I’ve loved crime/detective/thriller fiction ever since picking up and reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie way back in my middle school days. This continues today. I thought I’d share my top five favorite characters which make you think, sit on the edge of your seat and figure out who done it. You have homicide cops, a private investigator, a western Sheriff and a wandering former Army MP. These books will make time pass at a frantic pace.

Lucas Davenport by John Sandford

The Lucas Davenport novels by John Sandford are my current favorites. I think Sandford does the best job of weaving the inner workings of a police procedural into ever-evolving stories. Davenport also grows with the series, starting as a Minneapolis Homicide cop to his current job working for the US Marshal service. And the side characters, from Del to Virgil Flowers to Lettie Davenport (she has her own series now) are as good as Davenport. Rules of Prey is book number one in the series.

Jack Reacher by Lee Child

With Killing Floor, Lee Child introduces the world to Jack Reacher, a character who currently rules modern thriller fiction. Through two Tom Cruise movies and an Amazon Prime series staring Alan Ritchson (season two is on the way) the books have transitioned into main stream entertainment. Yet nothing beats the books for a great way to spend a weekend reading. Reacher is the unstoppable force who keeps you coming back for more.

Walt Longmire by Craig Johnson

There are few series which I look forward to reading more than a new Walt Longmire book by Craig Johnson. There was a Netflix series based on the character and it was good, but the show failed to deliver on the humor in the book series. Set in the fictional Wyoming county of Absoroka, Sheriff Longmire finds himself embroiled in mysteries on the edge of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. There are few places more lonely than in a cop car on the edge of the mountains in the winter time. And thanks to Craig Johnson’s excellent writing, you feel like you are there. The Cold Dish is the first book in the series.

Spenser by Robert B Parker

If Robert B. Parker were still alive (he died in 2010) this series would be number one. Not that the people who have written the books in the past few years aren’t good. They are. Parker was simply better. Spenser novels are fast paced and dialogue heavy. Add in great secondary characters, like Hawk, and you get a series which is a ton of fun to read. There was a TV show back in the 80s, Spenser for Higher, staring Robert Urich. Spenser is a great popcorn read. The first book in the series is the Godwulf Manuscript.

Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch is the creation of Michael Connelly and he’s the rare malcontent who makes you pull for him to succeed. Set in Los Angeles, Harry is a homicide cop who does not play well with others. In the Amazon Prime series, Bosch, Harry is played by Titus Welliver and Welliver may be the best casting ever for a fictional detective for the streaming era. The show is excellent and captures the soul of the books.

The Black Echo is the first book in the series.

There was a time the John Corey Books by Nelson DeMille would have led this list. However, the last few books have not been as good. Lion’s Game and The Lion are both great books.

Other modern fiction series I recommend are the Alex Delaware novels, the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novels, and the Cormoran Strike novels.