10 Best Crime Novels?

[Hippiepoet]

Best Crime Novels? I'm not sure, but I dig this list of books. I have been perusing site after site, list after list, looking for, "What is the best out there"? I chose this list because one of my all time favorite books is on it. There are several books on the list that I must read!
So now this list is up and I am curious as to what my fellow Demons think. Better crime novels that you can think of? Mayhap you've read one of these delightful novels and would care to share your thoughts. Make your own top ten novel list if you like...remember Novels here, fictional stories.



Night Dogs by Kent Anderson (1996) (http://www.amazon.com/Night-Dogs-Kent-Anderson/dp/0553578774/dreamindemon-20)
"The most powerful cop novel ever written. Hanson, a damaged Vietnam vet, struggles through the summer of 1975 to exorcise the demons of war, and maintain peace on Portland streets that have themselves become a combat zone."

Black and Blue by Ian Rankin (1997) (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Blue-Inspector-Mystery-Novels/dp/0312966776/dreamindemon-20)
"John Rebus is on the trail of the infamous "Bible John" as well as a modern copycat, "Johnny Bible". This is a complex and satisfying novel which is also a savagely honest, gruelling portrait of modern Scotland."

The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley (1978) (http://tinyurl.com/yshehe/dremindemon-20)
"From its iconic opening lines, this is firmly in the hardboiled tradition, but redneck, pot-smoking CW Sughrue is a wholly different type of private eye. A gritty and graphic road trip into the dark heart of the American West."

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) (http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Mockingbird-Harper-Lee/dp/0060935464/dreamindemon-20)
"A timeless examination of prejudice and innocence lost, and a thrilling courtroom drama. Like the best crime-fiction, it casts a light into the darkest corners of society at the same time as telling a great story."

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (1939) (http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sleep-Best-Mysteries-Time/dp/0762188804/dreamindemon-20)
"The introduction of Philip Marlowe, the model for so many gumshoes. The plot is convoluted, but the tarnished knight's character is wonderful and the dialogue crackles. As Billy Wilder put it: "My God, a kind of lightning struck on every page."

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (http://www.amazon.com/Red-Dragon-Thomas-Harris/dp/0525945563/dreamndemon-20) (1981)
"Hannibal Lecter's appearance became the template for a legion of inferior imitations. Although filmed twice - once well - the book still affords the most shocking glimpse of a world where monsters are made flesh."

The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos (1996) (http://www.amazon.com/Big-Blowdown-George-Pelecanos/dp/0312242913/dreamindemon-20)
"An epic tale of Washington's immigrant community, from the early Thirties to 1959. Young men take hard decisions in the city, during and after war. Gripping and heartbreaking stuff."

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1930) (http://www.amazon.com/Maltese-Falcon-Crime-Masterworks/dp/0752847643/dreamindemon-20)
"Still a cracking read. Sam Spade investigates his partner's death in the novel which kick-started the hard-boiled movement. Chandler and others went on to perfect the style, but it was Hammett's ball they were running with."

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (1901) (http://www.amazon.com/Hound-Baskervilles-Signet-Classics/dp/0451528018/dreamindemon-20)
"The great detective's most exciting case. An eccentric maths teacher of mine read us Holmes stories during lessons. Which is probably why I love detective fiction but can't add."

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955) (http://www.amazon.com/Talented-Mr-Ripley-Patricia-Highsmith/dp/0679742298/dreamindemon-20)
"A chilling depiction of a con man, serial killer and American anti-hero. In an era that celebrated wealth above wisdom, Ripley - deceitful and murderous - is the perfect early-12th-century protagonist."

http://tinyurl.com/2abe7f

[Morbid]

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite books, so I agree with that on the list. Red Dragon, to me, was just as good, if not better than, Silence of the Lambs. I also enjoy the original movie (Manhunter) as much as I did the Silence of the Lambs film.

I'll put my list together throughout the day.

[gprime]

From that list, the only one I've read was To Kill A Mockingbird, which was of course excellent. More importantly though, it was one of the only great books to converted into a great movie.

[impqueen]

The Maltese Falson, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Red Dragon are all amazing books. But Hannibal, also by Thomas Harris, to me was better than Red Dragon and probably has the best Hannibal Lecter scenes in anything Harris has ever done. The writing is deliriously lovely.

To Kill a Mockingbird is just my favorite book ever. I first read it when i was seven, and i've read it every year since. Harper Lee is my idol.

I think Martin Cruz Smith is underrepresented on this list. He's done several amazing crime novels, the best known of which is Gorky Park. Crap movie, awesome book. Arkady Renko is my second-favorite detective ever after Nero Wolfe.

Speaking of whom, Rex Stout never had the juggernaut of crime novels, but his entire body of work is very impressive, especially when you consider that the guy never drafted anything. How he wrote it is how it was published, and I love that. He turned out several books a year, and I still read Nero and Archie when i need comfort reading - the characters are so well drawn, they feel real in my head.

The Talented Mr. Ripley was quite good, and again, the book is better than the movie, but it reads kind of like The Great Gatsby in places - great if you like elitist snobbiness, meh if you don't.

I could go on, at great length, whether anyone wants me to or not, but i'll leave it there for now.

[Morbid]

I do not read no where near the capacity that I used to, so my list will contain no newer titles. Even though I have read a few crime novels recently, none have surpassed any on this particular list.

In no order (as TKaM would be first :) )


Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow
An Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
The Silence of the Lambs,Thomas Harris
Red Dragon, Thomas Harris
Where Are The Children?, Mary Higgins Clark
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
A Time to Kill, John Grisham
The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy
The Lady in the Lake,Raymond Chandler
Headhunter, by Michael Slade


I really tried not to have two from the same author on the list, but I just cannot keep both Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs of of a top 10 crime book list. They deserve to be on it. This list would be my personal 10 favorite crime novels ever written.

[Hippiepoet]

A new list of Top Ten Crime Novels to examine. This list comes from Author, Toby Litt. Toby is the author of several books including,
"Beatniks" (http://www.amazon.com/Beatniks-Toby-Litt/dp/0141017937/dreamindemon-20) and "Corpsing" (http://www.amazon.com/Corpsing-Toby-Litt/dp/0714530689/dreamindemon-20).

1. A Study In Scarlet (http://www.amazon.com/Study-Scarlet-Arthur-Conan-Doyle/dp/1420925539/dreamindemon-20) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Book Description
"A Study in Scarlet" is the first published story of one of the most famous literary detectives of all time, Sherlock Holmes. Here Dr. Watson, who has just returned from a war in Afghanistan, meets Sherlock Holmes for the first time when they become flat-mates at the famous 221 B Baker Street. In "A Study in Scarlet" Sherlock Holmes investigates a murder at Lauriston Gardens as Dr. Watson tags along with Holmes while narratively detailing his amazing deductive abilities.

2. Dead Clever: A Lily Pascale Mystery (http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Clever-Pascale-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1932112197/dreamindemon-20) by Scarlett Thomas
From Publishers Weekly
"British author Thomas (Going Out) puts a hip spin on the English cozy in this engaging mystery (the first of a trilogy), full of attractive characters in a lovingly evoked setting. Bored and unsuccessful at teaching, bartending and acting, Lily Pascale leaves noisy, noisome London and her cheating boyfriend for her native picturesque Devon. When she applies for an English department vacancy at the local university, Lily is, to her amazement, hired on the spot to teach her specialties-crime and horror fiction as well as creative writing. But the campus is in turmoil. A student has recently been decapitated in the woods, another student is missing, a colleague to whom Lily is attracted disappears and Lily's department head, Professor Valentine, is oddly uncommunicative. When the distraught missing student surfaces, Lily is the last person to see him before he turns up dead, supposedly a suicide. Lily suspects foul play and resolves to investigate. When she discovers an insidious drug cult on campus with a sinister leader, what was hitherto a tale of amateur detection becomes a Sax Rohmer-type thriller. The leader's identity and who's behind the murders may be a little too obvious for some, but everyone will welcome the sassy, self-reliant and smart Lily to the ranks of independent, contemporary female sleuths."

3. The Killer Inside Me (http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Inside-Me-Jim-Thompson/dp/0679733973/dreamindemon-20) by Jim Thompson
"The Killer Inside Me is the best known novel by American writer Jim Thompson. Written in 1952 in the noir tradition, the work is notable not only for its departure from traditional American hardboiled crime fiction but because, like the best of the noir novels of the 1950s, it abandons the formulaic for the innovative, bending the rules of the genre to experiment psychologically. In the introduction to the anthology Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s, it is described as "one of the most blistering and uncompromising crime novels ever written."

4. The Big Lebowski (http://www.amazon.com/Big-Lebowski-Ethan-Coen/dp/0571193358/dreamindemon-20) by Ethan and Joel Coen
Book Description
"The Big Lebowski begins with a case of mistaken identity which escalates when Jeffrey Lebowski-alias The Dude-attempts to seek recompense for the despoliation of his ratty-ass little rug, and then finds himself entangled in a kidnapping caper as a bagman-a situation that goes from bad to worse due to the interference of his hapless bowling partners.
In this film the Coen brothers have taken on the preoccupations of Raymond Chandler, but have given them a postmodern spin, while at the same time leaving Philip Marlowe's ethos intact as The Dude wanders through the fractured world of nineties L.A. trying to do the right thing. Like the award winning Fargo, The Big Lebowski is suffused with a droll humor and a verbal felicity that is as delightful as it is startling."

5. A Philosophical Investigation (http://www.amazon.com/Philosophical-Investigation-Philip-Kerr/dp/0452271401/dreamindemon-20) by Philip Kerr
From Publishers Weekly
"Semantics, epistemology and serial murder share center stage in this imaginative but unconvincing near-future thriller. The year is 2013, and European researchers have discovered a physiological basis for violent criminal tendencies in men. The Lombroso program in Britain screens possible subjects and maintains a database of those diagnosed with the condition, as aids to law enforcement--serial killings have become terrifyingly common. When a previously law-abiding pharmacist is diagnosed as "VDM-negative" (potentially dangerous), he breaks into the program's computer system, removes his name from the records and begins systematically assassinating other men on the list. In London, Chief Inspector Isadora "Jake" Jakowicz takes on the case and begins a philosophical cat-and-mouse game with the killer, code-named Wittgenstein. Kerr ( A German Requiem ) interpolates passages from the murderer's journals into the third-person narrative, along with citations from the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and other philosophers. But the cliches and improbabilities of the plot are not camouflaged by their outlandish context, as Kerr overplays his most original ideas, delivering the details of his futuristic vision in a distracting gee-whiz manner. The frequent philosophical discussions, as they are drawn out, become less convincing and more ostentatious."

6. Double Indemnity (http://www.amazon.com/Double-Indemnity-James-M-Cain/dp/0679723226/dreamindemon-20) by James M. Cain
"When smalltime insurance salesman Walter Huff meets seductive Phyllis Nirdlinger, the wife of one of his wealthy clients, it takes him only minutes to determine that she wants to get rid of her husband--and not much longer to decide to help her do it. Walter knows that accident insurance pays double indemnity on railroad mishaps, so he and Phyllis plot frantically to get Nirdlinger on--and off--a train without arousing the suspicions of the police, the insurance company, Nirdlinger's dishy daughter, her mysterious boyfriend, or Nirdlinger himself. This brief but complex novel is a perfect example of the ordinary-guy-gone-disastrously-wrong story that Cain always pulls off brilliantly."

7. Cruel and Unusual (http://www.amazon.com/Cruel-Unusual-Scarpetta-Novel-Mysteries/dp/1416505407/dreamindemon-20) by Patricia Cornwell
""Convicted murderer Ronnie Waddell is put to death, and it is up to Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta to perform his autopsy when the body is still warm. During a seemingly unrelated murder investigation, a young boy is found murdered, propped up much like one of Waddell's early victims. And when one of Waddell's prints shows up near the body, Scarpetta must unconver how a dead inmate could have possibly committed another murder AFTER his death..."

8. Brighton Rock (http://www.amazon.com/Brighton-Rock-Graham-Greene/dp/0142437972/dreamindemon-20) by Graham Greene
"Fred Hale comes to Brighton on assignment to anonymously distribute cards for a newspaper competition (this is a variant of "Lobby Lud" in which the name of the person to be spotted is "Kolley Kibber"). The antihero of the novel, Pinkie Brown, is a teenage sociopath and up-and-coming gangster. Hale had betrayed the former leader of the gang Pinkie now controls. Ida Arnold, a kind-hearted and decent woman, is drawn into the action by a chance meeting with the terrified Hale, whom Pinkie murders in obscure circumstances shortly afterwards. Pinkie's attempts to cover his tracks lead to a chain of fresh crimes and to an ill-fated marriage to Rose, a waitress who unknowingly has the power to destroy his alibi. Ida pursues Pinkie relentlessly, in part to protect Rose from the deeply disturbed boy she has married.
Although ostensibly an underworld thriller, the book is also an exploration of the nature of sin and the basis of morality (Pinkie and Rose are Roman Catholics, as was Greene, and their beliefs are contrasted with Ida's strong but non-religious moral sensibility)."

9. The Ipcress File (http://www.amazon.com/Ipcress-File-Len-Deighton/dp/0586026193/dreamindemon-20) by Len Deighton
"What would happen if the Kremlin could bring off a plot to put its operatives in controlling positions in Her Majesty's government? Subjects, with the highest security clearance, who feed top level secrets directly to the East? It would mean, for England, almost certain destruction!
This gripping novel of international intrigue and espionage is not only a fascinating adventure but a superb close-up of the inner workings of a shadowy and fantastic profession. And because the Russians enjoyed such success in real life penetrating British security, Len Deighton's fiction mirrors fact."

10. The Driver's Seat (http://www.amazon.com/Drivers-Seat-New-Directions-Bibelots/dp/0811212718/dreamindemon-20) by Muriel Spark
"Spark's 1970 novel of a woman gone mad was dubbed "so stark as to be nightmarish" by The New Yorker. The story details the last day of protagonist Lise, who, while on holiday in Europe, is about to be murdered. For all fiction collections."

[Hippiepoet]

This list I found to be a bit different than others. This one comes from Jake Kerridge at the Telegraph, UK.
The Sinner (http://www.amazon.com/Sinner-Petra-Hammesfahr/dp/1904738257/dreamindemon-20) by Petra Hammesfahr
"Cora Bender killed a man. But why? What could have caused this quiet, lovable young mother to stab a stranger in the throat, again and again, until she was pulled off his body? For the local police it was an open-and-shut case. Cora confessed; there was no shortage of proof or witnesses. But Police Commissioner Rudolf Grovian refused to close the file and began his own maverick investigation. So begins the slow unraveling of Cora's past, a harrowing descent into a woman's private hell."
Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks (http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Unsinkable-Rubber-Christopher-Brookmyre/dp/0753127954/dreamindemon-20) by Christopher Brookmyre (Audio CD)
"Brookmyre's main character, Jack Parlabane, is sarcastic, world-wise, and more than a bit left of the main stream when it comes to his opinions on important subjects such as religion and education. This story focuses on the question of psychic powers and the afterlife and to say more would spoil a great plot.
The audio is performed by Billy Boyd of "Lord of the Rings" fame. His performance enhances what is already a very good book. He helps to bring the characters to life by giving them individual voices and accents."
The Death of Dalziel (http://www.amazon.com/Death-Dalziel-Reginald-Hill/dp/1847820042/dreamindemon-20) by Reginald Hill
"This work explains the highly anticipated return of Dalziel and Pascoe, the hugely popular police duo and stars of the long-running BBC TV series, in a new psychological thriller. Can it be true? Has the Fat Man really sung? Caught in the blast of a huge Semtex explosion, the only thing preventing Superintendent Andy Dalziel from stepping through Death's door might be his own size (and indomitable willpower). As he lies on a hospital bed, it falls on DCI Peter Pascoe to seek justice for Andy. The security services have written it off as an accident - the terrorist suspects have paid for their clumsiness with their lives. Who, then, are the Knights Templar, a shadowy group exacting summary public justice on their enemies? Pascoe is certain of a conspiracy and the attempted murder of Yorkshire Police's most inept officer only convinces him further. But if the plot is complex, the climax will prove astounding!"
Exit Music (http://www.amazon.com/exit-Music-Ian-Rankin/dp/0752888196/dreamindemon-20) by Ian Rankin
"It's late autumn in Edinburgh and late autumn in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus. As he tries to tie up some loose ends before retirement, a murder case intrudes. A dissident Russian poet has been found dead in what looks like a mugging gone wrong. By apparent coincidence a high-level delegation of Russian businessmen is in town, keen to bring business to Scotland. The politicians and bankers who run Edinburgh are determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically. But the further they dig, the more Rebus and his colleague DS Siobhan Clarke become convinced that they are dealing with something more than a random attack - especially after a particularly nasty second killing. Meantime, a brutal and premeditated assault on local gangster 'Big Ger' Cafferty sees Rebus in the frame. Has the Inspector taken a step too far in tying up those loose ends? Only a few days shy of the end to his long, inglorious career, will Rebus even make it that far?"
End Games: An Aurelio Zen Mystery (http://www.amazon.com/End-Games-Aurelio-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0375425217/dreamindemon-20) by Michael Dibdin
"The wry 11th and final Insp. Aurelio Zen mystery (after 2006's Back to Bologna) will leave the series' many fans in renewed mourning for Gold Dagger–winner Dibdin (1947-2007). When the corpse of American attorney Peter Newman is discovered in Calabria after an apparent botched kidnapping, Zen finds himself probing the rumor that Newman was not only born in Italy but heir to a family of southern Italian landowners. The detective must sort out other possible motives for the crime, including the dead man's work for an eccentric Hollywood producer hoping to outdo Mel Gibson with a film based on the Book of Revelations. The writing occasionally soars (There is a unique flavor of melancholy to remote railway stations during the long intervals between the arrival and departure of trains), and Zen's apt observations of his country's foibles and the unromantic portrayal of Calabria help to balance the sometimes brutal plot. This quirky series will be missed."
Rounding the Mark (http://www.amazon.com/Rounding-Mark-Andrea-Camilleri/dp/014303748X/dreamindemon-20) by Andrea Camilleri
"Camilleri's gripping seventh Inspector Montalbano mystery (after 2005's The Smell of the Night) successfully integrates serious political themes with a hero reminiscent of Colin Dexter's beloved Inspector Morse. Frustrated by his department's repressive handling of security for the G8 summit in Genoa, Montalbano seriously considers resigning. His attempt to unwind with a casual swim along the Sicilian seashore fails when he discovers a corpse in the water. The inspector's pursuit of the cause of death intersects with another mystery—the inquiry into a hit-and-run that claimed the life of a young boy who may have been victimized by human traffickers. When Montalbano realizes that he may have inadvertently aided the boy's victimizers, his internal turmoil intensifies. Despite Camilleri's hard look at modern-day slavery and child abuse, he maintains Montalbano's gallows humor, making this far from a run-of-the-mill police procedural."
The Last Breath (http://www.amazon.com/Last-Breath-Paddy-Meehan/dp/0593051432/dreamindemon-20) by Denise Mina
"Paddy Meehan is home alone when there’s a knock at the door. It’s the police and they have bad news. Former boyfriend Terry Patterson’s naked body has been found in a ditch. He’s been tortured, hooded, then shot through the head: all hallmarks of an IRA assassination. Paddy is devastated: Terry was her first lover; the sort of journalist she’s always aspired to be. But why have the police come to her? Although she and Terry have had an on/off affair since they first worked together, she hasn’t seen him for over a year. She is therefore horrified to find that not only has Terry named her next of kin, but he has left her a huge Georgian house in Ayrshire and several suitcases full of notes. What was Terry trying to tell her? As Paddy begins her investigation into his death, she realizes that if the secret he was about to expose was worth killing for, she is next in line."
The One from the Other (http://www.amazon.com/One-Other-Philip-Kerr/dp/B000R7PZ2O/dreamindemon-20) by Philip Kerr
"Set in 1949, Kerr's excellent fourth novel to feature Bernhard Gunther (after 1991's German Requiem) finds the erstwhile PI managing a failing hotel about a mile from the site of the Dachau concentration camp. After the death of his wife, Kirsten, in a mental hospital, he calls it quits and opens a private detective agency. A series of missing-Nazi cases sets Bernie on a course that becomes increasingly complicated until he's beaten to a near pulp, had his little finger chopped off and is sent to a mysterious private estate to recover. There he's drawn into a nightmare involving the American occupation and the CIA, and soon his life hangs in the balance. Kerr's stylish noir writing makes every page a joy to read ("The little mouth tightened into a smile that was all lips and no teeth, like a newly stitched scar"). Perfectly plotted, the book builds to a satisfying conclusion."
The Strangler (http://www.amazon.com/Strangler-William-Landay/dp/0440237378/dreamindemon-20) by William Landay
"Set in Boston in 1963, Landay's engrossing crime novel is less about the titular strangler than the three Irish-American Daley brothers: Ricky, a thief; Michael, a lawyer; and Joe, a bent cop. A year earlier, the Daleys' father, also a cop, was fatally shot on the job, and the killer has never been caught. The father's partner on the force, Brendan Conroy, has insinuated himself into the family to the point that he's now sleeping with the brothers' mother, Margaret, and is a permanent fixture at Sunday dinner, much to the disgust of Michael and Ricky. Landay movingly explores the bonds of family and basic questions of honesty and loyalty. While the novel suggests another killer than the historical Boston Strangler, the emphasis remains on such themes as crime and punishment, love and honor, truth and justice. "
Kismet (http://www.amazon.com/Kismet-Kayankaya-Jakob-Arjouni/dp/1842430467/dreamindemon-20) by Jakob Arjouni
"It all began with a favor. Kayankaya and Slibulsky were only trying to protect their friend Romario from his protectors, men who were demanding hard cash for the service. It ended with two bodies on the floor of Romario's restaurant, their faces covered in ghostly white make up. Kayankaya is determined to track down their identities, when he realizes that he himself is being pursued by a faceless and utterly ruthless criminal gang. A new element has broken into the established order of Frankfurt gangland: Croatian nationalists, battle hardened from the wars in their homeland. And when Kayankaya rescues the teenage Bosnian Leila from a refugee hostel, the stakes get even higher. This thrilling, utterly captivating novel is the perfect fix for fans of literary noir."
http://tinyurl.com/2fgo33

[Hippiepoet]

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2008
April 26th, 2008

2008 Longlist Announced

The longlist was announced today for one of the most prestigious awards in the international crime writing calendar - the 4th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the only literary prize of its kind to be voted for by the general public.

This year’s list is a vibrant and diverse mix of titles featuring the work of both established authors and emerging talents. This blend goes to demonstrate the current vitality of the genre and the exceptional standards to be found there.

The Chemistry of Death
by Simon Beckett
"When the bizarrely mutilated and long-dead body of a young woman is found in a ditch in Manham, an isolated and insular village in the Norfolk marshlands, former high-profile forensic anthropologist Dr David Hunter is reluctant to get involved. Hunter has a secret past which he hopes will remain buried, but soon Hunter realises it will take all his knowledge and expertise if the killer is to be stopped. But not even he is prepared for the terrible cost that will exact - or the awful price that failure threatens to bring…"
Buried
by Mark Billingham
"Luke Mullen, sixteen year-old son of a former, high- ranking police officer has disappeared, presumed kidnapped. A list of villains with a grudge against Luke’s father quickly emerges, but Detective Inspector Tom Thorne discovers that ex-DCI Tony Mullen has omitted the name of the most obvious suspect; a man who’d once threatened him and his family. Is this a simple oversight, or is it something more telling?"
Christine Falls
by Benjamin Black
"A Dublin pathologist follows the corpse of a mysterious woman into the heart of a conspiracy among the city’s high Catholic society. It’s not the dead that seem strange to Quirke. It’s the living. One night at the morgue Quirke stumbles across a body that shouldn’t have been there - and his brother-in-law, eminent paediatrician Malachy Griffin - altering a file to cover up the corpse’s cause of death. It turns out the body belonged to a young woman named Christine Falls"
A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil
by Christopher Brookmyre
"Put on your uniform and line up in an orderly fashion for the funniest and most accurate trip back to the classroom you are likely to read, as well as a murder mystery like nothing that has gone before it. Forget the forensics: only once you’ve been through school with this painfully believable cast of characters will you be equipped to work out what really happened decades later. Even then, you’ll probably guess wrong and be made to stand in the corner."
Hurting Distance
by Sophie Hannah
"When Naomi Jenkins’s married lover vanishes without trace, Naomi knows he must have come to harm. But the police are less convinced, particularly when Robert’s wife insists he is not missing. In desperation, Naomi has a crazy idea. If she can’t persuade the police that Robert is in danger, perhaps she can convince them that he is a danger to others. Naomi knows how describe in detail the actions of a psychopath. All she needs to do is dig up her own troubled past"
Darkness & Light
by John Harvey
"Former cop Frank Elder is once more drawn out of retirement to investigate the disappearance of his ex-wife’s sister, Claire. When Claire is found dead at home - unmarked and carefully dressed - it is Elder who is surprised by the similarities to an old case. In a case in which neither memories, confessions, nor instincts can be trusted, Elder struggles with the weight of the past and Harvey delivers another psychologically trenchant page-turner."
The Death of Dalziel
by Reginald Hill
"Reginald Hill returns with a stunning new novel featuring his popular Yorkshire policemen Dalziel and Pascoe. Caught in the full blast of a huge explosion, Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel lies on a hospital bed, with only a life support system and his indomitable will between him and the Great Beyond. His colleague, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Pascoe, is determined to bring those responsible to justice."
The Risk of Darkness
by Susan Hill
"In her third crime novel, Hill explores the crazy grief of a widowed husband, a derangement that turns to obsession and threats, violence and terror. Meanwhile, handsome, introverted Simon Serrailler, whose cool reserve has broken the hearts of several women, finds his own heart troubled by a feisty female priest with red hair. It hinges on a terrific twist that comes as a complete surprise to the reader."
One Under
by Graham Hurley
"A man, chained inside a tunnel and then dismembered and scattered along the tracks by the early morning train from Portsmouth to London. The beginning of DI Joe Faraday’s most gruesome case yet. With his trademark realism and his focus on two very different policeman; one awkward and by the book, the other bolshy and walking the thinnest of lines, Hurley’s Faraday and Winter novels are earning ever more spectacular reviews, and building readership."
Not Dead Enough
by Peter James
"On the night Brian Bishop murdered his wife, he was sixty miles away, asleep in bed at the time. At least, that’s the way it looks to Detective Superintendent Roy Grace who is called in to investigate the kinky slaying of beautiful young Brighton socialite, Katie Bishop. Soon, Grace starts coming to the conclusion that Bishop has performed the apparently impossible feat of being in two places at once."

This is just the top ten off the list. Go here http://www.bestcrimebooks.com/ for the complete list. There are more dandy books on this list!
Peace~
Hippie