a different member of the criminal world. 

Sticking with the British Isles, Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy series is solid entry in the wisecracking detective genre, set in Troubles-era Northern Ireland. 

I've enjoyed reading the "Cotton Malone" series by Steve Berry. They're more of an international exploits and government agent than crime novels (Although there are plenty of crimes committed). Still find them entertaining, and there are about 13-14 books in the series. I believe he still writing this series, so more to come as well. Hw ties a lot of historical events and beliefs into the stories as well, along the lines of Dan Brown books. 

Robert Crais and his Elvis Cole/ Joe Pike series is consistently good as are his stand alone books.

For something a bit different the late Philip Kerr and his "Bernie Gunther" series set in pre-WW2, during WW2 and post WW2 Berlin and other locales. He is not a Nazi, but he encounters them and sometimes has to work with them.

good mysteries

- magpie murders
- truth about the harry quebert affair
- the sweetness at the bottom of the pie
- the woman in the window
- in a dark dark wood
- shadow of the wind
- gone girl
 

I really enjoyed American Tabloid and the Cold 6000 by James Ellroy.

Elmore Leonard is a lot lighter, but has some fun stuff.  There was one book where an old rich guy outside of Detroit would have prostitutes come over and dress up in Michigan cheerleader outfits.  (Can remember the details beyond that.)

Fiction: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Very engaging and if she likes it there are like 5 additional books in the series. Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs are great and engaging.

I saw a recommendation for Devil in the White City - it is a very interesting story but not a thrilling read. Much of the book is about architecture/the Worlds Fair. 

For True Crime: Stranger Beside Me (Ted Bundy), Killer Clown (John Gacy), and Bind Torture Kill (BTK) are all good reads/listens. 

Fiction:

• Elmore Leonard is the king. Rum Punch, Get Shorty, Pronto.
• Tana French's Dublin murder squad series. In The Woods is really good.
• Patricia Highsmith. The Talented Mr. Ripley is rightfully a classic. Book better and darker than the (very good, very dark) movie based on it.
• A lot of classic Agatha Christie is good fun. 
• Ruth Rendell
• The Sherlock Holmes novels (A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles)

Don't have any general author recs for nonfiction/true crime, but here are a few good books:

• Devil in the Grove, by Gilbert King
• The Monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston
• I'll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara

anything by Walter Mosely.