UKC

Looking for a new series to read. Nothing too hard going, crime / historical / spy. Happy to suspend belief for a good story, but nothing as bad as a Dan Brown novel.

I've enjoyed nearly everything by Bernard Cornwell, Lee Child, Wilbur Smith, Clive Cussler, Simon Scarrow, Peter May, Peter James, Peter Robinson, Colin Dexter.

Not really enjoyed PD James, found Richard Osman's first novel slow going. Read Elly Griffiths first novel, trying the second but not gripped.

Slow Horses series.
 

The Ben Hope series are a good read and a new one comes out a couple of times a year. 

I’m enjoying Book 5 of Ken Follet’s Kingsbridge series of historical novels. 

If you do start it, start with Book 4: The Evening and the Morning which is a prequel to all the others ie set in the earliest period historically ( late 10 th century). 

Looks good. I've got the sample on my kindle to try this morning.

I think I saw a bit of an adaptation of his books. Rufus Sewell?

Damien Boyd’s DI Nick Dixon police crime novels are very entertaining and readable. The first in the series “As the Crow Flies” is based around rock climbing, the author used to climb. As others have said Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series is also very good, as is Andrew Raymond’s Novak and Mitchell series

Have you sampled Ian Rankin's Rebus novels? A lot to go at there if you haven't!

For anyone looking for a climbing meets crime fiction thriller, I've just finished reading Manda Scott's Stronger Than Death, as part of my project to review all the climbing-themed novels written since 1975. I thoroughly recommend it. It's up there with Jeff Long's Angels of Light. It's towards the PD James end of the thriller spectrum though.

Apart from the obvious ( and with good reason) suggestion of Slow Horses, I've been enjoying John Banville's latest Quirke / Strafford books. It's a follow on series from when Banville wrote as Benjamin Black and invented the character of pathologist Quirke, and once you've seen Gabriel Byrne as Quirke on TV there's no going back. The best word to describe Quirke is probably "irascible"; my wife just says he needs a good slap.

Two authors whose books I have enjoyed, main character in each; James Lee Burke (main character Dave Robicheaux) and Walter Mosley (Easy Rawlins, played brilliantly by Denzel Washington in the film Devil in a blue dress).

American I know, enjoyed greatly.

The Flashman books by George MacDonald Fraser. Interesting historical notes, funny and exciting. Politically and morally lax antihero. Last volumes not so good.

Charlie Parker series by John Connelly. Crime, often with a supernatural element,

Stephanie Plum bounty hunter books by Janet Evanovich. Very light reads. First book too serious but later volumes increasingly funny.

Dave Robicheaux crime  books by James Lee Burke.

Time for Swords series set in Saxon/Viking era by Matthew Harffy

Robicheaux must be knocking on a bit by now.

Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin books. Napoleonic-era naval with spying thrown in, but a whole lot more than that.

Yes. Character fought in Vietnam. Hang on...."knocking on a bit" that could include me.

The main character in another JLB crime series fought in Korea IIRC.

All day long.

Well written, historically and nautically accurate.

They are. Read those growing up.

If you liked Bernard Cornwell, I'd highly recommend Conn Iggulden, especially his Genghis Khan series

Try Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

Not a series but a single book. But also a series! Certainly includes crime, historical and spy aspects. Very well written, not too hard. 

It's not in the range that your looking for but the Amtrak Wars by Patrick Tilley is an excellent set of books. 

Easy to read but very compelling characters and story. 

Set in a post apocalypse world with 3 societies. 

A high tech underground society, high tech soldier ants basically.

Primitive slightly mutated tribes on the surface. 

A 3rd society based on Feudal Japan. 

Yes: Pillars of the Earth: Book 1 in the series but second chronologically. 

Would second Conn Iggulden ‘s Ghengis Khan series. He also has a Julius Caesar series. 

Not sure what the English translations are like but I've enjoyed the novels from French writer Fred Vargas that I've read. Just checked & it seems most of her books are available in English & I expect the latest will be soon.

Perhaps not a series as such, but Cormac McCarthy's border trilogy is just outstanding.

Maybe a bit of a spoiler if you have seen the film versions of them but well worth reading.

Charles Cumming

Owen Matthews

Len Deighton

Colin Forbes (early ones in Tweed series) 

They are both great, and Simon Scarrow Napoleon/Wellington series. I'd forgotten about Conn Igulden. Quite often I come across an author, read most of what they've written and moved on. If I've owned and donated the paper book or used the library I forget about them. Our library only shows our records back a couple of years.

If you like the area, which we do, the crime stories based on the Isles of Scilly by Kate Rhodes are good.  First one is "Hell Bay". 

Have a look at Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series.  The Samson series by Len Deighton: Game, Set and Match; Hook, Line and Sinker; Faith, Hope and Charity. All great reads IMO!

Irvine Welsh's Crime series .

JD Kirk's Hoon books are worth a go. 

C.J.Sansom try his Matthew Shardlake series. He also wrote the spy novel Winter in Madrid and the alternate history novel Dominion. 
All superb. The Shardlake series are excellent. Always available in Oxfam. ( A TV version has just been released, not seen it). 
Winter in Madrid also excellent. Not read dominion it’s been sat in the bookcase but yet I can’t face it ! 

PS The slow horses gets my vote, Jackson Lamb is comic genius. 
 

Raymond Chandler's detective series featuring Philip Marlowe are well worth a read. He's the coolest of cool down at heels PIs.

Go back a bit, and try C S Forester (the Hornblower series, but others as well) and Neil Shute. 

One classic spy series that hasn't been mentioned so far is John Le Carre's trilogy featuring George Smiley: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy & Smiley's People.  Similar outstanding literary quality to Chandler.

ETA: There are also a couple of earlier Smiley thrillers.

Oops Should have been Nevil Shute.

Not spotted any mention of Scandi-noir, many authors but I've particularly enjoyed Henning Mankell  (Swedish) & Arnaldur Indriðason (Icelandic).

I've read all Mitchell's novels, and this is my favourite. I don't think he bettered it.  All his stuff is well worth reading though. His most recent, Utopia Avenue,  has the added bonus that people my age, who were lucky enough to enjoy popular music's greatest era, can have fun spotting the stars.

If you enjoyed Bernard Cornwell try Conn Iggulden for historical fiction. Julius Caesar and Kengis Khan series

 found Richard Osman's first novel slow going

cant understand what all the fuss is about these books,really didnt enjoy reading trhis but heyho what do i know many other people obviously do

Thanks for the recommendation Andy. I really enjoyed The Bone Clocks too. He seems to manage to hit that sweet spot between being a bit of a page turner and displaying enough literary skill and depth to keep it interesting, in the same way Donna Tartt did with The Secret History.

Christopher Brookmyre.  Hugely entertaining tartan-noir.  Jack Parlabane series is great fun, start with Quite Ugly One Morning but they can be read as stand alone.  He has also written some science fiction stuff which I haven’t read unless you count Pandaemonium, which starts as a scottish catholic secondary school trip to an outdoor activity centre, segues into crime then someone opens a portal into hell!

for some quite inventive crime writing I've enjoyed discovering old classics like Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Alleyn or Margery Allingham's Albert Campion.

Also the Martin Beck stories that are credited with inventing the modern police procedural with plenty of human touches and dry humour as well as social comment about the state of Sweden.

I haven't a problem with American cop stories, in fact, I'm a big fan. Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch  series is always reliable  and among other writers apart from the two you've mentioned I also look out for  John Sandford 's series of Lucas Davenport/ Virgil Flowers stories: Robert Crais books featuring Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, and the similarly named Joe Pickett books  by CJ Box. 

I was miffed that he didn't write a sequel to pandemonium (will avoid spoilers)

Jonathan Coe’s trilogy the first volume of which is The Rotters’ Club. It follows a group of sixth form students in Birmingham at the time of the notorious pub bombing in the ‘70s through to Brexit which dominates the plot in the third volume entitled Middle England. 

I felt a profound sense of sadness when I finished them and recently read them again.  Wonderful books and you fall in love with the characters.

Cheers

Toby

Charles Stross - the Laundry Files

Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy.

It is just outside of your brief, but Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials is outstanding. Read Northern Lights first, then the Subtle Knife, and then The Amber Spyglass. The Book(s) of Dust are very good too but perhaps not quite as mesmerising as the first three novels. On the subject of another thread, The Amber Spyglass is the first book I remember reading that made me cry.

Ken Follett's Empire trilogy is also great!