Books Similar to J.M. Dalgliesh, and Why Fans Love Them

If you’ve raced through J.M. Dalgliesh’s Hidden Norfolk books and want that feeling again, start with LJ Ross, Elly Griffiths, Joy Ellis or JD Kirk. They share what Dalgliesh does so well. A windswept British coast you can almost feel. A detective who reads like a real person, working a case that stands on its own while the people around him grow from one book to the next. Here’s what fans love about his writing, and where to find more of it.

What J.M. Dalgliesh fans love

A few things keep readers coming back. Most of all it’s the setting. His north Norfolk coast is bleak and beautiful, and it shapes the mood of every case rather than sitting behind it. Then there’s DI Tom Janssen himself, a decent copper with a quiet, dogged way about him and a team you grow fond of. And the plotting earns its keep. Each book is a fair murder mystery you can read on its own, told in lean prose that never wastes your time. Add some dry humour and the odd thread of warmth, and you get books people finish in a sitting or two.

LJ Ross, for the windswept coast

If the Norfolk setting was the hook, LJ Ross is your next read. Her DCI Ryan series is set on the Northumberland coast, all ruined castles and cold sea, with small communities that keep long memories. Like Dalgliesh, she sells by the bucketload without a big publisher behind her, and the books are short and gripping and easy to binge. Start with Holy Island.

Elly Griffiths, for Norfolk itself

For readers who can’t let go of the county, Elly Griffiths sets her Ruth Galloway series in the same salt marshes and big skies. Galloway is a forensic archaeologist rather than a detective, which gives the mysteries a different flavour, but the eerie Norfolk coast and the slow-building characters will feel like home. The Crossing Places is book one.

Joy Ellis, for the flat, eerie fens

Joy Ellis writes the kind of atmosphere Dalgliesh fans crave, only she moves it to the Lincolnshire Fens, flat and misty and faintly unsettling. Her DI Nikki Galena books are quick and twisty, with real warmth under the grit. If you like a strong lead and a setting that gets under your skin, this is an easy one to fall into.

JD Kirk, for the humour and pace

If it was the dry wit and the speed you loved, try JD Kirk’s DCI Logan series, set in the Scottish Highlands. The banter between the team is sharper and funnier than most, the plots move fast, and there are plenty of books to work through. Start with A Litter of Bones.

If you want the same hook with more pace

Here’s where I’ll be frank about my own books. If what you love is a British detective you can follow and a case that pulls you along, but you fancy something faster and more international, my DI Todd “Ratso” Holtom thrillers might be your next stop. Same British lead, same need to know what happens next, only the plots run harder and cross more borders, from London to Las Vegas. The latest in the five book series is Deadly Mindset. The first, Hard Place,  was reviewed “as the best British crime novel I’ve read this year.

Questions readers ask

What kind of books does J.M. Dalgliesh write?

British police procedurals, mostly. He’s best known for the Hidden Norfolk series with DI Tom Janssen, and the darker Dark Yorkshire series with DI Nathaniel Caslin. Think atmospheric settings and fair murder plots, written lean and fast.

Who should I read if I’ve finished the Hidden Norfolk books?

LJ Ross and Elly Griffiths are the closest for the coastal setting, Joy Ellis for the atmosphere, and JD Kirk if you want more humour. If you’d rather a faster, more international thriller with a British lead, try my own Ratso series.

Are J.M. Dalgliesh’s books a series or standalone?

Both, in a way. Each book solves its own case, so you can pick one up cold, but the characters carry over and develop, so most readers end up reading them in order anyway.

For more names to line up, here’s my pick of the Top 10 British crime authors worth reading right now, and if you’re choosing a new series, this is what makes a great crime thriller.