Crime Detective Mystery Thriller Group discussion

Have to say no on this one. I tried reading one of Liza Marklund's books but it went back to parts of the books in the earlier series. This is very frustrating. Same can be said for Tim Weaver and Peter James.

I will only read a series in the order it is written. Unless someone adds a prequel along the line then I will read it first.

I feel the same way. Yet here are these publishers having us read books when we get the first ones in the series.

No, I'd rather read them in order.

No

I'd always rather read them in order and would try to find a way to get the first one.

Depends, some author like Lee Child can be read in any order but of course best to read starting from the first.

I did read Lee Child out of order. To be honest, I didn't want to read The Killing Floor because the writing seemed very choppy but I had started with Running Blind. I did have one person who told me that I should have started with him from the beginning. I don't think I missed out on that much when I went back and read it in order either.

A few months ago, I read a book not knowing it was the third in a series. As soon as I realized, I found the first book and went from there.

Not always in order. I've been reading J.D. Robb's In Death series for years but had never read the first one until this summer. It was interesting to note the change in style from the first book to the latest. The same with Lee Child. Out of order definitely worked in his favor.

Huh. I can't even imagine reading In Death out of order. Lee Child may work out of order, but In Death? I don't think so. All the characters grow and change and they refer to previous events all the time.

My list indicates that I read 7,3,8-10,4, and then 11 on in order until #1 this summer. LOL She does a great job of letting you know who's who and where they fit - no easy job in a series. The story/mystery is so good that the books work independently. Better in order - sure. Still good out of order - yes. :-)

:D

I guess I'll have to try JD Robb soon. I do have them in my kindle.

I would like to consider reading the Peter Robinson books in order but the first one is $10.99. I've read others and things have happened with the main character that I didn't know about of course.

For most series I would sometimes get a book cheap, not knowing it belongs to a series and then I try to get to read the series in order, going so far as even stopping the middle-inbetween-book of the series and start with #1. Also I do not like books where too much is repeated from the previous books.

A turnoff for me is when a first book in the series is bad. As there are too many books, I tend to stop reading a book at the up-to 30% mark, if I do not like it then. After that I struggle on or plan to finish it some other time.
One of the books I abandoned was Jo Nesbø Flaggermusmannen (the German translation, Fledermausmann, as the english one would be also a translation and english being my 2nd language). So far I am not in the mood to read anything else by Jo Nesbø. Did not like all main characters, found not enough crime in the part (20%?) I read, did not like the style, the traveling descriptions, the drinking, the Clown, nothing.
People (the same who recommended it to me, my family, also often hit-miss with recommendations) say this book is different from the rest of the series? So what! Does not matter, there are enough writers (mostly female) I like.

What do you think, do you skip a book and still read the rest of the series if you get a series recommended? Might be easier skipping if it is not the first book.

Have to agree with you on Jo Nesbo. I didn't think the book was that great. I had given it three stars because I thought the ending of the book was intense. I do have other books that I bought by Nesbo that were discounted so I will try them.
I'd still like to read the book in the series though. I would say that I didn't care for Still Life by Louise Penny but I would try her next book.

I've read books out of order, sometimes knowing they were part of a series, sometimes not knowing (though I'd find out later).

I try to read some authors starting with the first like Anne Perry, Charles Todd, and Victoria Thompson. Some authors I forget if I read the first one so sometimes will start with the later ones. On Jo Nesbo, I did start with a later book because his first book was not available in this country at the time.

Almost all of the series that I read, and there are many, I have started from somewhere in the middle. I will pick a book up from a bargain bin and if I love it, then I'll go back and buy the rest or just keep going from where I started if there are a lot in the series. I think it's important for an author to make any book in the series able to be read as a stand-alone, and if people really like it, you have a new fan who will purchase the rest.

Great point Kathryn. Not sure that some authors work it that way though but you are right. Many years ago, I was at a book fair and talked to Harlan Coben briefly about his books and he said you don't have to read the Myron Bolitar series in order.

If the story line catches my interest and even though the first book is not available, yes of coarse I will read it.

I've been reading some pulp fiction books by Frank Kane. Most of his books are available on Kindle and you only need to read this one first. Doesn't matter what book you read after that. He wrote this book as the third book in the series but that's when the important characters got together for the first time.

For the most part I like to read a series in order, occasionally I do read them out of order but I find I end up going back and starting at the beginning again anyways so it doesn't happen too often

Not if I can help it. I'm way too OCD to read a series out of order. LOL!

Normally I don't do that (I won't admit to being OCD like Terri :) but denial goes with the condition). I read the Jo Nesbo 'Harry Hole' series that way recently, with some time lags between the arrival of books I reserved at the library. Two I bought to fill in the gaps of availability and overall it was less satisfying. I did enjoy each one individually but in retrospect, it did detract from seeing the evolution of Hole, as a character.

I have read books (by accident) out of order and don't like it. No, no, no, I do not. :)

I am with Terri. Must be in order!