Plopping down to read in the middle of the afternoon is one of retirement’s greatest pleasures. And getting books from the library adds to the joy – no cost, no risk. Oh, the pain of spending money on a book you can’t get through.
While I read all kinds of stuff, my favorite genre is crime fiction. However, I’m picky about my crime. I avoid serial killers and creepy psychopaths in fiction and in real life. I avoid writers who almost always find a way to make women the victim. I’m looking at you, Harlan Coben.
Murder comes with the territory when you read mysteries, but I like to keep it simple … a crime of passion or greed. A stabbing, a shooting, perhaps an overdose. No torture. An ordinary person goes off the rails. A family tries to hide its secrets. I also like stories about missing persons, robbery and white-collar crime.
I prefer my crime to be over and done with before I start the book. I’m OK with some violence or threats of violence scattered throughout the novel to add tension, but the primary purpose of the story is to shape this defining character, usually a detective, who is going to solve the mystery.
Although I am a lightweight when it comes to grizzly details, I usually like my detectives a bit rough around the edges. Hardboiled and American, although I’m starting to branch out on that front.
Retirement is also a perfect time to discover or re-read oldies but goodies. Not every book in the series meets my ideal criteria, but I love these characters, and there’s a substantial catalog! Some newer, some older, but to me, they define the genre.
By the way, I’m still messing around with Goodreads. You should be able to access my shelf listing the first book in each series.
8 Classic American Detectives
Lew Archer (18 books): A southern California private investigator with a focus on complex family dramas, mostly written in the 50s and 60s. By Ross Macdonald.
Harry Bosch (22 books): A Vietnam veteran and Los Angeles police detective with an attitude and a conscience. By Michael Connelly.
Doc Ford (26 books): Ex-CIA agent and marine biologist on the west coast of Florida working hard to keep his friends out of trouble. By Randy Wayne White.
Sharon McCone (33 books): A San Francisco-based investigator and one of the first modern female private eyes. By Marcia Muller.
Travis McGee (21 books): A “salvage consultant” who recovers lost things while living on his houseboat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. By John D. MacDonald.
Kinsey Millhone (25 books): The famous alphabet series starring a tough female private investigator in Santa Teresa, California. By Sue Grafton.
Dave Robicheaux (22 books): A troubled cop in Louisiana investigating bad guys along with his dangerous sidekick, Clete. By James Lee Burke.
V.I. Warshawski (20 books): A former lawyer and private eye in Chicago focusing on murder cases connected with white-collar crime. By Sara Paretsky.