Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I’ve decided to take part in That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday meme to mix things up a little here at damppebbles. Add a little bit of variety to our bookish weeks.
The meme was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish but has lived with Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl since January 2018. It was created to encompass a love of books, of lists and to bring readers together. If you would also like to take part then you’re very welcome: the more, the merrier. Just make sure you link back to Jana’s post every week. If you don’t have a blog then no problem, just add your list to the comments below.
This week’s theme is a Genre freebie (Pick any genre you’d like and build a list around it. You can even narrow the topic if you’d like, such as: thrillers with unreliable narrators, fantasy romance with fae characters, or historical romance with suspense elements.) If you’re a regular here at damppebbles then you will know that I love my crime fiction. Of course, crime fiction comes in many different styles and approaches. But the best form of crime fiction, in my opinion, is the police procedural. So here is a list of my all-time favourites. And the most exciting thing is, I get to recommend ten series (so many books!) rather than just ten standalone novels as I normally do! These are the series you really, really should read if you’re into thrilling detective novels and clever mystery books.
1. Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw
Book one: The Puppet Show by M.W. Craven
Starting with the best of the best. This is my favourite crime series and I’ve recommended it to SO MANY people over the years. Every book is compelling and completely different from the last. Every book is thrilling, nigh-on impossible to put down and totally gasp-inducing. I LOVE this series and I cannot wait for the seventh book to be published later this month. I guess you could question whether it’s an official police procedural as Tilly and Poe are more ‘National Crime Agency (Serious Crime Analysis Section)’ than the plain ol’ MET but I think it still counts. Don’t come at me 😂
2. DCI Erika Foster
Book one: The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza
The Girl in the Ice was one of the first books I reviewed on damppebbles nearly ten years ago. I still love this series as much now as I did then. Erika and the team have been through a lot, with the ninth book having recently been published. Bryndza never lets the reader down.
3. DC Ffion Morgan
Book one: The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh
A fairly new series with only three books published but oh my gosh, they’re so good. I really hope there are more books to come.
4. DCI Matilda Darke
Book Two (because I haven’t actually read the first book 🙈): Outside Looking In by Michael Wood
Another fierce and feisty female detective who I’m a little bit in love with. Similar to Erika Foster, Matilda and her team have had a heck of a time over the last few years. Book thirteen, Worse than Murder, is out in a few months time. I have fallen a little behind with this series but it remains one of my favourites and I WILL catch up soon!
5. The Major Crimes Team
Book one: The Echo Man by Sam Holland
This series has gone from strength to strength with each new book. Gosh, it’s good. Not for the faint hearted though, which is probably why I love it so much. The fourth book, The Countdown Killer, was published fairly recently. I really, REALLY hope there’s more to come. Superb!
6. Detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic
Book one: Opal Country by Chris Hammer
I recently went on a bit about how much I love Australian crime fiction for a Top Ten Tuesday post. This series, along with Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk trilogy, are the reason I’m so utterly obsessed!
7. Detective Declan Miller
Book one: The Last Dance by Mark Billingham
Mark Billingham is a one of the main reasons I am a crime fiction reader with a crime fiction blog. His Tom Thorne series was one of my earliest detective obsessions. I’ve fallen so behind with it over the years though that I don’t feel I can include it here. So I’m going with Billingham’s newest series, the Detective Declan Miller books. He’s a dancer. He’s a detective. He keeps rats. So far there are only two books published but I hope there will be more in the future.
8. PI Lane Holland
Book one: Wake by Shelley Burr
I read this book back in 2022 and I loved it. It was my book of the year. I didn’t realise that Burr’s second book, Murder Town, would also feature PI Lane Holland. A third book has been published in Australia but as far as I can tell, there are no plans to publish in the UK at the moment (please let me know if you’ve heard otherwise). Such a shame as I LOVED Burr’s first two books. Not 100% sure it fits within this theme but I’m going to include it anyway!
9. DS George Manolis
Book one: The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou
I’ve started with the Australian books and now I can’t stop. Another terrific series. One where the main character, DS Manolis, didn’t really feature prominently in the last book, The Pit. I kind of love that. It’s a bit like the Major Crimes Team by Sam Holland. Not necessarily about the individual. More about the team.
10. Robert Hunter
Book one: The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter
A legend. Chris Carter’s Robert Hunter series is brutal but oh my goodness, so so good! Similar to Mark Billingham’s Tom Thorne books, this is another series I’ve been reading for a very long time and is partly responsible for my love of the genre. Again though, I have fallen a little behind. I just need a few more hours in the day to dedicate solely to reading!!
Quite possibly my favourite list of all time. Some of the best writers creating some of the best characters and asking them to solve the impossible! I loved putting this one together and I hope, if you’re a fan of the genre, that you’ll check them out and love them as much as I do.
Have you read any of these books? Are you a fan of the police procedural? Who have I missed? Who should be on this list that isn’t? Are you taking part in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Let me know in the comments.
So there we have it! If you fancy joining in next week then head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl’s blog to find out what the next topic is!
Please note, this post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn commission should you choose to make a purchase using the links.
