The Nathan Heller series is a historical hard-boiled detective series written by American author Max Allan Collins, launched in 1982–the writer of the Quarry series and the Nolan series. The story follows Nathan Heller, a Chicago private investigator (also known as the private eye to the stars) from the 1930s to the 1950s who often…
Written by British writer Michael Dibdin, Aurelio Zen is an Italian detective with the bad habit of being honest and a tendency to dig too deep into the cases that otherwise should have been quietly closed and buried. Like Wallander, but with less success, Aurelio Zen has been the star of his own TV series,…
The Museum Mysteries is a historical mystery series by Jim Eldridge that revolves around Daniel Wilson. Former Detective Inspector, he now works as a private inquiry agent assisted by his partner, archaeologist-cum-detective Abigail Fenton. Together, they are dubbed the “The Museum Detectives” as they often investigate museum-related crimes. How to read the Museum Mysteries Series…
Editor, journalist, but now mostly fiction writer, Archer Mayor takes us to his native Vermont with his famous mystery series. Mostly set in Brattleboro, Vermont, this series follows the investigation of Joe Gunther, a Korean War veteran, a widower, and–before anything else–a police officer with 30 years of experience who eventually becomes the head of…
From Australian crime fiction writer Michael Robotham, this series is about a psychiatrist solving crimes. The psychologist is forty-two-year-old Joseph O’Loughlin, a man who had every reason to be happy until his life took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Then the police asked for his help. That’s when he starts working…
Written by American author Lisa Scottoline, Rosato and Associates is a series of legal thrillers about women who are partners at a law firm. The managing partner of the firm is Benedetta Rosato and she works with Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy. Each book focuses on a different main character and a different…
Known for his work as the official author of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series, Brian Freeman launched his career with a psychological thriller introducing Jonathan Stride. Jonathan Stride is a widower–his wife, Cindy, died of cancer years ago–and a police lieutenant in Duluth, Minnesota, on the shore of Lake Superior. He works with fellow detectives…
Andrew Taylor is a British author best known for his crime and historical novels, and the Marwood and Lovett series is combining the two genres. The story is taking us to 17th-century England as the first book began the with Great Fire of London in 1666. In the heart of the tragedy, we met James…
Tom Ripley–or Thomas Ripley–is a fictional character created by American novelist Patricia Highsmith for a series of novels–and several film adaptations. Introduced in 1955, Ripley is a con artist/serial killer. An orphan raised by a cold aunt who’s mostly devoid of conscience. He is “suave, agreeable, and utterly amoral” which is a deadly combination for…
Written by Dianne Freeman, the Countess of Harleigh Mysteries is a historical cozy mystery series set during the Victorian era in England. The story focuses on Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, a widow and mother of a young daughter who comes to London to start a new life. But soon, she finds herself…
Written by Erica Ruth Neubauer, this historical cozy mystery series revolves around Jane Wunderly, a thoroughly modern young American widow. Set in post-World War I, the story follows the self-reliant Jane as she becomes a private investigator in the 1920s, traveling Europe and solving crimes. How to Read the Jane Wunderly Series in Order? Every…
Certainly the most popular detective in the world, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is also the most influential. Being a public domain character for some time now, Holmes and his partner, John Watson, have been revisited by numerous authors, plunged into extraordinary mysteries, sometimes supernatural ones, and moved into all sorts of different settings,…
