The woman-detective series reshaped crime fiction from the 1980s onward. These are the longest-running examples.
Series in Reading Order
- Kinsey Millhone by Sue Grafton — 11 books · 1982–2013
Alphabet series, 1982-2017. - Kay Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell — 10 books · 1990–1999
Chief medical examiner series, begun 1990. - Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich
Bounty hunter series, begun 1994. - In Death by J. D. Robb — 32 books · 1995–2011
Lieutenant Eve Dallas; written by Nora Roberts. - Temperance Brennan by Kathy Reichs — 11 books · 1997–2016
Forensic anthropologist series, begun 1997. - Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear — 11 books · 2003–2019
Psychologist and investigator, begun 2003. - V.I. Warshawski by Sara Paretsky — 14 books · 1982–2018
Chicago private investigator, begun 1982. - Rizzoli Isles by Tess Gerritsen — 12 books · 2001–2012
Boston detective and medical examiner. - Miss Marple by Agatha Christie — 15 books · 1930–2005
St Mary Mead; twelve novels, twenty short stories.
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.
As an Amazon Associate, GoBookSeries earns from qualifying purchases.