The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

I seem to be in the minority, but when I pick up a mystery/crime book, I have no interest in reading about the detective's failed marriage/alcoholism/family melt-down. I just picked up Jar City, which starts with the detective, whose ex-wife hates him and children are estranged from him, dealing with his junkie/prostitute/now-pregnant daughter demanding money. And that was in about the first five pages. (Sigh!)

Maybe it's because my father was a cop, and a normal guy with a normal family life, but I get nothing out of tragic soap opera in the detective's life. I know that writers decided to spice up their detectives a few decades ago, but I'm satisfied that that particular plot device has been played out quite well now. So can anyone recommend a series that involves a detective whose personal misery is not a character in the stories? No addictions, no beloved wives who have been murdered, no post-traumatic stress, just a well-written plot with appealing characters.

Donna Leon's Commissaire Brunetti is fairly normal. He even goes home for lunch. Starts with Death at La Fenice.

I would recommend the fairly young series with Malcolm Fox (I actually prefer him to Rebus.) The Complaints is the first. I like him because he's got a home life of sorts but he doesn't drink at all and the worst thing he's dealing with is his father's old age (he visits him regularly in the retirement home) and trying to date as a mature guy. No meltdowns, violence, junkie issues etc etc.

The Complaints is also the best plotline I came across a couple of years ago. I recommended it to a bunch of people and they all thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nelson DeMille's detective John Corey!
The first in the series is Plum Island. So far it is the only one I've read (just this week!) but I'm definitely getting the next ones as soon as possible.
I read it as a buddy-read, and we both remarked what a refreshing change he is from the damaged, hard nosed, broken, etc, characters in so many thrillers.
He has a wry (sarcastic?) wit, no horrific past, and the story was interesting and thrilling in an adventurous way.
For a PI series, my favorite is Robert B. Parker's PI Spenser series. They started in the 70's so he actually gets through his day without phones, computers, etc. I read the first 12 or so and really became attached to Spenser. He 's another with a sense of humor, stupid people piss him off (he has no problem putting someone up against a wall or giving them a smack) and he loves to cook.
Of course with any character bad stuff happens, it's what gives us that emotional attachment to them. But both of these guys are basically un-damaged, and deal with drama pretty "guy-like" (that really sucked ....what's for dinner?)

Good question. I'm going to be checking back for other suggestions as well.

Author Hugh Holton his books are out of print but can still be found.

Charlotte and Thomas Pitt in Anne Perry's series aren't horribly damaged. Charlotte's family is from the Downton Abbey set and so she and Thomas face snobbery, but who doesn't in family situations :-)

Owen Laukkanen's Windermere and Stevens series has two non-damaged detectives. Stevens is a BCA agent in Minneapolis who's in love with his wife and family and Windermere is an FBI in a relationship. In the first novel (the only one I've read) they do however develop a healthy affection for each other but don't dump their significant others to be together or even share a bed.

Chief Inspector Maigret - Georges Simenon. He likes a beer, enjoys food and loves his wife.

E. wrote: "Nelson DeMille's detective John Corey!
The first in the series is Plum Island. So far it is the only one I've read (just this week!) but I'm definitely getting the next ones as soon as possible.
I..."

Hi, I read Plum Island and then the next book The Lions Game which was really good and parts of it was just laugh out loud funny. Im going to be reading the whole series.

The current series I am reading has a Police Chief named Holly Barker. She is new and just moved to Orchid Beach Florida. She has been in the army for over 20 years and the only issue she had was a attempted rape from her Provost Commander, which he was acquitted. She got out of the Army and was offered the job in Orchid. She has a pretty good head on her shoulders and no family drama, with the exception that her dad has just retired from the Army as well and he is protective of his daughter Holly. This series doesn't seem to focus on any of the other police officer's 'baggage', which makes it really nice. I think you might like this series if you are looking for a more detective based series with no drama.

Orchid Beach by Stuart Woods

Camilla Lackberg's detectives even manage to have a family life.

A little personal history, background, et al. provide spice and a hint into the detective's persona; too much, on the other hand detract from the intended motif.

I agree with Skye fully. But I feels your pain too. Sometimes it feels too much.
If you need some clear cut mystery thrillers without any pages wasted over him/her, try reading old thrillers. Like Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon.
Also I read Vigilante by Kerry Wilkinson js just what you are searching for. Here is my review if it's of any help https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Michael Stanley's Inspector Kibu is absolutely lovely. Goes for Sunday lunch at his parents and tries to avoid the diet his wife insists on imposing on him.

I also found Michele Giuttari's head of police, Michele Ferrara, a lovely guy. He loves good wine and opera and is happily married (additional bonus is the wonderful setting of Florence). The books also score high for me in terms of authenticity in the actual police procedurals.

You might like to try Canadian author, Howard Engel's Bennie Cooperman mysteries. Bennie is a private detective working in Niagara Falls. He's pretty normal guy, if he has any issues it's dealing with his Jewish mother. Light, humorous and fun reads. The first book in the series is The Suicide Murders: A Benny Cooperman Mystery

Stacy Green's Cage Foster (Delta Detectives/Cage Foster Mystery) is a normal everyday guy....an inspector for the sheriff's department in a small Mississippi county and expecting his first child, Cage is just trying to learn how to balance family life and his duty as a cop.

You might also want to check out Stephen J. Cannell's Shane Scully series starting with The Tin Collectors. He's not alcoholic, divorced (if I remember correctly), addicted, or has any other of the 'damage' writers tend to inflict on their main characters.

The stories are, however, somewhat brutal and gritty, just so you know.

Here are a few suggestions for you.

The Burglar Who series by Lawrence Block.

The Hamish MacBeth series by M.C. Beaton.

The Puzzle Lady series by Parnell Hall.

All feature detectives who aren't weighed down by a bunch of baggage.

My own Inspector Lefebvre eats and drinks moderately, loves his wife and daughter, and tries to keep the peace with his difficult mother-in-law.

The Devil in Montmartre: A Mystery in Fin de Siecle Paris

Stephen Gore has 6 or 7 books about investigators that are non-damaged. He was a successful international private detective. One of his pet peeves is that its pretty easy to make money as an investigator and he can't figure out why most book pi's are drunks and financial failures. You might want to check out his books published by Harper.

Great topic. The Navajo mystery series by Tony Hillerman and Anne Hillerman has complex detective characters who are real, but not in a damaged or dysfunctional way. The in-depth exploration of their lives as well as their work is one of the things I love about this series. The way Navajo culture deals with violence and trauma is part of how the characters remain intact. Great writing, too.

The whole "damage" thing is why I decided to write mysteries without murders.

I just found this topic and it addresses one of my pet peeves....the damaged detective. When I am looking for a good police procedural/mystery, I don't want to read a psychological study of the detectives personality, life, problems, etc. I like to know a bit about the main protagonist to flesh out his/her character but don't bog down the story with his/her problems. The mystery Golden Age books,as mentioned in post #13, seldom fell back on this device.....they gave their detectives a personality and some quirks, but it was not overdone. Although I must admit that I read the John Rebus series by Ian Rankin but the stories are so well done that Rebus's problems take a back seat to the clever plotting.

E. wrote: "Nelson DeMille's detective John Corey!
The first in the series is Plum Island. So far it is the only one I've read (just this week!) but I'm definitely getting the next ones as soon as possible.
I..."

John Corey is a good example. I've read most if not all of the series. Quit enjoyable.

Quillracer wrote: "You might also want to check out Stephen J. Cannell's Shane Scully series starting with The Tin Collectors. He's not alcoholic, divorced (if I remember correctly), addicted, or has any other of th..."

The Shane Scully series is excellent. Have read most of them and he definitely isn't a drunk ... fun reads

I just thought of J. Michael Orenduff's delightfully off-beat Pot Thief series. The protagonist is a truly good guy, someone you'd like to hang out with.

can't believe I didn't mention Lee Child's Jack Reacher.

I love THE POT THIEF series. Made me smile. Also Inspector Gamache (Louise Penny) is a wise and ethical man with a good marriage. Retired sheriff Jack Harbin in Terry Shames' series is a wholesome character as are many of Camille Minichino's characters. And let us not forget the unforgettable Mama Ramotswe in Alexander Caldwell Smith's LADIES NUMBER ONE DETECTIVE AGENCY series.

Um, actually ...Mma Ramotswe, not Mama. And Alexander McCall Smith. I think auto-correct got you on that, Mma. :)