response 31 of 53:

Jul 17 17:15 UTC 1998

I share some of Jan's interest in world-building mysteries, so 
I'll pass along a list of some I have enjoyed.
You may have to dig in the used shops for some of these:
 
Peter Dickinson:  his earliest novels all featured the same detective, 
      whose name escapes me; a man of decidedly average talents who
      stumbles into a series of murder cases in bizarre, closed mini-
      societies.  THE GLASS SIDED ANT'S NEST is set in a tribe of 
      aboriginal people who have been uprooted and relocated to a 
      group of London row houses.  SLEEP AND HIS BROTHER is set in an 
      asylum for children suffering from a strange neurological disorder.
      The last in the series, ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE, begins with the 
      detective, confined in a nursing home and suffering from dementia, 
      deciding to end his life; on the way to implement his decision 
      he stumbles over a corpse...
 
      Dickinson stopped writing series but continues working in odd 
      worlds.  KING & JOKER is set among the British Monarchy in an 
      alternate history.
 
James McClure:  novels mostly written in the 1970s and set in South 
      Africa, pairing a white policeman and a black policeman.
      Exceptionally high paranoia content.
 
William Marshall:  best known for a series of police procedurals 
      written in the 70s and 80s (and some in the 90s) set in colonial 
      Hong Kong, in the fictitious run-down neighborhood of Yellowthread
      Street.  Marshall's stock story structure intercuts one pretty grim 
      mystery with a pair of sillier ones; the sillier stories come to 
      happy endings and the grim story proceeds to its ending in a 
      cinematic explosion of violence.

Lindsay Davis:  has a series featuring a "private investigator" which 
      is set in Rome, 70 A.D.

Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo:  In a series of ten novels they set out to draw 
      portraits of contemporary Swedish society.  I consider the 
      "Martin Beck" series to be the most artful mystery series I have read.
      These should probably be read in order due to the slow-moving changes 
      in the detectives' lives which stretch through the series.
      If you're looking for cheerfulness, the Martin Beck stories may not 
      be your cup of hemlock; I love the characters but most of the stories
      are grim.