For fellow Michael Connelly Fans - Who should I turn to next?

So the last two years has seen me plow thru just about every piece of fiction Michael Connelly has penned to date - making me realize that I can now see the end of books of his I haven't read, and I'm wondering what's next?

So I'm turning to my fellow members of LibraryThing who also enjoy Connelly's work - who should I turn to next? It seems his next book starring Harry Bosch & Mickey Heller won't be out for some time, with only a couple left of his unread I'm trying to do some research and reading up on who I should turn to next.

I'd been poking along with his works for a while, but the last six months I've been reading fiction and a pretty brisk pace and after venturing off to other authors I've always turned back to Connelly.

The only other authors in the crime fiction genre I've really enjoyed has been both Marshall Karp & Nelson DeMille - although DeMille's crime work lately has veered towards what I would consider the Thriller grouping than the traditional police procedural/crime/murder fiction group.

I'm not partial to any locations - but what I do love is the details in Connelly's work, the gritty realism that Connelly portrays.

Any help, suggestions, comments, etc would be greatly appreciated.

I also love Connelly's mysteries. I also love Carol O'Connell's Mallory mysteries (Mallory's Oracle), set in NYC, featuring a sociopathic detective named Kathleen Mallory ("Don't call me Kathy"). They are gritty and noir and altogether wonderful. Also love the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike mysteries by Robert Crais, featuring a wisecracking private detective set in a gritty, dark, and realistic Los Angeles (Monkey's Raincoat). For police procedurals, I've never found any to beat the Luis Mendoza mysteries by Dell Shannon, though you'll be lucky to find any of those in used book stores and libraries.

Good luck in your search!

I'm no expert, but I do love Connelly. I agree with Storeetllr that Robert Crais is very good. I would also suggest Dennis Lehane. You probably have already read Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald, but for my money, nobody beats them.

I just bought my first Carol O'Connell and am looking forward to it based on other comments here.

I completely agree with etrainer on the suggestion of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald. And I add my support to Storeetllr's recommendation of Robert Crais. Two others who are in the same style that I like are Robert B. Parker and Horace McCoy.

I suggest the Lou Boldt/Daphne Matthews books by Ridley Pearson or the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child.

You might try the Matthew Scudder Books by Lawrence Block, I think Sins of the Fathers is the first one. If you are willing to go back a bit the Deadly Sin books by Lawrence Saunders might suit the ticket. J.A. Jance's J.P. Beaumont books might also do it.

thanks for the recommendations everyone - I've added a huge new list of stuff to my wish list and will be checking them out in the coming months. I really appreciate all the input.

Enjoy! And let us know what you think! :)

Yes Robert Crais is good, arguably better tan Michael Connelly. Ian Rankin is better than both of them. His novels are set in Edinburgh. His last book is the last in the series, his hero Inspector Rebus and Bosch are very alike.

I'm seconding the vote for the Scudder series by Lawrence Block. I too picked up the first Mallory book recently based on LTers raves. I think its moved up to near the top of my TBR pile.

Have you read any of Dennis Lehane? I like his books. Mystic River was good, and Gone Baby Gone is coming out as a movie. I don't think he has had anything new out for a while though.

I also like Carol O'Connell.

I've read everything by Michael Connelly and enjoyed each one, including the non-series books. Harry Bosch has evolved into something more like a personal acquaintance than a fictitious character. Reading the latest, The Overlook, had me wanting to pick up the phone and have a conversation with him! That's what sets Connelly's writing above the norm for me. Another author who has created a similarly "real" series character is John Harvey, in the UK, with his Charlie Resnick character. Definitely someone to have on your side in darkest Nottingham. And if you also happen to be a jazz fan both Connelly and Harvey can put you on to some seriously great music!

Thanks for asking this question. I've read many of the authors suggested above, but it's highlighted a number of new ones that I will pursue, too, while we wait for the next Bosch installment.

Dennis Lehane would be my recommendation as well. His first five books feature Kenzie and Gennaro...

‘94 A Drink Before the War
‘96 Darkness Takes My Hand
‘97 Sacred
‘98 Gone Baby Gone
‘99 Prayers For Rain

They are well worth reading in order. All are excellent. The next two are stand alone ....

‘00 Mystic River

‘03 Shutter Island

And then there’s a book of his short stories....

`06 Coronado

This is a great topic. I am mainly looking for suggestions for my SO who loves Michael Connolly, Dennis Lehane, Pelecanos and Lee Child.

I started off with PaddyB's suggestion of Ian Rankin - and read The Naming of the Dead.

Tough to get started in to be honest. Perhaps because it was set in a city I've never been to and I know very little about British Police Procedures. But I'm glad I slogged thru the slow beginning, because it really picked up in the end. Plus I love unexpected non-Hollywood endings. Rebus is a real gritty character, and Rankin has an interesting way of showing you the underbelly of the Scottish capital.

Actually had me picking up some travel books on Edinburgh & Scotland & the British Police as well as poking thru Wikipedia for a while reading up so I could better understand all the nuances.

I'll be reading more Rankin in the future, that's for sure.

I like Matthew Scudder a lot. A Long Line of Dead Men is one of my favorites. The Nameless detective series by Bill Pronzini is good too.

I just received this in a newsletter.....

"Michael is currently writing his new novel which will likely be released in October 2008. It features Mickey Haller, from THE LINCOLN LAWYER, taking over the law practice of an attorney who has been murdered. Detective Harry Bosch is assigned to investigate the murder. As you may recall, these two men have something in common other than this case--they are related. (Read THE BLACK ICE and THE LINCOLN LAWYER to find the connection.)"

#17 jxnhole, I've read both those books, but my advanced age doesn't permit me to remember much of anything newer than 40 years ago. How were they related? Don't make me pour through those books to find the answer, PLEASE!!

#18 etrainer.... You're asking me to remember??? I read “Black Ice” a loooong time ago. It was the second in the Bosch series and I don't recall the story let alone any relationship to Mickey Haller. I did read The Lincoln Lawyer more recently (a favorite) and I kind of remember Harry Bosch briefly appearing... but what the two have in common? I can’t recall.

Anyone else have a clue?

It's been a while since I read them, but I think they may have the same father.

Yep.... that’s it. In The Black Ice, Harry finds out who his father is, J. Michael Haller, and that he has several half brothers and half sisters. Mickey Haller is a half brother!

Wow, I didn't remember that at all. Well, these books aren't 40 years old, either!

I would class Harry Bosch, Dave Robicheaux,Inspector Rebus, Matt Scudder, Charlie Resnick, Dismas Hardy,Chief Inspector Alan Banks as similar...tough,idealistic,uncompromising when fighting evil.As well the authors round out these characters so that you come to know them and identify with them and like them.
Also, and here I'm giving you the best reading advice possible.Mario Balzic, Chief of Police in Rocksburg, a rust belt town.

If you like these you will be occupied for a few years.

#23
I live near where the "Rocksburg" mysteries are set. They are among the best books I've ever read--of any genre.

To make anyone who wants to take the advice of sheerplod have an easier time of it, I wanted to let you know that the author of the Balzic series is K. C. Constantine which is a pseudonym.

Touchstone for Constantine not loading.

>23 sheerplod:,24

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm always looking for new authors that I have never heard of before. Now I'll have another new one to try: K. C. Constantine.

As with any new author, I would like your opinion on where to start in the series--is starting with the first book necessary? Or do they start off rocky and greatly improve later in the series?

I’m just starting a T. Jefferson Parker book, California Girl. On the back cover is a quote from the Rocky Mountain News... “Parker’s Southern California thrillers are in the league of Michael Connelly”. Might want to check him out.

How about the Karin Slaughter Grant County series?

I too have been concerned about what’s next. Not so much a worry about finding an entertaining read as finding an author who writes such quality material.

I’m new to the mystery genre. I started with Patricia Cornwall and am working through all of her books. I’ve dabbled with James Patterson (not my favorite). Next was Michael Connelly (love, love, love his work). Just finished "Angel's Flight" this morning. I’m newly hooked on Robert Crais. This was a relief and gives me hope that I’ll discover more wonderful mystery writers. I can understand how California readers enjoy the LA locales. I lived in Ft. Myers, FL many years ago and have really enjoyed Randy Wayne White's mysteries because so many of the locations are familiar. Steve Hamilton’s Alex McKnight series is also very good (I live in Michigan).

I’m happy to see new names mentioned above. So many books, so little time.

#29 Have you read John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee books?

Connelly readers that are interested in looking at British writers would probably enjoy John Harvey's series with detective Charlie Resnick starting with Lonely Hearts.

#30 No, not yet. I know they are classic and many readers of Connelly recommend them as similar. Travis McGee is on my list. I used to wonder what my father-in-law, a voracious mystery reader, found appealing about these books. Now I get it.

If you like Patricia Cornwell, try Kathy Reichs. I love her books, too.

Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series is excellent. Set in Oslo, Norway, they are outstanding thrillers. This Harry, like Bosch, is a bit of a renegade in the Oslo Police force. So now you'll have 2 Harrys to keep tabs on! The problem here is not when the next book is going to be published, but when the next English translation is going to arrive. They've been translated in a different sequence than they were written. The one to start with is Redbreast, followed by Nemesis, then The Devil's Star. - Too many books, so little time!

Author James Lee Burke was recommended to me by several friends.
Haven't read anything yet, but have one of his books I will get to in the near future.
Anybody else know anything about him, please post.

dragonsign

I"ve only read one Michael Connelly book and it was a stand-alone novel, but I liked it a lot. I am amazed at how much people love the Harry Boschseries though and I can't wait to start it. I feel like I"m in for something incredibly special. I think he must be the favourite writer of mystery readers on this site. Has anyone read his new anthology of police stories?

What I Know for sure about James Lee Burke is that Michael Connelly likes his works. Connelly wrote once that he had picked up "Neon Rain" in a book store for its flashy cover and liked it so much that later found and read other books by the same author. And wasn't disappointed. So I think that we won't be disappointed as well ;)
Me, I've read all Connelly's books (except for Crimebeat and short stories) and all Mallory series by O'Connell. Think it's time to get asquainted with Dave Robicheaux.

James Lee Burke is well worth reading - they transcend the genre. I have The Tin Roof Blowdown on Mt TBR and keep putting off reading it in the interests of deferred gratification!

James Lee Burke is one my favorites also. Several of my favorites are Swan Peak, Crusader's Cross, A Morning for Flamingoes, and Cadillac Jukebox.

There are two emerging authors I'm happy to recommend: Sean Chercover and Marcus Sakey. Both set their books in Chicago. You can't go wrong with any of their books.

Chercover has written Big City, Bad Blood and Trigger City, and I recommend reading them in that order.

Sakey: The Blade Itself and Good People.

If you love Michael Connelly as much as so many of us do, then I agree with many others that you will also love James Lee Burke. His prose is rich, southern, gritty, and poetic. Dave Robiichauex is as flawed and as angry as Harry Bosch, but that never gets in the way of his seeking and finding justice. Enjoy.

My recommendations would be from Lawrence Block the Matt Scudder and Keller series which are both excellent. A newer author than I would recommend highly would be Sean Chercover - both of his Ray Dudgeon PI novels were superb. Can also heartily second the recommendation of Dennis Lehane.

I am late to this party. I have not been reading much fiction lately because I was a hard core Grisham fan for years, and I could never replace him.

Crichton seemed to lose interest in his books, 3/4 of the way through - passing the writing to interns for endings. Jurassic Park excepted

Tom Clancy requires a notebook to keep track of characters and story lines - too much work. And I have ZERO interest in learning the internal workings of advanced weaponry.

So I gave up on fiction for years, except for when Grisham turned out another airport read.

I began to breeze through biographies - Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Ava Gardner, Art Carney and David Niven -- WONDERFUL distractions from crime and courtroom novels.

Then I discovered Stuart Woods.

I know, I know... I can already hear the pooh poos of his entry to this discussion.... because he does belabor his protagonists sexual appetite and encounters --

But Woods is a hoot.... a terrific writer... and his various protagonists are like Bosch.... now part of my family.

I discovered Connelly when I ran out of Woods novels... and here I am googling what to read when I finish the Black Box.... OMG .... Harry is passing the baton to his daughter.... I can hardly wait for his December addition.

Give Stuart Woods a try - if you can get past his raunchy encounters with every woman he meets, he really does spin a page turning yarn ... some better than others as of late.

I expect some grief for my Woods endorsement... because Connelly is a tough act to follow....

I found Robert Crais... the love of my life... I've been with Pike and Cole through thick and thin... but again... there is no more.

I've read every Connelly and Crais adventure TWICE....

I finally got around to reading the first Harry Bosch novel and I really didn't like it. I've heard such praise for the book that I was really surprised at how it completely turned me off. Maybe I just needed a break from crime fiction. I found the coincidences in the novel to be idiotic. For example the way Harry knows the victim in the beginning of the book from "nam was so silly that I just couldn't put up with much more of the story. And then there is his love story with the FBI agent he works with. Now every silly cozy novel about innkeepers who bake apple pies and solve crimes have an affair with a cop and it's such a tedious and silly route to take. Really, would a professional cop fall in love with an agent he works with? It was just too dumb for me. In
the beginning I thought the prose style was above many other crime writers I've read but I just got more and more disapointed with the book as it went along and towards the end when the
crimes start to unravel I couldn't care less who did what and why. I have no desire to continue reading the books that come after this. I just don't get what I missed because so many people have said Connelly is the number one crime writer today and I didn't see that at all.

#42 by Gustafus21> I'd suggest Cold Granite -Tartan Noir, The Keeper of Lost Causes - Scandi-crime, or, if you like some fantasy mixed with noir, The Devil You Know. Also Every Dead Thing.

I LOVED The Poet

43 I think sometime you just have to be in the right mood. I remember picking up The Poet years ago and putting it down after 50 pages and thinking - what is all the fuss. Then I picked it up a again when in the right mood and I now rate it one of my favourites. I think first books are tough to get right. I am currently reading Ian Rankin and his first book had the same issues - it all happens in the family in the first book and its all coincidence, but the books really improve and tighten up as I am working my way through the series. Stick with Michael Connelly and you will not be disappointed 9as long as you like Harry, jazz and a closed case)

Nelson DeMille
Daniel Silva
William Lashner
Robert Crais
Ruth Rendell
Elizabeth George
Louise Penney
Deborah Crombie
Peter Robinson
Jo Nesbo
Arnaldur Indridson
Nessar Hakan
Karen Fossum
Sue Grafton
James Lee Burke

The list covers the gamut from police procedural to international intrigue to downright fun. All are series although I've never been a purist enough to read them in order. Some of these authors also write stand-alones. I'm sure there are genre authors that I've forgotten. But if you like any of these writers, you probably will like some of the others.

Ditto

Ian Rankin, Britain's answer to Michael Connelly.
Equally good. The same publisher - Orion.

http://www.ianrankin.net/

James Sallis has written some really great crime stuff. The Turner trilogy is great. You can pick up all three books in a collected edition at a good price as well. He also wrote Drive, which was adapted into the Ryan Gosling movie from a year or two ago.

It isn't the quite the same as Connelly but you might get a kick out of James Ellroy's LA noir quartet, starting with The Black Dahlia. You'll get more of Los Angeles, at an earlier time, and a different sort of police force.

So far I haven't found anyone equivalent to Connelly. John Grisham comes close at times, but not exactly the same.

I really likeLee Child and my favorite John Lescroart. Lescroart's Dismas Hardy is one of my favorite reoccurring book characters.

Please read one or two more Bosch books. What I appreciate is how well Connelly has developed the character of this man while writing excellent plots. Even his name is integrated into his character development as well as being used as part of a story line. Read "The Overlook".

I'm not a big fan of British thrillers. I find them too cumbersome if that makes sense to anyone. It's like writing 5 pages for what could have been covered in a paragraph. Also, my lack of understanding of the British system. Lescroat's Dismas Hardy books I enjoy and the Stone series is okay for me. I have to confess as an avid mystery reader I have never read a Raymond Chandler book. I know he's legendary but how does he compare with others.

Oh and hello to everyone. I just stumbled upon this site and am so excited. I live in Nova Scotia, a very eastern province in Canada.

Hello 2ndof5, fellow Nova Scotian. I,too, enjoy Connelly's Bosch series. I read his Lincoln Lawyer series as well, but prefer Bosch.

HI 2ndof5, I would give Ian Ranking a go. His character development is as good as Michael Connelly.

Lawrence Block- Matthew Scudder series

I'm currently loving the audio version of John Sandford's "Prey" series, with Richard Ferrone as the reader. Lucas Davenport, the police investigator, is an unusually sane and sober protagonist for a book about serial murder, etc. The only problem is there are so many Prey books that I have a difficult time keeping track of which ones I've read.

I have been working my way through K.C. Constantine's Rocksburg novels. They are among the most interesting crime novels I have ever read. Highly recommended.

I LOVE Michael Connelly books just about as much as I love the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. But in the interests of throwing some other names into the mix:
James Patterson - try the Private series - excellent, and also Alex Cross
Peter May - The Lewis trilogy (The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man and The Chessmen)
Faye Kellerman - Peter Decker series
Jonathan Kellerman - Alex Dellaware series
Mo Hayder - Jack Caffrey series

Amazon have just made a pilot show of Bosch!
Currently available free to watch. I enjoyed it with some reservations. But be warned if you haven't read City of Bones, the pilot doesn't finish!

Hi to all - I'm a Michael Connelly-aholic too. I started reading his books last year and have just come to the end. And that is how I found this site/forum - I googled about "what to do" and "where to go" now. LOL
I agree with many of the recommendations - I live in the USA & have not read a lot of British authors - must get to that

John Lescroart (Dismass Hardy novels - and other series)
Robert Crais - all
Patricia Cornwell - all
William Lashner (a Philadelphia lawyer series)
John Hart
Nelson DeMille
Robert Drugoni

One author of note that I would recommend - is JAKE NEEDHAM. He has been called by the Bangkok Post "Michael Connelly with white rice." He lives in the USA and Bangkok and writes great crime fiction centered in Southeast Asia. Has two series - Jack Shepherd and Inspector Samuel Tay. Like Connelly - I have like ALL his books. And as an added bonus - he "takes you there" - you feel like you have visited (Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, etc.) - or is if you would like to visit. He has recently gone to publishing via eBooks only and since I don't have an eReader - I have not been able to read his latest novel. I have to do something about that.
He's here - https://www.librarything.com/search.php?search=Jake+Needham&searchtype=work&...
All good - The Big Mango, The Ambassador's Wife, Killing Plato, World of Trouble - etc.

Anyway - thanks for all the great recommendations - I'm experiencing Connelly withdrawal!

***
Hey Alans - re - " I found the coincidences in the novel to be idiotic. For example the way Harry knows the victim in the beginning of the book from "nam was so silly that I just couldn't put up with much more of the story."

I read Connelly's books OUT OF ORDER - lol - and my one that I just finished was the one you mention. (BLACK ECHO).
Yeah - well - Harry often says there are no coincidences and he questioned that himself. As it turned out - you are correct - idiotic or too convenient/coincidental - because - it was sort of a setup! Harry needed to be involved in the case. LOL

It can also be that when you start seeing the coincidences in your life , you are on the first step to enlightenment (not that Harry is very enlightended).

ps I really would read ian rankin - he is he best after connelly.

Soooo glad Ian Rankin is getting a big 'thumbs up'. He gets better & better. As well as Rebus there are several books featuring Malcolm Fox, starting with The Complaints, and also some stand alone novels. {Peter Robinson} is very similar, featuring DI Alan Banks & set in a fictitious Yorkshire town. Also love {Denise Mina}, {Val McDermid}, {Henning Mankell} & {Sue Grafton}.

I gave up on fiction after reading all the works of J Grisham, Stuart Woods, and Michael Connelly.

then I discovered Robert Crais. OMG - I've been all over LA with Cole and Pike. I've read the books in order TWICE -- unable to replace him.

Then I found Jo Nesbo... okay... he was a distraction from my separation disorder from Connelly and Crais...

Then I found Brad Parks. His Carter Ross series is hilarious. No gumshoe- Ross is a reporter for a Newark newspaper... kind of a nerd - self described wasp, Norman Rockwell childhood -- ..

writing is crisp, smart, like Crais - but a refreshingly well adjusted and likeable protagonist.

Parks won 2010 Shamus Award, the 2010 Nero Award and the 2013 and 2014 Lefty Award. He is the only author to have won all three of those awards. His protagonist and narrator, investigative reporter Carter Ross, writes about crime for a fictional newspaper The Newark Eagle-Examiner, based in Newark, New Jersey.

READ IN ORDER -- a MUST.

Start with

Faces of the Gone

"This is the most hilariously funny and deadly serious mystery debut since Janet Evanovich's ONE FOR THE MONEY."
—Library Journal

http://www.bradparksbooks.com/faces-of-the-gone.php

HELP .... there are no more books for any of the above... waiting for the new Connelly and Crais. Both just keep on getting better... so many like Woods are burnouts.

#63 Give Ian Rankin go (they get GREAT by about the 6 or 7th book). Anne Cleeves Shetland series are great as well

I don't know who you should read next--Connelly's Connelly, but I second the suggestion for Raymond Chandler.

I would recommend John Lescroart. Start with his first, and read in sequence. Lots of interesting characters come and go, reappear, etc. Many of the story locations, buildings, etc. can be identified and found on Google Map/Street view.

Hi Everyone,

I am in a similar position to some here: I have just read all of Michael Connelly and Stuart Woods and yes Woods is a bit obsessed with his bed hopping but it is a bit of fun.

I have tried Carol O'Connell but am stuck on book three which is weird and too difficult to read and I don't know whether to bother skipping to number 4. I have tried Lee Child but it as in the first person and obsessed with detail.

I am looking for a similar writer of light weight crime/mystery.

I have read a bit of Rankin but it's a bit heavy for me. I read a few Charles Todd too, they were ok but a bit dry for me.

I like Robert Crais's Elvis Cole series, Tess Gerritsen and Kathy Reichs

Please don't fail to consider Karin Slaughter! I've read all of Michael Connelly's unique works, and I find Ms. Slaughter's books affect me in a similar way. Her latest, Cop Town, is a compulsive read, like a mad rush through a luge tunnel to the conclusion. Her characters are real, her situations are gritty and believable, and her writing is impressive.

Listing all the authors was great. However what were YOUR favorites from each volume series? Randy Wayne White with his Doc Ford series was great reading. And the Men in Blue by WEB Griffin is/was an underrated series. Finding this online I bought/read the entire series before He found a co-author.

Very new to this site but not new at all to the Michael Connelly lovefest. In fact in Googling book recommendation sites (since I just read the latest Bosch book - The Wrong Side of Goodbye - and was starting to feel withdrawal pains already :-) ) I came across this site and this question posed in 2007. I see the last post before mine was over two years ago so I am happy to revive it just in time for Bosch's latest book due out in October. My son now lives in L.A. so it was so nice to revive my interest in Connelly's books and catch up to the present publications.

Thanks for all the recommendations to keep me sane until then. Also I am going to read Connelly's latest series he just started with a female protoganist called The Late Show. Interesting interview with him in the Washington Post I recommend all fans of his read.

Everyone counts or no one counts. (One of my favorite Bosch quotes.)

My personal trinity of favorite authors is (in no particular order) Michael Connelly, David Baldacci and John Sandford. So if you've tried one my humble suggestion would be to give the other two a go

Hi, Wendy! Welcome! And thanks for giving the thread a bump!

I recently started a reread of the Bosch series, and I agree that the first book (or two) in the series is not the best. Luckily, the first Bosch I picked up back in the '90s was Concrete Blonde, a solid mystery which I loved. Only after that did I go back to read books 1 and 2.

I just went through all the posts and noticed that nobody mentioned Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins series (unless I missed it). Set in post-WWII Los Angeles, it features Ezekial "Easy" Rawlins, an African-American Army vet turned private eye. I started with Little Scarlet, which was the 9th of the series and set during the Watts riots of 1965, which I loved so much I immediately went to the first book of the series (Devil in a Blue Dress, adapted into a movie starring Denzel Washington; I haven't seen the film yet). I've read the entire series through and love it, not only for the mysteries but for the characters, the backdrop of 1950s L.A., and as a look at the injustices inherent in racism.

Since the last time I posted here, I discovered Harry Bingham's Fiona Griffiths series. Set in Cardiff, Wales, Fiona is a different kind of police investigator, and, like Bosch, a rebel who as a teen was diagnosed a unique (that I know of) and kind of squicky psychological condition that sometimes helps her solve crimes. First in that series is Talking to the Dead.

Thanks for the welcome Storeetllr! And thanks for these additional suggestions. Based on this thread I am picking up today at my library an inter-library loan of the first of the Robert Crais/Cole series, The Monkey's Raincoat, which I'll try as soon as I finish a fun Carl Hiassen - Razor Girl - I picked up for laughs and escape last week. Your other suggestions sound quite intriguing. Thanks again.

Karin Slaughter is excellent for an intriguing, exciting often scary read! Another author like her is Lisa Gardner. Both of these ladies know how to create characters and scenes that catch your interest and I find it hard to stop reading one once I start!

If you aren't super current on Michael Connelly, you can probably turn back to him for a couple of books. He just released one a couple of months ago called The Late Show with a new protagonist who is a female LAPD detective. I believe he is releasing a new Bosch novel near the end of the year.

>77 Dr_Flanders: Wow! I missed that one completely. Thanks for the recommendation.

>78 Storeetllr: Happy to help. I actually just started The Late Show, but I am only about 100 pages in. With the new lead character and everything, I am not sure how I feel about it yet, other than to say that Michael Connelly does the procedural about as well as anyone that I read. I guess most of the people on this thread are probably familiar.

For anyone looking for other writers: I can't personally recommend Ed McBain, because I haven't gotten around to reading anything by him yet, but I have heard others mention him as a pretty reliable police procedural writer, and I know her wrote a boatload of books. If that is what you like about Connelly, he might be worth looking into.

I mentioned the Late Show on August 30th by the way. It's still on order at my library. In the interim I started and am almost done with Robert Crais's first book, The Monkey's Raincoat recommended by you Storeetllr. So thanks for this recommendation. I really like him and his writing.

>79 Dr_Flanders: What did you think of The Late Show? I read some McBain long ago but none recently. Back then (we're talking 70s and 80s here), I remember devouring the Luis Mendoza police procedurals by Dell Shannon. When I went through my bookshelves to cull books to donate to the library, I kept those because of that good memory. Not sure how I'd feel about them now.

>80 Wendyruth: Oh, good! So glad you enjoyed the first Elvis Cole! And, as with most series, they get better as they go along. I think I put The Late Show on hold at the library, but I can't remember. I'll have to look as soon as I get off LT.

>81 Storeetllr:

Overall, I thought that The Late Show was okay. There were some things that bugged me about it. The book starts slowly, and about halfway through, I was really starting to think it was a mess. And in a way, it kind of was a mess, but it was going back in the right direction by the end.

The book is trying to balance two separate investigations and introduce a new protagonist. It was better than the worst Bosch novels (I'm looking at you, Nine Dragons) but nowhere near the top of the heap. The procedural stuff was there, and Connelly is great with the everyday mundane details that make it feel authentic. But there wasn't really much to care about with characters, and there was one particular plot point that really bugged me, but I won't go there.

It is worth reading to get your Connelly fix, but I would just temper my expectations a little bit. I am hoping the next Bosch will be better, but I am having a hard time picturing a Harry Bosch with much left in the tank. Part of me thinks he ought to go ahead and retire, sip beer and listen to jazz. But we will see, I suppose.

>82 Dr_Flanders: Hmm, well, the worst Connelly (I'm also looking at you, Nine Dragons, and maybe the first couple in the Bosch series which I recently reread and wasn't thrilled with) is better than many others' best, so I will give it a shot without expecting perfection. Thanks for the warning!

ETA I agree with you about wondering if Harry has enough in him to keep going, but I hope he does. Us seniors need our heroes. :)

Reading The Late Show now, about 7 chapters - 70 pages - in. So far so good. I can already tell what the two investigations will be that he's balancing but I'm liking how he is portraying the new protagonist and given the current climate (of our president and now Weinstein with their crap) I like how he explains the reason she's been consigned to the midnight shift and the introduction to those characters involved. Not too slow for me but thanks for the warning about the messiness and a plot point. The latter will often bug me too.

Speaking of balancing, thanks to Storeetllr recs, I finished the first Crais/Cole book and will start the second once I am done with the The Late Show since the TLS is due back first.

>84 Wendyruth: I'll be interested to hear what you think about it, once you are finished!

Will do Doctor. :-)

>69 DotHage: I recently took out and read the first Karin Slaughter book, Blindsighted. Excellent! Thanks so much for the suggestion. I understand she has series and stand alone books. Loved the characters this book so glad they will continue. Thanks again!

I just finished Stalking the Angel, the second Elvis Cole mystery. It's got a good amount of ambiguity to it; I kinda like having characters feeling unsure about their actions. It reminded me a little of Dennis Lehane's Kenzie/Gennaro series, both in tone and in the person of Joe Pike. Are Joe and Bubba externalized personas representing violent desires and capabilities that the protagonists don't want to acknowledge? Presumably there is more to them than that, but it seems like a plausible interpretation of the majority of their roles.

>88 Jim53: As soon as I complete The Late Show I will get back to the Cole series and up next for me is in fact Stalking the Angel. I don't recall who Bubba is but my sense about Joe Pike from the first novel is that various things happened to him on the force that caused him to be who he is. And agree about liking the ambiguity I've seen thus far in The Monkey's Raincoat.

89> Interesting timing; my library finally came through with The Late Show and I'm starting it tonight ;-)

I have about 50 more pages to go in The Late Show and am thoroughly enjoying this new character and the various plots and relationships.

Crickets since I last posted. ;-) And crickets given that Connelly's latest - Two Kinds of Truth - just came out. My library just got it for me and so far so good (The Late Show had a preview of the first few chapters). I finished The Late Show and my opinion above didn't change. Looking forward to more of that character and in the meantime looking to say hi to Harry again. I even put down a Karin Slaughter book (who I now love thanks to this message board) to immerse myself in the L.A. world of Harry Bosch again.

>19 jxnhole: Bosch and Haller are related I think they have the same mother. It is not a strong relationship as I have seen so far, but they occasionally work together.

I am a recent convert to Michael Connelly and am slowly plowing through his body of work. I have yet to read a bad novel by him. He has a talent for drawing the reader into the head of his main characters.

Lee Child cannot hold a candle to Connelly. After reading a few of his novels you recognize the formula writing for what it is.

Baldacci is ok in some series but very bad in others (the King & Maxwell series comes to mind there).

For quality and consistency, I cannot beat Michael Connelly in a modern day setting.

Tim Downs is pretty good too... he is a forensic entomologist... which is an interesting way to solve crimes

If you are interested in Historical Mysteries I highly recommend C.J. Sansom in his Shardlake series. You must start with Dissolution and like Connelly read them in order as his characters grow with each book.

I have read an Ian Rankin book, Fleshmarket Close but I found it a bit dry for my taste...

>90 Jim53:
>91 Wendyruth:

Just finished the latest Bosch novel, Two Kinds of Truth. It is pretty solid if you two haven't gotten to it yet.

Yes. I finished it about a week ago Dr. I mentioned that I had started it with my so far so good comment. Totally agree about your assessment. In fact, I'd say more than solid. I liked so many things about it and liked that Harry seems to be getting a bit more self-analytical in his "old" age.

I am now filling the Connelly void with having just finished the entire Grant County series of Karin Slaughter, moving on to her stand alones starting with Cop Town and perhaps the Will Trent ones (although I hear mixed reviewed about those) and continuing to read all of the Robert Crais books (Elvis Cole/Pike characters) having read the first two.

>95 Wendyruth:

I agreed about Bosch. I think it is the best Bosch in recent memory.

Has anyone read the Lou Norton series by Rachel Howzell Hall? I discovered them a few weeks ago and flew through the four existing titles. I really like the main character and the pacing. Now I'm just waiting for the next one.

>97 Jim53:

Haven't read the Lou Norton series. Can you describe them a bit?

I have so much on my plate now from this thread's suggestions. Went through the whole Grant County series by Karin Slaughter and now reading a great stand-alone she wrote called Cop Town all taking place in Atlanta in 1974.

And then there are the Robert Crais books (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike) that I started too and am up to the third in that series. They all take place in L.A. like the Connelly books. Since my son now lives there and I visit often I am definitely drawn to West Coast locales.

Well, I finished The Late Show last night. After a rocky start, when I was almost too bored to continue, I pretty much loved the last 3/4. So, thank you Wendyruth - your posts saying you were enjoying it helped me to persevere.

So glad everyone seems to be liking the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series! It's one of my favorites. (I lived in L.A. for 40 years and love reading about places I knew and loved, and some I just knew.) I've got his new one, which comes out soon, on hold at the library.

I'm a huge fan of Nelson DeMille. John Corey, the protagonist of many of his books is a detective with a federal anti-terrorist agency. He has a wry sense of humor and the independent streak we love in our heroes.

I've read all of Michael Connelly's books, and the only other authors who can scratch that itch are Walter Mosley (especially his Easy Rawlins, Fearless Jones and Socrates Fortlow series) and, to a lesser degree, Robert Crais. All three authors focus their work on Los Angeles and make the city's strange culture come alive. Connelly has an unbeatable realism derived, I assume, from his experience as a journalist. Mosley brings in the surreal qualities of LA and America's unsettled past, present and future. Crais is more simplistic, almost cartoonish, but he has unique traits that ring many bells, my favorite being the quirks of his two protagonists, and Elvis Cole's cat.

With these three authors there is a subtheme that is clear and powerful: our lives are driven by spirit, and we better be in tune with it if we wish to understand our world and our purpose. They definitely speak of morality, but in a much more convincing way than a pampered preacher in a perfumed pulpit.

So far I've not found any writers who are in the same general mood and degree of sophistication as Connelly other than Mosley. My guess is that novelists with journalistic backgrounds would be closest, but so far I haven't found what I'm looking for.

In the meantime I'm going back and reading most of the noir novels in order, starting with Carroll John Daly, “The False Burton Combs," and Dashiell Hammett's "Red Harvest" and "The Dain Curse." I expect that when I get into the late 1940s and the 1950s the realism and modernist angst that we see in Connelly will become most apparent.

But I do have recommendations for those seeking strong legalistic thrillers that can rival Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer novels: 1) Try the better books by John Grisham. Try "The Firm," "Time to Kill," "Pelican Brief" and "Street Lawyer." I haven't read any of the newest ones but my impression is that they are likely quite good, especially "The Litigators," "The Racketeer," "Sycamore Row" and "Gray Mountain." 2) I have not read Scott Pratt but he legal thrillers look interesting and has a very large fan base.

I enjoyed listening to all of the books in the Shane Scully
series written by Stephen J. Cannell.

The books of Michael Connelly got me hooked on crime fiction in the first place.I would recommend a trio of authors who are no longer with us but have collectively left behind some fantastic work from faraway corners of the world.

Henning Mankell - Sweden
Peter Temple - Melbourne, Australia
Philip Kerr - Berlin

And few others still churning out work
Deon Meyer - Cape Town,SA
Pierre Lemaitre - Paris
Don Winslow
John Connolly - New England
R.J.Ellory

Soon after I posted my first comment here in August 2017 - reviving this thread from 2015 - I discovered Louise Penny and her Inspector Gamache series. She is amazing on so many levels. If you haven't discovered her I strongly recommend you read her books in order. She herself recommends it too. Wonderful writing!

Great to read all the new suggestions for similar authors. I got a few new entries in my shopping list now:)

I would second the Karin Slaughter suggestion, especially her stand alone novel Pieces of her, and add The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor (so far her only book, but two others are announced Inter spring)

https://crimereads.com/the-evolution-of-harry-bosch/

Saw this today and thought my fellow Bosch fans would enjoy it, too!

>106 Copperskye: Thanks for that. I'm working my way through the Harry Bosch series, reading the ones I missed along the way before I start the ones written in this decade.

Books penned by Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and John Sandford (at least the Lucas Davenport and the Virgil Flowers veins) all merit checking out from my local library, getting on same institution’s waiting list after hearing publishers have put out a new volume, or biting the bullet and mashing the Amazon “Buy Now” button. These mystery scriveners might never have come to my attention, however, were it not for a pair of journalists turned fiction writers who elevated my game from the Hardy Boys of my adolescent years. The two writers I’m nominating: Sweden’s Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. Their series of books featuring Stockholm detective Martin Beck proved a most captivating blend of police procedurals with Scandinavian noire. Thought the books are dated, I still recommend any of their ten titles. To increase satisfaction, try reading them in as close to written order as possible. Nevertheless, if you want to dip your toe in first to try these inky-black waters, go out of turn and peruse The Fire Engine that Disappeared.

I am a Michael Connelly fan, altho I prefer his Mickey Haller books to the Bosch series...

for police procedural fans, I would suggest two excellent authors:

Daniel Silva - his Gabriel Allon series... must be read in order

http://www.howtoread.me/gabriel-allon-books-in-order/

also: Donna Leon - her Inspector Brunetti series set in Venice; again, should be read in order:

https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/donna-leon/

James Ellroy and Elmore Leonard

Couple of Authors I have enjoyed Crime Wise:
Boston Teran Never Count Out The Dead He has written at least two more after this
Run Douglas E Winter have not found any more of his yet
Death On Demand Paul Thomas He has written at least two more after this

Thanks for the alternates to Crais & LeHane

I second the suggestion to at least sample that series of 10 police procedural novels by the wife and husband team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. First in that series is Roseanna. They all offer a fascinating view of life in Sweden, at least in that era, and the clarity/details of the murder squad's investigations and personalities give these novels a strong core. There is a haunting profile constructed of each murderer, who is so ordinary and yet so emotionally empty. The series ended after the death of Per Wahloo, who was a newspaper reporter. It helps to read this series of novels in order, so that you can follow the development of this murder squad over those years.