# What's your favorite crime series?



## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

I've been trying different crime series over the last few years and it's been fun.  Most of them were recommended to me in this forum, so thanks again to all who gave me their opinions. I hope to get to them all eventually!  

So far my faves have been the Spenser series by Robert Parker and the Kenzie-Gennaro series by Dennis Lehane.  I always read the books in chronological order, but I jump around from series to series, and haven't read a whole series yet.  I am just finishing my second Prey series book, but don't think I'll read another, although that is yet to be determined. 

What are some of your favorites and why?


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

What about 87th Precinct? I haven't read any of them so I don't know if they're a good suggestion or not. I definitely give a +1 to the Spenser series. If you're not opposed to an old series take a look at the Philo Vance books, a Kindle version of 12 books available for $9.99.


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

My favorite crime series is J.D. Robb's "In Death" series. I am working my way thru the series and each one seems to get better than the last. They are crime books but you also find yourself caring about the characters and feel like you really know them, not to mention the humor in them as well. Of course, swooning over Roarke is fun too! 

I also enjoy James Grippando's Jack Swyteck series. I haven't read thru all of those yet either as I jumped into in the middle somewhere, not realizing years ago that the book I chose was part of a series. I've read several since and always enjoy his books. They are good suspense books. 

I also really liked Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer series. Read that series straight thru. Some courtroom drama, but also action outside of the courtroom. Good books!


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

KindleGirl, I forgot to mention that Michael Connolly is one of my favorites too.  I've read almost every Bosch and every Mickey Haller (Lincoln Lawyer). 

I also read 6 or 7 of the In Death series, but ultimately had trouble sustaining belief.


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## RJMcDonnell (Jan 29, 2011)

My favorite by an active writer is the Elvis Cole Series by Robert Crais. My all time favorite is The Deadly Sin Series by Lawrence Sanders. The two are very different in style. Elvis Cole is a PI who uses humor in between action scenes to relieve tension. The Deadly Sin Series features a retired police captain, Edward X. Delaney, and is written in more of a police procedural sub-genre with little or no humor. My sister tells me that Delaney reminds her of our homicide detective father.


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## Cappy (Sep 6, 2011)

I like Michael Dibdin's Zen series. It has that added layer of Italian police corruption.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I have many series I enjoy - right now I would have to pick the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen.  While different from the TV series,  the plots are complex, not easy to solve,  and the author does a wonderful job developing the characters and their relationship.    Some others I enjoy are Baldacci's Camel Club series (again due to the complexity of the plots) and Lee Child's Jack Reacher series (unique character ...)


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## typo (Jul 30, 2010)

John Sandford's "Prey" series with Lucas Davenport and its spinoff with. Virgil Flowers. Don't be put off by the f-word however.


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## rjspears (Sep 25, 2011)

I can highly recommend the Matt Scudder series written by Lawrence Block.  I've read a lot of mysteries and crime novels and there is a run in this series that stands out from almost all the other mysteries I've read.  I usually recommend starting at the beginning of this series, but I'd have to say that the first few novels in the series aren't as strong as the middle of the series.  If

I had to recommend a starting place, I'd say start with "Eight Million Ways to Die."  The next book, "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes," is a book that I feel transcends the mystery genre.  I don't mean to slight the next book, but you could skip it and move on to the next three books, "A Ticket to the Boneyard," "A Dance at the Slaughterhouse," and "A Walk Among the Tombstones."  These are three fantastic books.  

--
R.J. Spears


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## higgsbroson (Feb 7, 2013)

Thanks for the recommendations


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## Avis Black (Jun 12, 2012)

The two I've enjoyed most are Margery Allingham's Albert Campion series and The Lord Darcy books by Randall Garrett.  The latter is a fantasy-mystery cross, and Lord Darcy is his take on Sherlock Holmes.  The Allingham books do fall off in in quality in the later volumes, though.  As for Garrett, he produced just a few Lord Darcy stories before he died, and I wish he'd been able to continue.  Other authors have borrowed his characters and put out more volumes in the series.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Another vote for J.D. Robb's _In Death_ series. I'm also very fond of Julia Spencer Fleming's Reverend Clare Ferguson series and C.S. Harris' Sebastian St. Cyr series.


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## Tracey (Mar 18, 2010)

Karen Slaughter has a couple of different series and they are awesome!  I always speed through her books, can never seem to put them down.


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## Red Dove (Jun 11, 2012)

Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series is a masterclass in tightly written and engaging plots with great characters - also very funny in parts.

Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series set in Venice is sublime and makes me homesick for a city I've only visited once.

Not strictly series writers but I'm a huge fan of Elmore Leonard and Jim Thompson.


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## brianjanuary (Oct 18, 2011)

I always enjoyed the Carver series by John Lutz.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

typo said:


> John Sandford's "Prey" series with Lucas Davenport and its spinoff with. Virgil Flowers. Don't be put off by the f-word however.


Okay, I just finished the second one, Shadow Prey, and I liked it better than I expected. I will consider reading another one after all. Davenport is not a great guy (read: perfect hero) like Spenser, Bosch, Kenzie, et al, but he is more "real" and there's something to be said for that.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

RJMcDonnell said:


> My favorite by an active writer is the Elvis Cole Series by Robert Crais. My all time favorite is The Deadly Sin Series by Lawrence Sanders. The two are very different in style. Elvis Cole is a PI who uses humor in between action scenes to relieve tension. The Deadly Sin Series features a retired police captain, Edward X. Delaney, and is written in more of a police procedural sub-genre with little or no humor. My sister tells me that Delaney reminds her of our homicide detective father.


Much appreciated! I am adding Lawrence Sanders to my list.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

higgsbroson said:


> Thanks for the recommendations


I second that!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Does the City Watch (Sam Vimes) story arc of Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series count? 

If so, start with _Guards! Guards!_


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## Mark Feggeler (Feb 7, 2011)

Not sure it counts as an official series, but my favorite recurring character is Dashiell Hammett's detective with no name, otherwise known as the Continental Op. He appears in short stories and a novel or two.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer novels are in the same vein, but even better.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Another vote for Spenser...  And I also like the Jesse Stone series by Robert Parker.

Betsy


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Avis Black said:


> The two I've enjoyed most are Margery Allingham's Albert Campion series and The Lord Darcy books by Randall Garrett.


I greatly enjoy both of those series. I'm in the process of finally reading the Campion books straight through (I'm on number 3 of the 20).

I wouldn't call either of those a crime series. At least in the Allingham books, I'd call them mysteries.

Mike


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

John Sandford, Prey series and spin-off Virgil Flowers.

Virgil Flowers Series, book one.​


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

Casper and others: does Davenport seem a bit distant and unemotional to you? Do things ever really get to him on a deeper level?  I've only read 2 in the series.


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## Ann Chambers (Apr 24, 2011)

So many great series already mentioned - Harry Bosch, Reacher, Rizzoli and Isles, Jesse Stone ...

Need to add the Cathy Reichs Bones books. Very different from the TV show. They are all great stories with interesting historical research woven in.


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

fancynancy said:


> Casper and others: does Davenport seem a bit distant and unemotional to you? Do things ever really get to him on a deeper level? I've only read 2 in the series.


I am behind on the Prey series.

Sometimes Davenport seems detached in a few books, but not all of them.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Well, it's not really a series, more of a trilogy, or one very long novel, depending on how you want to look at it, but James Ellroy's Underworld books are some of the best crime fiction I've read in years. Start with American Tabloid.


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## Rie142 (Oct 28, 2009)

What about J.P. Beaumont Series by J.A. Jance


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

This is all great stuff!  Thanks to all.

RJM, I forgot to mention that I also enjoy the Crais Cole series.  Crais has a wonderful sense of humor.  I know it's done a lot, but I love the team approach, where our hero calls in his muscle guy as needed.  When it comes to that, Harlan Coben's Windsor Horne Lockwood, III, the "psycho yuppie", is one of the funniest "muscle" guys of the genre, but Crais' Joe Pike is more complex and thus more interesting. I wonder if Parker's Hawk character in the Spenser novels was the first of these.  Even Kenzie and Gennaro have a psychokiller guy, whose name escapes me at the moment.


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

I've just been sent three from a crime series by Jim Kelly which look fantastic and I can't wait to read them. He's a new writer to me and a friend sent them as he loves this series. They're the Philip Dryden mysteries, and the main character is a journalist who ends up investigating murders. The storylines look great. Here are the ones he sent me and there are more in this series.


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## S.W. Hubbard (Feb 16, 2013)

Robert Crais is great--Elvis Cole is both witty and a great hero.  If you want to get a little off the mainstream track, try the Bill Slider mysteries by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles.  She's British and the series follows the detective through changes in his life.  Each one works as a standalone mystery, but the protangonist's personality develps and grows throughout the series.  Also, Julia Spencer-Flemming's series set in upstate NY does this well.


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## RosanneRivers (Jan 21, 2013)

I know it's not something new but I really did enjoy The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson.


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## jyrzlech (Feb 26, 2013)

My favorite crime series is J.D. Robb's "In Death" series.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

Thank you all for your recommendations.

I have now completed, in order:

A Drink Before The War
Darkness, Take My Hand
Sacred
Gone, Baby, Gone

and I'm about 60% through Prayers For Rain.

I'm fickle, and don't stick with anything for very long, but I can't wait to read Moonlight Mile next, which is the most recent in the Kenzie-Gennaro series by Dennis Lehane.  So, Dennis Lehane is, to date, my favorite of all the crime series I've read.  First and foremost is the writing.  Lehane is an excellent writer.  Second, I must admit, is the relationship between Kenzie and Gennaro.  Always complex and deep.  I could go on, but if you love crime series and you haven't read this one, I highly recommend it.  I am sad that it will soon end, and therefore all the more grateful to have so many great recommendations to move on to.


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## brianjanuary (Oct 18, 2011)

I enjoy John Lutz, Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake), Loren D. Estleman (look for his Macklin series, too), and Robert Ray.


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## Robena (Jan 19, 2013)

_First and foremost is the writing. Lehane is an excellent writer. _

Thanks fancynancy. : ) I'd gotten away from reading crime. Must go check out what Lehane has been up to. Thanks for the reminder.


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## GreenThumb (Mar 29, 2009)

Thanks for this thread!  I just got the first Kenzie & Gennaro (Dennis Lehane) book, and I LOVE it!  Very exciting, and lots of laugh out loud moments, too.  I've got to get off this computer and go read some more!


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

I see they've already been mentioned, but I'd second the Matt Scudder series and the 87th Precinct. The 87th always interesting, and Ed McBain's style flows nicely with some wry humor. I love that they have a Moriarty in the "Deaf Man" as well.


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

I love Karin Slaughter need to catch up on her series also love the Jonathan Kellerman Alex Delaware series which I also need to catch up on.  Another favorite Series is the Detective Jackson series by LJ Sellers which i need to read the newest on


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## Joebruno999 (Oct 20, 2010)

The Matt Scudder series by Lawrence Block.


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## Nessa Quill (Jul 16, 2011)

KindleGirl said:


> My favorite crime series is J.D. Robb's "In Death" series. I am working my way thru the series and each one seems to get better than the last. They are crime books but you also find yourself caring about the characters and feel like you really know them, not to mention the humor in them as well. Of course, swooning over Roarke is fun too!


KindleGirl, I couldn't agree with you more. The "In Death" series is fantastic so far. I'm just finishing Vengeance in Death and have the next two on standby. I'm not a Romantic Suspense fan...that is until J.D. Robb (and Roarke) came into my life.


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## mlanouette (Apr 1, 2013)

I love the In Death Series. Read them all. I also loved Spencer, read all of them too. I also love Karin Slaughter, Kay Hooper (Bishop Series). There are so many.


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## Roberto Scarlato (Nov 14, 2009)

Anything by the Hard Case Crime Imprint. That's my favorite series.

Titles I read so far:


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## soyfrank (Feb 2, 2011)

Walter Mosley's 12 volume Easy Rawlins Series. http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Blue-Dress-Rawlins-Mysteries/dp/0743451791/ref=la_B000APHE2C_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1364796514&sr=1-3


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

I don't read many series, but when I do, I enjoy Lawrence Sanders


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

The J.D. Robb "In Death" series. They are fantastic procedurals, and each one gets better.


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

Virgil Flower Series by John Sandford.


Click image to view at Amazon​
Virgil is very laid-back.


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## Desmond X. Torres (Mar 16, 2013)

John D McDonald has a series with the main character Travis McGee. The first one is The Deep Blue Goodbye. I've re-read each of the books in this series at least twice; some many more times than that. 

What I enjoy about this series is how his observations about human nature, published 50 years ago up until the 1980's still hold water. 

Lawrence Sanders' Deadly Sin series also deserves another plug. An early poster mentioned it.


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## Zackery Arbela (Jan 31, 2011)

I always enjoyed the Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis....set in Ancient Rome with a dash of Marlowe, and a generous helping of snark...


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## [email protected] (Oct 25, 2012)

As of now, I'd have to say the Spenser series by Robt. B. Parker. I recently read my first "Jack Reacher" story and have to rule that out as a series. Reacher was just too much of a stretch. I couldn't believe in him.


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## dkrauss (Oct 13, 2012)

Dittos on the "Prey" and "Alex Delaware" series. Add to that Tony Hillerman's Detective Chee series.

Have any of you picked up on the "Byte" series, written by New Zealand writer Cat Connor? Yes, she's a personal friend and I am slighly biased, but check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Connor/e/B002DP3JCQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1


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## johnforrester (Jun 11, 2012)

So far I'd have to say CJ Box's Joe Pickett series is my favourite given its probably the most unique and entertaining series I've read, closely followed by jack Raeacher by Lee Child.  Although I do enjoy a good Kurt Wallander too.


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