Fiction Books in a Series

If you would like to recommend a series, put the author's name in the subject line, with the series' main character and position in parenthesis.

Example: Burroughs, Edgar Rice (Tarzan-adventurer)

In your post, tell where it takes place, whether it's a love story or porno, mystery, family, science fiction, fantasy, adventure or historical novel.

If you have a link that lists all of the books in the subject author's series, please include.

If someone lists a series you're familiar with, please reply with your comments whether favorable or critical. Subject is whatever you want it to be...



PS
A list of non-fiction books set up like the above would be nice too. Go to it..especially if it's about birds, gardening, ufo's, etc. Probably it would be a better idea to put the Topic in the subject line first, then the author. Whatever idea somebody comes up with is fine.

This is the very first series book I ever read - it came in a huge box from Ebay that my daughter ordered - It was called Irrestiable Impulse. I loved that book and was amazed to find that there were many others that preceded it and followed it. Hadn't read more than 10 fiction books in the last 20 or so years. Didn't even know that there were series books.

Takes place mostly in NY City. The sewers under the city are filled with tunnels, rats, creeps, and bums. The villains, and weirdos that subject characters associate with and the humour of the marvelous NY City cops etc., made me feel lucky to make this find. All the books are listed here:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/T_Authors/Tanenbaum_Robert-K.html

Don't bother with anything after Resolved - Tanenbaum got a new ghost writer who sucks.

I'll add a few underneath this post. I love continuing characters.

Mostly set in New Iberia, Louisiana, although some of the later ones made it up to Montana.

Dave is an on-again/off-again police detective/private citizen who has plenty of his own demons to confront.


Looks like there are 18 books in the Robicheaux series so far:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lee_Burke

In my opinion, Burke is one of the best at making you feel the atmosphere. You're not just along for the ride in his books, you share the mood and smell the bayou.

especially when he's reading dialogue.

Not much to say that hasn't already been said in this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=208x22764


Link to a list of the 15 Jack Reacher books:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Reacher

(Be careful buying on Amazon; some of the novels were released with different titles in different countries. I've bought two separate titles that turned out to be the same book.)

Perfect for these long summer days.
The only thing, for me, is that I find I have to sit down and read them in rather large chunks, not just a few pages at a time, because the action and mood builds and builds.
Highly recommend. Have heard the later stories ( books 11, 12 and 13) are not as good, don't know yet.

Mostly adventure/detective novels, Coben does a good job of adding a twist that you don't see coming.

Myron Bolitar is a self-effacing former college basketball star whose career was derailed by a knee injury before his first pro game. He turned into a sports agent who, together with his rather odd (and deadly) friend Win, manages to find his way into and out of some interesting situations.

List of books:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myron_Bolitar

He's also got some very good stand-alones.


http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/C_Authors/Coben_Harlan.html

My favorite series since Spencer or Travis McGee. Harry Bosch is an LAPD homicide detective, so most of the stories are mysteries brought on in his line of work. Connelly has several other books with other series characters, but they occasionally intertwine in each others' story lines. Bosch has also made a cameo appearance in a Robert Crais book, meeting Elvis Cole on the front steps of LAPD HQ as they leave the building.

List of books and other appearances:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Bosch

(The rest of the Connelly books are just as good, IMO.)

More Los Angeles books; Cole and Pike are former LAPD officers turned private investigators. Cole is the straight-up, normal citizen-type guy, while Pike was a USMC scout-sniper who remains silent and very deadly throughout the series. Cole is the primary protagonist in most of the books, but Pike takes the lead in several of the later ones, probably because fans liked him more than Cole. (This fan does, anyway.) :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Pike#Overview

Very formulaic writing; Pitt works for the National Underwater Marine Administration (NUMA) exploring and saving the world's oceans (and usually the world). Invariably, he discovers some madman's plot to melt the artic, reverse the gulf stream, dry up the oceans, or rid the world of the human problem. Invariably, Pitt's life ends up in imminent danger with no possible hope of salvation, and invariably he somehow saves the day AND gets the girl.

In spite of that, every one of them is a fun read. Not to be missed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_Pitt

As seen in the movie, "The Bone Collector," Rhyme is a paralyzed former NYPD forensic specialist who has some rather amazing powers of deduction and evidence analysis.

Working almost exclusively from his townhouse in NYC (with his NYPD partner Amelia Sachs in the field), Rhyme manages to solve some complex and baffling cases that leave everyone else either stumped or going off in the wrong direction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Deaver

One of the few series I've found with a bad guy as the protagonist. John Rain is an assassin, working mostly in Japan and southeast Asia (in the books I've read so far). Formerly in the US Army in Vietnam, he had some experience working with the CIA there and expanded it into a full-time career when he got out.

Each of these books kept me up late at night until I finished; I couldn't wait to see what came next.

This is also a series I'd recommend reading in order, more so than some of the others I've listed.

Eisler himself is a former CIA agent and Cornell grad, and he writes for Huffpo, MichaelMoore.com and others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_eisler

Because there are recurring characters and a sub plot line that carries over.
Also, be sure to check the sequence of titles out in Wiki, British titles of the same book are different than
American titles.
Good bedtime reading.
I do not read much fiction, but enjoyed the Rain books a lot.The protagonist is very likable in a James Bond sort of way, and the Japanese settings and details quite intriguing.

If you have a kindle, you can download a short story featuring Rain and Delilah; it's basically an ambush scene as they depart dinner. If you like Rain "in action," it's a great (and fast) read.

Also includes the first couple of chapters of the forthcoming Rain novel, and some actual "tricks of the trade" from Eisler. All in all, well worth the couple dollars it cost on Amazon.

I don't know if Mitch Rapp changed or if I did, but I really enjoyed the first few books in this series. The last ones? Not quite as much.

Mitch Rapp is a counter-terrorism operative for the US who takes the fight to the terrorists. The books are all action-packed and adventure-filled, and I devoured the first several. The last ones have taken such a political slant that I have a hard time enjoying the action in between.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Flynn

eom

A famously irreverent character who reminds me of several Nelson DeMille protagonists, Drummond is a JAG lawyer in the Army who specializes in secret cases; those that can't be publicly tried do to the sensitive jobs of the participants.

He seems to muddle though each one, pissing off his temporary partners, his boss, the commanding officers of the bases he visits, and the judge and opposition. In spite of all of this, he gets to the bottom of the case and exposes the true corruption (as opposed to the guilt of those who appeared to have committed the crime).

I really like Drummond's character, and frequently find myself laughing out loud while reading these books. I'll bet most of us wish we could get away with talking to our bosses the way he does. :)

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/brian-haig/

I have one in the pile now to get to next week - The President's Assassin.

Your review of Haig's style is accurate - I laugh one minute and am worried and scared the next. Things always look hopeless when Drummond pulls a rabbit out of the hat..

I love picking peoples' brains to get more good books in as series. Thanks, mvccd1000.

This may not technically be a series, but the themes and locations are so similar that the continuing appearance of one of the lesser characters allows me to include it in this category.

While the protagonists of the novels may change, former Florida governor-turned homeless environmentalist Clinton Tyree (Skink) has recurring roles in several Hiaasen books.

From Wikipedia:
Hiaasen's fiction mirrors his concerns as a journalist and Floridian. His novels have been classified as "environmental thrillers" and are usually found on the mystery shelves in bookshops, although they can just as well be read as mainstream reflections of contemporary life.

He said this about Florida: "The Sunshine State is a paradise of scandals teeming with drifters, deadbeats, and misfits drawn here by some dark primordial calling like demented trout. And you'd be surprised how many of them decide to run for public office."

Hiaasen's Florida is a hive of greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, dumb blondes, apathetic retirees, intellectually challenged tourists, hard-luck redneck cooters, and militant ecoteurs. It is the same Florida of John D. MacDonald and Travis McGee, but aged another 20 years and viewed with a more satiric or sardonic eye.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Hiaasen

my first two reads (actually listens), both quite entertaining and yet also instructive, did not feature Skink or any other specific named repeat-character. These were Skinny Dip and Lucky You. The former focuses on wife "assisted" over the side of a cruise ship by hubby, but manages to survive and lives to torment him, he a no-good fraudulent aquatic researcher faking water chemistry in the Everglades on behalf of rich tomato-farmer client. Great characters, some of them pretty darn dark, including the narcotic-patch-stealing hit man.

The second involves two $14M winning lottery tix and the theft of one by the holder of the other, the amazingly greedy would-be White Clarion Aryan militia. The leader of this group does a dumbfoundingly good job of arguing with no facts or basis for much of what likely drives almost any DUer (or any vaguely sane person interested in arguing from information rather than bigotry or received propaganda) nuts about those who support current right-wing pogroms.

I wonder if they selectively edit for audio books? I know the character is in that book, and Wikipedia confirms it for me:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Tyree

There may be very few opening books of a series as gripping as "Point of Impact," the first Bob the Nailer book. Set throughout the US and even in Japan and Cuba, the series meanders back and forth as it traces the life of former USMC sniper Bob Lee Swagger, as well as his father Earl, a WWII vet and Arkansas State Trooper. There are a couple I'd rate as "average," but most of them are very good reads, and Point of Impact remains one of my favorite books ever. I've bought it, read it, and given it away at least 3 times. I never get it back because whoever I pass it to devours it and then HAS to share it with someone else they know. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Lee_Swagger

I haven't read any of these lately, but I rated them all very well when I did read them several years ago.

Set in Los Angeles, Alex Delaware is a former child phychologist turned forensic phychologist who - usually through his police consulting work - finds some pretty horrendous cases. Together with his friend Milo Sturgis, who is a gay LAPD detective, they uncover the "unsavory truth."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Delaware

I love irreverent characters like those in Nelson DeMille's books, or Brian Haig's Sean Drummond.

Wikipedia said it as well as I could:
Solomon vs. Lord series: Levine’s novels often have a sly, sardonic tone. Publishers Weekly wrote that Solomon vs. Lord had “genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Fans of Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry will enjoy this humorous Florida crime romp.” Though novels of crime fiction, they often revolve around the conflict between Victoria Lord, a by-the-book lawyer and her ethically challenged partner, Steve Solomon, who lives by “Solomon’s Laws:”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Levine

It's too bad there are only four books in this series.

MacDonald is dead these last 25 years, and his books are probably out of print, but the 21 novels in the Travis McGee series remain among my all-time favorites.

McGee was a "salvage consultant," or a problem fixer. He lived the life of a beach bum on a houseboat ("The Busted Flush"), and took his retirement in installments, working when he needed money and retiring when he didn't. Usually through word of mouth, someone would approach him with a mystery, or a missing item, or a person in trouble. He would tenaciously go after the problem until he found a resolution.

I love his views of Florida, too. Again, from Wikipedia:

However, unlike other fictional detectives such as Raymond Chandler's jaded and world-weary Philip Marlowe, McGee clings to what is important to him: his senses of honor, obligation, and outrage. In a classic commentary in Bright Orange for the Shroud, McGee muses,

"Now, of course, having failed in every attempt to subdue the Glades by frontal attack, we are slowly killing it off by tapping the River of Grass. In the questionable name of progress, the state in its vast wisdom lets every two-bit developer divert the flow into drag-lined canals that give him 'waterfront' lots to sell. As far north as Corkscrew Swamp, virgin stands of ancient bald cypress are dying. All the area north of Copeland had been logged out, and will never come back. As the glades dry, the big fires come with increasing frequency. The ecology is changing with egret colonies dwindling, mullet getting scarce, mangrove dying of new diseases born of dryness."

This was in a paperback originally published in 1965 when the general public was still not conversant with the concept of environmentalism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_McGee

Fitting that Parker should fall right below MacDonald on my list; these are my two favorite series of all time.

Parker may need no introduction - the series was made very famous by the TV series Spenser: For Hire. (One of the few times I thought a TV adaptation did a credible job of portraying the character of a novel.)

Spenser is a Boston private investigator who runs into the usual private eye cases, but solves them with his unusual literary flair.

There are some 40 novels in this series, so it'll last you a long time if you get hooked on them (although they may begin to seem a bit formulaic after the first 10 or 20, the writing is still great).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spenser_(character)

Barrington comes across as slightly pompous to me, but I still get so much enjoyment out of the novels that I keep reading them. A former NYC cop turned lawyer, Barrington is "of counsel" to a major NYC law firm - he takes the criminal cases they don't like to muddy their white shoes with.

With a recurring cast of enjoyable characters and a never-ending parade of women, Barrington seems to always enjoy the good life while getting to the bottom of whatever trouble finds him in each book. There are plenty, and they're all good reads.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Woods

Now on TV as well.

Three Books in the Miller-Payne series, and Johnny Wylde is a character in Book 1 of a new thriller series.

From Amazon:

What happens when you mix a psychotic South African gun dealer, some sadomasochistic arms-dealing Russians, a bar bouncer who made his bones in Afghanistan, a Buddhist stripper, a man-killing woman detective, assorted highly skilled dark side shooters, and the sunniest down-home female assassin on the market?

Things get WYLDE.

Lyrical sex. Poetic violence. And poetry.

For adults only. Rated R for graphic sex, violence, language and mordant humor.

Link:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/marcus-wynne/

I replied to the wrong message, but I don't mind having MacDonald's name up there twice; he's my all-time favorite! :)

Thanks to a couple of people who posted this recently, I tried some Dennis Lehane and I'm grateful for the recommend. And here I thought I knew all the good series, and always seem to learn a new one at DU..

Takes place in Dorchester, MA. The author's prose is so flowing, and the dialogue is fun, intelligent and spicy. I'm on 3rd in the series now and intend to do them all.

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/L_Authors/Lehane_Dennis.html

I didn't realize I'd read five of them! I always remember Lehane for Mystic River, Shutter Island, and Gone, Baby, Gone. It seems like the Kenzie/Genaro books were the minority of his. Looking at the link you posted, though, the series actually comprises most of his work. I'll need to pick up the newest one and see what's happened to them in the 10 years since they last appeared.

Norah Lofts. It starts out in about the 11th century with the story of a peasant and how he comes to acquire a small home of his own, and then follows his descendants and the others who live on that property up to the early 1950's. Really, really good.

Three different series and a bunch of stand-alones can be seen at:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/norah-lofts/

Suffolk House
1. The Town House (1959)
2. The House at Old Vine (1961)
3. The House at Sunset (1962)

Sir Godfrey Tallboys
1. Knight's Acre (1975)
2. The Homecoming (1975)
3. The Lonely Furrow (1977)
The Suffolk Trilogy (omnibus) (1986)

Gad's Hall
1. Gad's Hall (1977)
2. The Haunting of Gad's Hall (1978)
aka Haunted House

Some at: http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/L_Authors/Lofts_Norah.html

This is a new one to me, and I will look them up. Have you read them all or just the Town house series?

Norah Lofts ever wrote, most more than once. I was saddened when she died, meaning no more books from her.

What I like best is the way you'll often get information from a different narrator, either later on in a book, or often in another book that is connected in some way to the earlier one.

Even her stand-alone novels tend to take place in and around the same fictional part of England she wrote about, and so over time, once you've read most of the novels, you get a strong sense of the entire history of that place.

This series is best started from the beginning when Ben is a very young lawyer who has more problems than "real" attorneys. He takes poor clients because they can't afford a lawyer.

It starts out he gets a job with a very successful law practice and gets involved in murders, thefts, fraud, you name it. He's extremely honest and empathetic and gets to the bottom of things the hard way.

He ends up getting his own meager practice, trading services of the clients and chickens from a client in payment for his services. Naturally, he becomes successful with lots of help from his secretary and workers who owed him. Lots of smiles and laughs. Start with the first and you'll get hooked.

A police detective, his ex-brother-in-law Mike, is his best friend and they've risked their lives for each other.

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Bernhardt_William.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=208x17571

I love the books I've learned about from you people with good taste in books...

This is new to me - I saw a review that says these are humorous mysteries with an occasional vampire (Harry's half-brother) and are great escapist reading. It'll take a while, but will eventually read at least a couple to give him a try.

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Butcher_Jim.html

I've been a fan ever since. Harry reminds me of my youngest son.

Worldwar/Colonization series.

Multiple 2nd-person characters spanning many nationalities and both genders... there's no real "central character". Warsaw ghetto Jews, a Soviet combat pilot, captured American ballplayers, a jilted Manhattan Project physicist, a peasant Chinese woman, a British bomber crew, aGerman tank commander, and several different members of the alien invaders are all in the story.

Basic plot: in June 1942 lizard-like aliens land on Earth and begin a war of conquest. However, they underestimated human technological progress... their probes landed here 800 years ago, and they land expecting sword-swinging knights on horseback, not Spitfires, Panzer IVs, bazookas, railway artillery, and battleships. So they're trying to bring Earth under control for the follow-up colonization fleet. And having been unified for millenia, they are also unprepared for the intricacies of international politics and dogged human resistance.

The first series that takes place in the land of Videssos, the four books detail the arrival of 3 cohorts of a Roman legion from the Caesar era. The legionaries find themselves in a strange new land, with unfamiliar people and strange skies and, even stranger, a land where sorcery works.

Having no prospects to return home, the legion, under tribune Marcus Scaurus, signs this troops on as mercenaries with the Videssian monarchy during a time of external strife for the Empire. External strife turns to civil war, and the legion must navigate its way through politics and the vastness of the Empire to survive.

Cork is 3/4 Irish and 1/4 Ojibwe Indian. He's an ex-sheriff in Aurora, Minnesota. Stories are very exciting and somewhat sexy.

Start with the first one, Iron Lake, it's super good. Here's a link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/K_Authors/Krueger_William-Kent.html

he's NOTHING like Cork O'Connor.

Good mysteries in not-too-long books. Humor provided by goofy deputy and dispatcher in the Sheriff's office...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/C_Authors/Crider_Bill.html

Fairly good series, takes place in Manceford County, N. C. Richter formerly worked in Sheriff's office, now a PI.


Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/D_Authors/Deutermann_P-T.html

...that he had any recurring characters. Most of his stories were standalone. Being a Navy vet, I really liked the first few that took place in Naval settings.

I read the first three and I have the 4th on request....and it's a series with Cam Richter...

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/peter-t-deutermann/

They were really exciting, I thought...

I'm going to post another author now - really exciting Navy stuff...

Absorbing kind of off-beat mysteries, take place in Duluth, Minnesota, and other states...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/D_Authors/Deutermann_P-T.html

I haven't read the Peter Thorn & Helen Gray series (only 2); I just read the Jerry Mitchell on the submarine books (only 2). Very exciting..

If you haven't read any of Bond, enjoy ...


http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Bond_Larry.html

I started reading this series because it takes place in the Welsh border country around Hereford, England, where I spent a week with a tour group in 2006.

It's about a woman Anglican priest, widowed with a teenager daughter who dabbles in Neo-Paganism and Wicca, who serves a parish in a village outside Hereford and gets involved in some odd goings-on. In the later books, she gets into a relationship with a washed-up member of a rock band.

The mysteries are all borderline natural/supernatural, and you never know what's really happening.

An interesting twist on the English village mystery that takes place in a cathedral town that's an awful lot like Wells, England.

Simon Serailler is a police detective who paints in his spare time and lacks people skills, especially where women are concerned. (Think Doc Martin but with more class and less irritability.) He is one of a set of triplets, with a sister who is a local doctor and a brother who lives in Australia.

An unusual feature of this series is a mystery that is stretched out across two books (the second and third).

Alan Banks is a former London cop who has been transferred to a village in Yorkshire. As he solves the local mysteries, some of which put him in great danger, we watch his changing relationships with his wife and children.

The Rafferty character series takes place in Thailand - 4 books - I really liked this. It's about prostitutes and their life styles and how Rafferty falls in love with one of them.

The Grist series takes place in LA, and I've only read the first two books; there are six in all.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_Authors/Hallinan_Timothy.html

They can stand alone but I'd recommend reading them in order.

#1. "Bangkok 8"
#2. "Bangkok Tattoo"
#3. "Bangkok Haunts"
#4. "The Godfather of Kathmandu"

I've read all the Rafferty books and enjoyed them as well. Burdett's series is much quirkier and twisted than Hallinan's with a lot of zany humor to match the very original plotlines.

The books are narrated in first person by Bangkok detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep,who,like Rafferty,is half farang.

Takes place in Chicago. Pretty good - 3 books so far..

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_Authors/Harvey_Michael.html

Takes place in New York City and Malone is the bastard son of a former police commissioner. Only 3 books in this mystery series so far.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/C_Authors/Cockey_Tim.html#Hawke

Hawke has also written under name, Tim Cockey, another mystery series about a mortician and his Aunt Billie.

Mother was Cheyenne. English's father unknown -either name was English or he was of English nationality, mother not sure..

Same mother as English and Mad Dog's father was named Maddox, whom he hated, so he changed his name to Mad Dog, legally.

English is the sheriff, Mad Dog is sort of a shaman, he's not sure.

I enjoyed this - still have one in the pile to read.

Link:



http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_Authors/Hayes_J-M.html

Seven books in this series; I thought they were pretty good. Takes place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_Authors/Heywood_Joseph.html

Takes place all over Vermont, sometimes surrounding states, but mostly in Brattleboro, VT.

Joe is getting kind of old, but it's still a good series. Some of the books deal with drugs, some, politics, and some about the ski lodges.

Many books, many crimes and romances.. I like Joe...

Link:


http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/M_Authors/Mayor_Archer.html

65 million readers. The title list is hugh.
All take place in the same realm.
Many overlapping characters.
Sometimes on the main stage.
Sometimes a minor role.
Very funny.
I went to Powell's here in Portland after reading Wyrd Sisters that was loaned to me.
The Prattchet collection was one whole section, from floor to ceiling.
Laughing aloud at 3 in the morning 'cause I couldn't put them down.

The list is long and I post this to save space:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld

Stories of an Israeli Special Ops guy.

http://www.danielsilvabooks.com/books/behind-allon-series.asp

Collins writes under the name "Allen" when she does the antiques book series (5, so far). Takes place in Iowa and she has a blind Shih Tzu.



http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/C_Authors/Collins_Barbara.html#Allan

The Camel Club is a group of old men who take care of things around the White House, and Maxwell & King are Secret Service Agents.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Baldacci_David.html

Much takes place overseas in war areas, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Berenson_Alex.html

Are they good? Any recommendation from my DU friends?

that I read the first 3 (so they must have been pretty good) but the 4th I didn't care for and put down the remark, "cold."

I can't remember them in detail, but usually, if I don't like the first book, I don't bother with the ones after that, so you'll have to judge for yourself.

We'll see.

I appreciate all the great series in this thread.

Takes place in West Virginia. Interesting stories.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Billheimer_John.html

Very good series - the kind you want to read twice. Good character development, goofy characters, lots of danger and excitement, romance, etc. Close buddy, Nate, befriends falcons.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Box_C-J.html

NE Central US...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Braun_Lilian-Jackson.html

More dog & cat stories here:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/GenreCats/Pets.html

and an ex-husband..

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/D_Authors/Doogan_Mike.html

My favorite author, hands-down, nobody I like better...much takes place in Granite Creek, Colorado, where Charlie's friend, Scott, is a sheriff, and Daisy lives at Spirit Canyon. Wonderful scary parts and funny parts...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/D_Authors/Doss_James.html

He works mostly in Tokyo Japan...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/E_Authors/Eisler_Barry.html

He's a special investigator for the Chief of Police in Minneapolis, MN.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/E_Authors/Erickson_K-J.html

Popular series - take place in Boston.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/G_Authors/Gardner_Lisa.html

Extremely popular author - stories take place in London. Other characters are Sgt. Barbara Havers, Simon Allcourt-St. James & Wife, Deborah, and Lady Helen Clyde..

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/G_Authors/Gardner_Lisa.html

Elizabeth George Link is as follows:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/G_Authors/George_Elizabeth.html


Sorry..

If you haven't already read Johnson's series, it's not too late to start, but start, you MUST. This is a read-again series (just like Doss) full of humor and excitement.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/J_Authors/Johnson_Craig.html

He is humorous indeed, and listening to him read from his books is a real treat for the ears. He'll be back again in a couple of months with his latest, but the real excitement is, a TV series is in the works, should be happening soon. Really looking forward to that! His website has all the details.

on these books. I'll be watching for sure! Craig Johnson is working with them on this.
Here is a link:
http://www.examiner.com/mystery-series-in-national/a-e-to-air-craig-johnson-s-walt-longmire-series-pilot-robert-taylor-to-star

Plus book #7 (Hell is Empty) is out on June 2nd I think.

Takes place in LA. Huge series...

Link at:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/K_Authors/Kellerman_Faye.html

Only 3 books in this series, so far..

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/K_Authors/Kisor_Henry.html

Here's a link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/K_Authors/Koryta_Michael.html

Greatly popular - takes place mostly in Sweden...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/L_Authors/Larsson_Stieg.html

The author was a regular poster in Books: Fiction until recently. He had a 3rd novel under discussion, but it hasn't come out yet for some reason.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/L_Authors/Loomis_Jon.html

Jason Bourne, adventurer. Since Ludlum died, several authors have filled in to carry on the Bourne identity.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/L_Authors/Ludlum_Robert.html

Terrific mystery series about the Navajos. Tony Hillerman died not too long ago, but his love for the SW and Navajo customs lives on thru his books. Not too much humor here, but lots of info about their religion.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_Authors/Hillerman_Tony.html

Bo and his sex-crazed father solve mysteries. Not a bad series, but not the best either. Light and funny, no pressure here...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/M_Authors/McManus_Patrick-F.html

Gamache is Chief Inspector and is a character whom you will love. The regular characters that appear in his book are all likable, not perfect, and unique individuals. A wonderful series..

Link:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/P_Authors/Penny_Louise.html

Three Pines mystery coming out August 30 (per Amazon)
Can't recall the title but something about a body in Clara Morrow's garden
And Clara gets her solo show in Montreal

Two sets of series here - and a wonderful stand-alone called Metzger's Dog.

Shaeffer works out of Las Vegas, and Jane Whitfield helps people disappear (who want to) in upper state NY.

Link:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/P_Authors/Perry_Thomas.html

Good series, humor and lots of nutty happenings...

Link:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/R_Authors/Rehder_Ben.html

I liked the first book the best. Reilly had drawings of the ice station in the Antarctic that made the situations easy to visualize.

Exciting stuff..

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/R_Authors/Reilly_Matthew.html

Rosenfelt loves dogs, especially golden retrievers.

Stories are sort of light, some humor, and dog lovers will like this series.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/R_Authors/Rosenfelt_David.html

Alphabet Mysteries, Kinsey is a PI in the 1980's, she stays in the 80's California and never gets a cell phone. lol

I like that Grafton has kept her in the 80's. Have you read G is for Grafton?

Sigrid is a New York Cop with alot of baggage. The series begins with One Coffee With and has about six books. Margaret refers to Sigrid as being the red headed step child of her newer character Judge Knott. Deborah Knott is a judge in North Carolina. The series starts with the award winning book The Bootleggers Daughter. I believe that the earlier Judge Knott books are better than those later in the series. However, my personal favorite is Uncommon Clay

but in this wonderfully rich thread I did not notice either.

I came to Brady after having previously exclusively enjoyed Jance's Seattle-based J. P. Beaumont series (also not conspicuous here). Brady series was brought to my attention when I blogged about Shelton's terrific (non-fict) Going Back to Bisbee, and its' wonderful evocation of SE Arizona, a part of the country I have not visited but find intriguing. Brady works out of Bisbee and I believe Jance was born there.

Hillerman's work, set in New Mexico, has been a favorite for some time now for similar geographical reasons, though in his case I have at least wandered through the territory a bit. Ditto McGarrity and his Kern character in New Mexico. Both highly recommended also.

I came upon that rich Bisbee number, a lead to a number of other explorations, via Nancy Pearl's Book Lust to Go, a rich lode of leads for folks looking to read of varied locales in multiple genres. That is also where I learned of the Mrs. Pollifax series. This involves an elderly somewhat at-loose-ends New Jerseyite who on a whim begins taking on missions for the CIA. Implausible as this premise seems, and rife as it might appear for "cute," my one read and another listen so far suggest there is good entertainment here for many.

Very prolific writer - character works out of New Jersey..

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/G_Authors/Gilman_Dorothy.html

These series characters are in Seattle WA, and AZ. Lots of stories here..

Link to the 3 series is as follows:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/J_Authors/Jance_J-A.html

Also does a series character named Ali Reynolds a 40+ former newswoman who was canned because of her age. Set in Sedona, Arizona.

Comes highly recommended to the list, books can be found here:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/M_Authors/Mankell_Henning.html

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/henning-mankell/

the Swedish predecessors of Mankell, politically engaged leftists who brought realism and a political point of view to the crime novel in the late sixties. The Martin Beck series is not only captivating, it's also ferociously funny at times. Some of those novels have been adapted with more or less success to movies (one of the earlier novels of Wahlöö's, "Murder on the Thirty-First Floor" as "Kamikaze 1989" with Rainer Maria Fassbinder in the lead, shortly before he died).

I read the series in German translation which seemed pretty good to me, but I can't say anything about the English versions.

Roseanna (Roseanna, 1965)
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke (Mannen som gick upp i rök, 1966)
The Man on the Balcony (Mannen på balkongen, 1967)
The Laughing Policeman (Den skrattande polisen, 1968) (Edgar Award, Best Novel, 1971)
The Fire Engine That Disappeared (Brandbilen som försvann, 1969)
Murder at the Savoy (Polis, polis, potatismos!, 1970)
The Abominable Man (Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle, 1971)
The Locked Room (Det slutna rummet, 1972)
Cop Killer (Polismördaren, 1974)
The Terrorists (Terroristerna, 1975)

"The leitmotif of the series, written from the authors' clearly defined socialist viewpoint, is to indicate how Sweden, a country that championed social democracy at the time they were writing, nevertheless had the same problems of inequality and crime as other capitalist countries. Political events of the time, such as the creation of the Greek dictatorship and the Vietnam War, often play significant roles as backdrops for the plots. Because the authors intended the books as a critique of capitalist society (the last word in the final volume The Terrorists is "Marx"), all the books in their original editions were given the subtitle "Report of a Crime" as a purposefully ambiguous phrase."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sj%C3%B6wall_and_Wahl%C3%B6%C3%B6

The series is based in Italy and is considered "dark", there is no simplistic distinction between "good" and "evil". Dibdin is my favorite mystery writer, I bought and read every novel of his as soon as they came out and enjoyed all them greatly:

Ratking (1988)
Vendetta (1990)
Cabal (1992)
Dead Lagoon (1994)
Cosi Fan Tutti (1996)
A Long Finish (1998)
Blood Rain (1999)
And Then You Die (2002)
Medusa (2003)
Back to Bologna (2005)
End Games (2007)

Dibdin published one novel every year until he died a few years ago. Alternating with the Aurelio Zen series, he wrote other mysteries, some of them based in the US where Dibdin was living in his final years, some of them in England. Highly recommeded (well, all of them, but especially): Dirty Tricks (1991), Dark Spectre (1995).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dibdin
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/apr/04/culture.obituaries

Fascinating mysteries take place in pre-Civil War New Orleans about slaves and freemen, all mixtures of races featuring the January character.

The James Asher series takes place in London.

Link:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_Authors/Hambly_Barbara.html

These are referred to as the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries for the name of the town where the stories take place. Recommended by Lydia Leftcoast and others...

Links:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/A_Authors/Arnaldur-Indridason.html

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/i/arnaldur-indridason/

Prolific mystery writer - Most stories take place in NY, some in Vietnam. Exciting stuff.

Link:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/D_Authors/Demille_Nelson.html

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/nelson-demille/

DUer Ceile highly recommends this author (her mom, too)....

---Easy Rawlins, a black WWII veteran, unlicensed private sleuth, and real estate investor, starting in the late 1940s, in Los Angeles, California.

---Leonid McGill, a black ex-boxer, old-school private investigator, in New York City.

---Paris Minton, Watts bookstore owner, and the dangerous but principled Fearless Jones, in 1950s Los Angeles, California.

---Socrates Fortlow, a philosophical ex-con in California.

Links:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/M_Authors/Mosley_Walter.html
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/walter-mosley/

This is a good author to try if you're tired of more or less current whodunits and would like to try a historical mystery or thriller, say, back in Fist Century, Rome...learned of Davis in one of DUer Raccoon's posts..

Links:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/D_Authors/Davis_Lindsey.html
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/lindsey-davis/nemesis.htm

Thursday Next works out of Great Britain - Literary Division and Jack Spratt, Nursery Division, works in Reading, England...Special Operations Network - humor, sci-fi and a bit of history...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/F_Authors/Fforde_Jasper.html

Takes place in Posadas County, New Mexico. Series starts out with Gastner as undersheriff, and then Guzman takes his job.


Link:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_Authors/Havill_Steven-F.html

Takes place in England. Post from elfin says series is hard to find except by Kindle, but my library has all but Heartstone, and that one's available through interlibrary loan.

Here's a link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/S_Authors/Sansom_C-J.html

DUer Raccoon is working his way thru this series. Takes place in England, of course, and Douglas Kincaid is Superintendent of Scotland Yard and Gemma James is a sergeant.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/C_Authors/Crombie_Deborah.html

King does a better Holmes than Conan Doyle, if that's possible; he's more whole, more human. The protagonist in this series is his young wife, who is just as smart and unusual, in her own way. They live peacefully in the countryside when not traveling, having adventures, and solving the unusual puzzles.

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/K_Authors/King_Laurie-R.html

She's written some wonderful stand-alone books too, including "Keeping Watch".

This wonderful numbered series (One for the Money, Two for the Dough) is funny and wonderful. The books have fallen off as the numbers get higher - I didn't enjoy "Sizzling Sixteen"), but the earlier books are well worth the read.

Smart, funny, light reading for those who like mystery, history, and intelligent characters.

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/P_Authors/Peters_Elizabeth.html

when I was in middle school. I intend to finish the series one of these days...

The Welsh Trilogy:

Here Be Dragons is the first of Penman's series of novels about the medieval princes of Gwynedd.
Falls the Shadow
The Reckoning


The Plantagenet trilogy:

When Christ and His Saints Slept --starts with Empress Maud and cousin Stephen's battles in 1100's.
Time and Chance
The Devil's Brood --those characters you know and love from THE LION IN WINTER.

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Sharon_Kay_Penman


She's also written some medieval mysteries with Justin de Quincy as the sleuth.

Plantagenet books from the library
I found a used hardback copy of The Devil's Brood at the bookstore so I can dip into at my leisure
Lion in Winter is one of my favorite movies and it usually comes out on TCM or somewhere ever Christmas

Benedictine monk solves local mysteries during time of civil unrest in England (~1140 AD)...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadfael

Long series of detective novels, mainly in/around Manhattan spanning 1930s-70s...

Noirish detective series set in early 20th C. California...

Another noirish detective series set in early 20th C. California...

African-American PI in post-war Los Angeles; a very interesting counterpoint to other CA-set detective series in similar eras...

This series takes place in the 60's and 70's in Seoul, South Korea...

Comes highly recommended by DUer Lydia Leftcoast, and it looks very interesting...

Really good series. Takes place in a place called Bishop's Lacey, England. Only 3 books so far, and I hope there's more...





http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Bradley_Alan.html

First book in series got Best Thriller award..

DUer Zoigal says she couldn't put it down...

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Battles_Brett.html

I read his first one and liked it quite a bit; I need to pick up the second!

that you were a retired Navy vet..(thanks for your service and I really mean it), and then you disappeared for weeks.

Bin Ladin dies 5/1 or 4/30, not sure, at the hands of Navy Seals, and you show up here 5/2. Are you sure you weren't in Pakistan during your absence?

The conspiracy lady wants to know.....

In case you or the FBI thought I was serious......

Just reading the 3rd Quinn book. :)

"Harry" Harristeen and her pets, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter (both cats), and Tucker (a Corgi), solve mysteries in and around Crozet, VA.

The series is set in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul(twin Cities)area of Minnesota. It is considered a police procedural series.

You can read about the character (Lucas Davenport) here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucas_Davenport

You can find a series list in order on this page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sandford_(in order for link to work right you need to choose "novelist")


I really enjoyed this series.

I liked them too. Trouble is I got mixed up on which prey I read and which ones I didn't....

making a USA network, TV movie, based on book #10 in the series. It is in production now, I think, but no air date yet. It will star Mark Harmond of the TV show NCIS. There is scuttlebutt about the possibility of a TV series based on these books.

These mysteries are set in the Mississippi Delta (Deep South). They are light, fun reading!

You can find a series list in order on this page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Haines

You can take a peek inside the first book in this series here:
http://www.amazon.com/Them-Bones-Mystery-Mississippi-Delta/dp/0553581716

The “Curious George” series by H.A. Rey:

Curious George is the protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious brown monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city.



• Curious George (1941)
• Curious George Takes a Job (1947)
• Curious George Rides a Bike (1952)
• Curious George Gets a Medal (1957)
• Curious George Flies a Kite (1958)
• Curious George Learns the Alphabet (1963)
• Curious George Goes to the Hospital (1966)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curious_George

Link at:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/M_Authors/McGarrity_Michael.html

Takes place in South Boston. Genovich is narcoleptic (falls asleep sort of instantly) so this could get kind of weird....for a detective, anyway. Short series, only 2 books so far plus a couple of stand-alones.

Link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/T_Authors/Tremblay_Paul.html

Burdett's works can be found here:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Burdett_John.html

Timothy Hallinan's series also set in Thailand.

Sweeping stories about a family in Britain. These are really thick, complicated, well-written books, with a family tree in the front so you can remember who's who!

If you enjoy legal thrillers San Diego defense attorney Paul Madriani and his partner/sidekick Harry Hinds will fit the bill.


I enjoyed this series.

Augusta is a Guardian Angel in one series

Miss Dimple Kilpatrick is a first-grade teacher in Georgia during WWII.

Stand-alone books too...

Mystery series link:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Ballard_Mignon-F.html

Series' take place at least partly in London. Lots of stand-alones in horror, science fiction and fantasy, with odd and curious titles...

Link:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/neil-gaiman/