Mystery Authors Thought CloudPopular 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.