Thriller
Alex Cross Books in Order
by James Patterson
Washington D.C. psychologist and homicide detective Alex Cross hunts the most dangerous serial killers in America while protecting the family he loves. One of the longest-running detective series in crime fiction.
About the series
James Patterson's Alex Cross is one of the longest-running detective series in American crime fiction, following Washington D.C. psychologist and homicide detective Dr. Alex Cross as he hunts serial killers while raising his family in Southeast D.C. with his grandmother, Nana Mama. Patterson launched the character in 1992 with Along Came a Spider, and Cross has been a fixture on the bestseller list ever since — the basis for three films starring Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry.
Recommended reading order
Read the main novels in publication order — each book is largely self-contained but characters and backstory accumulate, and starting with Along Came a Spider gives you the full arc of Cross's personal losses and career evolution. The "Bookshots" novellas (short reads like Cross Kill) are optional companion pieces. Skip Alex Cross's Trial (2009) if you want the main story only, as it's a historical sidebar. New entries continue to appear annually, so the series remains firmly ongoing.
Reading order
32 books · Ongoing