GARY DOBBS AT THE TAINTED ARCHIVE: And the best crime author of all time is.....

Friday, 16 February 2018

And the best crime author of all time is.....

Browsing aimlessly, as you do, I came across a 2015 readers poll held by WH SMITH to find the best crime writer of all time - it was an interesting list with Brit author, Peter James winning the top spot for best crime writer EVER.

WH SMITH wrote in their blog -

After reading your recommendations for some fantastic detectives, underrated crime books and books that would work well on the big screen, we had an inkling that there were a few fans of certain authors in our midst. As the crime & thriller period of #WHSBookmarks started to draw to an end, we decided to take it to the vote and cruelly ask you to narrow down all your favourite authors to choose just one to be the best crime/thriller author of all time. The nominations came pouring in, including a huge mix of authors, from the classics who are considered the godfathers/mothers of their sub-genre to modern bestsellers to little-heard-of names that have made a big impact on you. In the end though, our winner won the crown by a landslide, leaving us in no doubt as to who you think is worthy of the title of The Best Crime/Thriller Author of all Time.

I do like Peter James myself, but is he the best ever? I suppose it's all subjective but the list is interesting with some surprises - household names like P D James and Thomas Harris only poll at 19 and 18 respectively. And Ruth Rendell should most certainly be higher than 13 - Conan Doyle comes in at 21 while the poet of crime, Raymond Chandler is a miserable 47. Still lists like this are perfect for debate - below is the full list from 1 to 99 and here 's the LINK to the original article.

AND THE FULL LIST READS:

1. Peter James

2. James Patterson

3. Val McDermid

4. Ian Rankin

5. Agatha Christie

6. Martina Cole

7. Sheila Quigley

8. R. C. Bridgestock

9. Karin Slaughter

10. Tess Gerritsen

11. Mark Billingham

12. Patricia Cornwell