K Wilson,

If you liked Agatha C and the time period I would recommend N'gaoi Marsch.

If you want something comtemporary and not so "gentlemanny" I have a few favourite books I recommend to my friends;

"The mermaid singing" Val McDermid

"The Poet" Michael Connelly

"Kiss the girls" James Patterson

If you want to laugh as well I recommend Janet Evanovich, I liked "One for the money" best.

And anything by Marcia Muller, Sue Grafton, Jonathan Kellerman and Patricia Cornwell.

K Wilson

If you like A. Christie, you will probably enjoy most of the authors who write what are described as "cozies", which are exactly what Dame Agatha did so well. The one Katarina mentioned - correct spelling Ngaio Marsh - is great, as is Dorothy Sayres. The works of all three are considered classics.

Others you might look for include Charlotte MacLeod, Jill Churchill, Anne George, Aaron Elkins, Veronica Black, Peter Lovesey and Hazel Holt. They all write the kind of books Dame Agatha did - good characters, interesting stories, great puzzles - all without a lot of vulgarity, violence or brutality.

Enjoy!

A couple more you might like are:

Claudia Bishop Mary Bowen Hall

What about Colin Dexter if you want good characters, interesting stories, great puzzles - all without a lot of vulgarity, violence or brutality. Or Ruth Rendell.

Marsha; Sorry about the N'gaio, I suppose you mean Dorothy Sayers? ;-)

If you've never read some of the following, highly suggest them: A Kiss Before Dying (Ira LevinThe Bride Wore Black (Cornell Woolrich)Turn of the Screw (Henry James)The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)Blind Side (Wiliam Bayer)

Just discovered this spot and think it's great since I'm always looking for new authors. I hate when I read the last one of their books (especially if they're no longer alive). I like D. Sayers, too, so will check out all these. Lilian Jackson Braun's cat books are "clean" with intersting characters.

I'd really like to recommend Minette Walters' books, especially 'The Scold's Bridle'. The memory of her books lingers with you long after you have read them.

I really enjoy British authors. Could anyone recommend any, besides the more popular ones like Agatha Christie (read them all!)?

I like here very much too. I saw "The Sculptress" on PBS and was so impressed, I immediately went out and bought "The Dark Room." That was very good - and very dark indeed. I have "The Echo" but have not read it yet. Have you read other books by her, Simmi?

didn't see any mention of josephine tey, patricia wentworth or mary roberts rinehart. if you like agatha you'll like those three.

And Daphne duMaurier's Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel. Two musts, if you havn't read either one.

To Simmi, who asked about British authors, I'd recommend Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe series. I got hooked by watching a few episodes on A&E, but--much as I enjoyed the TV series--the books are A LOT better--dark and funny and convoluted and logical, all at the same time.

I don't see Margaret Maron on this list. Her book, Bootlegger's Daughter won a lot of awards. It is great!