Saturday, December 18, 2010

Mystery Influences

Readers often ask me who my favourite mystery authors and/or influences are.  It's actually a pretty short list.


Generally, when it comes to crime fiction, I like North American writers.  British detective novels, with a few exceptions, just aren't my cup of tea.


I love the Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker.  I wasn't much of a fan of his others series (Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall). 


I am also a big fan of Lawrence Block, both the Scudder novels and "The Burglar Who..." series.


My overall favourite writer, though, is Janet Evanovich and the "Stephanie Plum" series.  I laugh my head off when I read them, and find them impossible to put down!


Another favourite woman in crime fiction is Sue Grafton.  I've read up to the letter R, I think. 


And that's about it.  Those four are favourites; they grab me with their characters and their plots.  Books by these authors are ones that I keep on my shelf and re-read from time to time.


This doesn't mean I don't read other authors, nor does it mean that I lovelovelove every single thing about every single book by these four.  But, in the end, thses are the writers I'd like to emulate, and these are the books I go back to time and again.

5 comments:

  1. Great choices, I think your writing has taken some great influences and come up with an original, smart character that makes your book hard to put down. Can't wait till the next one comes out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice, I'm waiting for your second novel too.
    Can't wait to curl up and dive into it, it was hard to put down Blood and Groom!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Jeff, Mo and Giovanni! Good karma :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. More and more I see the influence of Damon Runyon on my writing. I like Block, too. Both flavours.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.