I don't really know any books or authors in this category, except for Patricia Cornwall, Trace. I have started to read this book and like the style. Are there any other good books like this?
Lots of them. May I start with an old classic: The Postman Always Rings Twice. Then there's James Patterson's Alex Cross series. The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons are both crime/thriller novels, as are all of Dan Brown's books. I personally recommend anything written by Brad Meltzer as well. Some of his early books were crime/thriller involving lawyers in the John Grisham fasion (speaking of John Grisham, he's recommended too.) His latest book has become a personal favorite of mine: The Book of Lies is a crime/thriller involving the 1932 murder of Jerry Seigal's father, which lead to the creation of Superman. Other big names in crime/thriller are Patricia Cornwall (who you mentioned), Michael Connelly, David Baldacci (I loved "The Collectors" by Baldacci.) There are many lists you can google, for example http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/crime-thriller
I agree with John Grisham and James Patterson (specifically his Alex Cross series and his Woman's Murder Club series). The problem with John Grisham, though, is that after you read a couple of his books, they all start to sound the same. Iris Johanson also writes pretty decent thriller/crime/mystery type novels. And, I mean, Silence of the Lambs is fantastic as well; I actually found the book significantly better than the movie.
Funny, I was thinking that James Patterson's books all start to sound the same. The biggest problem I have with James Patterson is that his characters lack depth. His villains, in particular... well, he has only one kind of villain: Pure evil. No sympathetic villain to be found in a James Patterson book. His books ARE fun, though. I've read a couple of Iris Johanson's books. They're pretty good!
I love BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker. It's about a murderer who goes around killing people by breaking their bones, without breaking their skin, until it kills them. And the main character is the one who's accused of being this BoneMan. Don't worry, that's not a spoiler. And, as usual, Mr. Dekker makes his villain to be a quirky psycho. I love that.
John Katzenbach is a pretty good thriller writer. Especially "The Analyst". It was on my top ten books for quite a long time.
James Lee Burke is pretty good, too. His recovering alcoholic MC is complex, and the background of Louisiana culture is really a character of its own. Plus, his mysteries are intelligent and clean cut. You might check him if you like southern authors. My favorites of his are Cadillac Jukebox, In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead, and Heaven's Prisoners. All three are probably his most popular, but they came to mind the quickest. I've read everything he's put out, save for his latest installment.
Just on the side, I thought Trace and Blow Fly were her weakest of the Scarpetta series. Her earlier stuff, I thought, was much better.
I liked Trace, but wasn't as happy with The Last Precinct. Scarpetta finished well, but was deadly slow in the early chapters.
Well, it is not a crime/thriller but i suggest you read Next by Michael Crichton. It is a thriller and very interesting. It almost has a crime feel to it, so it is close and i absolutely loved it.
Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr Ripley....amazing, so much tension. I can't stand James Patterson. He was an average author at best, and now he's more of a franchise than an author. He's only written one book himself in the past year (despite releasing 5-6 under his name, but "with" other authors...
