Top 10 US crime novelists who "own" their territory

Edgar Award-winning author C. J. Box's novels include the Joe Pickett series. He’s also won the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, and the Barry Award. For the Guardian, he named a top ten list of US crime novelists who own their home turf.

One novelist on his list:

Louisiana / James Lee Burke

Burke incorporates the sights, smells, weather, politics, villains, and multiple histories and tangled racial storylines of south Louisiana into a world of its own that would be otherwise impenetrable. You'll find yourself sweating and smelling swamp water along with flawed hero Dave Robicheaux.

Suggested titles: Purple Cane Road, Tin Roof Blowdown.

Read about all ten novelists on Box's list.

The Page 69 Test: The Tin Roof Blowdown.

--Marshal Zeringue