There are as many different types of mystery novels as there are mystery writers, but many fall into one of three categories: private eye, amateur detective, or police procedural. Here are some of Wallingford Public Library’s many mysteries listed by category:
(Many of the authors listed feature their main character in more than one book. Often the order in which you read these is not important, but if you need help in determining whether a book is the first in a series, please ask for assistance at the Information Desk.)
Private "Eye" mysteries are those in which the main character is a private investigator usually hired by someone to track down a murderer.
Author Title
Neil Albert Burning March
Linda Barnes Cold Case
Sally Chapman Love Bytes
Max Allan Collins Carnal Hours
Bruce Cook The Sidewalk Hilton
Philip R. Craig Off Season
Harris Dulaney One Kiss Led to Another
Earl Emerson The Portland Laugher
Sue Grafton "I" is for Innocent
James W. Hall Mean High Tide
Jon Katz The Family Stalker
Faye Kellerman Sanctuary
Karen Kijewski Wild Kat
Thomas Lipinski The Fall-Down Artist
Marcia Muller Till the Butcher's Cut Him Down
Sarah Paretsky Tunnel Vision (V. I. Warshawski series)
Robert B. Parker Playmates (Spenser series)
James Sallis Black Hornet
Benjamin M. Schutz Mexico is Forever
Sandra Scoppettone Everything You Have is Mine
Amateur Detective novels are those in which the protagonist has a "normal" job that does not relate to investigating criminal activities, but for one reason or another he or she becomes involved in tracking down a murderer.
Author Title Occupation of Main Character
Nancy Atherton Aunt Dimity and the Duke Computer expert
Nevada Barr A Superior Death Park Ranger
Veronic Black A Bow of Obedience Nun
Lawrence Block The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams Bookstore Owner
Lillian Jackson Braun The Cat Who series Journalist
Carol Brennan In the Dark Actress
Dorothy Cannell How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law Housewife
Kate Charles Snares of Death Church Architect
Susan Conant Ruffly Speaking Journalist
Susan Rogers Cooper Funny as a Dead Relative Stand Up Comic
Jane Dentinger The Queen is Dead Actress
Carol Nelson Douglas Cat on a Blue Monday Cat
John Dunning Booked to Die Used Book Dealer
Aaron Elkins Dead Men’s Hearts Anthropologist
Terence Faherty Die Dreaming Saloon Keeper
Sara H. Frommer Murder in C Major Viola Player
Sparkle Hayter What’s a Girl Gotta Do? TV Investigative Reporter
Christine Jorgensen A Love to Die For Accountant/Psychic
Jonathan Kellerman Clinic Child Psychologist
Harry Kemelman Monday the Rabbi Took Off Rabbi
Kathryn Lasky Knight Dark Swan Children’s Book Illustrator
Emma Lathen Right on the Money Banker
Charlotte MacLeod Something in the Water Botany Professor
Peter McCabe Wasteland Public Relations Expert
George Owens The Judas Pool High School Teacher
Michael Palmer Natural Causes Doctor
Mary Willis Walker The Red Scream Crime Writer
Police Procedurals: In these novels the crime is investigated by professional crime-fighters, either the police, the FBI, Scotland Yard, or other official organizations.
Author Title
Kenneth Abel Bait
Noreen Ayres Carcass Trade
M. C. Beaton Death of a Charming Man
James Lee Burke Dixie City Jam
Dennis Casley Death Underfoot
Andrew Coburn Voices in the Dark
Michael Connelly The Concrete Blonde
Susan Rogers Cooper Other People's Houses
Patricia D. Cornwell Body of Evidence
Deborah Crombie All Shall Be Well
D. J. Donaldson New Orleans Requiem
Marjorie Eccles Death of a Good Woman
Frances Fyfield Not That Kind of Place
Elizabeth George In the Presence of the Enemy
Joe Gores Menaced Assassin
Martha Grimes Rainbow's End
John Harvey Cold Light
Reginald Hill The Wood Beyond
Tony Hillerman Fallen Man
Ruby Horansky Dead Center
P.D. James A Taste for Death
Stuart Kaminsky Lieberman's Folly
Susan B. Kelly Hope Against Hope
Michael Kenyon Peckover and the Bog Man
Philip Kerr Dead Meat
David L. Lindsey An Absence of Light
Ed McBain Ice
Lee Martin Genealogy of Murder
Carol O'Connell Mallory's Oracle
Peter Robinson Wednesday's Child
Medora Sale Short Cut to Santa Fe
John Sandford Night Prey
April Smith North of Montana
Julie Smith Kindness of Strangers
David Wiltse Into the Fire
L. R. Wright A Touch of Panic
If you are interested in locating more novels by genre or type of main character, here are some reference books you can look into:
What Do I Read Next?, by Neil Barron, Wayne Barton, Kristin Ramsdell and Steven A. Stilwell. This easy-to-use guide is a compendium of thousands of books that are listed by major genre type - mystery, romance, western, fantasy, and science fiction - and are fully annotated. Extensive indexes allow you to look up books by character description and character name. [R011.73 WHA]
Genreflecting: A Guide to Reading Interests in Genre Fiction, by Betty Rosenberg. Genreflecting categorizes books by major genre and then breaks them down to very specific type. For instance, under "Thriller" you will find "Women Detectives, Immortal Investigators, Comic Capers" and more. [R813.009 Ros]
Detectionary: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Characters in Mystery Fiction, by Mill Roseman, et al. A Who’s Who of the mystery world, Detectionary lists names, hobbies, habits, companions, foes, methods of deduction and cases of fictional detectives, from the celebrated masters to obscure sleuths. [R803 De]
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