Some of My Favorite Mystery Series

Periodically, I highlight mystery series that I really enjoy and this time, instead of splitting the series up by locale, I am discussing the series that I feel are standouts.

Finding a fabulous new mystery series is so much fun, especially if there are a number of titles. A unique protagonist or a locale with which I am not very familiar usually catches my attention, but I also enjoy a straight-forward police procedural/private investigator tale. And the great thing about reading a series is that picking my next book is a lot easier – I just move onto the next one.

These are my favorite series – those for which I am always eagerly awaiting the next installment to see where the author is taking the series and its characters:

1. The Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly: Bosch starts out as an LAPD homicide detective, and while he changes jobs several times as the books progress, he continues to investigate murders in and around the Los Angeles area. Highlight – Bosch himself and the quality of Connelly’s writing. First book – The Black Echo.
2. The Lucas Page series by Robert Pobi: Page is a former FBI agent who now teaches astrophysics at Columbia University, and his ability to visualize a crime scene as it originally occurred repeatedly draws him out of retirement. Highlight – Page’s intellect, Pobi’s sense of humor, and the fast-paced storytelling. First book – City of Windows.
3. The Highway 59 series by Attica Locke: Darren Matthews is a black Texas Ranger who faces racial and familial obstacles as he investigates crimes in rural East Texas where racial divides are entrenched. Highlight – Locke’s unsparing look at race relations and the East Texas setting. First book – Bluebird, Bluebird.
4. The Bruno, Chief of Police series by Martin Walker – Bruno is the chief of police in a small fictional town in the Perigord region of France. Walker’s clever murder mysteries paired with a focus on the region’s food, people and culture make this series one of the best. Highlight – the descriptions of the region and its culture. First book – Bruno, Chief of Police.
5. The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman: Four septuagenarians - a former spy, a retired nurse, a still-practicing psychologist, and a former trades-union official - living in a retirement community in Kent meet in the puzzle room on Thursdays to discuss unsolved cases. Highlight – The well-developed and loveable characters (main and side), the witty banter, and the way aging is addressed. First book – The Thursday Murder Club.
6. The Corman Reilly series by Dervla McTiernan: Set in Galway, Ireland, McTiernan’s series is part police procedural and part thriller and tackles present day issues such as drug addiction and suicide. Reilly, new to Galway, must prove himself to his fellow detectives while solving crimes that at times seem to intersect too closely with his personal life. Highlight – the setting and the mysteries themselves. First book – The Ruin.
7. The Aaron Falk series by Jane Harper: Federal investigator Aaron Falk returns home to Kiewarra, Australia for the funeral of a childhood friend and is soon to drawn into the friend’s mysterious death. Harper’s pacing and storytelling are superb, and readers will feel like they are in the outback as Falk’s tale unfolds. Highlight – the setting and clever mysteries. First book – The Dry.
8. The Detective Kaga series by Keigo Higashino: Set in Tokyo, this series stars Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga. In the first installment, bestselling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka is found brutally murdered in his home on the night before he's planning to leave Japan and relocate to Vancouver. With little to go on, Kaga must uncover what happened and why. Highlight - the focus on Japanese culture and twisty mysteries. First book – Malice.
9. The Detective Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty: Set in 1980s Belfast, Ireland during the Troubles, this police procedural series plays out against the backdrop of hunger strikes, constant unrest, and a city stretched to its limit. Duffy is a Catholic on a solidly Protestant police force which is an interesting dynamic. He is a product of his time, sometimes more chauvinistic than I prefer; thankfully, McKinty occasionally puts Duffy in his place, and those scenes are fun to read. Highlight - the setting including both Belfast and the Troubles and the history he weaves throughout the books. First book: The Cold Cold Ground.

Share your favorite mystery series in the comments or shoot me an email at [email protected]. 

For more book recommendations and bookish thoughts, see Cindy’s monthly Buzz Reads column, her award-winning Thoughts from a Page Podcast or follow @ThoughtsFromaPage on Instagram.