Like many others, it is hard to pick a favorite, but overall it's probably Robert B Parker (who sadly passed away recently). I *think* I first bought a paperback after being attracted by the cover and the blurb.
He is the only author that I have bought every book he ever wrote just so that I could go back to the first and re-read the lot in a single go. Given that Parker wrote prodigiously, this took up my reading time for quite some months
