Stephen J. Cannell (www.cannell.com)
Shane Scully, LAPD detective.
Vertical Coffin
Cold Hit

Lee Child (www.leechild.com)
Jack Reacher, former head of an Army MP Special Investigations unit. Now unattached to any agency, Reacher is a modern knight errant.
The Enemy
The Hard Way
Bad Luck and Trouble

Stephen Coonts (www.coonts.com)
Rear Admiral Jake Grafton, military liaison to the CIA and FBI. In the later books he becomes a station chief and works with CIA surveillance expert Tommy Carmellini.
Liberty
Liars and Thieves

Robert Crais (www.robertcrais.com)
Elvis Cole, private detective who served as an Army Ranger in Vietnam. He works with Joe Pike, ex-Marine and ex-LAPD, part-time mercenary.
The Watchman
The Last Detective

Jeffery Deaver (www.jefferydeaver.com)
Lincoln Rhyme, former head of NYPD forensics, until an accident on the job left him a quadriplegic. He now works cases from home with his partner Amelia Sachs.
The Stone Monkey
The Cold Moon

Nelson Demille (www.nelsondemille.net/)
John Corey and Kate Mayfield, members of the elite Anti Terrorist Task Force.
The Lion’s Game
Night Fall
Wild Fire

Barry Eisler (www.barryeisler.com)
John Rain, half-American half-Japanese Vietnam Special Forces veteran, contract assassin for the CIA; works with Dox, a former Marine sniper.
The Last Assassin
Requiem for an Assassin

Vince Flynn (www.vinceflynn.com)
Mitch Rapp, clandestine counterterrorism operative working for the CIA.
Protect and Defend
Act of Treason

David Hagberg (www.david-hagberg.com)
Kirk McGarvey, CIA director.
Allah’s Scorpion
Soldier of God

Brian Haig (www.brianhaig.com)
Sean Drummond, wisecracking, unpolitically-correct army JAG officer working for the CIA.
Man in the Middle
The President’s Assassin

Stephen Hunter (www.stephenhunter.net) fan website
Bob Lee Swagger, Marine sniper in Vietnam, now retired and living in Idaho.
Point of Impact
The 47th Samurai

Kyle Mills (www.kylemills.com)
Mark Beamon, FBI agent.
The Second Horseman
Darkness Falls

Thomas Perry (www.thomasperryauthor.com)
Jane Whitefield, Seneca Indian who helps people in life-threatening situations erase their identities and start over.
Vanishing Act
Shadow Woman

J. D. Rhoades (www.jdrhoades.com)
Jack Kelly, Gulf War vet and bounty hunter.
The Devil’s Right Hand
Safe and Sound

Stella Rimington
Liz Carlyle, intelligence officer in Britain’s MI5.
At Risk
Secret Asset

John Sandford (www.johnsandford.org)
Lucas Davenport, investigator for the Minnesota State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Naked Prey
Hidden Prey

Daniel Silva (www.danielsilvabooks.com)
Gabriel Allon, who leads a double life as an art restorer and an assassin for an Israeli antiterrorism agency called “The Office”.
Prince of Fire
The Secret Servant
The Messenger

Martin Cruz Smith (http://literati.net/MCSmith/)
Arkady Renko is chief homicide investigator for the Moscow police in Gorky Park. In the later novels he returns to the Moscow police force of post-Glasnost Russia.
Gorky Park
Wolves Eat Dogs
Stalin’s Ghost

Brad Thor (www.bradthor.com)
Scott Harvath, ex-Navy Seal and former Secret Service agent, now a covert counterterrorism agent with Homeland Security.
Takedown
The First Commandment

Justice means everything to them; they will and often do risk their lives to defend it. They are smart, resourceful, strong, fearless and relentless in their pursuit of the bad guys. They do what needs to be done, even if it means breaking the law. You wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of any of these fictional heroes!

For each author I’ve listed some of my favorite titles. They are not necessarily the first in each series. To find the titles in each series in order, check the author websites.