The Leaves Era (2014–2026) represents what I’m reading now — the authors, series, and new discoveries that continue to shape my reading life today. But even here, the past is never far away. Many of these authors connect back to earlier Branches and even Roots, creating new paths through familiar territory.
This page brings together the authors I’ve spent the most time with in this era — some long-running favorites, others more recent discoveries that quickly became must-reads. The table below shows how many books I’ve read by each author during this period, along with the first book that brought them into my reading tree.
Three Authors from the Leaves Era, Branches Era and Roots Era of My Reading Tree
Here three of my favorite authors – Alice Henderson is a true “leaves” author. I read my first Alice Henderson book in 2020, Linwood Barclay is a branches author. I read my first Barclay book in 2005? and I’m still reading his books into the leaves era. Finally, there’s Lawrence Block and while I read many Lawrence Block books back in the Roots Era (1987-2000) I am still reaching back and reading books I missed in the Leaves Era.
| Author | Books Read in Era | First Book 2014-2026 |
| C.J. Box | 17 | Stone Cold (Joe Pickett, #14) |
| Linwood Barclay | 11 | No Safe House (No Time For Goodbye, #2) |
| Michael Robotham | 11 | Watching You (Joseph O’Loughlin, #7) |
| Gregg Hurwitz | 10 | Tell No Lies |
| Peter May | 10 | The Lewis Man (Lewis Trilogy, #2) |
| Alex Kava | 9 | Breaking Creed (Ryder Creed, #1) |
| Charlie Donlea | 9 | Summit Lake |
| Karin Slaughter | 9 | Cop Town |
| Ragnar Jonasson | 9 | Nightblind (Dark Iceland, #2) |
| William Kent Krueger | 9 | Tamarack County (Cork O’Connor, #13) |
| Harlan Coben | 8 | Missing You |
| James Grippando | 8 | A Death in Live Oak (Jack Swyteck, #14) |
| James Lee Burke | 8 | Light of the World (Dave Robicheaux, #20) |
| Douglas Preston | 7 | Dance of Death (Pendergast, #6; Diogenes, #2) |
| Michael Koryta | 7 | Those Who Wish Me Dead |
| Parnell Hall | 7 | NYPD Puzzle (Puzzle Lady, #15) |
| A.J. Cross | 6 | Cold, Cold Heart (Kate Hanson, #5) |
| Riley Sager | 6 | Final Girls |
| Steve Berry | 6 | The Kaiser’s Web (Cotton Malone, #16) |
| Steve Hamilton | 6 | The Hunting Wind (Alex McKnight, #3) |
| Ward Larsen | 6 | Assassin’s Game (David Slaton #2) |
| Bruce DeSilva | 5 | The Dread Line: A Mulligan Novel (Liam Mulligan, 5) |
| Michael Ledwidge | 5 | Stop at Nothing (Michael Gannon, #1) |
| Robert Crais | 5 | The Monkey’s Raincoat (Elvis Cole, #1) |
| Alice Henderson | 4 | A Solitude of Wolverines (Alex Carter #1) |
| Arnaldur IIndiridason | 4 | The Shadow District |
| David Gordon | 4 | Against the Law (Joe the Bouncer #3) |
| John McMahon | 4 | The Good Detective (Detective P. T. Marsh, #1) |
| Mason Cross | 4 | The Killing Season (Carter Blake #1) |
| Scott Carson | 4 | The Chill |
| Simon Toyne | 4 | Sanctus (Sancti Trilogy, #1) |
| Spencer Kope | 4 | Shadows of the Dead (Special Tracking Unit #3) |
| Taylor Moore | 4 | Down Range (Garrett Kohl, #1) |
| Amanda Kyle Williams | 3 | The Stranger You Seek (Keye Street, #1) |
| C.J. Tudor | 3 | The Chalk Man |
| Carol O’Connell | 3 | It Happens in the Dark (Kathleen Mallory, #11) |
| Christi Daugherty | 3 | The Echo Killing (Harper McClain, #1) |
| Christopher Moore | 3 | Island of the Sequined Love Nun |
| Ellison Cooper | 3 | Caged (Agent Sayer Altair, #1) |
| Emelie Schepp | 3 | Marked for Life (Jana Berzelius, #1) |
| James Byrne | 3 | The Gatekeeper (Dez Limerick, #1) |
| Jefferson Bass | 3 | Cut to the Bone (Body Farm, #8) |
| John Hart | 3 | Redemption Road |
| John Verdon | 3 | Think of a Number (Dave Gurney, #1) |
| Lawrence Block | 3 | In the Midst of Death (Matthew Scudder, #3) |
| Louisa Luna | 3 | Two Girls Down (Alice Vega, #1) |
| Marcie R. Rendon | 3 | Sinister Graves (Cash Blackbear Mysteries, #3) |
| Patrick Lee | 3 | Runner (Sam Dryden, #1) |
| Stefan Ahnhem | 3 | Victim Without a Face (Fabian Risk, #1) |
| Tom Bradby | 3 | Secret Service (Kate Henderson #1) |
| Adrian McKinty | 2 | The Chain |
| Barry Eisler | 2 | Hard Rain (John Rain, #2) |
| Bill Pronzini | 2 | Mourners (Nameless Detective, #30) |
| Bonnie Kistler | 2 | The Cage |
| Brad Thor | 2 | Use of Force (Scot Harvath, #16) |
| Chris Holm | 2 | The Killing Kind (Michael Hendricks #1) |
| Chris Kuzneski | 2 | The Death Relic (Payne & Jones, #7) |
| David Morrell | 2 | Inspector of the Dead (Thomas De Quincey, #2) |
| Diane Les Becquets | 2 | Breaking Wild |
| Harry Dolan | 2 | Bad Things Happen (David Loogan, #1) |
| Iris Yamashita | 2 | City Under One Roof (Cara Kennedy, #1) |
| Ivy Pochoda | 2 | Visitation Street |
| Jørgen Brekke | 2 | Where Monsters Dwell (Odd Singsaker, #1) |
| James Scott Bell | 2 | Romeo’s Rules (Mike Romeo, #1) |
| Janet Evanovich | 2 | Curious Minds (Knight and Moon, #1) |
| John Banville | 2 | Snow (St. John Strafford, #2) |
| Jussi Adler-Olsen | 2 | The Keeper of Lost Causes (Department Q, #1) |
| Laura Lippman | 2 | Charm City (Tess Monaghan, #2) |
| Liv Constantine | 2 | The Wife Stalker |
| Loren D. Estleman | 2 | The Witchfinder (Amos Walker, #12) |
| Lori Roy | 2 | Let Me Die in His Footsteps |
| Michael Connelly | 2 | The Overlook (Harry Bosch, #13; Harry Bosch Universe, #18) |
| Peter Heller | 2 | The River |
| Ruth Ware | 2 | The Turn of the Key |
| Stephen Hunter | 2 | Game of Snipers (Bob Lee Swagger, #11) |
| Stephen Mack Jones | 2 | Dead of Winter (August Snow #3) |
| Tarryn Fisher | 2 | The Wives |
| Taylor Adams | 2 | Hairpin Bridge |
| Tim Johnston | 2 | Descent |
| Dennis Lehane | 1 | Small Mercies |
| Lawrence Sanders | 1 | McNally’s Secret (Archy McNally, #1) |
