Blueridgebeverly

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve read Koontz’s Watchers, Lightning, Phantoms, and Innocence. I had not read any of the Jane Hawk books. I added the Crooked Staircase to my kindle and look forward to reading it.

ctrysass2012

Heather Graham, Iris Johansen are both good. Anne Hillerman is also very good. She is keeping the same core characters as her father, Tony Hillerman. Diane Chamberlain is another.

quiltingshorttimer

I agree that Anne Hillerman is doing a great job and focus is now on Manualito instead of the men. 3 others that I've recently gotten "hooked" on--Paul Dorian who writes about a young Maine game warden and mysteries; Wm. Kent Krueger who's character, Corky Corcoran, solves crime in the MN. Border Waters along with his lawyer wife, and Robert Johnston who writes the Longmire series--all 3 have new books just out or due out soon. I also just picked up several Jonathan Parker mysteries--so far so good!

Mkotch

May I recommend the Cozy Mystery website? It has mysteries organized by location, profession, and many other themes. There's one for quilting, too: https://www.cozy-mystery.com/

I loved Sue Grafton, but also enjoy books by Louise Penny, Sara Paretsky, Elly Griffiths, Jacqueline Winspear, Robert Galbraith (pen name for JK Rowling), Kelly Armstrong. I could go on and on, but try out that website for some really good ideas.

youngduncan

The Mrs. Murphy Mysteries is one of my favorite series by Rita Mae Brown and her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown. The series is set in a small town in Virginia. All of the books feature the same set of characters, but they focus on the animals -- crime fighters in their own right who work diligently to help their humans solve mysteries.

I suggest trying to read the books in the order in which they were written and published. It is a little easier to keep up with the characters that way. They are entertaining, but at the same time you have to do a little bit of thinking to work with the two cats and the dog in making things turn out right.

coffeegirl

Another mystery writer to check out is Sharyn McCrumb. I have enjoyed several of her mysteries, but I don't have them all...yet!

nuffsaid

A series with a female national park ranger, Anna Pigeon, is written by Nevada Barr. Each book takes place in a national park, and Anna has to solve the mystery--usually a murder. Here is a list of her books: http://www.nevadabarr.com/thebooks.html and https://www.goodreads.com/series/40958-anna-pigeon

Onebyone

Preston and Childs write together and separately. I have read all of their books. Love the Pendergast mysteries that they write together. Dean Koontz is good but sometimes a little out there.

c joyce

P.D. James

elnan

Two days ago, I finished reading "How The Light Gets In" for the second time. Anything by Louise Penny is worth reading a second time and more.

If you enjoyed Tony Hillerman and the books by J. A. Jance, try the CJ Box novels.

I grew up in a household with little boys around my ankles like puppies, so it follows that I should gift all of them with copies of "They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?" by Patrick McManus.