Bookriot: WHAT MAKES A GOOD MYSTERY SERIES?

[SheltieLover]

https://bookriot.com/what-makes-a-good-mystery-series/

When I find a new, exciting mystery series, I know it’s time to clear space on my bookshelf. Like many mystery fans, when a new sleuth wins me over, I want to read every book they’re in. So what is it about a good mystery series that makes readers like me commit for multiple novels, dozens of murders, and thousands of pages? The answer lies in the series’ comforting blend of familiarity and intrigue. With a favorite series, I get to spend time with my favorite detectives and a cast of familiar faces, from police chiefs to neighborhood busybodies. Whether cozy or hard boiled crime, the best series give readers a chance to step into a familiar world that still offers guaranteed twists and turns with every crime. Here are the key elements of mystery series that keep readers hooked, book after book.

AN ORIGINAL SLEUTH YOU CAN ROOT FOR

A mystery series is only as good as its sleuth. Sometimes, it’s one with incredible powers of observation, like the Sherlockian IQ in Joe Ide’s IQ series. Sometimes they can talk to ghosts like Alexa Gordon’s Gethsemane Brown. Whatever their crime-solving talent, the central character has to be compelling. Sometimes they’re dark and brooding, like Jo Nebso’s Harry Hole or dapper and fastidious like Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. Whether a hard-drinking Texas Ranger like Darren Matthews in Attica Locke’s Highway 59 series, or sarcastic amateur detective and socialite like like Lady Georgie in the Her Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen, the series’ main sleuth is usually noble in their own way, putting themselves in danger book after book to restore justice. Once the sleuth gets us on their side, we’ll be clamoring for their next case.

Much more at link. I hope you find this useful.

[MLAA]

1. I'm enjoying Rhys Bowel's Evan Evans series. Two down and several more to go.

Light, fast, cozy reads.

[SheltieLover]

4. Ty so much for sharing!

I recently read "The Lineup" by Otto Penzler, mystery editor & owner of The Mysterious Book shop in NY.

When he saw the trend of brick & mortar bookstores closing up shop, he put his vreative vision to work & came up with the idea of getting famous authors to write about their life experiences & reasons for their main characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Jack Reacher & Harry Bosch, two of my favs.

I'm sort of reverse engineering this aspect of my writing process as I continue to work on a paranornal cozy series.

[duhneece]

9. Harry Bosch was my favorite until Gamache. nt

[Ocelot II]

3. I like the Duncan Kincaid series by Deborah Crombie,

Susan Hill's Simon Serraillier books, Joy Ellis' Rowan Jackman, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö's classic Martin Beck series, Brian Freeman's Jonathan Stride, Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole, and Louise Penny's Armand Gamache. All of these are pretty dark, but I like 'em dark. Hate "cozy" mysteries.

[SheltieLover]

5. Lol

I love cozies because they don't give me nightmares and frequently elicit some great laughs.

I'm sort of reverse engineering the character creation process for my paranormal cozy series.

[Ocelot II]

6. I only like the ones that have cats.

[SheltieLover]

7. Your overlords would bd pleased with your dedication.

I love books with cats, too!

Have you read Rita Mae Brown? 2 cats & a Corgi who talk to each other are the main characters who frequently save their hooman. Fun reads.

[Diamond_Dog]

10. I like the dark ones, too, Ocelot

Have read almost all the Harry Hole and Camilla Lackberg books. I loved the Dragon Tattoo series.
Scandinavian noir is my thing.

I really enjoyed the Black House (the “Lewis trilogy”) by Peter May as well

I’ll have to check out your other suggestions.

I don’t care for cozies either.

[Ocelot II]

12. If you like Nordic noir, there are some good Icelandic mystery writers:

Arnaldur Indriðason's Detective Erlendur series is very good, as is Yrsa Sigurdardóttir's Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, and Ragnar Jónasson's Dark Iceland series.

[Diamond_Dog]

13. Thanks a bunch!

Will look those up now.

[duhneece]

8. My favorite series gets a new one tomorrow. Detective Gamache

By Louise Penny.

Quebec.

I’ve preordered and am waiting with bated breath.

[Ocelot II]

11. Me, too! Love that series.

Also, "Three Pines" will be released on Amazon Prime on December 2.

[MLAA]

16. Love the series.

[Ocelot II]

14. So here's why I don't like cozy mysteries.

There is a predictable template that they almost always follow:

1. There's been a murder, but it's not gory or violent. Somebody has turned up dead, but not in a gross, scary way. They're just dead.

2. The protagonist is always female. She is single, relatively young and attractive, no kids, owns a bookstore or a bakery or a craft store or some other twee little shoppe in her little town. She could also be a (or the) reporter for the town's little weekly newspaper.

3. She decides to play amateur detective because she finds the body or it's someone she knows or just because. As the series progresses she always finds the body or it's always someone she knows.

4. She tangles with the handsome but arrogant cop who is investigating the murder. The instant they meet and start fighting you know they will become an item, and there is a subplot involving their cheesy and predictable romance.

5. If she's a reporter she will tangle with her editor when she decides to write a story about the murder which involves the mayor or other important person in the town.

6. She might have a sidekick, possibly the gay guy who works for her in her bead shop, or her sensible friend who tries to talk her out of following a suspect through the woods or down dark alleys.

7. She is captured by the person she is following, who is probably not the murderer, and is rescued by the handsome, arrogant cop. They fall into each other's arms, and there is a steamy but not too porny love scene.

8. She manages to figure out who the murderer is but nobody will believe her until there's another bloodless murder, which probably occurs behind her bookstore/bakery/craft shop.

9. She prevents a third murder in some painfully clever way, as by blinding the perp with bread dough or causing him to slip and fall on the beads she has strewn on the floor. The perp is then arrested by the handsome but arrogant cop.

10. The motive for the murders turns out to be some bizarre, convoluted story involving inheritances or illegitimate children or real estate developments or corporate polluters.

11. The handsome but arrogant cop is fired by the police department because he did something stupid and off the books while helping the protagonist investigate the crime. So he becomes a private detective while she keeps finding dead bodies.

12. She might have a cat. If the cat helps her solve the murders the story is somewhat improved.

If you are going to write cozy mysteries, please do not include these elements in your stories.

[SheltieLover]

15. Yup, often this is the case, but not all.

I won't. Mine is about a tarot reader / medium. 👍

Have you read Darynda Jones' "First Grave on the Right?" Great series. Paranormal & dark. Very gread reads!

[wnylib]

18. Have you read any of Kay Hooper's Bishop series?

Bishop (surname, I forget his first name) is the head of a team of investigators who all have different kinds of paranormal talents which they use in solving crimes.

Good reads for people who are open minded on the subject, but not for skeptics.

My 3 favorite detective series have all run dry due to age and retirement of the authors or, in one case, his death. They are Sara Paretsky's series with private detective V. I. Warshawski; Faye Kellerman's Decker/Lazarus series; and Tony Hellerman's Detective Leaphorn/Sergeant Chee series. Kellerman announced that her last book was THE last one, at least for the Decker/Lazarus series. Paretsky was not writing for a while after her husband's death, but now has another Warshawski book coming out. Tony Hillerman's daughter took up where her father left off for about 4 or 5 books, but I haven't seen any more coming out by her.

Each one of those authors has an ethnic setting or background for their detectives. Peter Decker is a Jewish detective on the LA city police department (and later moved to upstate NY). He's married to an Orthodox Jewish woman, Rina Lazarus. Their family life is prominent in the stories, following their children as they mature, marry, and have their own families. In the last book, Decker retires and they move to Israel.

The Hellerman books take place on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico and Arizona.

Paretsky's detective Warshawski is the daughter of a Catholic Polish father who was a cop and a Jewish Italian mother. She lives and works in Chicago.

I feel like I've lost family and friends with the end of those series and have not found replacements.

[SheltieLover]

19. These sound great, thx so much!

How about trying:

Danid Rosenfelt Andy Carpenter series - fav author! Each book is themed around dogs. Author runs a rescue in real life. Very funny books.

Rousseau-Murphy's Joe Grey series - another top fav! The cats are the detectives. Very well done!

Dianne Kelly Tara Holloway series. Tara is an IRS collection agent. Excellent & very funny!

Harry Bosch
Jack Reacher
Ellery Adams' Secret Book & Scone Society series
DeLeon's Miss Fortune series (hysterically funny!)
The Cat Who series
Fern Michaels (prolific author!) Sisterhood Series, Men of the Sisterhood series & Godmothers series

Just a few off the top of my head.

I know exactly what you mean anout feeling sort of lost when a series ends.

But the great news is that there are so many more to explore!

[wnylib]

22. Thanks. I will look into these.

I'm a little reluctant about detective stories where animals take part in the investigations. They tend to anthropomorphize the animals, giving them traits they don't have. More believable if the animal is a trained police canine corp member.

[SheltieLover]

23. Try Dianne Kelly's Paw Enforcement then.

Also, The Cat Who does nog anthropomophorzie at all.

The ones I'd suggested are not silly like Chet & Bernie. I know that's a popular series with many, but I just can'f read that. Lol

Enjoy & stay warm!

[SheltieLover]

20. And the amazing Mrs. Pollifax for culfural flair!

Senior citizen recruited by CIA whose stories will each immerse you in a different country & culture. Delicious reads!

Jennifer Chow's Mimi Lee series. Only a few in the series, but she is of Asian descent & lots of family cultural factors in this great series. I enkoyed immensely!

[SheltieLover]

21. Just checked ouf one of Hoopdr's ebooks from library

Ty for sharing!

Have you read Catherine Coulter's Sherlock & Savage series? They're FBI. Exceptional!

[MLAA]

17. It's that exact predictability that makes them so popular to their fans. Mind candy.

I like to read a couple in between darker, grittier mysteries.