A.J. Cross Books in Order
A.J. Cross is a British crime writer and practicing forensic psychologist who has worked as a court-appointed expert witness in the UK legal system for over twenty years. Her novels are inspired by criminal psychology, unsolved cases, and the daily interaction, often full of friction, between investigators and behavioral scientists. She is best known for the Dr. Kate Hanson cold case mysteries, the Will Traynor forensic mystery series, and the newer Teigan Craft books featuring a neurodiverse forensic psychologist. In fact, all her series are centered on forensic specialists working with police teams around Birmingham.
In her series, the expert characters, Kate Hanson, Will Traynor and Teigan Craft, solve murder cases by looking at killer habits, behaviors and motives, and the victim backgrounds. Her books read like real police procedurals, where psychology is the main tool for investigation.
This page lists all A.J. Cross books in order, including the Dr Kate Hanson, Will Traynor and Teigan Craft forensic mystery series, organized primarily by publication order.
Latest A.J. Cross Books
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Where to Start with A.J. Cross
→ New to A.J. Cross? Start with The Coldest Case / Gone in Seconds, the first Dr Kate Hanson book and the clearest introduction to the author’s forensic psychologist angle.
→ Prefer the Will Traynor books? Start with Dark Truths / The Killer Detail. It introduces Traynor, but also brings back DI Bernard Watts from the Kate Hanson books.
→ Want the newest series? Start with The Loose End. The Teigan Craft series is a new and short series, so you do not need to read Kate Hanson or Will Traynor first.
→ The Kate Hanson and Will Traynor books take place in the same fictional universe through Bernard Watts, but you can still start each series from book 1.
→ Don’t overlook the alternate titles. Several books were reissued by Joffe Books with new titles, so follow the series numbering rather than the title to avoid buying the same book twice.
How the A.J. Cross Series Connect
The Dr. Kate Hanson and Will Traynor series share the same universe through DI Bernard Watts, who is originally part of the Kate Hanson cold-case series, but Dark Truths/:The Killer Detail moves him into the Will Traynor series after the earlier Unsolved Crimes Unit has been disbanded. This makes the Will Traynor a spin-off series, but readers who haven’t come across Kate Hanson yet can easily pick up Dark Truths without missing any background story.
Dr. Kate Hanson Series (Books in Order)
The Dr Kate Hanson series follows forensic psychologist Dr Kate Hanson as she works cold cases with Birmingham’s Unsolved Crimes Unit, using her training to interpret offender behavior and help the police uncover long-buried crimes. In the first book, after the remains of Molly James are found, the case of the missing teenager is reopened and it soon becomes a major serial killer investigation around Birmingham . The relationship between Kate and DI Bernard Watts is complicated as it focuses on the clashes between her analytical and academical approach and his street-smart gut instincts. Each case explores what we can learn by digging into forgotten evidence and the victims’ pasts.
- The Coldest Case, 2012 (also titled Gone in Seconds)
- The Coldest Clues, 2013 (also titled Art of Deception)
- The Coldest Killer, 2017 (also titled A Little Death)
- The Coldest Motive, 2017 (also titled Something Evil Comes)
- The Coldest Death, 2018 (also titled Cold, Cold Heart)
Will Traynor Forensic Mystery (Books in Order)
The Will Traynor forensic mystery series follows criminologist Dr. Will Traynor, whose experience in forensic science help Birmingham police solve often brutal murder cases where behavior, hidden patterns, and previous crimes matter just as much as physical evidence. Dark Truths begins with a headless body found on a jogging trail, and the police connects the case with an earlier, unsolved one, which is when Traynor is brought into DI Bernard Watts’s investigation.
This series is loosely set in the Kate Hanson universe, connected by Watts who previously worked in the Unsolved Crimes Unit but was moved over to this series when the unit was disbanded. Will Traynor has an overarching background arc involving dark personal history, so the series is best read in publication order for the emotional element involved.
- Dark Truths, 2019 (also titled The Killer Detail)
- Devil in the Detail, 2021
- A Dark, Divided Self, 2021 (also titled The Darkest Detail)
- Reflections of Deviance, 2023 (also titled The Deadly Detail)
Teigan Craft Forensic Mystery (Books in Order)
The Teigan Craft forensic mystery series follows professor Teigan “Tig” Craft, a forensic psychologist from Central University, who assists DCI Steve Thompson at West Midlands Police in Birmingham with solving cases by analyzing evidence and behavioral patterns. The series begins with Loose Ends, where a mummified body is discovered in a cellar in Birmingham, which is when Craft is brought in to help with the case that eventually points toward older murder cases.
- The Loose End, 2024
- The Fatal End, 2026
A.J. Cross Biography
A.J. Cross is a British crime author and forensic psychologist whose work includes the Dr Kate Hanson, Will Traynor and the newest Teigan Craft forensic mystery series. She has published over ten crime novels since her debut, The Coldest Case (originally released as Gone in Seconds) in 2012.
A.J. Cross studied psychology and later completed a Masters in Educational Psychology at the University of Birmingham, before earning a PhD on the impact of the criminal justice system on children as witnesses. She also worked as a consultant and court expert for the Probation Service, where she focused on offence behavior. Her novels are mostly inspired by her extensive professional background and experience over the years. Based on her more than twenty years of experience in forensic psychology, her books often feature forensic pathologists and criminologists who help the police with psychological evidence that can be useful to an investigation. The novels use her understanding of offender behavior and victim psychology to build the characters and plots.
Her first series, featuring Dr Kate Hanson, introduced in her debut novel Gone in Seconds a Birmingham-based forensic psychologist, Dr Kate Hanson, working cold cases with Birmingham’s Unsolved Crimes Unit. The book was later reissued by Joffe Books as The Coldest Case, along with the rest of the Kate Hanson series under new “Coldest” titles.
Later, A.J. Cross created criminologist Dr Will Traynor in a second forensic mystery series beginning with Dark Truths, also published as The Killer Detail. The series focuses on criminologist Will Traynor, but it also brings back DI Bernard Watts who was originally part of the Kate Hanson series. Her most recent Teigan Craft series begins with The Loose End published in 2024. It introduces Professor Teigan Craft as another forensic expert who is helping the police in the West Midlands. The author has mentioned that her novels are inspired by real crimes and that the central question driving her plots is the psychological “why” behind criminal behavior.
Cold, Cold Heart received a Publishers Weekly starred review, and A Dark, Divided Self received a Booklist starred review. Her books are sometimes catalogued under A J Cross, but the current publisher most often uses A.J. Cross.
A.J. Cross lives in Birmingham, England, with her husband, a professional jazz musician, and continues to write forensic crime novels set mostly in and around her home city.
Love all of Kate Hanson books. Well planned and written. Not so with Will Trainor. Very disappointed in the stories.
To much with police organisation and disappointed in Will as a personality. Lots more!!
Omg! When is book 5 coming out of the Traynor mysteries?! I love the characters!