Four top books for crime lovers

Joseph Knox's new novel is Sirens.

One of four top books for crime lovers he tagged at the Waterstones blog:

The Long Good-bye
Raymond Chandler

Every author has their first real hero, and Chandler was mine. In the years since I’ve drifted more towards the stark, border-line nihilism of his own hero, Dashiel Hammett, more towards the psychological depth of his greatest successor, Ross MacDonald, even towards the overwhelming darkness and grandiose world-building of the big name that came after him, James Ellroy.

But Chandler, for me, was first. It would be impossible to imagine Aidan’s first person narration, cynicism and shop-soiled brand of heroism without having read and re-read the Philip Marlowe novels cover-to-cover.The Long Goodbye, with the devastating betrayal at its centre, stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Long Goodbye is among the ten top adaptations tagged by Guardian and Observer critics, Benjamin Black's five favorite works of noir, Melissa Albert's top four books that will drive all but the staunchest teetotaler to the nearest cocktail shaker, some Guardian readers' ten best writers in novels, David Nobbs's top five faked deaths in fiction, Malcolm Jones's ten favorite crime novels, David Nicholls' ten favorite film adaptations, and John Mullan's list of ten of the best fake deaths in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue