Last year I recommended a half dozen new authors expressly guaranteed to please, surprise and thrill and it proved a most popular feature, widening your reading horizons and introducing you to a whole new bunch of writers, characters, heroes and anti-heroes to keep you turning those criminal pages and burn the midnight reading oil.

Click here to see Maxim Jakubowsli's previous Crime Duo selections.

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Maxim has compiled the Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, a must have anthology of the best short crime fiction. Click here to find out more.

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Elementary then, my dear Watson: here are some further suggestions...

Like John Le Carre; Read Charles Cumming
Le Carre might have left the Cold War behind him, but his books still have the power to fascinate and raise questions about the world we live in. Cumming is a younger British author who treads in Le Carre's original footsteps, and following a series of unputdownable thrillers, has now achieved a breakthrough with his latest, returning to the murky days of the Iron Curtain.

Recommended:
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR byJohn Le Carre
THE TRINITY SIX by Charles Cumming

Like Douglas Adams; Read Malcolm Pryce
When you think crime, you think grim and serious. But a whole bunch of mystery authors have successfully introduced a healthy dose of humour into their writing. Who said death couldn't sometimes be funny, or at least witty? Simon Brett, Mike Ripley and the American Master of the form Donald Westlake have all excelled here, but a perfect example to bring a smile to your lips was Douglas Adams, on vacation from his Hitchikers Guide.

Recommended:
THE DIRK GENTLY OMNIBUS by Douglas Adams
ABERYSTWYTH MON AMOUR by Malcolm Pryce

Like Patricia Cornwell; Read Mo Hayder
The natural curiosity in all of us craves for all the intimate details of crime scenes and autopsies however gruesome they might prove. Which explains the undoubted success of the forensic exploits of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta. There is nothing gratuitous about this appetite for the naked truth. Similarly, the criticism that Mo Hayder sometimes encounters because of the highly realistic and gory details her novels display, is unjustified. Sometimes the reality of murder is unpalatable. Great writers have the talent to make you shudder and look away from the page.

Recommended:
PORT MORTUARY  by Patricia Cornwell
BIRDMAN by Mo Hayder

Like Agatha Christie; Read Ngaio Marsh
For many readers nothing can beat the Golden Age of British Classic Crime, when Marple and Poirot sleuthed their gentle way through country villages and houses, solving puzzles with no hurry in the world. It's a time we are nostalgic for, devoid of violence, aberrant psychology and all the ills of modern days. Many still write in that tradition, but only Christie's contemporaries achieve the same effect.

Recommended:
THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLE by Agatha Christie
THE NGAIO MARSH COLLECTION by Ngaio Marsh

Like Lee Child; Read Richard Montanari
Crime and mystery is not always detection and puzzle solving and the virtues of action and adventure should not be underrated. Both can coexist peacefully, just like art  films and action movies share the silver screen. The non-stop exploits of Child's Jack Reacher and the breathless intrigues of Richard Montanari are the technicolour IMAX explosions on our bookshelves.

Recommended:
61 HOURS by Lee Child
THE ECHO MAN by Richard Montanari

Like Stieg Larsson; Read Camilla Lackberg
With Rooney Mara (from THE SOCIAL NETWORK) about to play Lisbeth Salander, opposite Daniel Craig, in the US remake of the Swedish films of the books, the interest in Larsson and Nordic crime fiction is not about to slow down.
So, you've read the Wallander and Harry Hole books too; why not investigate Patrik Hedstrom?

Recommended:
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson
THE GALLOWS BIRD by Camilla Lackberg