This is a new feature I developed where each month we will look at our favorite – the best – series in a genre or topic.
The topic here, by my definition, is a series with main characters who are Medical Examiners, Coroners or Forensic Pathologists. These are the ones which came to mind. I enjoyed some more than others. The team had to help me find some of these.
Since I haven’t read everything, it’s a subset of the possibilities. I’m sure I am forgetting some great authors. There are also plenty of authors I have yet to read. Please share your favorites with me in the comments, also.
My favorite Medical Examiner series are (in no particular order):
Grant County, Will Trent Temperance Brennan Kay Scarpetta
by Karin Slaughter by Kathy Reichs by Patricia Cornwell
Ruth Galloway Dr. Callie Hughes Gideon Oliver
by Elly Griffiths by Candy Denman by Aaron Elkins
What are your favorite series?
Vote for your top 3 favorites! You can vote for my favorites or add favorites of your own. Remember this is how the winning option is chosen for the giveaway.
Then enter the giveaway below. The winner will get the first book in the winning series! Open to anyone who can receive an Amazon digital ebook.
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I’m a fan of the Bones TV show, and I’ve read a couple of the Temperance Brennan books too, although the show is quite different.
yes! it was shocking how different the tv show is from the books in many ways. (I’ve read all the books, seen all the episodes of the tv show.) But this is definitely one of my favorite series.
I love both the Grant County and Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter. I’m also a big fan of the Rizzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen. I used to read the Kay Scarpetta series many years ago but drifted away for some reason I cannot recall.
The Karin Slaughter books would be my top favorite of these series. I didn’t realize Rizzoli & Isles had this; I thought it was law enforcement or PI. It is a series I have wanted to read. The later Scarpetta novels have been very strange.
Isles is the medical examiner. Rizzoli is the detective.
I’m in the fun spot of not having read any of these and have them to look forward to. 🙂
The Karin Slaughter ones would be my first choice.
I have enjoyed these authors and love the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess
Gerstein
I have always wanted to read that series but didn’t realize it had a medical examiner character.
It does…Isles is the medical examiner who helps Detective Rozolli
Now I only want to read it even more!
I LOVE Karin Slaughter’s Grant County series ! Her books are so. Her books are so dark and gritty and the characters are like family. Im on book 5 and cant put down her books.
I LOVE them too. They are definitely my favorite of all the series here. Enjoy!
I really like the Kathy Reichs series but it has been a few years since I read one of these books. I also enjoy Alex Kava’s work and while her main character, Maggie O’Dell isn’t a medical examiner, there are a lot of autopsy scenes, especially in the early books. I also want to read the Gerritsen series.
I want to read the Gerritsen series but didn’t realize it had a medical examiner – I just thought law enforcement. Karin Slaughter is my favorite of these, so if you haven’t tried her I recommend them highly.
I believe that the Rizzoli and Isles series has 2 main characters. Rizzoli is a cop and Isles is the medical examiner. I have read the books yet but I have seen a few episodes of the show. I am not really sure how much of a role the medical examiner plays but since Gerritsen is a physician, I have high hopes.
It’s been ages since I last read a book in this sub-genre. I always meant to try Kathy Reichs, but burnt out on these types of mystery/thrillers before I got the chance. I was really into Patricia Cornwell’s books for a long while, but I became disappointed with the author’s writing and the direction she took the series. I’ve read one of Karin Slaughter’s books, but wasn’t overly impressed. I should probably try more of her work. Elly Griffiths is another one I need to try.
Karin Slaughter is my favorite of these. Kathy Reichs is the source of the Bones tv show but the books are VERY different. I have read them all. I have read almost all the Patricia Cornwell but the later ones just were too weird for me. I’m working my way thru Elly Griffiths series, about halfway now. The Candy Denman and Aaron Elkins ones are newer to me and I thought they were ok but not great.
The Gideon Oliver series is my favorite because the writing stayed good through to the end. I re-read the entire series last year.
Cornwell started strong and completely derailed (like Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series). I read a lot of Reich’s Temperance Brennan books I’d missed a couple of years ago and I noticed (as one does in binging) that there was a lot of similarities in the books. Temperance was always an idiot and getting caught by the bad guy, needing rescuing.
I’ve been meaning to give Karin Slaughter’s work a try for years, but have gone more towards cozies and UF..
Sadly I have not read the entire Gideon Oliver series. I liked what I read. Karin Slaughter is my favorite. I’d start with Grant County. The Will Trent series which follows is my absolute favorite.