What is your favorite mystery series/hero?

[charlottej]

Scarpetta from the Patricia Cornwell series!! I just cannot wait for her new book to come out!!

[Mariner]

And does anyone else like the Dorothy Gilman's "Mrs. Pollifax" series about the little old lady CIA Spy? they are somewhat dated if very funny.

Very much so. Like a lot of you, I grew up on Nancy Drew/the Hardy Boys/Trixie Belden. The funny thing is that I inherited some of my aunts' copies of Nancy Drew books which were published in the '40's. It was hilarious to read them and compare a version of the same book published in the '70s when I was reading them. Nancy's car and hair changed with the times.

I love many of the authors/series already mentioned and will join in saying that if you like Jonathan Kellerman, you should definitely check out Stephen White. In addition, I would recommend Lisa Scottoline and her Rosato & Associates books. The characters recur but different ones are featured in each book. Maybe I just like them because I'm a female lawyer, but they invariably have me laughing so hard I have tears streaming down my face. I also quite enjoy the Steve Martini novels featuring Paul Madriani. Those I would definitely recommend reading in chronological order. Now I need to go check out some of the other recommendations in this thread that I haven't read.

[gaby]

I glad to know someone but me love the books by G. MacDonald... The first 4 Fletch books are just great fun to read... I did not care for the later books. Its as if the author who wrote them was not the same man who wrote the first 4. I just found them to by humorless.

Love Sue Grafton's books also. They have never gotten boring. And I like how she keeps them in the mid 1980's. Where you have to be nosy to be a good PI.

Can't say the same for those Cornwell books. I lost interest when she has to spend a chapter of every book explaining how fabulous she is... living in her million dollar home driving her expensive Mercedes... I always wonder exactly how much money the state paid that Scarpetta woman... As far as her earlier work .... Potters Field was the one that creeped me out the most.

Kathy Trocheck has some funny books... her girl is Callahan Garrity... and the books location setting is in Atlanta, Georiga... and Callahan by far has the best side characters. (Baby, Sister and Neva Jean... and then of course Callahan's Mother Edna..) I think there are 6-7 books in the series...

I also love the Joan Hess books... they remind me alot of the Trocheck books. Funny ladies with crazy Mothers stirring up trouble for them...

[shyra]

I like Johnathan Kellerman, James Patterson, Karin Slaughter, Patricia Cornwell. I grew up reading The Bobsey Twins...still have all the books. lol Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. I also like the author David Whiltsie..not sure if the last name is spelled right though.

[dagwood]

Yeah, I love all the Maggody series... police chief Arlie and her mother (can't remember her name!!) are a hoot. Joan Hess also has another series wherein the heroine, Claire, has a teen aged daughter who rolls her eyes and gets in trouble frequently, leaving mom to bail her out. Mom owns a book store in a small town. Laugh-out-loud funny stuff. Joan Hess is a great writer if you like light comedy.

Arly's mom is name Ruby Bee (Rubella Belinda), love her and the friend Estelle. And, don't forget the green bean casserole. I love the Maggody books.

I also love her Claire Malloy books. Karon is a hoot.

[Swingsongbird]

J.A. Jance has two series of books. One is set in Seattle and involves detective J.P. Beaumont and the other one is set in Arizona and involves sherrif Joanna Brady. They are both really good series. She even brought the two characters together in one book after several books in each series.
I've also read John Sandford, Jonathan and Faye Kellerman's books, Sue Grafton, and a several more. I love books with recurring characters.

[Dinahann]

Arly's mom is name Ruby Bee (Rubella Belinda), love her and the friend Estelle. And, don't forget the green bean casserole. I love the Maggody books.

I also love her Claire Malloy books. Karon is a hoot.

Yeah, she just doesn't churn 'em out fast enough for me.

[december12]

Alex Cross//James Patterson
Maggie O'Dell//Alex Kava
E.L. Pender//Jonathan Nasaw
Kay Scarpetta//Patricia Cornwell

[Madison1995]

I grew up reading Hardy boys and Nancy Drew, Trixie Beldon (remember Honey Wheeler?). I loved them all.
Now my faves are; Kay Scarpetta, Kinsey Milhone (she gets the snot kicked out of her in every book)
Firegirl, I love Eve Dallas (and Peabody of course), Ben Kincaid (from William Bernhardt's series) and Nina Reilly (from Perri O'Shaughnessy's series)

I seem to like lots of strong women .. and their sidekicks lol

I'm not sure if someone else mentioned it but Lisa Gardner is great too! Especially The Killing Hour......and a lot of hers have strong women in them as well..

[Critical]

- Both the Kellerman's series
- Connelly's Harry Bosch series
- Used to love Kay Scarpetta, but Cornwell isn't what she used to be
- I still like Evanovich's Stepahnie Plum series but the whole "torn between two lovers" thing is getting old - there's only so long you can drag that out before readers stop caring
- Elizabeth George's books are on a completely different level as far as character development and, frankly, the quality of the writing, IMHO (on a side note: she was married to my H.S. principal and lives in my hometown!)
- Lincoln Rhyme is another favorite but I still don't see Denzel when I read the books!
- Alex Cross is great too
- I also like the Iris Johansen "Wind Dancer" series