January SeriesCAT - Series that is new to you

Series that is new to you

What I love most about the SeriesCAT is that it will cover so many genres - there will be something for everyone here!
So whether your favourite genre is fantasy, sci fi, historical fiction, mystery, romance, middle grade (not that middle grade is a genre but that is another discussion!), historical romance, cosy mystery, thriller, even non fiction, there should be a series waiting to be discovered.

A series can be a duology, trilogy or the epic Discworld series of 41 books. Is this the longest book series? Does anyone know of a longer one? I'm pretty sure there are manga or anime series that are longer.

Do remember to update the wiki - https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_SeriesCAT#January:_A_series_that_is... so we can all find some new series to add to our lists!

If I can get it from the library, I want to read book #1 of the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, Still Life.

>2 Tess_W: I just put that on library hold as well. I think all the discussion has prompted me to try it!

A couple on my tbr:

- Deal Breaker / Harlan Coben
- Ruby Red / Kerstin Gier

I think I'll read Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate. I have the 5th in the series on my self but only that one. I'll read the first in the series and see if I want to continue to the 5th!

I will FINALLY be reading Robin Hobb! Assassin's Apprentice

A quick glance at my TBR shelves shows:

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by Alison Weir in the series Six Tudor Queens
Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay in the series Promise Falls

There are others, but at the moment, they are the most likely

I think I'll be reading The Dry by Jane Harper, the first in the Aaron Falk series and a BB besides. Book #3 is coming out in 2023 so I could theoretically be caught up with this series this year if I read them all.

>8 dudes22: Love The Dry! The movie was filmed near where I live.

I've got several on my Kindle, so I'll mull and ponder the possibilities.

I just started a new to me YA series, Cash Blackbear Mysteries, but I'll be finished with the current installment before January! I have so many series I want to start, but it will take me a bit and a post-holiday mood check to determine which I will try.

>2 Tess_W:, >3 JayneCM: Just a word about starting the Gamache series. I really liked it from the beginning, but many have said it takes 3 before you are hooked. Hope you enjoy #1, but don't give up. Your patience will reward you.

>11 beebeereads: Good to know! Thanks.

I've been meaning to give Larissa Ione a try for ages, so I'm going to try her Bound by Night.

I'm thinking of starting Elly Griffiths' Brighton Mysteries series with The Zig Zag Girl.

I read A Murder of Christmas Past--Kitty Worthington #5 by Magda Alexander.

I have started The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths, which is the first book in the Brighton Mysteries series. It's set in England during, or perhaps just after, WWII so will also count for the Historical Fiction Challenge.

It's set in 1950.

I read The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

The book I planned on reading has been checked out at the library and I still may read it, but in the meantime I read another, Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer. It takes place in the 1920s in Egypt and I liked it enough to continue on with the second.

Happy New Year to all!

I'll be reading Detective Inspector Huss for a group read, and it fits perfectly here!

Starting Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay

Like >20 cbl_tn:, I'll be reading that one for a group read, and it fits. I might manage another. We'll see.

I'm reading The Lantern Men by Ellie Griffiths, part of her "Ruth Galloway" series. I've never read this series before and, as I'm halfway through already, I'm rather enjoying it. A lot of threads to pull on (no pun intended!) from her previous books, but she is very good at explaining who is related to or formerly involved with, and why.

I am reading Rosemary Sutcliff's The Eagle of the Ninth for the British Author Challenge in the 75ers group. I have all three books in the series and may do a readathon this weekend.

I'm reading The Holiday Murders by Robert Gott, which is much too gruesome for my taste but compensates by being set in familiar parts of Melbourne.

Finished Sight Unseen by Sandra Ireland, a first (and for now only) book in the Sarah Sutherland series. Notes/review on my thread. Wiki updated.

I am reading the Distant Echo by Val McDermid.

I read The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, the first in her series of 5 Ripley novels.

The Heir by Grace Burrowes

A good first book. The next is already borrowed from the library.

I read Broken Promise from Linwood Barclay's Promise Falls series. I felt cheated by the cliffhanger ending so I don't think I will be continuing with the series

I read Wachtmeister Studer, a mystery from the 1930s and a classic in Switzerland. I really wish I had read this sooner.

I counted All Systems Red, by Martha Wells, for this CAT because it's the first Murderbot book I've read.

>32 rabbitprincess: What did you think? I love The Murderbot Diaries, having read the first 3 more than a few times.

>33 dreamweaver529: I liked it and could definitely relate to Murderbot's wanting the humans to leave it alone so it could watch TV :D I've put the second on my to-read list to read later.

I seem to be starting new series this month. It's not like I don't have so many unfished I should be reading or anything. Oh well.

The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis
I'll finish them because I've owned them for nearly 2/3 of my life, but I'm not 100% sold. The allegory is a little too on the nose for me.

>30 Robertgreaves: Oh, shoot! I love Linwood Barclay (one of my favourite authors). Sorry you won't be continuing.

I seem to be starting several new series this month. Read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman as it was a Christmas gift and The Lost Heir by Tui T. Sutherland because I saw my nephew reading it and so I borrowed it from him.

>35 dreamweaver529: I read all these as a child, but I do wonder how successful they'd be as an adult. If memory serves, that wasn't the strongest entry in the series, but it does set up the future access route.

>38 Helenliz: I saw a movie version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on TV at a restaurant during the holidays. I was shocked at how violent it was, even though I recall watching it for a media course when I was in library school.

I got an early copy of The Game is a Footnote from Netgalley. It is book #8 in the series, but it is the first one I have read! I will be starting from the beginning because I did enjoy this one.

Currently reading Wolfsong by TJ Klune, which is the first in the Green Creek series. My sister lent it to me, which means I have to finish it before I go home on Saturday morning.

Finished Bound by Night by Larissa Ione--an easy escape of a paranormal romance, and I enjoyed it enough that I'm sorry there aren't more books in the series (I will be reading what's left of the series, though). A bit heavy-handed at some points, but I wanted and needed an escape, and it fit the bill perfectly. Full (short) review written.

I finished Detective Inspector Huss, the first in a Swedish police procedural featuring the title character. It kept me engaged throughout, although the writing does have some of the awkwardness that's often present in a series debut. It may just be the translator getting used to the author's writing style.

>35 dreamweaver529: I read these multiple times as a child/young adult and gained much more understanding, especially the allegory portions, when I re-read it as an adult. Not as fond of it later in life.

COMPLETED Wolfsong by TJ Klune, the first in the Green Creek series. Although I felt it was longer than it really needed to be, I enjoyed the characters so I will be reading more of this series

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
I was delighted to have found this new series from Cleeves, author of Shetland and Vera. However, the slow pace made it a dull read, made worse by the audiobook narrator's monotone voice. Although the crime was repugnant, it was a passable whodunnit. Matthew Venn, the lead detective, who has shunned the strict evangelical community of his family, lacks self confidence to a degree that makes it surprising he has reached his rank in the police. He is gay and married, making a pleasant change from angst-ridden alcoholics, but "my husband" was mentioned at every opportunity, which felt forced, unnatural - and puzzling considering Cleeves' writing prowess. Set in Devon, there is little sense of place and location, in contrast with the strength of location of her other series. I will read the next instalment because I already own it, but I have no high hopes.

I have finished my first Nero Wolfe book: Fer-de-lance. I liked this very much, there's lots of proper detection work going on in the shape of interviews.

I started reading The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo - it's the first book in his Kosuke Kindaichi series.

I read Manda Collins's A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem, book #1 in the Lady's Guide series. The genre is historical romance meets mystery, which I normally love, but I found this book just OK. That's a good thing, though -- I certainly don't need to add any more series to my TBR list!

Finished The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths, part of her Ruth Galloway series. It worked very well as a standalone. Made me want to visit the Marshes of Norfolk (with or without the mysterious lanterns!) and I loved that there is a Druid in this series.

I've finished The Dry by Jane Harper, the first book in the Aaron Falk series and one that I've seen mentioned numerous times on LT.

I'm up to book number 5 in The Northminster Mysteries.

>51 threadnsong: You'll be pleased to know that apart from the small detail that I can't quite work out where she's plonked an entire University Campus in King's Lynn, it's a well described & recognisable landscape.

I raad A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, the first book in the Mormoirs of Lady Trent series and thoroughly enjoyyed it. Will definitely be continuing on with this series.

Starting The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, the first in her Two Rivers series, which is new to me, though I have read some of the books in her Vera Stanhope series.

By Book or By Crook / Eva Gates
4 stars

Lucy has left her family and former fiancee behind in Boston, as well as her librarian job at Harvard. She is thrilled to be the new (assistant) librarian at a lighthouse library in a small town in North Carolina. But while at a party to open a Jane Austen exhibit when Lucy is just starting to meet people, the chair of the library board is murdered. He seemed to be arguing with a lot of people at the party, including Lucy (he didn’t think another librarian was needed) and the head librarian, who of course, had hired Lucy. Bertie, the head librarian, was found in the room with the murdered man and the murder weapon in her hands by Lucy. Lucy is convinced Bertie would never do such a thing.

I really enjoyed this. Loved the setting of the library inside the lighthouse. I also liked (most of) the characters. I will absolutely be continuing this cozy series. I want to see what happens with Lucy and Butch… or Lucy and Connor! And, of course, I loved Charles, the library cat.

COMPLETED The Long Call, the first in Ann Cleeves's Two Rivers series. Now reading the second.

I read The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo, translation by Louise Heal Kawai - it's the first book in his Kosuke Kindaichi series.

>55 staci426: Yes, do read more - that is one of my favorite series of all time! It is so well written, and each book is so captivating. It's on my list to read again this year. If you keep up with it, I might have to move the reread up in priority ;)

I read Bunburry - Murder at the Mousetrap by Helena Marchmont, the first book of the Bunburry series. I don't think that this will become my favourite series, though.

>60 dreamweaver529: That's good to hear! I'm hoping to get to book 2 sometime in March by the lastest.

I managed to fit in one more for this month, Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews, book 1 in the Innkeeper Chronicles, an interesitng urban fantasy. Would like to also continue with this series, but maybe not with quite as much enthusiasm as I had for Lady Trent.

>62 staci426: I have Clean Sweep too, but haven't had a chance to pick it up. I think I'll move it up on the priority list.

I finished Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery, the first of her Emily books, and Man of Bronze by Kenneth Robeson, the first of the Doc Savage books, in January.

Well, I tried a new series...one which I thought I would love, but I'm not sure I'll go back for #2.
A Solitude of Wolverines
I loved the premise and the setting, but the thriller angle left me feeling like I'd watched a bad TV show. I like the characters enough, that I might be tempted to read the next one, but I'll let it sit for awhile.

My thread post here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/347793#8057966