Popular Mystery Authors at Your Library
Click the categories below to see the authors in each.
- Arnaldur Indridason: Moody stories featuring cynical curmudgeon Inspector Erlunder Sveinsson. Set in Iceland..
- Nevada Barr: Suspenseful stories with detective/National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon.
- Benjamin Black: Atmospheric stories featuring pathologist Quirke. Set in 1950s Ireland.
- Eleanor Taylor Bland: Marti MacAlister, an African-American policewoman working in a town south of Chicago.
- Lawrence Block: Mysteries ranging from comedic to hardboiled.
- C.J. Box: Intricately plotted, issue-oriented stories set in the Mountain West.
- Alan Bradley: Quirky and darkly comic mystery stories set in rural England during the 1950s.
- James Lee Burke: Brooding, complex mysteries set in Louisiana and Texas.
- Steph Cha: LA noir series featuring Korean-American Juniper Song.
- Barbara Cleverly: Mysteries set in exotic locales of the British Empire during the 1920s.
- Harlan Coben: Fast-paced mystery and suspense stories.
- Michael Connelly: Cunningly plotted, character-driven mysteries featuring maverick hero Harry Bosch.
- Patricia Cornwell: Atmospheric mysteries featuring forensic anthropologist Kay Scarpetta.
- Colin Cotterill: Set in Laos in the 1970s, featuring medical examiner Siri Paiboun.
- Robert Crais: Hardboiled mysteries featuring P.I. Elvis Cole.
- Jeffery Deaver: Intricately plotted crime novels featuring Lincoln Rhyme.
- Aaron Elkins: Anthropologist-detective Gideon Oliver solves mysteries around the world.
- Janet Evanovich: Funny, upbeat mystery series featuring bounty-hunter-in-training Stephanie Plum.
- Linda Fairstein: Dangerous, intriguing puzzles filled with gritty forensic and fascinating historical details of NYC.
- Dick Francis: Richly detailed mysteries set in the world of horseracing.
- Tana French: Dark police procedurals with vividly drawn characters. Set in Dublin, Ireland.
- Elizabeth George: Mixture of traditional British mystery and the darker tone of modern crime fiction.
- Sue Grafton: Hardboiled detective Kinsey Millhone, a tough, stubborn, but self-assured loner.
- Kerry Greenwood: Cleverly plotted mysteries with strong female characters. Set in Australia.
- Keigo Higashino: Literary-leaning mystery novels, character-driven psychological suspense stories.
- Rachel Howzell Hall: African-American homicide detective Elouise “Lou” Norton works in the male dominated LAPD.
- Tony Hillerman: Richly detailed mysteries set on Navajo reservations in the Southwest.
- Joe Ide: Set in the tough East Long Beach neighbor hood of LA, a brilliant, Sherlock-like sleuth solves crimes the cops won’t touch.
- P.D. James: Classic-style British mysteries with contemporary stories.
- J.A. Jance: Suspenseful mysteries set largely in the Southwest and the Pacific Northwest.
- Craig Johnson: Gritty series featuring Wyoming sheriff Walter Longmire.
- Stuart M. Kaminsky: Character-driven stories exploring social problems such as racism, abuse, and addiction.
- Ausma Zehanat Khan: Atmospheric police procedurals featuring Canadian detectives Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak.
- Faye Kellerman: Popular series featuring police detective Peter Decker and his wife Rina Lazarus.
- Jonathan Kellerman: Series hero Alex Delaware is a psychologist and consultant to the LA Police Department.
- Harry Kemelman: Leisurely paced mysteries featuring Rabbi David Small.
- Dennis Lehane: Intricately plotted crime and suspense stories with a strong sense of place.
- Donna Leon: Venetian policeman Guido Brunetti battles corruption in Italy.
- Elmore Leonard: Fast-moving, street-smart crime novels.
- Ed Lin: Fast paced, hardboiled and darkly humorus mysteries set in NY’s Chinatown and Tawain.
- Laura Lippman: Tess Monaghan series set in Baltimore.
- Attica Locke: Atmospheric mysteries set in Texas and Louisiana. Racism and class issues are often addressed.
- Sujata Massey: Contemporary and historical mysteries that star clever heroines. Often set in Eastern locales, including Japan and India.E
- Walter Mosley: Hardboiled mysteries featuring P.I. Easy Rawlins, set in Los Angeles.
- Marcia Muller: Series featuring P.I. Sharon McCone, set in San Francisco.
- Sara Paretsky: Private Investigator V.I. Warshawski is a tough feminist with a strong social conscience.
- Robert B. Parker: Gritty, hardboiled detective mysteries.
- Louise Penny: Series set in Quebec with Inspector Armand Gamache.
- Anne Perry: Detail-rich, bleak, evocative, and atmospheric stories set in Victorian England.
- Ian Rankin: Dark, brooding stories featuring Inspector John Rebus. Set in Edinburgh.
- Kathy Reichs: Mystery series featuring forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan.
- Ruth Rendell: Police procedural series with Inspector Wexford. Standalone psychological suspense stories.
- John Sandford: Suspenseful, violent police procedurals.
- Dorothy Sayers: Classic mysteries featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.
- Rex Stout: Classic mysteries featuring Nero Wolfe.
- Charles Todd: Historical mysteries set in post-WWI England.
- Margaret Truman: Political murder mysteries set in Washington DC.
- Minette Walters: British psychological crime novels.
- Jacqueline Winspear: Historical mysteries with Maisie Dobbs, a former WWI nurse.
- Stuart Woods: Page-turning thrillers. Most set in the South.
- Qiu Xiaolong: Inspector Chen Cao series features intricately plotted, atmospheric police procedurals set in contemporary Shanghai.
- Susan Wittig Albert: Homespun contemporary and historical mystery series set in Texas and Alabama.
- Donna Andrews: Charming, quirky series with amateur sleuth/blacksmith, Meg Landslow.
- Nancy Atherton: Heartwarming, upbeat mysteries with ghost Aunt Dimity and stuffed bunny Reginald.
- M.C. Beaton: Eccentric characters, vivid settings, expertly crafted plots. Set in Scotland and England.
- Rhys Bowen: Fast-paced, engaging, character-driven stories. Many historical.
- Lilian Jackson Braun: Amusing series featuring newspaperman James Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats.
- Rita Mae Brown: Witty, clever mysteries with a strong sense of place and quirky characters.
- Agatha Christie: Classic mysteries featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
- Diane Mott Davidson: Humorous, quirky, culinary mysteries with caterer Goldy Bear.
- Joanne Fluke: Culinary mystery novels set in the small town of Lake Eden, Minnesota.
- Anne George: Homespun, dialogue-rich Southern Sisters mystery series.
- Charlaine Harris: Southern vampire series with telepath Sookie Stackhouse.
- Carolyn G. Hart: Amusing, upbeat mysteries with quirky, memorable characters.
- Joan Hess: Sly humor and a strong sense of place in these mysteries set in rural Arkansas.
- Alexander McCall Smith: Humorous, gentle mysteries set in Botswana and Edinburgh.
- Elizabeth Peters: Historical mysteries featuring archaeologist Amelia Peabody.
- Jussi Adler-Olsen: Department Q series, police procedurals set in Denmark.
- Ake Edwardson: Gritty, thoughtful police procedurals set in Sweden.
- Karin Fossum: Inspector Sejer series set in Norway. Bleak, dark, character-driven stories.
- Mari Jungstedt: Clever, character-driven Swedish police procedurals.
- Camilla Lackberg: Leisurely paced police procedurals set in small-town coastal Sweden.
- Asa Larsson: Bleak, atmospheric, and intricately plotted mystery fiction.
- Stieg Larsson: Page-turning, haunting trilogy set in Sweden.
- Henning Mankell: Popular series featuring troubled police detective Kurt Wallander.
- Jo Nesbo: Intricately plotted, gritty mysteries with detective Harry Hole.
- Hakan Nesser: Police procedurals featuring menacing Chief Inspector Van Veeteren.
- Leif G. W. Persson: Police procedurals set in Sweden by a renowned psychological profiler.
- David Baldacci: Fast-paced political thrillers.
- Sandra Brown: Fast-paced romantic suspense stories of action, adventure, sex, and violence.
- Linda Castillo: Fast-paced, violent stories set in Ohio Amish country.
- Lee Child: Complex, twisted plots and relentless pacing in these stories featuring engaging loner Jack Reacher.
- Lincoln Child: Gripping, page-turning suspense stories.
- Mary Higgins Clark: Fast-paced suspense novels featuring women and children in jeopardy.
- Robin Cook: Suspenseful medical thrillers.
- Nelson DeMille: Thrillers about the Cold War and international terrorism.
- Joseph Finder: Spy fiction featuring business executives or lawyers and fast-paced, complex plots.
- Vince Flynn: Political thrillers with CIA agent Mitch Rapp.
- Tess Gerritsen: Dramatic medical thrillers.
- John Grisham: Fast-paced legal thrillers.
- Tami Hoag: Plot-driven books with plenty of tension, violence, and twists and turns.
- Greg Iles: Tightly plotted and fast-paced suspense novels.
- Iris Johansen: Fast-paced, character-driven suspense stories.
- Brad Meltzer: Suspenseful thrillers set in carefully researched legal, financial, and political arenas.
- James Patterson: Fast-paced crime thrillers and romantic suspense.
- J.D. Robb: Police procedurals and romantic suspense stories.
- Lisa Scottoline: Legal thrillers set in Philadelphia.
- Daniel Silva: Spy thrillers featuring Israeli agent Gabriel Allon and ex-CIA agent Michael Osbourne.