James Patterson Books In Order – Complete List

At a Glance

Last Updated on September 22, 2023

Reading James Patterson’s books in order means delighting in his popular detective Alex Cross mystery series, his other crime and mystery series, and many thriller novels, including his Women’s Murder Club and the Michael Bennett series, Jack Morgan, but nothing comes close to Alex Cross by far. This might change with a newer James Patterson series, Ali Cross, featuring the adventures of Alex’s son, Ali.

Here are all the James Patterson books in order for all his adult books including the many crime/mystery/thriller series, as well as several of his childrens’ books, listed in chronological and reading order, with the year added for each book.

New James Patterson Books

23 1/2 Lies
23 1/2 Lies (Women’s Murder Club #23.5), 2023
12 Months to Live
12 Months to Live (Jane Smith #1), 2023
Circle of Death
Circle of Death (Shadow #2), 2023
Lion & Lamb
Lion & Lamb, 2023

Alex Cross Books in Publication Order

  1. Along Came A Spider (#1), 1992
  2. Kiss the Girls (#2), 1995
  3. Jack & Jill (#3), 1996
  4. Cat and Mouse (#4), 1997
  5. Pop Goes the Weasel (#5), 1999
  6. Roses are Red (#6), 2000
  7. Violets are Blue (#7), 2001
  8. Four Blind Mice (#8), 2002
  9. The Big Bad Wolf (#9), 2003
  10. London Bridges ( #10), 2004
  11. Mary, Mary (#11), 2005
  12. Cross (#12), 2006
  13. Double Cross ( #13), 2007
  14. Cross Country (#14), 2008
  15. Alex Cross’s Trial (#15), 2009
  16. I, Alex Cross (#16), 2009
  17. Cross Fire (#17), 2009
  18. Kill Alex Cross (#18), 2011
  19. Merry Christmas, Alex Cross (#19), 2012
  20. Alex Cross, Run (#20), 2011
  21. Cross My Heart (#21), 2013
  22. Hope to Die (#22), 2014
  23. Cross Justice (#23), 2015
  24. Cross Kill (#23.5), 2016
  25. Cross the Line (#24), 2016
  26. Detective Cross (#24.5), 2017
  27. The People vs. Alex Cross (#25), 2017
  28. Target: Alex Cross (#26), 2018
  29. Criss Cross (#27), 2019
  30. Deadly Cross (#28), 2020
  31. Fear No Evil (#29), 2021
  32. Tripple Cross (#30), 2022
  33. Cross Down (#31), 2023
  34. Alex Cross Must Die (#32), 2023

Ali Cross Books in Publication Order

featuring Ali, the son of Alex Cross

  1. Ali Cross (#1), 2019
  2. Like Father, Like Son ( #2), 2021
  3. The Secret Detective (#3), 2022

Jane Smith Books in Publication Order

  1. 12 Months to Live (#1), 2023

Doc Savage Thriller Series in Publication Order

with Brian Sitts

  1. The Perfect Assassin (#1), 2023

Shadow Books in Publication Order

with Brian Sitts

  1. The Shadow, 2021
  2. Circle of Death, 2023

Out of Sight / Amy Cornwall Books in Publication Order

with Brendan DuBois

  1. The Cornwalls are Gone (#1), 2019
  2. Countdown (#2), 2019

Billy Harney Books / Black Book Thriller in Publication Order

with David Ellis

  1. The Coldest Case, 2021 (audiobook novella)
  2. The Black Book(#1), 2017
  3. The Red Book ( #2), 2021
  4. Escape( #3), 2022
  5. Blackball (#4), 2023

Tom Moon Books in Publication Order

  1. Lost ( #1), 2019

Instinct Books in Publication Order

co-authored with Howard Roughan

  1. Instinct / Murder Games (t #1), 2017
  2. Killer Instinct (#2), 2019
  3. Steal (#3), 2022

Invisible Books in Publication Order

co-authored with David Ellis

  1. Invisible (#1), 2014
  2. Unsolved (#2), 2019

Women’s Murder Club Books in Publication Order

Co-authored with Maxine Paetro, Andrew Gross

  1. 1st to Die (#1), 2000
  2. 2nd Chance (#2), 2002
  3. 3rd Degree (#3), 2004
  4. 4th of July (#4), 2005
  5. The 5th Horseman (#5), 2006
  6. The 6th Target (#6), 2007
  7. 7th Heaven (#7), 2008
  8. The 8th Confession (#8), 2009
  9. The 9th Judgement (#9), 2009
  10. 10th Anniversary (#10), 2011
  11. 11th Hour (#11), 2012
  12. 12th of Never (#12), 2013
  13. Unlucky 13 (#13), 2014
  14. 14th Deadly Sin (#14), 2015
  15. 15th Affair (#15) 2016
  16. The Trial (#15.5) 2016
  17. 16th Seduction (#16) 2017
  18. The Medical Examiner (#16.5), 2017
  19. 17th Suspect (#17), 2018
  20. 18th Abduction (#18), 2019
  21. 19th Christmas (#19), 2019
  22. 20th Victim (#20), 2020
  23. 21st Birthday (#21), 2021
  24. 22 Seconds (#22), 2022
  25. 23rd Midnight (#23), 2023
  26. 23 1/2 Lies (#23.5), 2023
  27. The 24th Hour (#24), 2024

Michael Bennett Books in Publication Order

Co-authored with Michael Ledwidge, James O Born)

  1. Step on a Crack (#1), 2007
  2. Run For Your Life (#2), 2009
  3. Worst Case (#3), 2009
  4. Tick Tock (#4), 2010
  5. I, Michael Bennett (#5), 2012
  6. Gone (#6), 2013
  7. Burn (#7), 2014
  8. Alert (#8), 2015
  9. Bullseye (#9), 2016
  10. Haunted (#10), 2017
  11. Manhunt (#10.5), 2017
  12. Ambush (#11), 2018
  13. Blindside (#12), 2020
  14. The Russian (#13), 2021
  15. Shattered (#14), 2022
  16. Obsessed (#15), 2023

Private / Jack Morgan Books in Publication Order

Co-authored with Michael White, Maxine Paetro, Mark Sullivan, Ashwin Sanghi, Kathryn Fox, Rees Jones, Jassy Mackenzie, Adam Hamdy

  1. Private (Private #1), 2010
  2. Private London (Private #2), 2011
  3. Private Games (Private #3), 2012
  4. Private: No. 1 Suspect (Private #4), 2012
  5. Private Berlin (Private #5), 2012
  6. Private Down Under (Private #6), 2012
  7. Private L.A (Private #7), 2014
  8. Private India (Private #8), 2014
  9. Private Vegas (Private #9), 2015
  10. Private Sydney (Private #10), 2015
  11. Private Paris (Private #11), 2016
  12. The Games (Private #12), 2016 (also called Private Rio)
  13. Private Royals (Private #12.5), 2016
  14. Private Delhi (Private #13), 2017
  15. Private Gold (Private #13.5), 2017
  16. Private Princess (Private #14), 2018
  17. Private Moscow (Private #15), 2020
  18. Private Rogue (Private #16), 2021
  19. Private Beijing (Private #17), 2022
  20. Private Rome (Private #18), 2023

NYPD RED Books in Publication Order

Co-authored with Marshall Karp

  1. NYPD Red (#1), 2012
  2. NYPD Red 2 (#2), 2014
  3. NYPD Red 3 (#3), 2015
  4. NYPD Red 4 (#4), 2016
  5. NYPD Red 5 (#5), 2018
  6. NYPD Red 6 (#6), 2020

Detective Luc Moncrief Books in Publication Order

  1. The French Kiss (#1), 2016
  2. The Christmas Mystery (#2), 2016
  3. French Twist (#3), 2017

Detective Harriet Blue Books in Publication Order

  1. Black & Blue (#0.5), 2016
  2. Never Never (#1), 2016
  3. Fifty Fifty (#2), 2018
  4. Liar Liar (#3), 2018
  5. Hush Hush (#4), 2019

Murder is Forever Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

  1. Murder, Interrupted (#1), 2018
  2. Home Sweet Murder (#2), 2018
  3. Murder Beyond Grave (#3), 2018
  4. Murder Thy Neighbour (#4), 2020
  5. Murder of Innocence (#5), 2020
  6. Till Murder Do Us Part (#6), 2021

Confessions Books In Publication Order

  1. Confessions of a Murder Suspect, 2012
  2. The Private School Murders, 2013
  3. The Paris Mysteries, 2014
  4. The Murder of an Angel, 2015

Crazy House Series in Publication Order

(co-authored with Gabrielle Charbonnet)

  1. Crazy House, 2017
  2. The Fall of Crazy House, 2019

Rory Yates Books in Publication Order

(co-authored with Andrew Bourelle)

Miracle / Travis McKinley Books in Publication Order

(co-authored with Peter De Jonge)

  1. Miracle on the 17th Green, 1996
  2. Miracle at Augusta, 2015
  3. Miracle at St Andrews, 2019

Ruby Bozarth Books in Publication Order

with Nancy Allen

  1. Juror #3, 2017
  2. The Jailhouse Lawyer, 2021

When the Wind Blows Books in Publication Order

  1. When the Wind Blows, 1998
  2. The Lake House, 2003

Maximum Ride Series in Publication Order

  1. The Angel Experiment, 2005
  2. School’s Out– Forever, 2006
  3. Saving the World, 2007
  4. The Final Warning, 2007
  5. Max, 2009
  6. Fang, 2010
  7. Angel, 2011
  8. Nevermore, 2012
  9. Maximum Ride Forever, 2015

Honeymoon Books in Publication Order

(co-authored with Howard Roughan)

  1. Honeymoon, 2005
  2. Second Honeymoon, 2013

Daniel X Series in Publication Order

(co-authored with Michael Ledwidge, Ned Rust, Adam Sadler, Chris Grabenstein, Leopoldo Gout)

  1. Dangerous Days of Daniel X, 2008
  2. Watch the Skies, 2009
  3. Demons and Druids, 2010
  4. Game Over, 2011
  5. Armageddon, 2012
  6. Lights Out, 2015
  7. Alien Hunter, 2008 (graphic novel)

Standalone James Patterson Fiction Books in Publication Order

James Patterson Bookshots in Publication Order

Alex Cross Bookshots

Chef Bookshots

with Jeffrey J. Keyes

Diamond Trilogy Bookshots

with Elizabeth Hayley

Jon Roscoe Thriller Bookshots

with Robert Gold

Women’s Murder Club Bookshots

with Maxine Paetro

Michael Bennett Bookshots

with James O. Born

read Chase after Bullseye and Manhunt after Haunted if you want to read the series in order

Private Bookshots

with Jassy Mackenzie, Rees Jones

Zoo Bookshots

with Michael Ledwidge

Flames Bookshots

  • Learning to Ride, 2016
  • Sacking the Quarterback, 2016
  • The Mating Season, 2016
  • The Return, 2016
  • Bodyguard, 2016
  • Hot Winter Nights, 2016
  • Seducing Shakespeare, 2017
  • Bedding the Highlander, 2017
  • Sabotage, 2017
  • 50 Hidden Desires, 2017
  • Sexy Summer Flings, 2017
  • Love Me Tender, 2017
  • The Experiment, 2017
  • The Weekend Wife, 2017
  • Dawn’s Early Light, 2017
  • Christmas Sanctuary, 2017
  • Shopping for Love, 2018
  • Once Upon a Kiss, 2018

Detective Luc Moncrief Bookshots

with Richard DiLallo

Mitchum Bookshots

with James O. Born

Owen Taylor Bookshots

with Brendan DuBois

Standalone Bookshots

  • Let’s Play Make-Believe / The Palm Beach Murders, 2016
  • Break Point, 2016
  • Heist, 2016
  • Airport Code Red, 2016
  • The Witnesses, 2016
  • Little Black Dress, 2016
  • Dead Heat, 2016
  • The Pretender, 2016
  • Hunted, 2016
  • 113 Minutes, 2016
  • Trump vs. Clinton, 2016
  • The Women’s War, 2016
  • $10,000,000 Marriage Proposal, 2016
  • Taking the Titanic, 2016
  • Come and Get Us, 2016
  • The House Husband, 2017
  • The Shut-In, 2017
  • Night Sniper, 2017
  • Diary of a Succubus, 2017
  • Stealing Gulfstreams, 2017
  • The Lawyer Lifeguard, 2017
  • Stingrays, 2017
  • Nooners, 2017
  • Steeplechase, 2017
  • Deadly Cargo, 2017
  • The Dolls, 2017
  • The Family Lawyer, 2017
  • Dead Man Running, 2017
  • Scott Free, 2017
  • Absolute Zero, 2017
  • You’ve Been Warned – Again, 2017
  • The Exile, 2017
  • The Moores Are Missing & The Housewife, 2017
  • Avalanche, 2017
  • Kill and Tell, 2017
  • The 13-Minute Murder, 2019

Picture Books in Publication Order

Non-Fiction Books by James Patterson

Learn More About the Alex Cross Series

The Alex Cross novels are among the most popular mystery series written to date, many of which have been made into acclaimed movies, including Kiss The Girls with Morgan Freeman (playing Alex Cross) and Ashley Judd. Currently, there are 28 main books in the series, with the latest one, The People vs. Alex Cross, published in 2017.

I’ve read every single Alex Cross novel, which I always looked forward to getting after reading the first book in the Alex Cross series, first published back in 1992. I remember loving everything about the first book: the writing style, the main character, the action, the hidden clues, pretty much everything.

Alex Cross, better-called dr. Alex Cross is a forensic psychology specialist and a psychologist who started out working as a detective at the Washington DC police department, eventually transitioning after to the FBI as a senior agent.

Initially, he was working as a psychologist, but after his wife got murdered, his life changed full direction with him focusing, from then on, on tracking killers and bringing them to justice.

I remember reading the first few books and loving the titles used from lines from popular kids nursery rhymes. At some point, however, he started giving this book titles names based on the main character of the series, Alex Cross. After Mary, Mary, the next book, Cross, is the first that adopts the new title style. From then on every single new novel has his name somewhere within the title.

What really drew me in from the very first book are the style and the short chapters which can satisfy even those with the shortest attention span ever. By the time you start reading, the chapter is already over. And even more so, none of the chapters are boring. You find yourself flipping the pages and zipping through the story just to see what comes next.

The Alex Cross book series makes up for some of my most favorite mystery novels ever. Each book follows Alex Cross battling with an evil psychopath and serial killer, and throughout you’ll find yourself at the edge of your seat more times than you can count, at least that’s how I felt reading all his books.

Some people say that at some point his novels got repetitive, but personally, I did feel a uniqueness in each book.

Sure, the main plot is about the same: Killer does his abducting and killing deeds, Alex Cross gets on the job of tracking down said killer, Alex Cross and killer finally meet and eventually one party (you can guess which) wins, often with serious battle scars.

In one of the latest Alex Cross story, The People vs. Alex Cross, we’ll find the table turned on Alex. The Alex Cross’s trial for killing two people and severely injuring a third one is a major part of this story.

Despite him claiming that he’s innocent, that he was framed, and that the people had guns pointing at him, the prosecution wants to make an example of him and put him away for good.

Of course, you’ll need to read the new Alex Cross book to see if and how get can regain his freedom and his good name, but knowing how most Alex Cross novels end, you should have no troubles figuring out the end. However, many say the journey is more interesting than the destination.

Here is the chronological order of the James Patterson Alex Cross series of books with each book’s publication date at the end of the book just after the series reading order.

Should We Read the James Patterson Alex Cross Books in Order?

This is one mystery series that I can say, without even thinking about it, that you should read them in order, despite the fact that pretty much all novels start and end with a separate story from other books in the series. This is one of the best book recommendations I can make.

One reason for it is that you’ll get to know Alex Cross in a much deeper way than otherwise. You’ll learn about his transitioning careers over the years and his quirks and way of thinking that are so popular among so many mystery readers.

Many different events occur in his personal life, and reading the books out of order might prove to be confusing at times. Most books reference previous novels and without having read those earlier stories first, it might feel a bit strange, as when peeking in through the curtains to a house that you don’t belong to.

You’ll see the main characters develop over time in front of your eyes, and honestly, whenever you talk to James Patterson’s fans who love the Alex Cross novel series, you’ll notice that they’re almost OCD at times about reading the series in order. So do yourself a favor and start the Alex Cross novels in order, from the very first one. You will not be disappointed.

What Are the Best James Patterson Books?

I’m certain that everyone has their own list of what they consider the best of James Patterson’s books, but there are a few that I have noticed lots of readers (including me) love above all.

I think Along Came a Spider, the first book in the Alex Cross book series, is a favorite overall for many. Also, First to Die, the first book in the Women’s Murder Club is usually in the top 5 books of most Patterson book lovers.

James Patterson himself considers his book The Black Book, one of his best by far. In an interview in 2017, he mentioned that “it is the best work I’ve done in twenty years.”

Kiss the Girls, the second Alex Cross book, is pretty darn good too. I remember reading it back in the day, and it was one of the books that got me hooked on this crime mystery author.

On Goodreads, some readers consider The Angel Experiment (the first book in the Maximum Ride graphic novels series) as one of the top choices to start reading the author’s books with.

My personal 5 favorites in any reading order you choose are

  1. Along Came a Spider
  2. Kiss the Girls,
  3. When the Wind Blows,
  4. 1st to Die
  5. Craddle and All

Which ones are your favorites?

James Patterson Biography – About the Author

James Patterson author

James Patterson was born and grew up in 1947 in Newburgh, New York. After attending the Manhattan College, he graduated in 1969 with a BA in English, after which he went to the  Vanderbilt University where he got his Master of Arts in English, he earned both degrees summa cum laude.

While in the process of earning his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt, he shifted gears after a year instead and went to work in the advertising business. He became a junior copywriter for J. Walter Thompson, the well-known advertising agency, where he eventually became the CEO of the North American company.

In 1976, while still working at J.W.T, he got his first story with the title The Thomas Berryman Number published by Little, Brown and Company, a book which won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel after being turned down by no less than 31 publishers. Here’s to perseverance!

His first Alex Cross story was published some 20 years later in 1993. From the time he published his first book, James Patterson has written around 150 novels, out of which some 115 books became New York Times bestselling novels.

The first book has been turned into a movie in 2001 featuring Morgan Freeman, while in 2012 and Tyler Perry got to play the role of Alex Cross instead.

With nearly 100 books written today, he is an author with something for everybody, be it a child, young adult or mature person. His books range from thrillers, crime mystery, paranormal, sci-fi, romances to picture books for kids, so often times to read the James Patterson books in order you need a proper listing for all his series.

It was also the first book I’ve read by James Patterson and I remember I was instantly hooked. Since then I’ve caught up to everything he has written in the crime mystery genre, and he has become in the meantime one of my favorite authors ever, along with names like Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, James Rollins, Kathy Reichs, Harlan Coben, John Sandford and David Baldacci, among others.

Suppose you are a crime mystery book lover. In that case, I strongly recommend (if you haven’t already done so) the following series: Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club, M. Bennett and Private, NYPD Red and even Maximum Ride, which is a dystopian, sci-fi young adult thriller series.

Another popular series is evolving around Luc Moncrief, a French detective who joined NYPD. These are series that will keep you reading for ages.

So what is the new James Patterson’s book? There are several, actually. Since he is constantly co-authoring novels with other authors, several are released yearly, often as many as 10 per year. He wrote a new thriller with the title The President is Missing, a book which was co-authored with ex-president Bill Clinton.

The book was published in June 2018, and Showtime has already bought its TV rights. The date for the TV series is yet unknown. The story is about a sitting US president who goes missing, and it will have great details about the presidency, which comes from Bill Clinton’s personal knowledge of the White House.

Then he wrote with Candice Fox the fourth book, Hush Hush, in the Detective Harriet Blue books – his other popular crime mystery series. He is continuing the Women’s Murder Club books, and in 2019 he wrote another standalone novel, Out of Sight.

In 2022, he wrote Escape, Blowback, The Girl in the Castle, Shattered, Tripple Cross, and Private Beijing. In 2023 some newer releases also include the Perfect Assassin and The House of Wolves.

He is also working together with managers of Albert Einstein’s archives to create a new a series for kids inspired by the major discoveries by Albert Einstein.

In addition, the author James Patterson is, regularly giving grants to independent booksellers across the US. At the end of 2017, he donated $350,000 in grants to over 300 booksellers, which is $100,000 more than the years before.

All this is part of the author’s Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program run through a partnership with the American Booksellers Association. The author is personally choosing the winners from independent bookstores all over America.

Also, beginning in January 2018, Patterson started a new non-fiction series in collaboration with ID (Discovery).

The James Patterson Middle School series is one for the young adult readers. The novels in the series are currently up to 16 starting from Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life.  These books can be read by the entire family from children to adults, as they are quite funny, and the people involved in the stories are mostly young students, teachers, and families. There are many secrets and a treasure or two to discover.

The author’s FBI series titled Invisible became a series only recently with the second book published in 2019. The first book was released back in 2014. The fans of the Alex Cross book series can now enjoy more adventures with Ali Cross, Alex’s son who has his own series now as of 2019. However, the original series is not dead, as new stories are still coming in every year.

Besides his written novels, there is also the James Patterson Presents series, where the author didn’t actually collaborate on the novel with anyone. He basically took a publishing role for the books. He also worked on a Treasure Hunters Series for kids, and the Stalking Jack the Ripper series written by Kerri Maniscalco.

Currently, the author publishes with Hachette Book Group | Grand Central Publishing.

James Patterson Awards and Nominations

  • National Book Foundation’s 2015 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community
  • National Parenting Publications Honors Awards
  • International Reading Association’s Young Adults’ Choices Booklist
  • American Library Association “Teens Top Ten” Pick
  • London Times Book Sense Children’s Pick
  • Nomineed for Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award in 2011
  • Children’s Choice Book Awards
  • Author of the Year 2010 for Max
  • Nominee, 2011 Teen Choice Book of the Year (Fang) and 2012 Author of the Year (Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life)
  • Winner of the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize
  • Winner of the American Library Association’s Great Websites for Kids
Like these books
4
Shares

14 Comments

  1. I have a number of stand alone books from 2017 not on your inventory. Is it possible you missed them? Love your database! Thanks for doing this!

    Reply

  2. I would love to see a list of all of the Bookshot books! I can’t seem to find one anywhere!

    Reply

  3. I collect James patterson books and came by one called ‘out of sight’ and have no idea where to put it in my collection, does anyone know which books it was released in between

    Reply

  5. First Case was a terrific novel. I look forward to further books with Angela Hoot as lead.

    Reply

  7. I CA NOT think of what the title of one of his books written in mid to late 70s. It was about a husband and wife living on a remote island, unable to get off. The husband is in a wheel chair and a stranger comes to rescue them but all hell breaks loose. I have reviewed so many and simply am going blind from my searching. Help anyone please??

    Reply

  8. I am looking forward to the next Harriet Blue adventure. Is it coming to Australia soon??

    Reply

  9. I cannot find the last two books of the Harriet Blue Series: Hush Hush & Black & Blue. Where can I find these two books?

    Reply

    1. I use a library app called Overdrive/Libby!! All JPs books are in there for reading or listening

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *