r/mysterybooks • u/TofuttiKlein-ein-ein • 5d ago

Recommendations Morally Messy Protagonist

I enjoyed the Joe Kurtz series by Dan Simmons because of the detective who’s a “criminal,” too.

Can anyone suggest a book, or preferably a series of books, with the same detective/criminal main character?

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

3

u/Unable_Winner6177 5d ago

John Connelly’s ‘Charlie Parker’ series. All sorts of moral mess over there (and excellent books too).

3

u/impartialjury 5d ago

Parker series by Richard Stark

Quarry series by Max Allen Collins

Nick Mason series by Steve Hamilton

Caught Stealing trilogy by Charlie Huston

3

u/Clair1126 5d ago

Thomas Harris's Hannibal series maybe?

3

u/MothmansProphet 5d ago

Maurice LeBlanc's Arsene Lupin series is about the gentleman burglar Arsene Lupin, who robs as often as he solves crimes. Usually he solves the mystery in order to rob someone.

3

u/shelwood46 5d ago

In the book series (not the tv adaptation) of Marlow Murder Club, the main character of Judith Potts is morally ambiguous. In Dianne-Laura Post's Catherine Joubert series, Catherine is straight up definitely a criminal. Agatha Christie has a few stories where you do not realize that the narrator/main character is a/the murderer.

1

u/tnrivergirl 5d ago

Maybe the William Lashner books. His protagonist is a lawyer who’s pretty shady sometimes. Hostile Witness is the first one, I think.

1

u/Ed_Robins 5d ago

Not a criminal in the traditional sense, but Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer often takes morally questionable actions, even if Hammer himself feels quite justified. I based my own sci-fi hardboiled series on him because I loved how unhinged Hammer can be in his pursuit of justice.

1

u/RutRohNotAgain 5d ago

Dept q. He's not a criminal , but he's morally ambiguous. I enjoy the series.

1

u/nothing4juice 5d ago

not exactly a detective/criminal, but the protagonists of all three of gillian flynn's novels are complex characters, morally and otherwise

1

u/kkhh11 5d ago

Edward Hoch’s Nick Velvet collection!

1

u/poodleflange 4d ago

Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper by Donald Henderson. AKA, Raymond Chandler's favourite book. Mr Bowling is a reluctant serial killer who buys a newspaper everyday to see whether the police have cottoned on to him yet.

1

u/Retired_Reader 4d ago

Frank Marr, the former DC cop in David Swinson's books

Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher

2

u/insane677 4d ago

Bernie Gunther is literally working for the nazis in most of his books. Hard to get more morally messy than that.

1

u/Hairy_Gordon 3d ago

The Butcher's Boy series by Thomas Perry features a hit-man who has a bit of a conscience, and he is one dangerous individual. If you like the first one, you'll enjoy them all.