Looking at any fiction bestseller list, it’s easy to see that among the titles are a mix of books that fall into the series category. Like tuning in to your favourite television show each week, many readers come back to their chosen protagonists in book after book. Most genres feature series but mystery, intrigue, action-adventure, and espionage novels dominate the list. Whether it’s Sherlock Holmes, in his many incarnations through the last hundred years, or James Bond saving the world from the machinations of Spectre, it’s the character that the readers identify with, rather than the action that occurs within a particular novel. While Rhett and Scarlett are tied forever to pages of Gone with the Wind, a character like Miss Marple can turn up anywhere.
The list of new and upcoming titles destined for bestseller status is no exception with many of the world’s top authors returning with books for the upcoming holiday season. If you haven’t tried this type of fiction it can be daunting as many of the series run over a dozen titles. The In Death series by J.D. Robb recently released Apprentice in Death which is number 42 in the series. Most series though aren’t quite such a commitment. You might find that you favour a particular type of character who can show up in the works of a number of authors. Ian Rankin’s John Rebus, or Harry Hole by Jo Nesbo or Kurt Wallander by Henning Mankell are all overworked, social inept policemen with hearts of gold but terrible personal lives and are characters I return to as often as possible.
If you find the world of espionage intriguing, you will probably enjoy Order to Kill, the latest Mitch Rapp adventure. The series was created by author Vince Flynn who sadly passed away from cancer but is being continued by Kyle Mills. The tale follows Mitch through the Middle East as he attempts to prevent a terrorist organization from obtaining nuclear warheads stolen from Pakistan. Jack Reacher will be returning in Lee Child’s new book Night School. The new novel travels back into Jack’s time in the army when he and his friends, an FBI agent and a CIA analyst were called upon to stop a Jihadist sleeper cell in Hamburg. David Baldacci is also back with his Special Agent John Puller series in No Man’s Land, a novel where Puller is forced to retrace a family tragedy that may lead to shocking international consequences.
As a lover of mysteries, I’m happy that many of my favourites are returning in new novels this season. The Trespasser by Tana French is the latest in her Dublin Murder Squad novels. The books feature different members of the Squad as the chief detective of a particular tale but there is a continuity of place and other prior characters play important roles. Author Michael Connelly brings back his most famous creation Harry Bosch in The Wrong Side of Goodbye. Bosch, now retired from the LAPD after thirty years, has become a private detective and is given the assignment of tracking down someone who may never have existed. The Obsidian Chamber by co-authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child bring back their long running character A.X.L. Pendergast as missing and presumed dead. It is up to Pendergast’s ward and bodyguard to determine his fate. These novels are not your standard mystery fare as there is always a strong thread of the supernatural throughout each book. Finally, John Sandford has released a new Virgil Flowers mystery, called Escape Clause.
Whether the series has just begun or has a few dozen tomes behind it, plunging into series fiction is a great way to spend the upcoming months of more indoor friendly weather.
Lori Kauzlarick
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