i love to read a  meystery. i also love to start reading new authors and new series. I also love to read any horror book. I f you have any suggestions of a title or a  series please post. thanks. I like any type of main charcter but erveyday people adn cops are my favs

What kind of mystery books do you usually enjoy? Do you like the main characters to be police officers (procedurals) , lawyers (legal thrillers) or every day kind of people who wind up having to solve crimes (cozy/traditional)? 

I like Faye Kellerman. She is an author that I discovered through this site. She writes good police mysteries.

I also recomend Michael Mcgarrity, a series about a police chief.

Lee Child, and harlan Coben are others that I like.

You might also consider Jonathan Kellerman.  Most of his mystery/thrillers have a pychologist and a police detective as their main characters.

Hi Brian,

For police books, Michael Connelly is good, Ed McBain (87th Precinct series) , Barbara D'Amato, Michael McGarrity, if you'd like a 'softer' police story Rhys Bowen writes the Constable Evans series. And yep, check out Jonathan Kellerman and his wife Faye Kellerman.  

Harlan Coben writes thrillers and also a series that features a sports agents. I really enjoy his books. Donna Andrews writes some wonderful, humorous mysteries.

Sue Grafton is really good too if you like female detectives. She is very deliberate and diligent in her descriptions, but the stories are realistic in that there are always some snares which get in the way of her plans. Good variety of cases also. I have some Elizabeth George too that I have not gotten to yet but I hear that she is really good . P.D. James is another one, more in the British sleuth category, Children of Men was really cool because she mixed the mystery/sleuth genre with a futuristic idea.

Elizabeth George writes a mystery series.  George is American, but her books take place in England and she does a superb job.  She is currently my favorite. 

I enjoyed reading the Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi books written by Robert Tannenbaum...Check out my books and pm me to get 3 for 1 on these....The Kellermans are great along with Iris Johansen..happy reading

Lisa Gardner is one of my favorites

Zoe Sharp writes about a female character who has been described as a "female Jack Reacher" by reviewers, so if you like Lee Child you might be interested in her books. 

Simon Beckett's David Hunter books are good, David is a bone guy, similar to the person on the Bones TV show.

Kathy Reichs writes the books that Bones is taken from, but the books are much better and set in a later period of Brennan's life. 

Other good series are:

Jeremiah Healy's John Francis Cuddy books, 

John Sandford's Lucas Davenport books,  Sandford has also written a couple of stand alones that are good and a few books about an artist and thief named Kidd.  

J. D. Robb's Eve Duncan books (futuristic, so if that doesn't interest you you might give them a miss), 

J. A. Jance has three series about J.P. Beaumont, a Seattle cop, Joanna Brady, a southwest sheriff, and Alison Reynolds, an ex-TV newsperson, that are good.  There are some others that I  haven't gotten to yet, also.   They are on my TBR list.   Which is very, very, long.

Victoria Blake's Samantha Falconer books,

James Patterson

John D. McDonald

Tony Hillerman

James D. Doss

David and Aimee Thurlo

You may enjoy Edna Buchanon. She was a crime beat reporter in Florida before she started writing mysteries.  She has written several books.  Another popular author among women (I formerly worked at a bookstore) is Alexander McCall Smith. Alexander writes about a ladies detective agency.

Ok Karen totally took my answers!   Sandford's Prey series is my all time favorite.  They are funny and witty and suspenseful.  (Can you tell I like them? lol)  I'm actually rereading it now.  But JA Jances series about Sheriff Brady are really good too.  So much that I'm going to go back and read her JP Beaumont series soon. 

some great authors are already listed: some of my favorites are John Lutz's night series; greg iles True Evil is a masterpiece but the only 1 of his books i liked; philip Margolin wrote some excellent ones; for horror F Paul Wilson's repairman jack series is really good; i got some really good authors names off of this post i will try as well! Happy reading

Of, I forgot... one of my favorite mystery writers is Dick Francis.  His characters are generally everyday characters.  I like his older books best..my favorites are:  For Kicks, Nerve, Dead Cert, Enquiry, Rat Race, Bone Crack, High Stakes, Proof, Break In, Bolt, Hot Money, The Edge, Straight, Longshot, shoot....  I am going to list nearly all of them if I don't stop.  I like the older ones better than the newer ones... and reread them quite often.

I'll second Lee Child and also Dick Francis!

Try Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child they co-author some great crime/mysteries with a reaccuring charater Special Agent Pendergast each book is a story unto itself until the final couple of books which resolve the mystery surrounding Pendrgast, which you get pieces of in the first few books. They are great reads and are well written.