I like classic mystery stories as much as the next person; I can happily get lost in a Philip Marlowe or the Continental Op adventure. However, I’d love to see more stories featuring protagonists who aren’t straight white guys. I’d also like to see stories set in locations other than American cities.
This doesn’t mean I won’t print stories with a John Smith detective set in LA. It means I don’t see a lot of the other kinds of stories and I’d love for that to change. There are mysteries everywhere, crime touches all kinds of people. I’d like to see some genre stories reflecting that reality.
In terms of the kind of writing I like, here are a few mystery authors I enjoy (in no particular order):
Lawrence Block
John Harvey
Carol O’Connell
Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine
Alexander McCall Smith

What did you think?