# Cool Title Sequences **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645 "2005-11-18T15:08:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/1 "2005-11-18T15:08:21Z")
John D. MacDonald had colors in all of the Travis McGee books. Glen L. Cook uses metals in the titles of his fantasy detective books. What other authors have a “common element” in their titles? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/2 "2005-11-18T15:18:14Z")
It’s common in mystery series. For instance, there’s Sue Grafton’s “Kinsey Millhone” mysteries, which are in the form “\ as in \”: \*\* A as in Alibi, B as Burglar, … S as in Silence\*\*. No word as to the title of the 27th book in the series. 🙂 There’s also Harry Kemmelman’s “\ the Rabbi \” books: **Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry**. When he got to the 8th books, it became “Someday the Rabbi Will Leave,” and he continued using various phrases with “Day” in them. Lemony Snicket uses a two-word alliterative phrase in each book in his Series of Unfortunate Events. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/3 "2005-11-18T15:52:41Z")
Mysery writer Ed McBain started an alphabet series long before Grafton did: Ax, Bread, Calypso, Doll, Fuzz, etc. E was suppose to be for “EXIT,” and published after his death, but he never wrote it. McBain also had the Matthew Hope mysteries, titled with nursery rhymes and stories: Goldilocks, Puss in Boots, The House That Jack Built, etc. However, Sue Grafton’s father beat him to it with a similarily set of titled mysteries in the 1950’s. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/4 "2005-11-18T16:04:13Z")
Lindsay Davis started using metals and gods in the titles of her Didius Falco detective novels set in ancient Rome, but gave it up after a while. **Silver Pigs Venus in Copper The Iron Hand of Mars Poseidon’s Gold** But then she stopped, and hasn’t had another metal/god title since. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/5 "2005-11-18T18:32:56Z")
John Sandford has the ongoing Prey novels. Hidden Prey, Night Prey, Sudden Prey etc. I think there’s almost 20 of them. H.Jay Ryker has a series on Navy SEALS: Medal of Honor, Bronze Star, Silver Star, and other decorations and medals. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/6 "2005-11-18T23:11:33Z")
James Herriot, country veterinarian turned author, used the first verse of an old christian hymn as his book titles, each book title being a different line from the hymn: “All Things Bright and Beautiful” “All Creatures great and Small” “All Things Wise and Wonderful” “The Lord God Made Them All” ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/7 "2005-11-19T00:35:50Z")
I think we had a thread on this a while back but the boards are being temperamental for me so I don’t want to risk a search. Robert Rodi has a series of comedy novels, each of which is titled with a two-word gay slang phrase. _Closet Case, Fag Hag, Drag Queen_ and _Kept Boy_. He broke the pattern with _What They Did to Princess Paragon_. Fred Hunter has the Alex Reynolds mystery series, each with a two-word homophonic title including a slang term for “homosexual.” _Government Gay, Capital Queers, Federal Fag_ and _National Nancys_. He broke the pattern with _The Chicken Asylum_. There’s Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu series: _The Insidious, The Return of, The Hand of, Daughter of, The Mask of, The Bride of, The Trail of, President, Emperor, The Shadow of, The Drums of_ and _The Island of_. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/8 "2005-11-19T02:23:04Z")
Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum murder-mystery series has a number in each title: _One for the Money, Two For the Dough, Three to Get Deadly_, and so on. Her latest is _Eleven on Top_. ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/9 "2005-11-21T20:31:28Z")
Dan Simmon’s beaucoups-of-bodies series: _Hard Case, Hard Freeze_ and _Hard as Nails_. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/10 "2005-12-08T19:02:01Z")
A little bump to mention two female mystery writers: [url=http://www.carolhigginsclark.com/pages/books.html]Carol Higgings Clark[/url[ has Popped, Decked, Snagged, Iced, Twanged, Fleeced, and Jinxed. [url=http://www.eclectics.com/denise/index.html]Denise Dietz has “The Diet Club Mysteries,” including Throw Darts at a Cheesecake, Beat Up a Cookie, Footlights in the Butter, and Chain a Lambchip to the Bed. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-title-sequences/331645/11 "2005-12-08T19:03:18Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > A little bump to mention two female mystery writers: > > [Carol Higgings Clark](http://www.carolhigginsclark.com/pages/books.html) has Popped, Decked, Snagged, Iced, Twanged, Fleeced, and Jinxed. > > [Denise Dietz](http://www.eclectics.com/denise/index.html)has “The Diet Club Mysteries,” including Throw Darts at a Cheesecake, Beat Up a Cookie, Footlights in the Butter, and Chain a Lambchip to the Bed. Fixed coding