Top 3 Crime Series Novels that Should Be Made into Movies

One of the most popular book genres is the crime novel. Writers like Michael Connelly, John Sanford, Patricia Cornwell, Faye Kllerman, James Patterson, Stephen White, Iris Johansen, and Sandra Brown frequently produce novels that are hard to put down once you start reading. Some of these crime series would make great movies because they have well-developed realistic main characters, unique supporting characters, and deal with interesting cases. The Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child, the Eve Dallas novels by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb, and the Aloysius Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child would be particularly interesting as movies. The main characters' strong moral convictions and poignant human flaws would make great cinematic storytelling.

Lee Child -Jack Reacher Novels

The Jack Reacher series started with Killing Floor in 1997 and the 14th installment, 61 Hours, is due out in May 2010. Reacher is an ex-military policeman who finds himself in situations where he feels compelled to use his knowledge and experience to help people. Despite his nomadic existence with limited possessions few human connections, he repeatedly finds himself involved in dangerous situations. His strong sense of right and wrong and dislike of the strong preying on the weak lead him into the interesting situations that form the basis for this excellent series of thrillers.

Any of this series of books such as The Persuader, Gone Tomorrow, or Nothing to Lose would make great action films. A good choice to play Reacher is somebody like Christopher Meloni of NBC's long-running "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" or Max Martini who did a great job as a soldier on CBS's now canceled show "The Unit". Good picks for directors are Paul Greengrass who directed The Bourne Ultimatum and The Bourne Suptremacy or Sam Raimi who directed the three Spiderman movies.

Nora Robert writing as J.D. Robb - Eve Dallas novels

This series of crime novels is set in the future with New York Police and Security Department Lieutenant Eve Dallas as the main character. Dallas's character is one of the top cops in the city and although haunted by her own past, she always stands for the victims of the homicides she investigates. With great supporting characters such as her husband Roarke, who's questionable past sometimes causes problems for the by-the-book cop, steady and smart-aleck partner Delia Peabody, and Roarke's prickly butler Summerset, these books would make great movies. The futuristic aspects would make great backdrops and provide interesting elements to many of the crime stories.

Some good casting choices for Eve would be Jessica Alba or Stana Katic of ABC's "Castle". Gerard Butler or Jonathon Ryhs Meyers of "The Tudors" would be great at playing Roarke. Good choices for supporting rolls include Patrick Stewart or Liam Neeson for Summerset, and Sarah Drew as Peabody. Michael Bay would be a great choice to direct.

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - Aloysius Pendergast novels

Pendergast is a brilliant, eccentric, and mysterious FBI agent with an extraordinary knowledge about many subjects. He is haunted by the actions of his brother, Diogenes, who commits crimes throughout the series of books. Pendergsat is a Holmesian type character with excellent deductive and investigative skills, who seems to be a fallback to an earlier time with his formal dialogue and mode of dress.

Good casting choices for Aloysius would be Robert Downey Jr. or Jason Isaacs and for Diegenes, Ralph Fiennes or Jude Law. Good choices for director would be Ron Howard or Martin Campbell.

These are excellent novels to read and the right cast, director, and screenplay could turn them into engaging and entertaining films.

Sources:
http://www.imdb.com/