Hi, due to ill health my husband has to sit still a lot.  He enjoys reading mysteries.  However, they need to be of a certain kind: very little cursing, no lurid sex scenes or violence, good moral basis.  Can anyone suggest such authors.  He will appreciate it, and so will I because I have to find the books for him.  Thanks, Donna Eggett

You know I can't think of any authors that don't add lurid sex scenes.  Stick with Agatha Christie books and he should be fine.

Would he enjoy the Ladies Number One Detective books?  Written by Alexander McCall Smith?  Or maybe Peter Tremayne.

MY HUSBAND IS RATHER PARTICULAR ABOUT THE BOOKS HE READS, BUT FINDS THE

LOUIS L'AMOUR BOOKS QUITE ENTERTAINING.    THEY WOULD BE CONSIDERED

WESTERN BOOKS, BUT, SINCE MY GUY LIKES MYSTERIES, TOO, THESE MIGHT BE OF

INTEREST TO YOUR HUSBAND, ALSO.   CHECK THEM OUT......

I recommend trying Phillip R Craig's Vineyard mysteries, lead character J W Jackson.  I think the good guys have a good moral basis.  Interesting main and secondary characters (Martha's Vineyard is a main character.)  Lots of humorous (to me) dialogue.  No lurid sex scenes.  Sex happens, but not on-stage.  There is some cursing, but mostly in conversation with the bad guys, not all through it.  The stories can be read in any order, but if he likes them, I think it is more satisfying to see JW's life develop in the order they were written.

I think there are about 17 total.  The last 2 or 3 are only available in HB so far.

Just thought of the Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael mysteries, if he likes the medieval setting.  I think they meet all his criteria.  There's quite a few of them. 

I have some others trying to come into my head.  Will add them in another message when they make it through.

Ellis Peters also has some modern-day mysteries, with an English setting. 

There are several other good series of medieval mysteries.  Margaret Frazer has one.  Frazer is also Monica Pulver, who has some excellent sort-of police procedurals about detective Peter Brichter.  I think they are best read in sequence.  (She also has the needlework series that starts with Crewel World, but not sure if he would like them.)

Sara Woods has some fine legal mysteries, based on an English lawyer.  I think they would be a fit, with the violence probably off-stage.

Has he tried Dick Francis?  Violence there might be more than he would like.  There is some sex and cursing, but I would not think of it as gratuitous.  I would start with the earlier ones if possible.

The Evan Evans mysteries might work.  I don't recall the author right now.  Welsh setting.

Dell Shannon / Elizabeth Linington / another pen name or two has several fine police procedural series.  There is some cursing and violence, but not in a way offensive to me.

Just remembered Lee Martin.  She has a fine series of police procedurals, about a Texas homicode detective with a very interesting home life.

I have not read them yet, but I have some of Sarah Graves' Home Repair is Homicide series.

I'll see if anything else pops up.

The books I am thinking of that would best meet his needs are the older ones, before popular styles and tastes changed so much.

Manning Coles' books are mostly spy stories rather than mysteries.   But I think he might enjoy them.  I've been through them several times.  Main character of many of them is Tommy Hambledon.  A Toast to Tomorrow is probably his best known, and many people's favorite.   They have a lot of humor.

Arthur W Upfield has a long series set in Australia.  The detective is Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, an educated outback tracker.

These are some authors that I really like, but who may have more "stuff" than he likes, though less of it than a lot of authors.  I think it would be worth him sampling them.  Tony Hillerman's Navajo country books, James D Doss Ute/Shaman books that have a lot of humor, Dana Stabenow's Alaskan setting, Virginia Lanier's Bloodhound books, Kate Wilhelm's legal thrillers about Barbara Holloway, Margaret Maron's Judge Deboarah Knott North Carolina books, Laurie R. King's books about the "retired" Sherlock Holmes and his new female apprentice, Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries, A. E. Maxwell's Fiddler and Fiora thrillers.

Do you have a library nearby?  If your library has a Friends of the Library organization, they might have a used-book sales area.  Typical prices are 50 cents for paperbacks, a dollar for hardbacks.  That can be a great way to try out new authors.

Elizabeth Peters - the Amelia Peabody series is very enjoyable.   It's not traditional mystery, it is very character driven, but they are extremely entertaining.

These mystery writers I have enjoyed :

Susan Wittig Albert

M.C. Beaton

Rhys Bowen

C.J. Box

Jane K. Cleland

Blaize Clement

Cleo Coyle

Deborah Crombie

Joanne Fluke

Earlene Fowler

Ann Granger

Sarah Graves

Kate Kingsbury

Ann Purser

Julia Spencer-Fleming

Victoria Thompson

Rebecca Tope

Jacqueline Winspear