I've been reading crime fiction ever since I can remember. I think the first book I read in the genre was 'The Hound of the Baskervilles', closely followed by 'Murder on the Orient Express'. I love the intricacies of a well-written plot, though the prospect of attempting to write one myself is pretty daunting.

I'm reading 'The Lighthouse' by PD James at the moment. Before that, it was another re-reading of the above Sir Arthur Conan Doyle masterpiece, and 'The Killings at Badger's Drift' by Caroline Graham (which is much better than her last one).

Who do you read? Does the work of any of the crime fiction authors provide inspiration for your own writing?

Poll to follow in a minute :) .

I like Conan-Doyle, and have written a couple of heavily influenced short stories about a 'scientific detective' in late Victorian times.....

I don't actually read much crime fiction, though i had a weakness for Colin Dexter and 'Inspector Morse'. :)

I like Ray Bradbury but dont know wether hes a Crime fiction writer.

I have a couple of Stephen Booth novels sat on my shelves. His books are set in the Peak District, and apparently he's very good. I've picked up a few Peter Robinson books too (they always seem to be on offer in Tesco). His books are mainly set in Yorkshire and the surrounding Peaks too. Reading a novel set in a familiar location adds a little extra pleasure.

I've also been known to read Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Rieches, though both have seriously lost the plot (literally and metaphorically) since their early work, Cornwell especially.

I know I'm not officially a part of the writing group but I do write a lot myself and read an awful lot. Hecate, my favourite book of all time is Hound of the Baskervilles. I remember reading it for the first time when I was 14, in my English literature class. Everyone else was complaining about how much they hated it but I was glued. I read the whole book myself from start to end over a weekend, and then got in trouble for being too far ahead :lol:

Does John Grisham count? Being an ex-lawyer myself I love the way his books criticize the system and the lawyers' greed (not that I ever encountered anything like that in the UK of course ;) )

I also like Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford books. Good believable characters with a side-plot of domestic difficulties that manages not to dominate the crime-solving aspect.

Colin Dexter's Morse books are among the few stories I prefer on TV to on the page. The Morse character in the books is a little too coarse for my liking :P .

I've also read just about every Agatha Christie, but only translated into German (picked 'em all up cheap at a railway station!), where I think they've been abridged because they come across as rather stilted with too many leaps of logic.

Hey, looking at the above makes me realise perhaps my reading tastes aren't quite so out-dated after all!! (See other thread).

I've never been tempted to write crime fiction meself, tho. :)

Does John Grisham count? Being an ex-lawyer myself I love the way his books criticize the system and the lawyers' greed (not that I ever encountered anything like that in the UK of course ;) )

I also like Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford books. Good believable characters with a side-plot of domestic difficulties that manages not to dominate the crime-solving aspect.

Colin Dexter's Morse books are among the few stories I prefer on TV to on the page. The Morse character in the books is a little too coarse for my liking :P .

I've also read just about every Agatha Christie, but only translated into German (picked 'em all up cheap at a railway station!), where I think they've been abridged because they come across as rather stilted with too many leaps of logic.

Hey, looking at the above makes me realise perhaps my reading tastes aren't quite so out-dated after all!! (See other thread).

I've never been tempted to write crime fiction meself, tho. :)Did John Grisham write "The Firm" ? Think it was made into a film with Tom Cruise.

Yes he did and yes it has! :)

Also The Pelican Brief, The Client, Runaway Jury.... all good books and good films too.

I loved the Jigsaw man by Paul Brittain. Very upsetting and disturbing though as based on true events of crimes but a very good read. Really made you think.

I loved the Jigsaw man by Paul Brittain. Very upsetting and disturbing though as based on true events of crimes but a very good read. Really made you think.
That was an interesting read. If I remember correctly, he was involved in the case in Leicestershire which saw the first time DNA profiling helped to identify the killer.

Just as an aside, didn't Paul Britton enter forensic psychology as a mature student, having gained his A levels at evening classes?

i love patrica cornwell,,, just going thru the kay scarpetta novels,,, again!

i love patrica cornwell,,, just going thru the kay scarpetta novels,,, again!
I really enjoyed the early ones, but I think she lost the plot a bit when she brought Benton back from the dead. Lucy has to be the most irritating character ever! :lol: . 'Postmortem' is excellent.