James Patterson Books in Order

Washington detective and psychologist Alex Cross investigates the kidnapping of two private-school children. Their captor, teacher Gary Soneji, wants to commit a crime no one will forget, and Cross must catch him before the case destroys more lives.

Alex Cross searches for his missing niece while two serial predators terrorize women from opposite sides of the country. A survivor who escaped one captor becomes his key ally in a case built on fear, control, and deception.

A pair of killers called Jack and Jill begins murdering powerful figures in Washington, DC. While Cross follows their trail, he is also drawn into another brutal case, leaving him to untangle two dangerous investigations at once.

Gary Soneji escapes prison with revenge on Alex Cross in mind. At the same time, a brilliant European killer arrives in America, forcing Cross into a deadly contest with two enemies who both want him to lose.

As Alex Cross plans a future with his fiancée, a ruthless killer known as the Weasel begins a calculated murder spree. The case puts Cross’s professional instincts and his chance at a peaceful home life under pressure.

A string of highly organized bank robberies shakes Washington, DC, and Alex Cross sees the hand of a criminal called the Mastermind. Each clue points toward a larger final crime, even as trouble gathers around Cross’s family.

Alex Cross investigates a horrifying series of murders linked to a secretive group with vampire-like rituals. The case pushes him into a shadowy world of obsession and violence, while an old adversary continues to threaten his life.

Alex Cross and John Sampson look into a lethal team known as the Four Blind Mice after three soldiers are convicted of murder. Their search leads behind military lines, where witnesses, secrets, and loyalties are all hard to trust.

On his first major case with the FBI, Alex Cross hunts the Wolf, a criminal mastermind connected to an international trafficking network. The closer Cross gets, the clearer it becomes that this enemy has influence far beyond one crime scene.

Explosions in America and Britain signal a terrifying new campaign by the Wolf and another notorious killer. Alex Cross races across borders to stop attacks designed to spread panic, while the people closest to him remain vulnerable.

A family trip is interrupted when Alex Cross is called to Los Angeles to investigate a string of celebrity murders. The killer, who calls herself Mary Smith, turns the case into a cruel public game with Cross at its center.

Alex Cross faces a present-day killer while revisiting the murder of his wife years earlier. As the cases close in on each other, he is forced to confront painful memories and the possibility that the truth has been hidden in plain sight.

Edited by James Patterson, this anthology gathers original thriller stories from more than 30 writers, including Michael and Daniel Palmer. Its varied tales range across crime, suspense, and psychological danger, with brief introductions that frame the contributors’ approaches to the genre.

Alex Cross is pulled from his quiet work as a psychologist when elaborate murders grip Washington, DC. Two dangerous killers appear to be competing for attention, and Cross must work out whether their crimes are part of one larger design.

The murder of Alex Cross’s oldest friend turns into the worst crime scene he has ever faced. His search for the killer takes him from Washington, DC, to Africa, where violence and corruption make justice far harder to reach.

Alex Cross tells his children a family story about his great-uncle Abraham in the early twentieth-century South. Lawyer Ben Corbett returns to Mississippi to investigate racist terror and finds allies in Abraham Cross and his granddaughter Moody.

A beloved relative’s murder sends Alex Cross into Washington’s most guarded circles. With Bree Stone beside him, he follows the evidence toward a private world of privilege, dangerous secrets, and people determined to stay beyond the law.

Alex Cross and Bree’s wedding plans are interrupted by a sniper killing corrupt Washington insiders. As the murders multiply, a fight over jurisdiction and an old enemy’s shadow turn the investigation into a direct threat to Cross’s family.

When the president’s children are kidnapped, Alex Cross is kept away from the case by powerful forces. A deadly threat to Washington’s water supply soon raises the stakes, leaving him to confront a crisis bigger than any one abduction.

On Christmas Eve, Alex Cross expects a quiet celebration with Bree, Nana Mama, and the children. Instead, a small theft leads to a violent hostage crisis, forcing him to risk everything to save another family.

Four friends leave their strained marriages behind for a lavish long weekend in Monte Carlo, only to wake on a yacht surrounded by police. Accused of murdering a powerful leader, they are thrust into a harsh foreign prison and a conspiracy they barely understand.

After Alex Cross arrests disgraced surgeon Elijah Creem, revenge comes quickly and violently. With several killers moving against him and his loved ones, Cross must stay ahead of threats that seem to be closing in from every side.

A calculating criminal studies Alex Cross’s family and begins turning their ordinary routines into weapons. Cross knows the danger is personal, but identifying the stalker and keeping everyone safe become two very different problems.

Ben Casper is a hyperactive Washington reporter whose mind never stops racing with movie trivia and political facts. When the woman he secretly loves falls from her balcony, Ben refuses to accept suicide and digs into a conspiracy that quickly makes him a target.

In this short Alex Cross story, a late-night 911 call reports that a woman and child have been kidnapped. Cross races against time, using his investigative instincts to find the missing family before the situation turns fatal.

With his family taken by a psychotic adversary, Alex Cross is forced into the most desperate search of his life. Every move is controlled by the kidnapper, and Cross must decide what he is willing to sacrifice to save them.