notable exclusions: I haven't read Highsmith or Himes, but
acknowledge their influence in the genre. I've read Woolrich
and Ross MacDonald and haven't had the same emotional
response as others, but recognize their significance. I know
others speak highly of Charles Williams and Joe Gores,
haven't gotten there yet. Joseph Wambaugh belongs in any
discussion of crime writers, but he hasn't influenced me. I
haven't read enough Lehane to form an opinion, or any
Pellacanos yet, but they both worked on The Wire and that has
to count for something. Spillane and Vachss are too broad for
my taste
as others have noted, entirely subjective
1. Dashiell Hammett 2. James M. Cain 3. Raymond
Chandler
the pantheon. I love all three for different reasons. their
best work all holds up today
4. Charles Willeford... sociopath with a typewriter, he's
right up there with the holy trinity
5. Elmore Leonard 6. James Ellroy
Dutch for the micro, Dog for the macro. both great stylists
as well as storytellers. I may be over them now, but I'll
never forget 'em. true giants
7. Lawrence Block... one prolific man. one demented
sensibility. a wide-ranging tone. and he makes it look so
easy
8. Michael Connelly... phenomenal debut. incredible follow
through. creator of a character for the ages. the best in the
business for over a decade with no end in sight. once opened,
his books are impossible to put down
9. Walter Moseley... Easy Rawlins ages in real time. and he
does it against the backdrop of historical Los Angeles. from
the sociological perspective of the underdog
10. James Crumley... here on the basis of one of the greatest
private eye stories ever written. The Last Good Kiss is so
good it negates all the unreadable stuff Crumley has
written
11. Thomas Harris... here on the basis of two of the greatest
thrillers, back to back: Red Dragon and The Silence of the
Lambs. and for creating one of the greatest bad guys
ever
12. Carl Hiaasen... I'm done with him too, but what an
original voice. others follow in his footsteps 13. T.
Jefferson Parker... a terrific novelist masquerading as a
thriller writer, still going strong in his third decade
14. Thomas Perry... creator of a great and wholly original
series, plus 2 great characters: Jane Whitefield and the
Butcher's Boy. writes the most exciting action/suspense
setpieces between 2 covers
15. Stephen Hunter... what I said about Perry goes for Hunter
as well. series. characters. setpieces 16. Jim Thompson... I
gotta justify Jim Thompson? to this list? 17. Lawrence
Sanders... great storyteller. fine writer. huge body of work
18. Jason Starr... as vivid as LSD. I can't read his stuff if
my life is going bad without getting suicidal. if that's not
noir, what is?
19. Ross Thomas... a fine, sublime, intelligent novelist 20.
Kent Harrington... terrific novelist, here on the strength of
one particularly incredible crime story, Dia De Los
Muertos
21. Vicki Hendricks... not as claustrophobic as Starr, and a
cunt hair less dark. but perhaps more original a voice and
painting on a broader canvas.
the two of them almost single-handedly keeping
noir contemporary and vital
22. Don Winslow... an exhilerating talent 23. Gerald
Petievich... for my money, the best of the ex-cops turned
writers. outstanding plotting skills
24. Donald Hamilton... Matt Helm was the first truly
hardboiled characters I read as a youth. and he held up well
as I became an adult. changed the way I thought of
heroes
25. Greg Rucka... unsentimental creator of 3 different series
which I love, one in books. one in comics. one in both
just missed the cut: Robert Crais... modern, entertaining
craftsman growing his talent to fit his ambition
James W. Hall... master of his own particular brand of
Florida noir
and John D. MacDonald... Travis McGee is iconographic and an
obvious influence of Hiassen's
John Lau
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