If you've ever read Stephen R. Donaldson

[ZenLefty]

2. I have, and I *kind of* liked them

He wrote them under a pen name, for various reasons, so they're not often lumped in with his fantasy fiction.

The mysteries are well written. I don't think the plots were all that great nor were they particularly mysterious. More like a seedy detective series. I felt like he was trying too hard to be gritty, and make his stories edgy and brutal. Donaldson goes to great lengths to make his characters go through total hell, but not in an absurd way. They face real problems like alcoholism, shame, and depression. Semi-spoiler: [font color=white]The part where the main character has to button his wife's shirt for her because she only has one arm is all the more painful because he's partly responsible for her lost limb. Or, at least, he blames himself. (And she's none too happy about it either...) [/font]

So they're not exactly Ross Poirot or Nancy Drew. But they are well written, and if you don't mind the darkness and melancholia you'll probably like them.