Best Mystery Series: Our 15 Picks
Our editorial picks of 15 mystery series with book counts, years and a link to each full reading order. Cozy, classic and detective series.
How we picked
These are our own picks, not a ranking of quality. Each series has at least 3 books, a full reading order on this site checked against two sources, and a place in our reviewed genre groups. They are listed by how often people search for their reading order where we have that number, then by number of books.
1.Alex Cross
By James Patterson: 36 books, published 1993–2026.
Prime Video's Cross (2024), plus the films Kiss the Girls (1997), Along Came a Spider (2001) and Alex Cross (2012).
2.Harry Bosch
By Michael Connelly: 26 books, published 1992–2026.
Prime Video's Bosch (seven seasons) and Bosch: Legacy mix plots from across the books rather than following them in order.
3.Kay Scarpetta
By Patricia Cornwell: 29 books, published 1990–2025.
Prime Video's Scarpetta, a series based on the novels, premiered in March 2026.
4.Joe Pickett
By C. J. Box: 27 books, published 2001–2026.
Joe Pickett (2021-2023) is a TV series based on the novels, first on Spectrum and then Paramount+.
5.Lucas Davenport (Prey)
By John Sandford: 36 books, published 1989–2026.
6.Inspector Gamache
By Louise Penny: 21 books, published 2005–2026.
Amazon Prime Video's Three Pines (2022), starring Alfred Molina as Gamache, includes an adaptation of The Cruelest Month.
7.Will Trent
By Karin Slaughter: 12 books, published 2006–2024.
ABC's Will Trent (2023–).
8.Dublin Murder Squad
By Tana French: 6 books, published 2007–2016.
Dublin Murders (BBC One and Starz, 2019) adapts In the Woods and The Likeness.
9.Agatha Raisin
By M.C. Beaton: 37 books, published 1992–2026.
Agatha Raisin has been adapted for TV with Ashley Jensen: a pilot on Sky One (December 2014) and a first series (2016), then series 2 to 4 on Acorn TV, ending in February 2022.
10.Hamish Macbeth
By M.C. Beaton: 38 books, published 1985–2026.
BBC One's Hamish Macbeth (1995 to 1997, three series) is loosely based on M.C. Beaton's novels.
11.Hercule Poirot
By Agatha Christie: 33 books, published 1920–1975.
12.The Cat Who...
By Lilian Jackson Braun: 31 books, published 1966–2007.
13.Miss Marple
By Agatha Christie: 12 books, published 1930–1976.
The BBC series with Joan Hickson (1984–1992) is the most faithful adaptation.
14.Superintendent Battle
By Agatha Christie: 5 books, published 1925–1944.
15.The Thursday Murder Club
By Richard Osman: 5 books, published 2020–2025.
Netflix released a film of The Thursday Murder Club in 2025.