Whodunit?
This lists the authors in my mystery
collection as of February 2010. I should say "virtual collection", because I
deaccessioned much of the physical collection when we moved into a smaller place
in 2006, keeping only a favorite subset and this list of who was once there,
and I now keep only a subset of what I buy.
Some of these authors test the limits of "mystery", either as to genre or as to quality - depressingly often, as to both. I owned 'em, so I list 'em. Authors whose books I would definitely buy again carry a single "*"; authors I might even buy in hardcover carry a double "**" (although this is moot in the case of authors who write no more). I'll buy books by unrated authors again, too, and by authors I've not yet read. (Truth be told, I'll buy and read books I've read before, remembering neither the mystery nor the solution. On occasion I won't realize that until I shelve them, and, if the publisher has changed the cover, perhaps not even then.) I remember names badly, so there are authors I've failed to rate because I've forgotten who they are. Don't take the ratings too seriously.
The list grows over time. Ratings change without notice. Comments or recommendations welcome, preferably by email
- adams, harold
- adamson, mary jo
- aird, catherine
- airth, rennie*
- akunin, boris
- alding, peter
- alexander, bruce*
- allen, michael
- allen, steve
- allingham, margery*
- ambler, eric*
- amis, kingsley*
- anaya, rudolfo*
-
- anderson, james
- anderson, patrick
- andrews, sarah
-
- asimov, isaac*
- atkinson, kate
- atwood, russell
- babson, marian
- ball, john
- banks, oliver
- barnard, robert
- barnes, linda
- barr,
- barron, stephanie
- bayard, louis
- bayley, john*
- bazell, josh
- begiebing, robert
- belfer, lauren
- benard, cheryl*
- benchley, peter*
- benjamin, paul
- bentley, e.c.
- bergman, andrew
- biggle, lloyd
- bingham, john
- black, benjamin
- black, cara*
- black, lionel
- blake, nicholas
- block,
- blunt, giles*
- bogart, stephen
- bond, michael
- bonfilgioli, kyril*
- borthwick, j.s.
- boucher, anthony
- bourdain, anthony
- bourgerau, art
- boyer, rick
- boyle, thomas
- brady, john*
- brand, christiana
- braun, lilian
- brett, simon
- brown, dan*
- browne, marshal*
- bruce, leo
- buckley, william*
- burke, james
- burke, j.f.
- burley, w.j.
- burns, rex
- butler, gwendoline
- cain, james
- caldwell, ian
- camilleri, andrea*
- campbell, robert
-
- carkeet, david
- carlotto, massimo
- carlson, p.m.*
- carr, caleb*
- carr, john
- carter, stephen
- caudwell, sarah
- chandler, raymond*
- chesterton, g.k.
- chercover, sean
- cheyney, peter
- christie, agatha*
- churchill, jill
- clancy, tom*
-
- clark, robert
- clarke, t.e.b.
- cleverly, barbara*
- coben, harold*
- cohen, patricia cline
- cody, liza*
- collins, max
- collins, wilkie*
- conan doyle, arthur**
- condon, richard
-
- cook, bruce
- cook, thomas
- cornwell, patricia**
- costello, mark*
- cotterill, colin*
- coxe, george
- craig, alisa
- crichton, michael**
- crisp, n.j.
- crispin, edmund
- crofts, freeman*
- cross, amanda*
- crumley, james*
- daley, robert*
- daly,
- d'amato, barbara
- darnton, john
- davidson, diane*
- davis, lindsey
- davison, philip*
- day, dianne
- deandrea, william
- deighton, len*
- delacorta
- dershowitz, alan*
- dexter, colin*
- dibdin, michael*
- dickens, charles*
-
- dobbs, maisie
- dobyns, stephen
- doctorow, e.l.*
- doody, margaret
- doolittle, jerome
- doss, james
- douglas, carole
- dunlap, susan
- dunning, john*
- egdehill, rosemary*
- elkins, aaron**
- ellroy, james**
- emerson, earl
- engel, howard*
- erskine, margaret
- estleman, loren*
- evanovich, janet*
- evers, crabbe*
- fair, a.a.
- fairleigh, runa
- fearing, kenneth
- feiffer, jules*
- fforde, jasper
- ferrars,
- fliegel, richard
- flunn, don
- follett, ken
- forbes, leslie*
- ford, g.m.
- fossum, karin
- francis, dick*
- fraser, antonia*
- freeling, nicholas**
- freeman, r.
- friedman, kinky*
- fulmer, david
- furst, alan*
- garcía-aguilera,
- garve, andrew
- gash, joe
- gash, jonathan*
- gaus, p.l.*
- geddes, paul
- george,
- gielgud, val
- gilbert, michael*
- gill, b.m.
- gill, bartholomew**
- gilman, dorothy
- giménez-bartlett, alicia
- goldsborough, robert*
- gordon, alison
- gores, joe*
- grafton, c.w.
- grafton, sue*
- graham, caroline
- grayson, richard
- greenberg, martin
- greene, graham*
- greene, hugh
- greenleaf, stephen
- greenwood, john
- gregorio, michael
- grierson, edward
- griffin, w.e.b.
- grimes, martha*
- grindle, lucretia
- grisham, john*
- grossman, lev*
- gruley, bryan
- gur, batya
- haddam, jane*
- haddon, mark*
- hager, jean
- haining, peter
- hall, adam*
- hall, parnell*
- halliday, fred
- hamilton, denise
- hammett, dashiell**
- handler, david
- hansen, joseph
- hare, cyril
- harrigan, janie
- hart, carolyn
- harvey, michael
- hautman, pete
- haymon, s.t.
- head, matthew
- healy, jeremiah
- heck, peter
- hentoff, nat*
- hess, joan
- hiaasen, carl*
- higgins, george*
- higgins, jack*
- hill, reginald
- hillerman, tony**
- hirschberg, cornelius
- hjortsberg, william*
- hockensmith, steve
- howe, melodie
- hume, fergus
- humes, harold (H.L "Doc")
- hunter, jack
- indriđason, arnaldur
- innes, michael*
- izner, claude
- izzo,jean-claude
- james, p.d.**
- japrisot, sebastian
- kallen, lucille
- kanon, joseph*
- kaminsky, stuart**
- katz, jon
- keating, h.r.f.
- kellerman, faye*
- kelly, mary
- kemelman, harry*
- kendrick, stephen*
- kennedy, george
- kenney, susan
- kenyon, michael*
- kerr, philip*
- kienzle, william
- kiker, douglas
- king, c.daly
- king, laurie*
- kirst, hans
- kozak, harley jane
- langton, jane*
- lantigua, john*
- lathen, emma**
-
- le carr�, john**
- lee, john
- lehane, dennis*
- leon, donna*
- leonard, elmore**
- lescroart, john
- leslie, john*
- lewin, michael
- lewis, lange
- levine, paul
- liang, diane wei
- limón, martin*
- lippman, laura*
- liss, david*
- lochte, dick
- logue, john
- lovesey, peter**
- lorens, m.k.
- lucarelli, carlo
- ludlum, robert*
- lutz, lisa
- lyons, arthur
- macdonald, john**
- macdonald, philip*
- macdonald, ross**
- macleod, charlotte*
- macinnes, helen
- maclean, alistair
- maitland, barry*
- maling, arthur
- mankell, henning
- maron, margaret*
- marric, j.j.*
- marsh, ngaio**
- marshall, william
- martin, william
- martínez, guillermo
- martini, steve*
- massey, sujata*
-
- mayor, archer*
- mccarry, charles
- mcclure, james
- mccrumb, sharyn
- mcdermid, val*
- mcdonald, gregory*
- mcconnor, vincent
- mcgarrity, michael*
- mcinerny, ralph
- mcmullen, mary
- mcnamara, joseph
- meek, m.r.d.
- melville, james
- meyer,
- meyer, nicholas*
- meredith, d.r.
- millar, margaret*
- millett, larry
- minahan, john
- mitchell, gladys
- monahan, brent*
- montalbán, manuel vázquez*
- morese, l.a.
- mosley, walter**
- moyes, patricia*
- muller, marcia*
- munnings, clare*
- murphy,
- murphy, haughton
- murray, william
- nabb, magdalen**
- nelscott, kris*
- nesser, håkan
- norbu, jamyang*
- norman, geoffrey
- o'donnell, lillian
- o'rourke, frank
- o'shaughnessy, perri
- page, jake*
- page, martin
- palmer, stuart
- paretsky, sara*
- parker, robert**
- paul, raymond
- pawel, rebecca*
- pearce, michael*
- pears, iain*
- pérez-reverte, arturo*
- perry, anne
- perry, ritchie
- perry, thomas
- peters,
- peters, ellis
- phillips, scott
- piesman, marissa*
- pickard,
- popov, dusko
- powers, charles*
- procter, maurice
- pronzini, bill
- puzo, mario*
- pym, barbara
- pynchon, thomas
- quentin, patrick
- qiu, xiaolong*
- radley, sheila
- ramos, manuel*
- rankin, ian*
- reed, philip*
- rees, matt beynon
- reeves, robert
- reilly, helen
- rendell, ruth*
- rich, virginia
- richman, phyllis*
- roberts, james
- roberts, les*
- robinson, lynda
- roe, caroline*
- roosevelt, elliott*
- rosen, richard
- rosen, leo
- rosenblum, robert
- rothenberg, rebecca
- rovin, jeff
- rozan, s.j.*
- russell, alan
- russell, jay
- safire, william*
- salinger,
- sayers, dorothy**
- schlink, bernhard
- schopen, bernard
- scottonline, lisa*
- shields, jody*
- simenon, georges*
- simon, michael
- simon, roger
- simpson, dorothy
- sjowall, maj**
- skom, edith
- smith, alexander*
- smith, julie**
- smith, martin**
- soares, jô
- soos, troy
- spence, jonathan*
- spencer, ross
- spiegelman, peter
- spillane, mickey
- stabenow, dana*
- stark, richard*
- stashower, daniel
- stevenson, richard
- stone, michael
- stout, rex**
- straub, peter
- sublett, jesse
- tabo, paco
- tey, josephine**
- tapply, william
-
- teilhet,
- thomas, leslie
- thomas, ross
- thomason, dustin
- thomson, june
- todd, charles*
- tourney, leonard
- tramble, nichelle*
- trevanian
- truman, margaret*
- upfield, arthur
- upson, nicola
- vachss, andrew
- valin, jonathan
- valtos, william*
- van gulik, robert*
- vanneman, alan*
- van de wetering, janwillem*
- vargas, fred*
- vargas llosa, mario*
- videtta, marco
- wade, henry
- walker, walter
- wambaugh, joseph*
- ward, e.o.
- watson, clarissa
- watson, colin
- welles, orson*
- wender, theodora
- wentworth, patricia
- wessel, john
- west, elliott
-
- white, kate
- white, randy*
- white, t.h.
- wienman,
- williams, charles
- williams, david
- willeford, charles
- wilson, robert*
- winslow, don
- winsor,
- wolfe, susan
- womack, steven
- wood, h.f.
- wright, eric
- young, scott
- zagel, james*
- zangwill,
- zencey, eric*
- zochert, donald