Top Lists
Welcome to my Top Lists section. We offer top lists, usually in a top 10 format, for everything book related. We aim to offer informative, funny and opinionated top lists.
Note that I will keep these updated if relevant – for example a “Top 10 Books by Author”. If that author writes a book that cracks that top 10 I update the list.
Thanks and leave your opinions in the relevant articles.
Top 10 Harlan Coben Books: No-one can quite spin a tale like Harlan Coben. In this article I rank my top 10 Harlan Coben novels.
Top 10 Jack Reacher Books: Lee Child writes the Jack Reacher series and in this article I rank the Top 10 Jack Reacher books.
Top 10 Mitch Rapp Books: Mitch Rapp is a series written by the late Vince Flynn, and now Kyle Mills. I rank these in order – does Kyle Mills debut novel make the cut? I actually rank ALL of the Mitch Rapp books as I did a re-read purely due to the Mills novel.
Top 10 John Grisham Books: One of my favourite authors as a teenager was John Grisham, and even though the quality has dropped I still read each book. In this article I cover the top 10 John Grisham books.
Top 10 Books for 6-12 Year Olds: I was a huge reader as a kid and both my kids are big readers. With both of them over 6 years old and picking out their own books from the school book fair etc – I’ve written this series to help people pick out books with their kids. More “adult” type books but still 100% for kids.
10 Series To Read After The Hunger Games: The Hunger Games was the hot, hot book series and it introduced a whole new audience to young adult novels – particularly in a dystopian world. In this article I list 10 more series to read after the Hunger Games. Or if you like the Hunger Games, you’ll like these.
Top 10 Book to Movie Adaptations: For many, many years movies have been inspired by books. In this article I write my personal top 10 book to movie adaptations – ones which do an amazing job and are sometimes even better than the book. I will add additional ones when I see them in the comments.
10 Reasons To Buy an E-Reader: I have sooo many people asking me all the time if they should buy an e-reader. I wrote this article to refer people to, to help them decide.
10 Books To Read Before they Hit Movie Theatres: This one was written by 2014 so is out of date but still good to read if you’re looking for book to movie adaptations.
10 Books To Read on Vacation:This list is actually specific to me – in October 2014 I was going on a trip and listing books I was going to read on vacation. But I go into detail about picking books to read etc and there’ll be some new author ideas in there for you hopefully.
Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know!
Lee Child: is the one. I reader 4 of he’s book in the last 2 mouth. I love Jack Reacher he is the best character. the books I reads. The Midnight Line, Gone Tomorrow, Night School, Personal, all so goods.
I miss Elmore Leonard and liked Carl Hiassen for a while… crime stories/mysteries that involve quirky and often likable bad guys as well as good guys. Everything that falls into the crime/mystery category these days is either a serial killer or a spy book. Joe Lansdale (Hap and Leonard Series) is pretty good but it’s really difficult to find any with good characters other than badasses/MacGyver types who are loners who meet lots of helpless people or spooks (spies)who are about as relatable as the serial killers are in the crime books. One of my favorite lines in a book was one describing a member of a loosely knit “criminal gang” who was more stupid than the rest of the gang and was described as “the guy who basically carried the sh-t to the truck” while the rest of the gang went through the house or business or whoever they were robbing. Leonard mastered both the quirky criminal and the serious nature of their crimes, whereas Hiassen got the character right, but the “crimes” were sorta stupid and eventually became crusades against every enemy of the liberals. I’m looking for a good combination of serious criminal matters (but not crazed serial killers) and realistic/sympathetic and quirky characters. No demons, vampires, or supernatural occult crap. Dialog is hard… especially for writers who’ve never been around the sort of characters they’re trying to create. Michael Connolly is great and I have to believe it’s b/c of the years he spent around the sort of characters in his books… lawyers, cops, bail bondsmen… and, of course… criminals.
I miss Elmore, too. I have recently discovered novels by David Housewright, a Minnesota mystery author. His plots and main character, Rushmore McKenzie include plenty of Tilt-a-Whirl an goofy plot twist elements. He has published a good number of solidly well written, entertaining novels.
I have just finished reading Spring Tide by Cilla & Rolf Borjlind I enjoyed it very much. I live in Australia and was wondering if the Ronning and Stilton series is available in this country.
Many thanks, Mike Rothwell
What happened to Sophia Hannah book listing? Haven’t been able to find it.
Do you mean Sophie Hannah? If so its here: https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/sophie-hannah/
Thank you for responding! I did find her!
I’m so glad I found this site! I’ve read most of the authors mentioned above and thoroughly enjoy series with continuing character theme lines, especially when the characters are a bit quirky. Lately, I’ve really gotten into mid 1800s to early 1900s mysteries. Do you or anyone out there have any suggestions for me? Thanks so much!
I love this
You might check out >The Alienist series. By Caleb Carr
And Sherlock Holmes in the original ial format. And E. G. Poe did probably the firstdective stories.
Anne Perry’s good. You have to stick with her long enough to get all of the characters and their relationships to one another straight… but once you have and the obligatory crime takes place… you’re good to go.
The Ian Rutledge series is the best. I’ve read them all
3 times over the years.
After spending decades reading recent novels taking place around the time of publication,. I’ve been enjoying mystery/crimes series set before computers, DNA, or cell phones.
Charles Lenox’s Charles Finch series. Late 1800s.
Emily Brightwell’s Mrs. Jeffries series. Late 1800s.
Victoria’s Thompson’s gaslight series begins in the 1890s and extends into the early 1900s.
Nancy Springers series about Sherlocks’s young sister, Enola Holmes is good.
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, by Laurie R.King also features Sherlock.
Many series I’ve been following take place between WWI and WWII by Jacqueline Winspear, Carola Dunn, Ashley Weaver, Anna Lee Huber.
Jess Montgomery’s kinship series begins in 1924, loosely based on Ohio’s first female sheriff.
Susan Elia MacNeal features Maggie Hope during WWIi.
Louise Penny has written an excellent series known as the Inspector Gamache series. These murder mysteries are intriguing, engaging, inclusive, and humorous, and provide very good insights into life in the bicultural environment of rural Quebec.
Hello all…I’m looking for mystery or detective series that take place in Asia. Can anyone make some recommendations? Thanks!
The Ava Lee series by Ian Hamilton is excellent.
The Dr Siri (set in Laos) and Jim Juree books (set in Thailand) by Colin Cotterill. They are amazing! My wife loves them too. They really help you picture the place and time, the people, and are both quirky and humorous. I can’t recommend them highly enough, my favorite books bar none.
I loved Colin Cotterill series. So original, also a firm favourite
Check out Jake Needham. Two excellent series set in Thailand and Hong Kong.
Excellent site…would love
25 reasons not to get an eReader
Linking and Obtaining different Library access
Reacher/Hunt for Reacher needs a Chronological Order (and yes they go together)
Julie Garwood series listing has issues…but those issues exist on her website as well…
For a Chronological order…Buchanan series goes back to Lairds…with a detour through Rose series (others may also…but been years since I read them)
I haven’t looked at Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle…though as the series have all started crossing the “traditional” genres…her reprints have started to be all reissued under Krentz (bookstores are so happy)
Keep up the excellent work.
Try Barry Eisler. 16-book collection with a small group of characters.
I love this website! Thank you for such detailed information. I also enjoy your weekly E-mails. I keep of printed list of books by my favorite crime drama authors & come here every 3 or 4 months to update it. Right now I am looking for a new author with many many books…similar to Lee Child, James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Catherine Coulter, Linda Fairstein,J A Jance, John Sanford, Stuart Woods. I like books with continuing characters. Also David Baldacci & John Grisham. Any suggestions fellow book lovers? Thanks!
You’re welcome and thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate that 🙂 That’s a very widespread list of authors. Michael Connelly would be a good one if you haven’t read him – and be sure to pay attention to our “Bosch Universe” listing as it covers all of them.
I read Michael Connelly, also Karen Slaughter, Greg Isle’s, Rizzoli & Isles, Lisa Regan, Robert Crais, Lisa Gardner & Sara Pertsky (sp?). Just didn’t want to make the list to long. Thanks for the reply.
Haha yeah I had a feeling you would have read Connelly. Would have been surprised if you hadn’t. If you like Jack Reacher, check out the Peter Ash series. Harlan Coben you may enjoy too.
Have Nick Petrie-Peter Ash series, also Kathy Reichs series. I see Patricia Cornwell has a new book coming out in the Kay Scarpetta series. Hope it is better than the last few! I will check out Harlan Coben. Thanks!
If you enjoy spy thrillers – Gray Man series by Mark Greaney, Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn/Kyle Mills, John Wells series by Alex Berenson are all good!
I’ll echo the thanks Graeme. It’s so handy to have a quick reference site.
I agree with those that y’all have mentioned. Don’t overlook Daniel Silva. His Gabriel Allow character is excellent. Sheldon Siegel has a small series that’s not bad. I made a mistake and tried the John Connolly series — whoa, too weird :-).
May also give Lisa Gardner a look, thanks to Eddie Dean.
Having read all of John Connolly’s Charlie Parker books, I can understand that they make some readers uncomfortable with their frequent spookiness. That said, I LOVED them and am interested in what other authors fans might recommend.
Sheriff Bill Gastner series by Steven Havill
Try David Ellis, Tana French
I live in a small town called Truth or Consequences NM. Our library is proof. Can you help with books by “Ben Bova” please.such as any SF series by him? Sitting quietly in the Chiuaua dessert, reading to music. Your friend Jimmie W Vance
I highly recommend Dr Bova’s Grand Tour of the Planets – Mercury-Neptune. Tragically, he died while still writing Pluto (COVID). The series actually begins with Mars. I recommend reading them in chronological order, as several characters are recurring.
His Power series is also really good, though more about science and the struggle with politics than space SciFi. Power Play, Power Failure, Power Surge, and Power Challenges – his last book, published after his death.
You can’t go wrong with a Bova book!
I would recommend Jeffery Deavers ‘Lincoln Rhymes’ series. I do read the authors you have listed above and enjoy them very much. I too like to read the series books.
C.J.Box, William Kent Krueger, Jamie Doiren, Patricia Cornwell, Nevada Barr, Longmire series.
I am looking for more series like these.
You might like John Lescroart….he writes essentially legal thrillers/murder mysteries/courtroom drama. I have read every book he has written in chronological order and his key characters started back in the 1990s and come forward to his latest which i believe was 2022. Great writer in my opinion. Start with The Vig.
Daniel Silva- Fern Michaels, Texas Series. Kentucky Series Vegas Series, Order of the Sisterhood Series
Ben Coes, Mark Greaney, Start with Texas then go on
from there
Nelson de Mille :John Corey series and his standalone novels are very good reads.
who wrote “the girl on the train’
what was the next book she wrote?
https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/paula-hawkins/
Bruh, you got a site like this for movies? ‘Cause I could use a hand organizing Marvel movies and shows into a coherent playlist. xD
Not at this time haha. Not too many movie series that would really warrant it.
I am wondering why you say the quality has dropped for John Grisham books? I have not had time to read in YEARS and am behind in so much! Thank you
It’s been awhile since I wrote that. I forget the specifics but I just really felt it had dropped for quite a few books. In saying that some of his most recent books have been excellent. I loved Rogue Lawyer for example.
I completely agree. Have been disappointed with his last few books.
Not me! John Grisham remains a stellar storyteller!
Agree Grisham is slipping. Just read his Sparring Partners…a book of 3 short stories…not bad but not great for Grisham. Not even close to quality of his early novels. I dont read his non legal thriller type novels anymore.Just not nearly up to his specialty IMHO.
I have read most if not all Grisham books over the past 20 years or so and i just finished reading the Rooster Bar which i really enjoyed. That said i agree that his more recent books dont measure up to his earlier works unless they are what got him started…legal thrillers . I recently read a couple of his short non legal novels…Sooley and another one i cant recall the title of and they were very average. Going forward I will always read his new novels if they focus on the legal environment and all its ramifications. There are other very good authors who do that very well…Robert Tanenbaum and John Lescroart to mention two.
This really helps
Tnx it is a great site
I wish this site was a app
Yes an app for this would be great, and a way to check them off as we read them!
I use TV Time for tv and movies
Your site is a “Must Visit Regularly”!
I can’t believe you aren’t on any of the lists above. Just read ‘Hot and Badgered’, I haven’t laughed so much while reading a book, absolutely fantastic. Can’t wait to read the next book.
Definitely a print button, copy and pasting doesn’t give the headers.
Karen, try Ctrl+P and print to pdf.
What a blessing this site is!! Being retired gives me lots of time to explore…and this site will do it! Many thanks!
Great site!!!!
recommend a series after the outlander series or another like this
Absolutely amazing site! Thank you for all the work you put into making it so user friendly and awesome! I shared, saved, bookmarked, and signed up. LOL!
Thanks for this great service/site! Shared!
How do I buy used paperbacks of Michael Palmer books
Amazon.com
Ebay or Abe’s books are great places to buy.
I try the charity bookshops, having worked in one I can assure you they have a massive selection
Better World Books
I love your site, you love books and you love to that that. Thanks for your enthusiasm.
Would be curious to know your, or any other member’s top 10 list for the espionage genre. Any time period. After reading Brian Kilmeade’s Washington’s Spies, I find myself wanting more in depth storytelling. Cold war, OSS WWII, or modern day, just curious for some suggestions.
I would suggest taking a look at Joseph Kanon, Phillip Kerr, Alan Furst and David Downing. Great plots and characters. If you are interested in spying in Europe during the ’30s and ’40s as well as post-war, check these out.
Read some of the old Helen McInnes novels!
Favorites to recommend: John LeCarre and Mick Herron
I love this site! It tells you exactly what I want to know. I am new to fiction and I’ve found that I enjoy Brad Meltzer’s Beecher White Series and CJ Box’s Cody Hoyt Series. Is there anything or anyone else comparable?
Love your site !!! … a great help. May I make a suggestion ?… provide a print button for the listings……..when book shopping it would be great to have all your favorite Authors annotated with books already read with you so you do not inadvertently but any duplicates. Thanks for your consideration
Try an extension called Evernote. You can clip articles and save selections from any web page to have on hand and to print. I absolutely love it!
Oh wow… I like this. I came tot the website when searching for what order to read the Ender series in & I was thinking, how much content can this website even have?! But I likey!
(I’m not sure I’ll ever actually get to the next books in that series, I have too many others to get to first & I’m not particularly itching to read it/them.)
I love Karen Rose / James Patterson / Lisa Jackson books any recommendations for a new author
Try Karin Slaughter she has 2 main series of books with the same characters running through them they are awesome
I have read the whole series wonderful!!
I enjoy reading JD Robb’s (aka Nora Roberts) “In Death” series featuring Lt Eve Dallas. Also read Kathy Reichs’ series featuring Dr. Temperance Brennan. Patricia Cornwell’s series featuring Dr. Kay Scarpetta and Sue Grafton’s alphabet series featuring Kinsey Milhone as a private investigator.