I love a good crime drama series. I watched Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake twice. I devoured each season of The Killing, and was bereft when I finished it. The Fall, Broadchurch, True Detective: I loved them all.  But this love affair with crime scenes, murders, and detectives all began with the Law & Order franchise. Set and filmed in New York City, this show holds a special place in the hearts of New Yorkers. Once innocent (pre-1990) stone arches in central park and dumpsters in back alleys now bring to mind those opening scenes where an early morning jogger or storeowner finds the body.  Dun Dun …

Many writers of crime drama have been successful in building that same bond between reader and detective that Law & Order fans feel for Lenny Briscoe, Mike Logan, Ed Green, or Ray Curtis. Lee Child gave us Jack Reacher, a former military cop with a knack for finding suspicious situations and danger.  Sue Grafton gave us the Alphabet Mysteries and private investigator Kinsey Millhone, solving crime in a fictional 1980s coastal California town.

Here are a few more colorful detectives and crime/thriller/mystery series from NYPL staff for all you crime drama fans. It is important to note that like Law & Order, you can jump into these series at any point. 

A Time of Torment is the newest addition to John Connolly's Charlie Parker mystery series.  This thriller involves an isolated community known for its suspicious practices, a detective who keeps company with known criminals, and just a bit of horror and science fiction for all of us genre-benders. —Alessandra Affinito, Chatham Square 

I recommend the Nadia Stafford series by Kelly Armstrong. Nadia is a professional contract killer who also owns a rustic Canadian hotel in the Ontario woods.  Move over Sue Grafton.—Anne Barreca, Battery Park City 

Find Her by Lisa Garnder is the latest Detective DD Warren mystery/thriller installment. Flora Dance was kidnapped 7 years ago and held captive for 472 days. Now five years later, Flora is convinced she could help solve the case of the abduction of a college student, that is, until she disappears again. A chilling and suspenseful thriller.—Morgan O'Reilly, Aguilar

I  recommend the Cormoran Strike novels by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling). Starting with The Cuckoo's Calling. Cormoran Strike is a man with a messy past—ex-British Army and the estranged son of a British rock star with a chip on his shoulder. When the brother of a famous supermodel, who plunged to her death a few months earlier, comes to him for help Strike uses his connections, his smarts, and his efficient assistant Robin to get at the truth. With her modern take on a noir detective story, Rowling has hit on an entertaining, page turning formula: dark mysteries + compelling characters that never lets the reader down. —Anne Rouyer, Mulberry Street

On the shelf at Spuyten Duyvil are a couple of crime thrillers featuring my favorite detective: Harry Bosch. The Black Box by Michael Connelly tracks Bosch's progress on two murder cases, one from the LA riots and one in modern times. When shell casings at other murders match the one from the LA riots murder, Bosch is drawn back to the past while struggling to pull the pieces together in his personal life. The Crossing, Bosch's latest turn, has him working for Mickey Haller as a defense investigator. As Bosch begins to crack the "airtight" case against Haller's client, he puts a bullseye on his back.—Joshua Soule, Spuyten Duyvil

The Good's Thief's Guide series by Chris Ewan is a fun option.  Charlie Howard is a great anti-hero.  Part-time writer, sometime Robin Hood figure, he often finds himself bending rules, and stretching the boundaries of the law to right wrongs.—Gretchen Smith, Learning and Development

Ingrid Thoft's fast-paced and suspenseful Fina Ludlow series follows Fina, a law school dropout turned private investigator who is always willing to go the extra mile to solve a case. The first book in the series, Loyalty, sends our strong, female protagonist on a case where even family warrants a closer look. —Susen Shi, Mid-Manhattan

I recommend City of the Lost, the first book in a new series (Casey Duncan series) by Kelley Armstrong. This fast-paced thriller had me on the edge of my seat—and screaming when I realized the sequel won't be out for some time. Casey, a homicide detective, and her best friend, Diana, wind up in the city of the lost—a tiny town in the middle of the Canadian wilderness where people go to disappear. Once bodies start piling up though, Casey is drawn into a deeper mystery—who is the murderer lurking in their midst.—Kathleen Fais, Bloomingdale

Set in Ireland, In the Woods is the first title in Tana French's addictive Dublin Murder Squad series. It's a compelling mix of police procedural and psychological thriller, with unexpected and chilling twists.  In 1984 three children go missing while playing in the woods of a Dublin suburb; one boy is found and he remembers nothing.  Twenty years later a 12-year old girl is found murdered in the same area and that boy is now a detective assigned to the case.—Mary Jones, General Research Division

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Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!