Everyone looks forward to taking a little time off on Christmas break. It’s great for catching up on your shopping, maybe doing some cleaning, but also settling in, breaking out the DVR, and getting up to date on all the latest TV shows.
This year I say we start a new trend, one that involves keeping the televisions off and cracking open some good books!
If you’re up for it but need some help finding a series to binge-read, don’t worry, The Book Spy is here to help! Below are some fantastic series I recommend diving into, all of which you can conceivably knock out during the Holiday season.
While Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Ted Bell and Brad Taylor are the heavyweights of the thriller genre, each of their series are rather lengthy. That’s great for fans, but I’m not sure the average reader can plow through all fourteen Mitch Rapp or Scot Harvath novels during their holiday break.
Instead, here are some shorter series to consider:
Brad Meltzer’s Beecher White Series 
Brad Meltzer introduced Beecher White, America’s favorite (fictional) archivist, in his novel The Inner Circle. The series is also known as ‘The Culper Ring series,’ because, if you can’t tell from that giant hint, Beecher finds himself involved with the very exclusive and secretive Culper Ring.
The series consists (so far) of three books: The Inner Circle, The Fifth Assassin and The President’s Shadow. Get them from Amazon by clicking here
Meltzer mixes historical facts with some outstanding fictional scenarios, that are both suspenseful and thrilling. You’ll finish the series smarter, having learned a ton of American history, and thoroughly entertained.
Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller series
Joseph Finder is one of the greatest mystery/thriller writers on the planet, and his character Nick Heller is second to none.
Heller is a “private spy” who stars in two of Finder’s novels: Vanished and Buried Secrets. It was recently announced that Heller will return in Finder’s 2016 novel, Guilty Minds, which will be released on June 7.
The first book in the series (Vanished
Both books are outstanding, and now is the perfect time to get caught up on them before Guilty Minds comes out next year.
Joel Rosenberg’s Twelfth Imam series 
Rosenberg began this series in 2010, which is incredible because the majority of the plot seems to be playing out in today’s international headlines.
The series follows a young CIA operative named David Shirazi, who is originally sent to Iran to find out whether or not they have indeed obtained a nuclear weapon. While there, he hears rumors of a man – known to practicing members of Islam as the Mahdi, or the Twelfth Imam – that is going around and performing miracles.
Shirazi’s mission suddenly becomes twofold: to find out the truth about Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and to see if this self-proclaimed Mahdi is indeed the prophesied savior of Islam, capable of establishing a caliphate and ushering in the age of the apocalypse.
Along the way many of the questions Shirazi tries to answer, specifically about Iran’s nuclear facilities, are questions being asked by many today. There’s even a scene where Iran tests one of their nuclear warheads, which greatly resembles an event that just recently occurred.
The series consists of three books: The Twelfth Imam, The Tehran Initiative, and Damascus Countdown. While most of Rosenberg’s novels can be read as standalone novels, even if they are part of a series, I definitely recommend reading this one in order. Purchase the first one, The Twelfth Imam, here
I promise once you start this series, you won’t be able to stop until you’ve finished the final page of the last book.
Stan R. Mitchell’s Nick Woods series
Mitchell’s series introduces Nick Woods, a former Marine Scout Sniper who conducted numerous operations behind enemy lines during his prolific military career. Now, having been burned by his old handler, he lives a quiet life under a fake name and just wants to be left alone.
When a reporter chasing a story uncovers one too many secrets, Nick Woods is forced to leave his quiet life behind and take action against a group of people intent on finding and capturing him.
That’s the plot for the first book, Sold Out. There’s two other books after that: Mexican Heat and Afghan Storm. All three books move at blinding-fast speeds and are legitimate can’t-put-it-down-good from the first page in the series, to the last.
Grab these books on Amazon