April 2026
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    I really like all of Michael Connelly's books and I recently read all of the Giles Blunt Cardinal books. All of them were great. So I'm looking for something similar, maybe a detective or a PI, maybe a lawyer like Connelly's Mickey Haller. Preferably something without too much wise-cracking, a moderate amount is fine, but it should be a bit more serious.

    And preferably a series with 5+ books, but that's not a must per se.

    Thanks in advance!

    by StellarKnife

    15 Comments

    1. Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series

      Joe Nesbø’s Harry Hole series (ignoring the first two and starting with The Redbreast at the author suggests)

    2. Cork O’Connor series by William Kent Krueger

      DC Smith Investigation series and Kings Lake Investigations series by Peter Grainger (the two series are intertwined)

    3. Might not be exactly what you are looking for, but if you ever want to try a Spanish and Catholic take on the genre, Arturo Pérez-Reverte has some great stuff. I loved the Seville Communion, tight plot and serious themes. Captain Alatriste is a great series, although it’s historical fiction and less “serious” than the Seville Communion

    4. Wild_Study_6774 on

      If you like Michael Connolly, you will definitely love Robert Crais. His Elvis Cole detective series also takes place in Los Angeles. The authors have a mutual respect for each other, and Harry Bosch even made a cameo in one of Crais’ books. I came across Crais after asking this exact same question about 20 years ago. The main character cracks a lot of jokes, but the books can also be quite serious. Trust me -try the series you won’t regret it.

    5. I really like Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole and Joe Pike books. The first one is The Monkey’s Raincoat.

    6. i really loved the Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty. He’s a police officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Belfast during the heights of the Troubles. Protestant living in a Catholic neighbourhood. First book is called The Cold Cold Ground and takes place in 1981.

    7. DifficultWing2453 on

      The Kate Shugak mysteries by Dana Stabenow, set in Alaska.

      Or The Spencer mysteries by Robert B Parker set in Boston.

    8. AdUnlucky6332 on

      I always run straight to my Libby app to look up these books and it is rare that they show up on Libby. So I then go to Hoopla and that sometimes will get a hit. Next stop is my Spotify (I have a family account and can listen to 15 hours a month for audiobooks).
      Crais and Blunt are not on Libby for audiobooks. Drat. Saved for future tho.

    9. Most-Artichoke6184 on

      John Sandford‘s prey series, starring Lucas Davenport. 36 awesome books and counting.

    10. This_person_says on

      Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, and it’s sequel.

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