I absolutely devoured Minette Walters when I was going through my mystery reading phase, because of all the things you say. Drifted away from mystery a few years ago but this post reminds me that I really need to check th library and find out what she's written in the last few years.
Have you read any Reginald Hill? The quality of his books varies WILDLY so don't just pick one up at random. Pictures of Perfection is a hilarious romp which actually contains a crime. And The Wood Beyond, one of his serious books, is excellent. It doesn't mess with genre the way Pictures of Perfection did, it's just a damn good mystery.
Deadheads SERIOULY messes with genre and is a hoot at times. My only criticism is the exoticization of a young Police cadet of Pakistani extraction. But the book was first published in 1983, and Hill's improved since then on his representations of people of colour. He's not perfect but not so clumsy anymore. It's a great genre-breaking mystery, though, so I wholeheartedly recommend Deadheads, as long as you go in forewarned.
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Have you read any Reginald Hill? The quality of his books varies WILDLY so don't just pick one up at random. Pictures of Perfection is a hilarious romp which actually contains a crime. And The Wood Beyond, one of his serious books, is excellent. It doesn't mess with genre the way Pictures of Perfection did, it's just a damn good mystery.
Deadheads SERIOULY messes with genre and is a hoot at times. My only criticism is the exoticization of a young Police cadet of Pakistani extraction. But the book was first published in 1983, and Hill's improved since then on his representations of people of colour. He's not perfect but not so clumsy anymore. It's a great genre-breaking mystery, though, so I wholeheartedly recommend Deadheads, as long as you go in forewarned.