Series openers to read next after you've burned through all the Louise Penny novels

A Duty to the Dead (Bess Crawford Mysteries Book 1)

by Charles Todd

Like Maisie Dobbs, this series features an atmospheric, post-WWI England setting and a wartime nurse turned investigator; with the Bess Crawford series, the authors explicitly wanted to show readers the women's side of The Great War. In this first installment, Bess is determined to fulfill a promise she made to a dying officer, even though she's been sent away from the front with a broken arm. But when she meets the man's family, something feels off—and she soon realizes she's plunged straight into the middle of a web of long-buried secrets. Written by the mother-son writing duo of Caroline and Charles Todd.

The Thursday Murder Club (The Thursday Murder Club Book 1)

by Richard Osman

This book remind me so much of Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote. It's a fun mystery that will appeal to readers of all ages. Plus, it looks like the first in what will be a series! It's set in a retirement community, where four friends meet in the Jigsaw Room every week to chat about unsolved crimes. This group of 70-somethings call themselves "The Thursday Murder Club." When bodies start piling up in a live and local case, they set out to catch a killer. Completely charming, and so well-narrated by Lesley Manville.

In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad Book 1)

by Tana French

This is the first of French's popular Dublin Murder Squad, although the series need not be read in order. Tana French writes an amazing psychological thriller, and her story here is tight, twisty, and unpredictable. The story has two primary threads: one revolves around a psychopath, the other around a supernatural disturbance, and you'll be sucked right into both. The murder is seriously grizzly, the book unputdownable—although be warned: the ending is highly controversial.

The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway Series Book 1)

by Elly Griffiths

Dr. Ruth Galloway is dedicated to her career as a forensic archaeologist and her two cats in Norfolk. When a child’s bones are discovered on a beach, the detective calls her in for help, suspecting they may be the remains of a girl who went missing a decade prior. Instead, the bones are revealed to be from the Iron Age, drawing Ruth further into the mystery. Then a second girl goes missing and the detective receives a sinister letter. They’ll have to work fast to determine if a copycat is on the rise. Readers tell me they love the atmospheric, remote salt marsh setting, as well as Ruth’s tart tongue and promising love interests. The fourteenth book recently released.

Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs Mysteries Series Book 1)

by Jacqueline Winspear

If you need a completely bingeable mystery series right now, I highly recommend this one. With 15 books and counting, Maisie Dobbs remains a compelling heroine. The first book introduces Maisie as she trades wartime nursing for her own private investigation practice at the end of WWI. Her first case appears to be run-of-the-mill infidelity, but something tells her to look deeper. When she finds disturbing secrets connected to the Great War, she is forced to confront her own trauma in order to solve the case. Maisie’s strong empathy and nurse’s training make her uniquely suited to detective work, and learning more about her is just as delightful as following the mystery. The narration on this series is stellar. I highly recommend it on audio.

In the Bleak Midwinter: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery

by Julia Spencer-Fleming

When a newborn infant is left at her church door, Clare Fergusson, the new Episcopalian priest in town, strikes up a friendship with Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne. They’re both ex-Army and find they have a lot in common…but he’s married and so friendship is all that they can be. As they search for the baby’s mother, they discover troubling secrets hiding in their small Upstate New York town. The complexity of the townspeople make for an interesting contrast to the building mystery. Readers tell me they keep coming back for the way Clare and Russ navigate their friendship and how this series explores the real human motivations that can lead to crime.

A Share in Death (Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James Book 1)

by Deborah Crombie

If you're all caught up on Louise Penny, try this engaging series of Scotland Yard police procedurals. I breezed through a bunch of them a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. This first installment reminds me of Dorothy Sayers: detective Duncan Kincaid happens to be vacationing at his posh cousin's time share when a body is found in the resort pool. The local detective rules suicide, but Kincaid is certain there's more to the story. As the series progresses, the police work is only half the content: in addition to their cases, Crombie devotes considerable ink to her detectives' personal dramas and romantic entanglements (in other words, do read these in order). Highly recommended for mystery-loving Anglophiles.

From Doon with Death: The First Inspector Wexford Mystery

by Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell is renowned within the mystery genre for her popular Inspector Wexford series. This is her debut that started it all. Inspector Wexford cannot figure out why anyone would murder a timid housewife, until he happens upon her secret collection of rare books, all signed by someone named Doon. But who is Doon and what do they have to do with the victim? Rendell deftly combines police procedural with small town mystery.

The Widows of Malabar Hill (Perveen Mistry Book 1)

by Sujata Massey

A MINIMALIST SUMMER PICK. Perveen Mistry is Bombay’s first female solicitor, employed by her father’s respected firm. When her father’s Muslim client dies, he is tasked with executing the will, but the three devout widows “stay behind the veil,” and must not be seen by men. When the duo discover irregularities in the estate documents, Perveen resolves to speak with the widows, because—as a woman—she’s the only one who can. Perveen is determined to protect their interests, not just because of her legal obligations but because of a disastrous past marriage, where she experienced firsthand the cruelty women can endure under the law. Toss in a murder investigation, and you get a tightly-crafted mystery, a vividly-drawn multicultural setting, and a plucky heroine fiercely taking on the challenges of her time.

The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Series Book 1)

by Daniel Silva

In a Quick Lit post, I share how I recently read my first Daniel Silva novel, the 16th book in this series. The books stand alone, but I enjoyed it so much that I’m inspired to go back and start here, at the beginning of the series, where Silva first introduces his readers to Israeli intelligence operative Gabriel Allon.

A Great Deliverance (Inspector Lynley Book 1)

by Elizabeth George

You all keep telling me I'll love Elizabeth George, but I'm intimidated by the TWENTY-ONE existing titles—to be read in order. The award-winning series featuring Scotland Yard members Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. These mysteries could be described as having a strong sense of place, psychological depth... not to mention the gorgeous English countryside. (Sensitive readers will want to know this has a content warning for graphic sexual abuse.)

Iron Lake (Cork O’Connor Book 1)

by William Kent Krueger

My husband Will is hooked on this series—and I've enjoyed reading the first few books, too. After losing his job and separating from his family in a marital dispute, Cork O’Connor can barely crawl out from under his guilt. Cork is eager to win back his family—winter in Minnesota lake country is hard enough without bitterness and loss. But when a local judge is murdered, and a friend asks Cork to find her missing son, he takes on the investigation. Town officials try to stop him at every turn, but Cork is determined to find the truth, even if that means exposing a dark secret. Part Irish, part Anishinaabe, Cork straddles two worlds and calls on friends who owe him favors in order to solve the case.

The Unquiet Dead (Rachel Getty & Esa Khattak Book 1)

by Ausma Zehanat Khan

The first in a series of Canadian procedurals centers the investigative team of detective Esa Khattak and his assistant Rachel Getty, who are often called upon to investigate crimes in the Muslim community of Toronto, navigating cultural and political divides to do so. I beg you, do NOT read the spoiler-laden reviews of this book, or even the jacket copy! I'll just say that the pair is called in to investigate the seemingly accidental death of a wealthy local man, and it slowly becomes apparent that this crime's roots go deeper than the detectives could have dreamed. This series is now five books (plus one short story) strong; I've read two so far and am looking forward to catching up. (If I say this is another good series to read when you've run out of Louise Penny novels, will you add it to your TBR immediately?)

Case Histories (Jackson Brodie Book 1)

by Kate Atkinson

The first book in the Jackson Brodie mystery series kicks off with private investigator Brodie following three seemingly disparate cases in Edinburgh. What do a missing little girl, an attacked office worker, and a new mother who snapped have in common? Jackson Brodie follows the threads back over the past 30 years as surprising connections emerge. This was an excellent detective novel, with good writing and strong characterization, and reminded me very much of Tana French. But like Tana French, some of the content was seriously disturbing.

Bluebird, Bluebird (Highway 59 Book 1)

by Attica Locke

As a black Texas Ranger, Darren Matthews has an intricate understanding of racial tensions in East Texas. He’s proud of his roots and his family, but when his loyalty lands him in trouble, he agrees to get out of town and investigate a crime for a friend. He drives up Highway 59 to the town of Lark, where a recent murder has stirred up hatred and history. Atmospheric and intense, and terrific on audio. J.D. Jackson narrates this and I adore his work.

Series openers to read next after you've burned through all the Louise Penny novels

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