Mystery is the most series-driven genre in publishing, and the series below are among the longest continuously running. Book counts and years are taken from each series entry.
Series in Reading Order
- Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle — 60 books · 1883–1926
Four novels and fifty-six short stories, 1887-1927. - Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie — 30 books · 1920–2019
Thirty-three novels and more than fifty short stories. - Miss Marple by Agatha Christie — 15 books · 1930–2005
Twelve novels and twenty short stories. - Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly — 24 books · 1992–2014
LAPD detective, later with the Open-Unsolved Unit. - Inspector Gamache by Louise Penny — 10 books · 2005–2014
Three Pines, Quebec; begun 2005. - Kinsey Millhone by Sue Grafton — 11 books · 1982–2013
The Alphabet series, 1982-2017. - Inspector Rebus by Ian Rankin — 16 books · 1987–2019
Edinburgh series, begun 1987. - Alex Cross by James Patterson — 15 books · 1992–2017
Detective and forensic psychologist, begun 1993. - Hannah Swensen by Joanne Fluke — 10 books · 2000–2007
Bakery mysteries set in Lake Eden, Minnesota. - Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear — 11 books · 2003–2019
Psychologist and investigator, begun 2003. - Rizzoli Isles by Tess Gerritsen — 12 books · 2001–2012
Boston detective and medical examiner. - Millennium by Stieg Larsson — 12 books · 2005–2025
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; continued by later authors.
How to read these series
Numbered entries follow the order the books were published, which is the order the story was written and the safest order for a first read. Where a series has side novels or novellas, reading them in publication order avoids spoilers from later books.
Where the numbers come from
Book counts and publication years on this page are taken from the series entries in the GoBookSeries index. Each title links to the full book list for that series.
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