Books - Favourite series

[RichA]

I enjoy reading series of books by an author and I'm always on the hunt for any I've not previously stumbled across.
What are your favourites? Maybe we can give each other an idea of new stuff within our preferred genres.
Mine...
Robert B Parker - Spenser series. Very long running hardboiled detective novels.
Robert Crais - Elvis Cole & Joe Pike. long running hardboiled detective novels.
Lee Child - Reacher
John Connolly - Charlie Parker series. Detective thrillers with a bit of a supernatural twist (more horror than fantasy).
Carl Hiaasen - all his books, particularly the Skink series. Crime thrillers with a good dose of humour and satire.
John D MacDonald - Travis McGee series. Crime thrillers from the 60s-80s - I could believe these were the inspiration for Reacher.

 

[tugglesf239]

James Ellroy. The underworld USA trilogy.

American tabloid
The cold six thousand
Bloods a Rover

It spans many decades but this is the official blurb of the first book, American tabloid.

“1958. America is about to emerge into a bright new age – an age that will last until the 1000 days of John F Kennedy's presidency.

Three men move beneath the glossy surface of power, men allied to the makers and shakers of the era. Pete Bondurant – Howard Hughes's right-hand man, Jimmy Hoffa's hitman. Kemper Boyd – employed by J Edgar Hoover to infiltrate the Kennedy clan. Ward Littell – a man seeking redemption in Bobby Kennedy's drive against organised crime.

The festering discount of the age that burns brightly in these men's hearts will go into supernova as the Bay of Pigs ends in calamity, the Mob clamours for payback and the 1000 days ends in brutal quietus in 1963”

I won’t be able to do these books justice but they are absolutely visceral, brutal, sleazy and (I hate using this word) utterly epic.

Something about the ‘anti prose’ that Ellroy uses that make the violence and corruption of the era just jump of the page in into your face.

Outstanding books imo.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Bernard Cornwell - historical fiction with Sharpe and The Last Kingdom series

Mark Billingham and Ian Rankin - detective fiction, Tom Thorne and Rebus

Simon Scarrow - historical fiction, Roman

 

[BrianM]

Michael Connelly - Bosch.

Peter Robinson - DCI Banks.

Ben Aaronvitch - Rivers of London Series (Peter Grant)

All excellent in their own ways.

 

[Jimaroid]

Can’t talk about hardboiled genre without mentioning Dashiel Hammet and Raymond Chandler novels featuring Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe respectively.

I would have to put The Maltese Falcon and Farewell My Lovely in my list of 10 favourite books ever.

 

[Tashyboy]

Sven Hassell from years ago.

 

[Maninblack4612]

"Horses Arse" + 3 by Charlie Owen. Police novels based on the career of the author. The funniest books I have read in years - laugh out loud funny. Must be read in correct order.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Horses-Arse-Charlie-Owen/dp/0755336844

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Sven Hassell from years ago.

Still got three of them from my teen years, and have seen that my local Oxfam has those from the series I’m missing…you‘ve prompted me to buy them - 99p each so not a massive outlay.

Other side of coin, I’m three books into the Alexander McCall Smith 44 Scotland Street series. I do enjoy the gentle day-to-day lives and humour of these nice Embra folks - they could equally be Glasgow West End folks…and I recognise in them equally the traits of the folks from the rather ‘posh’ Glasgow Southside suburb I was brought up in.

 

[HampshireHog]

Conn Iggulden’s historic fiction is worth a read. Emperor Series (Caesar) and Conqueror Series (Ghengis Khan) are both decent.

 

[KenL]

Dan Brown Robert Langdon books.
Not high brow fiction but da Vinci code is a great holiday read.

 

[rulefan]

The Slough House series by Mick Herron.

 

[Beedee]

Another vote for Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" series. Each time a new one comes out I re-read the series from scratch.

 

[GreiginFife]

Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
Utterly bonkers brilliant.

Highlights (for me), Feet of Clay, Thief of Time, Interesting Times, The Wee Free Men and, my personal favourite for its darkness and brain fuggery, Nightwatch.

 

[larmen]

Vince Flynn / Kyle Mills - Mitch Rapp
Brad Taylor - Pike Logan/Taskforce
Mark Greaney - Grayman
Plus some others including nearly all already mentioned above.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Le Carre’s Smiley novels , particularly the Karla trilogy

Mick Heron’s Slough House

 

[chico]

Certainly not new, but Tom Sharpe if you want a great laugh. I remember when I read some of his books crying with laughter at the absurdity of it all.

 

[srixon 1]

Certainly not new, but Tom Sharpe if you want a great laugh. I remember when I read some of his books crying with laughter at the absurdity of it all.

The Wilt books, just brilliantly funny.

 

[Backache]

George Macdonald Fraser Flashman series was pretty good.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Forgot to mention Deighton’s Bernard Sampson series
Game, Set & Match … etc

 

[Voyager EMH]

Peter Ackroyd's History of England series. Volume 1 done. Only six more to go!

Bill Bryson - anything written by him!