The Craig Johnson books featuring a Wyoming sheriff might appeal to an older man.
Men that age often enjoy the espionage and military fiction genre, a la Ludlum and Clancy.
Iām not a big fan of mysteries, but Iām totally hooked on CS Harris books. They are set in Regency England and have a few story arcs that go beyond the individual books, so you need to read them in order even though they all work as stand alones. Harris has really done her homework and each book revolves around some historical social or political issue of the time. She always puts in an endnote about what is real, and what is made up.
Another set of mysteries I thought were really interesting I read because we read the first one in the CC Book Club - M. J. Carterās The Strangler Vine. Itās set in India in the 1830s and involves the original Thugs. There are two followup books set in London.
The Woman in the Window. Great but quick read. Perfect for a winter vacation take along book.
Other mystery writersā¦
Tana French, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, Wilkie Collins (The Woman in White, Moonstone), le Carre, Elizabeth George,Camilla Lackberg
I just finished āThe Leaversā by Lisa Ko. It is about a young American man and his Chinese mother. I donāt want to say more about the plot other than that you might like this book if you are interested in China, immigration, or family stories.
BTW, Goodreads has some good lists which might be helpful.
Lots of suggested writers would not be a fit for this reader, IMHO. Iād suggest Michael Connolly, Robert Parker, perhaps Craig Johnson, Lee Child, Alan Furst, Le Carre, earlier PD James, Dorothy Sayers. He might like Jane Langton, depending on his philosophical mindset.
I would NOT suggest the grossly overblown Elizabeth George, or Louise Penny, Agatha Christie , or Maisie Dobbs.
Iām not sure they are overblownā¦ but I donāt think cozies (like Pennyās) are a good suggestion.
I just finished The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. Liked it more than I thought I would. Good beach read. I started Lion but itās not as good as I expected so starting a Dick Francis mystery too. New Louise Penny out tomorrow - will devour that one quickly.
Crazy Rich Asians and the sequel (though not as good as CRA).
I really enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians, the second book is a bit week, but I loved the third book. Very fun to read as we are in Hong Kong now and although the focus of the books is Singapore - there are enough nods to Hong Kong that I had moments of āIāve been there!ā
Just finished John Grishamās new one, The Reckoning. Interesting story but it could have used a few more pages. The ending was rather abrupt, in my opinion.
@Bromfield2 A little late, but how about Ken Follett:
Eye of the Needle (1978) (a.k.a. Storm Island) (Edgar Award, 1979, Best Novel)
Triple (1979)
The Key to Rebecca (1980)
The Man from St. Petersburg (1982)
On Wings of Eagles (1983)
Lie Down with Lions (1985)ā¦
Oh so goodā¦The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker. She wrote All the Light You Cannot See, another good book.
mindset by carol dweck
grit: the power of passion and perseverance by angela duckworth
@Onward āAll the Light You Cannot Seeā is by Anthony Doerr.
Iām curious about why the Three Pines books are called ācozyā mysteries. The only thing that seems to match the definition is that many of them take place in a village. However, the presence of dark subject matters and brutal murders and the characters doing some very unlikeable things, take the books out of that sub-genre for me. Perhaps the people to call the books ācozyā have only read one or two. Looking back, the first couple of books pale in comparison to others. It took Penny a few books to figure things out.
Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress
I think they are cozies because food and family are prominent. They are very relationship driven. And I expect Gamache appeals much more to female readers than he might to male readers.