Searching for a Series

I love reading series. Over the years, I've narrowed it down to two reasons:

1. The growth and development of characters
2. Seeing old friends again and again

I realized the growth and development aspect during my undergraduate years. The Victorian age novels I read back had so much more character growth than the modern mysteries and thrillers that dominated my reading. I hadn't discovered fantasy - urban fantasy might not have been invented even, or was just beginning.

By revisiting the same characters again and again, opening up the next one in the series always meant catching up where you last saw them. It's a one-side relationship, no doubt, but one that is deep enough that if you catch me and a fellow reader gabbing, Harry becomes a friend we are concerned about, Jamie and Claire are grandparents concerned about their growing family overseas, and Joanne is the girlfriend who needs bail, again.

Something about these characters has morphed into a full-fledged obsession. There is much ado about the next release including re-reading the back story, scanning forums for hints and checking for accidentally early releases by the careless book store.

As such, I'm in search of a new series. I have five or six that I absolutely adore, but waiting for the next one is painful. And the best way to distract is to start a new series. I have two en route via the Oshkosh Public Library reserve system: the Elemental Assassin series and the Cast in series. Both I found by browsing what others readers of my series bought from Amazon. But it's shooting in the dark.

Instead, I turn to you, dear reader. What is a must read series in your list?