Crime fiction is populated by a host of detectives and investigators plying their sleuthing trade. Read about characters that are required reading for the aficionado or newcomer to the world of the crime solver.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- Sherlock Holmes
221b Baker Street was home to Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson and currently houses The Sherlock Holmes Museum in London. Conan Doyle's creation was adept at extrapolating the cause and perpetrator of a crime from the smallest possible detail. Holmes complex, addictive and iconoclastic personality still breathes life into the pages of Conan Doyle's four novels and numerous short stories. A must for all lovers of detective fiction.
Michael Connelly -- Hieronymus Bosch
Named after the 15th century Dutch artist, lead character in thirteen novels by American writer Michael Connelly and known by colleagues as Harry, Bosch is a classic example of the damaged cop. The son of a murdered prostitute and absent father, he is driven by the death of his mother. Constantly at odds with authority, Harry Bosch is a fascinating and melancholy figure brilliantly evoked by Connelly.
Ian Rankin -- John Rebus
Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, Rebus inhabits a starkly different place than seen in the tourist brochures. A native of the city, he sees beneath the veneer of respectability to the darker underbelly of Scotland's capital. Rankin paints a naturally rebellious character struggling to operate within the strict structure of police protocol. This series of novels are gritty, tactile and dark.
Henning Mankell -- Kurt Wallander
Regarded as head of a burgeoning Scandinavian crime fiction renaissance, Mankell has created the character of Kurt Wallander. Wallander lives in Ystad, south east of Malmo and is the antithesis of the healthy, clean living cop. A character tiring of his job yet compelled to search for the truth, Wallander has a poor diet, drinks heavily and finds emotional intimacy challenging. Mankell manages to make this superficially unattractive man into someone noble and these novels are a lesson in character development.
Raymond Chandler -- Philip Marlowe
The king of cool brought to the page by Raymond Chandler. A lover of women, chess, poetry, alcohol and his own company, Philip Marlowe has been described as the archetypal private detective. A template for many to come he remained aloof but trustworthy, cerebral but street-wise. An undeniable classic of the genre, Chandler's novels are as readable today as when first published.
Classic Crime Fiction
Crime fiction remains a highly popular genre, the timeless quality of complex characters catching devious and dangerous criminals shows no sign of succumbing to reader apathy. A well chosen crime novel is a guaranteed good read.
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