Lastest Update:  Sept 8, 2009

A long time ago, I planned on posting a blog that gave you an idea of what books (and or authors) need to be read in order….

As luck may have it, I have been seeing people at Barnes & Noble and Costco who looked confused and had the same question.

Really quickly….of the authors I have read (see the list to the left) here are those that do need to be read in order. If I get time, or the inclination, I’ll list all the books in order, but, for now you can probably get the order at the authors web site.

1. My all time favorites: Perri O’Shaughnessy’s series about Nina Reilly. The first book in this series is “Motion to Supress“.   I love this series and I love Nina and the two Perri’s.  We went to Carmel to meet Perri in 2004.  Did I say I love Perri?

2. Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone series starts with “A”. That one is easy! Start with “A is for Alibi” and move on from there.

3. D.J MacHale’s Pendragon series.  Possibly better than Harry Potter.   Start with “Pendragon The Merchant of Death”.  My daughter (and I) have emailed with D. J. on occasion, not to drop names.  :-)  The last book in the series (Book 10) is due out in a few months.  It promises to be very exciting.

4. J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series (but I bet everyone knows that). Start with “Harry Potter and the Socerer’s Stone”.  J.K Rowling’s web site is hard to navigate, so I linked to Barnes and Noble.

5. Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series. 4 or 5 WaterTowers. Mitch Rapp rocks. Start with “Term Limits”. Vince Flynn’s web site does not show “Term Limits” for some strange reason, so I linked to Amazon (I’m an equal opportunity linker

6. Barry Eisler’s John Rain series. New to my list of favorites.  Start with “Rain Fall”.  Read my review of “Rain Fall” here.  Barry lives in the Bay Area and I have been lucky enough to pick up several signed books (He braves the traffic to visit bookstores in the area.  He even made it out to Tracy one day).  We have also communicated by email.  I am looking forward to the movie of “Rain Fall”.   One of my favorite actors, Gary Oldman, is in it!

7. Brad Thor’s Scot Harvath series.  The first book is “The Lions of Lucerne” a great book, full of action and adventure.  Brad Thor’s web site is slick but you need patience to go through all the slickness before getting to the meat.

8. C. J. Box’s Joe Pickett series.  I reviewed the first book in this series, “Open Season”,  here.  Absolutely terrific book.  Here it is on C. J. Box’s web site.

9. Mike Lawson’s Joe DeMarco series.  Mike is a new author with a great wit and talent.  His first book is “The Inside Ring”.  Mike and I have also emailed,  he is a great guy who really enjoys, and is dedicated to his, writing.

10. Steve Martini’s Paul Madriani series.  Steve Martini is one of the first authors I read.  He is one of my favorties and I pick up his books as soon as they become available.  I have read them all.  The first Paul Madriani is “Compelling Evidence”.  I went to San Diego one year on business and found Paul Madriani’s office (I even asked some poor guy there if he knew Paul…how silly was that)  and the cantina where he and Harry go for a drink.  I took a picture and will find it an post it below.

11. Carolyn Haines “Bones” series.  The first appears to be “Them Bones”.   See my review of #9, “Greedy Bones” here.

12. Jordan Dane’s “Sweet Justice” series with Bounty Hunter  Jessica Beckett,  (Spy / Assassin?) Alexa Marlowe, and computer nerd Seth Harper.  The first book is (see my review of)  “Evil Without a Face”.  Great characters.  Can’t wait to read more!  :-)

There are a number of authors who are predominantly “stand alone” but who have written a few books in a series….

1. Stephen Frey’s Christian Gillette series ran for three or four books. I started reading Stephen Frey when his first book came out and have read every one.  The action is fast, furious, and at times brutal. The first Christian Gillette book is “The Chairman”.  I wrote one of my first blog reviews on that book and “The Protege” here.

2. David Baldacci has started two series in this genre.   Oliver Stone is one.  Another is Sean King and Michelle Maxwell.  Both are terrific.  This link on David Baldacci’s web site has information on both.  The first Oliver Stone book is “The Camel Club” while the first King and Maxwell book is “Split Second”.

I’ll continue to add to this as I have time….so bookmark this entry and check back often.  :-)

Best of  Reading!