Find your next favorite crime fiction writer with our list of 14 top authors like Ann Cleeves and get to know thrilling new reads to keep you hooked.
Ann Cleeves first published her novel A Bird in the Hand in 1986, a crime story about a birdwatcher who investigates a brutal crime and pins the murderer before he can kill again. Since then, she has written 38 books and received the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger, the highest British accolade for crime writing.
Cleeves was born in 1954 in England to a working-class family and became a New York Times Bestselling author for her most famous characters Vera Stanhope in ITV’s Vera television series and Jimmy Perez in BBC One’s Shetland. Her atmospheric mysteries, complex character development, and ability to weave psychological depth into traditional detective fiction have earned her a devoted following worldwide.
For more recommendations, you might also enjoy exploring authors like Harlan Coben, authors like Gillian Flynn, best detective novel series.
What Makes Ann Cleeves Special
Cleeves excels at creating immersive settings that become characters themselves—from the windswept Shetland Islands to the rugged Northumberland countryside. Her protagonists are flawed, realistic, and deeply human. Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, in particular, breaks the mold of typical crime fiction heroes with her unconventional appearance, sharp wit, and intuitive investigative style.
In 2025, Cleeves continues to influence the crime fiction landscape, with new adaptations and international recognition cementing her place as one of Britain’s premier mystery writers. Her work bridges the gap between cozy mysteries and gritty police procedurals, offering readers the best of both worlds.
Here Are The Best Authors Like Ann Cleeves
1. Peter James, 1948 - Present
Peter James is the Number 1 Bestselling Author of crime and mystery novels in the United Kingdom. He is best known for his series Roy Grace, which has been translated into 37 languages and with over 8 million copies sold worldwide. ITV also adapted the book for the show Grace, which covers the first two entries Dead Simple and Looking Good Dead.
James brings a forensic authenticity to his work, having researched extensively with real police departments. His Roy Grace series, now spanning over 20 books, showcases the evolution of modern policing while maintaining the psychological complexity that Cleeves fans appreciate.
“The world is changing and people don’t like change.”
Peter James, Perfect People
2. Louise Penny, 1958 - Present
Louise Penny has written 17 mystery novels featuring her famous character, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, making her the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail Bestselling Author. She also won the CWA Dagger and Agatha Award. Penny’s book, A Fatal Grace, was awarded the best novel in 2007 as the character Gamache tried to trace down a chilling murder in a frozen lake from one of the villages of Quebec.
Penny’s Three Pines series has become a cultural phenomenon, with Amazon Prime adapting the books for television in 2022. Her exploration of small-town secrets and the darkness that can lurk beneath idyllic surfaces mirrors Cleeves’ approach to rural crime fiction.
“When someone stabs you it’s not your fault that you feel pain.”
Louise Penny, A Fatal Grace
3. Elly Griffiths, 1963 - Present
Elly Griffiths is a pen name used by Domenica de Rosa. She is a recipient of the Mary Higgins Clark Award for her The Crossing Places, the first book in her Ruth Galloway series. The novel relays a child’s bones discovered by a forensic archaeologist that unravels the decade-long mystery of a missing girl. If you liked Cleeves’ Frozen from her Vera Stanhope series, try reading Griffiths’ The Crossing Places.
Griffiths brings archaeological expertise to crime fiction, creating a unique blend of historical mystery and contemporary investigation. Her Ruth Galloway series has expanded to include over 15 books, each exploring the intersection of past and present crimes.
“To lose your child, to have her spirited away like something from a fairy tale, surely that must be every mother’s nightmare.”
Elly Griffiths, The Crossing Places
4. Richard Osman, 1970 - Present
Richard Osman’s debut novel The Thursday Murder Club holds the record for the fastest-selling debut of all time. He snatched the British Book Awards author in 2021 after the release. The book is about a group of villagers solving a crime who unwittingly became a part of a murder mystery. Following his first novel, Osman released his second entry, The Man Who Died Twice, which sold 114,202 copies in just three days.
Osman’s background in television brings a unique perspective to crime fiction, combining humor with genuine mystery. His Thursday Murder Club series has revitalized the cozy mystery genre for modern readers, proving that elderly amateur detectives can be just as compelling as professional investigators.
“People without a sense of humor will never forgive you for being funny.”
Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club
5. Michael Redhill, 1966 - Present
Michael Redhill won the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2017 and received $100,000 for his Bellevue Square, a thriller novel about a main character and her counterpart with a dark agenda. Cleeves’ 10th book in Vera Stanhope’s series, The Rising Tide, has the same storyline as Redhill’s Consolation, a contemporary story that reveals how a mysterious history connects to an unsolved crime.
Redhill’s work explores the psychological complexity of identity and memory, themes that resonate with Cleeves’ character-driven narratives. His ability to blur the lines between reality and perception creates the same unsettling atmosphere found in the best of Cleeves’ work.
“Charity should be blind to everything but need. Our personal feelings should not determine whose starvation is legitimate.”
Michael Redhill, Consolation
6. Liz Andrews, Unknown - Present
Liz Andrews is the writer behind the Harley Henrickson mystery series. In the first book, Murder Comes to Notchey Creek, the main character follows a trail of murders that began on Halloween. Andrews poured her clever and intriguing versions of plots and twists into this novel, showcasing her passion for mystery crime writing.
Andrews represents the new generation of indie crime writers who are finding success in the digital age. Her small-town mysteries echo the intimate community dynamics that Cleeves portrays so effectively in her Northumberland and Shetland settings.
“As she digs deeper, she discovers the stranger, in reality, was no stranger at all, and had ties to many highly-esteemed citizens in town.”
Liz Andrews, Murder Comes to Notchey Creek
7. Kylie Brant, Unknown - Present
Kylie Brant has published over 40 award-winning novels about mystery and suspense. She is a three-time Rita nominee, the highest award for suspense romance writers in America. Her books have been translated into 18 languages and published in 29 countries. Brant’s most famous mystery novel is Pretty Girls Dancing, a murder investigation about two missing girls and a serial killer.
Brant’s expertise in romantic suspense adds an emotional depth to crime fiction that appeals to readers who appreciate Cleeves’ focus on relationships and character development alongside the mystery elements.
“People didn’t always act the way they should. Not even grown-ups. Sometimes the people who were supposed to protect you from monsters were monsters themselves.”
Kylie Brant, Cold Dark Places
8. Kate Ellis, 1977 - Present
Most of the novels Kate Ellis wrote are about mystery crimes and their historical connections. Her first book, The Merchant’s House, kickstarted her career through the character Wesley Peterson. She also became a member of the Crime Writers Association with 30 books that sold over a million copies worldwide.
Ellis combines archaeological detective work with modern policing, creating dual-timeline narratives that uncover how past crimes echo into the present. This historical element adds the same depth and richness that Cleeves brings to her exploration of island and rural communities.
“As far as Rachel Tracey was concerned, builders who tried their luck with lone women were pretty low down on the evolutionary ladder.”
Kate Ellis, The Marriage Hearse
9. Nicolas Obregon, 1984 - Present
Nicolas Obregon published his 2017 novel Blue Light Yokohama, the first book in his series featuring the character Inspector Iwata. In this book, Iwata investigates the slaughter of an entire family with a disturbing crime scene and no apparent motive. Obregon worked as a travel writer and drew from his experiences in Japan.
Obregon brings an international perspective to crime fiction, setting his dark mysteries in contemporary Japan. His atmospheric writing and focus on the psychological impact of violence on investigators mirrors Cleeves’ approach to showing how cases affect her protagonists personally.
“The lights of the city are so pretty.”
Nicolas Obregon, Blue Light Yokohama
10. Quintin Jardine, 1945 - Present
Quintin Jardine published his first book, Skinner’s Rules, in 1993. It highlights his vast imagination by narrating a mysterious and brutal crime conspiracy. Over his career, he wrote 54 books, with three best-selling detective novels featuring his most famous characters, Bob Skinner, Oz Blackstone, and Primavera Blackstone.
Jardine’s prolific output and long-running series demonstrate the same commitment to character development over time that makes Cleeves’ work so compelling. His Scottish settings and complex police procedurals offer similar atmospheric depth.
“She never asked. She waited for the shrapnel buried in his soul to work its own way to the surface.”
Quintin Jardine, Skinner’s Rules
11. G.M. Malliet, 1951 - Present
G.M. Malliet is the author of Death of a Cozy Writer, which introduced the St. Just Mystery series. The book won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and was chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Books of 2008. Among Millet’s recent books released are Invitation to a Killer and Augusta Hawke.
Malliet bridges the gap between traditional British mysteries and contemporary crime fiction. Her ecclesiastical mysteries featuring Father Max Tudor combine the village setting intimacy that Cleeves masters with spiritual and moral complexity.
“For it was a truth universally acknowledged that a single vicar must be in want of a wife.”
G.M. Malliet, Wicked Autumn
12. Julia Spencer-Fleming, 1961 - Present
The Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne is Julia Spencer-Fleming’s New York Times Bestselling mystery series that won five major awards. The series consists of nine books about a priest investigating a world of trouble and murder. If you appreciate Ann Cleeves’ The Rising Tide, you’ll also be interested in Fleming’s first book, In the Bleak Midwinter.
Spencer-Fleming’s series explores the intersection of faith and crime, creating morally complex narratives that examine how ordinary people respond to extraordinary circumstances. Her character development over the course of the series matches Cleeves’ commitment to showing how repeated exposure to crime affects investigators.
“Because the things you have, and the neighborhood you live in, doesn’t have anything to do with what kind of human being you are.”
Julia Spencer-Fleming, In the Bleak Midwinter
13. Rebecca Tope, 1948 - Present
Rebecca Tope is the author of 43 books with four major murder mystery series. She is known for the character Thea Osborne, a house sitter who unraveled a tragic and intriguing crime in a village orchestrated in the first book, A Cotswold Killing. Tope is also the novel ghostwriter of the ITV series Rosemary and Thyme.
Tope’s focus on rural British settings and the secrets that simmer beneath picturesque village life directly parallels Cleeves’ approach. Her house-sitting protagonist provides a fresh perspective on the outsider-investigator trope that Cleeves uses so effectively.
“Women like this exploited a person’s natural civility, marching through the gaps left by an inability to speak the naked truth.”
Rebecca Tope, The Cotswold Ordeal
14. Deborah Crombie, 1952 - Present
Deborah Crombie is a New York Times Bestselling Author behind A Killing of Innocents. It features the characters Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James as they solve the murder of a young woman before it gets public. The plot of this crime novel is similar to Cleeves’ Murder in My Backyard.
Crombie’s long-running series featuring married police detectives demonstrates the same attention to relationship dynamics and character evolution that makes Cleeves’ work so engaging. Her London-based mysteries provide urban counterpoints to Cleeves’ rural settings while maintaining similar psychological depth.
“Friends come and go, Lewis, but the things you learn will always be yours, to use as you will.”
Deborah Crombie, Kissed A Sad Goodbye
Why These Authors Appeal to Ann Cleeves Fans
These writers share several key elements that make Ann Cleeves’ work so compelling: they create strong, flawed protagonists who grow throughout their series; they understand that setting is crucial to atmosphere; and they recognize that the best crime fiction explores not just “whodunit” but “why” and “how does this affect everyone involved.”
Whether you’re drawn to the psychological complexity of Louise Penny’s Quebec villages, the archaeological mysteries of Elly Griffiths, or the humor-tinged investigations of Richard Osman, each of these authors offers something special for readers who appreciate Cleeves’ nuanced approach to crime fiction.
The beauty of exploring these authors is discovering how different writers approach similar themes. While Cleeves excels at the windswept isolation of island communities, others might focus on urban decay, historical mysteries, or international settings—but all share that fundamental understanding of what makes crime fiction truly engaging: memorable characters facing extraordinary circumstances while remaining recognizably human.
