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Alex Cross books in order: the complete series
Looking for James Patterson’s Alex Cross books in order? Look no further!
James Patterson is a master storyteller and prolific thriller author with many different series to enjoy – including the Women’s Murder Club series, the Michael Bennett series and the Private series. Perhaps his most popular series features Alex Cross who, when we first meet him in Along Came a Spider, is a homicide detective in the Washington DC Police Department who has a PhD in psychology.
Here’s a taste of all James Patterson’s Alex Cross books in order!
James Patterson’s Alex Cross books in order:
Along Came a Spider by James Patterson
1. Along Came A Spider (1992)
Two children have been kidnapped from an elite Washington DC private school. Detective Alex Cross must find them. The kidnapper’s identity is quickly determined: Gary Soneji, a maths teacher at the school. But identifying him and capturing him are two very different things, and as Cross’s pursuit of the sinister kidnapper escalates, it becomes increasingly clear that Soneji is no get-rich-quick opportunist.
He’s something far more dangerous, and the missing children are pawns in Soneji’s deadly game. Cross soon realises that the crime goes far deeper than just two children – and begins to uncover connections to the most notorious unsolved kidnapping in history…
Kiss the Girls by James Patterson
2. Kiss the Girls (1995)
When his niece Naomi goes missing, Detective Alex Cross follows the trail – and discovers links to a string of recent abductions and murders, with one horrifying complication. There are two killers at work on opposite sides of the country, collaborating and competing to commit the worst crimes the country has ever seen.
With his family at risk, Cross knows that his investigation is putting him directly in the line of fire…
Jack and Jill by James Patterson
3. Jack and Jill (1996)
A controversial Senator is found murdered in his bed. A little girl is savagely beaten to death. Alex Cross is under pressure from two fronts – but he knows even he can’t solve both cases.
Faced with an impossible choice, Cross has to come up with something incredible – because right now, nobody in Washington is safe, and it’s only a matter of time before the killer sets their sights on the ultimate target…
Cat and Mouse by James Patterson
4. Cat and Mouse (1997)
Just as Alex Cross is beginning to feel that life is good and he is finally coming out of the depression he’s been in since the death of his wife, he is called to Union Station train terminal. A man is on the loose, firing at random into the swarming crowds of travellers. Psychopath Gary Soneji seems determined to go down in a blaze of glory, and he wants Alex Cross to be there. Will this be the final showdown?
Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson
5. Pop Goes the Weasel (1999)
Geoffrey Shafter: a man who never loses, he is prepared to play the game of games for the highest stakes of all.
Alex Cross: is determined, whatever the consequences, to unmask the man he has nicknamed the weasel, the prime suspect for a spate of killings that Cross has been forbidden to investigate.
Roses are Red by James Patterson
6. Roses Are Red (2000)
A series of meticulously planned bank robberies ends in murder and detective Alex Cross must pit his wits against the bizarre and sadistic mastermind behind the crimes. Although torn between dedication to his job and commitment to his family, Cross cannot ignore the case, despite the risks he knows will come with hunting down a killer – and the heartbreaking cost.
Violets are Blue by James Patterson
7. Violets Are Blue (2001)
The Mastermind is back – and he’s hot on detective Alex Cross’s trail. His cold, taunting threats leave Alex angry and deeply concerned for his family’s safety while he is away from home. Alex has never been closer to defeat, or in greater danger. He must survive a deadly confrontation – only to learn at last the awful secret of the Mastermind.
Four Blind Mice by James Patterson
8. Four Blind Mice (2002)
Alex Cross is preparing to resign from the Washington Police Force. He’s enjoying the feeling; not least because the Mastermind is now in prison. Then John Sampson shows up at the house, desperate for Alex’s help. Three young military wives have been brutally killed during a ‘girls’ night out’ and Sampson’s friend, a master sergeant at the army base, stands accused. Uncovering evidence of a series of suspicious murder convictions, Alex and Sampson are determined to infiltrate the closed world of the military.
The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
9. The Big Bad Wolf (2003)
Alex Cross’s first case since joining the FBI has his new colleagues perplexed. Across the country, men and women are kidnapped in broad daylight and then disappear completely. These people are not being taken for ransom, Alex realizes. They are being bought and sold. And it seems The Wolf is the master criminal behind this terrible trade and who is bringing a new reign of terror to organized crime.
London Bridges by James Patterson
10. London Bridges (2004)
Alex Cross is on vacation when he gets the call. A town in Nevada has been annihilated and the Russian super-criminal known as the Wolf is claiming responsibility. Major cities around the globe are threatened with total destruction and the thought of such dark genius at work makes Alex’s blood run cold. Cross is catapulted into an international chase of astonishing danger.
Mary, Mary by James Patterson
11. Mary, Mary (2005)
Somebody is intent on murdering Hollywood’s A-list. A well-known actress has been shot outside her Beverly Hills home. Shortly afterwards, the Los Angeles Times receives an email describing the murder in vivid detail. It is signed Mary Smith. More killings and emails follow – the victims are all major Hollywood players. Is it the work of an obsessed fan or a spurned actor, or is it part of something far more terrifying? As the case grows to blockbuster proportions, Washington, DC, FBI agent Alex Cross and the LAPD scramble to find a pattern before Mary can send another chilling update.
Cross by James Patterson
12. Cross (2006)
Alex Cross was a rising star in Washington, DC, Police Department when an unknown shooter killed his wife, Maria, in front of him. Years later, having left the FBI and returned to practising psychology in Washington, DC, Alex finally feels his life is in order… Until his former partner, John Sampson, calls in a favour. John’s tracking a serial rapist in Georgetown and he needs Alex to help find this brutal predator. When the case triggers a connection to Maria’s death, could Alex have a chance to catch his wife’s murderer?
Double Cross by James Patterson
13. Double Cross (2007)
Just when Alex Cross’s life is calming down, he’s drawn back into the game to confront the Audience Killer – a terrifying genius who stages his killings as public spectacles in Washington, DC and broadcasts them live on the net. In Colorado, another criminal mastermind is planning a triumphant return. From his maximum-security prison cell, Kyle Craig has spent years plotting his escape and revenge. Craig prefers to work alone, but if joining forces with DC’s Audience Killer helps him to get the man who put him away – Alex Cross – then so be it.
Cross Country by James Patterson
14. Cross Country (2008)
When Detective Alex Cross is called to investigate a massacre-style murder scene, he is shocked to find that one of the victims is an old friend. Angry, grieving, and more determined than ever, Cross begins the hunt for the perpetrators of this vicious crime. He is drawn into a dangerous underworld right in the heart of Washington DC that leads him on a life-threatening journey to the Niger Delta, where heroin dealing, slave trading and corruption are rife.
Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson
15. Alex Cross’s Trial (2009)
From his grandmother, Alex Cross has heard the story of his great-uncle Abraham and his struggles for survival in the era of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, Alex passes the family tale along to his own children in a novel he’s written – a novel called Trial.
As a lawyer in early-twentieth-century Washington DC, Ben Corbett represents the toughest cases. Fighting against oppression and racism, he risks his family and his life in the process. When President Theodore Roosevelt asks Ben to return to his hometown to investigate rumours of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan there, he cannot refuse.
I, Alex Cross by James Patterson
16. I, Alex Cross (2009)
Detective Alex Cross is pulled out of a family celebration and given the awful news that his niece, Caroline, has been found brutally murdered. Cross vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that Caroline was mixed up in one of Washington’s wildest scenes. And she was not this killer’s only victim. As Cross closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable – a revelation that could rock the entire world.
Cross Fire by James Patterson
17. Cross Fire (2010)
Cross is called to the scene of a perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington DC’s most corrupt and publically hated political figures. As more crooked politicians are picked off with similar long-range shots, public opinion is divided – is the marksman a vigilante or a hero? Media coverage of the case explodes, and the FBI assigns agent Max Siegel to the investigation. As Cross and Siegel battle over jurisdiction, Alex receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in DC and will not stop until he has eliminated Cross, and his family, for good.
Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson
18. Kill Alex Cross (2011)
Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene of the biggest case he’s ever been part of. The President’s son and daughter have been abducted from their school – an impossible crime, but somehow the kidnapper has done it. Alex does everything he can but is shunted to the fringes of the investigation. A deadly contagion in the DC water supply threatens to cripple the capital, and Alex sees the looming shape of the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced. He is already working flat-out on the abduction, and this massive assault pushes Cross completely over the edge.
Merry Christmas Alex Cross by James Patterson
19. Merry Christmas Alex Cross (2011)
On the night before Christmas, Detective Alex Cross is at home celebrating with his family. But when Alex’s phone rings, he knows that this won’t be a merry Christmas. A father has taken his children and ex-wife hostage. Armed to the teeth and high on crystal meth, Henry Fowler is dangerously unstable. The lives of everyone in that house are hanging by a thread. As this suburban nightmare is unfolding, another far greater threat is approaching. It will be a terrorist attack like Washington DC has never seen, and when nobody expects it.
Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson
20. Alex Cross, Run (2013)
Three killers are on the rampage in the capital and dead bodies are piling up almost as fast as the police can count them. Alex Cross is in charge of all three investigations and has never been under more pressure. But with a crisis at home that threatens to tear his family apart, Alex’s attention is divided. While Cross tracks the killers, he doesn’t notice that someone is tracking him.
Cross My Heart by James Patterson
21. Cross My Heart (2013)
Alex Cross’s whole world is crashing down around him. He has been hunted, stalked like prey, his predator priming himself for the kill. Cross has devoted his life to protecting others. Now he’s unable to protect even those closest to him. As a police detective, he has made many enemies, but never like this. Everything he loves is being taken from him. Soon he will have nothing and no one left.
Hope to Die by James Patterson
22. Hope To Die (2014)
Detective Alex Cross has lost everything. Thierry Mulch, a lethal and obsessive enemy, is holding his family hostage. Driven by hatred and revenge, Mulch is threatening to kill them all – and destroy Alex Cross forever.
But Cross is fighting back. In a race against time, he must defeat Mulch in an intricate battle of wits to save his wife and children – no matter what it takes.
Cross Justice by James Patterson
23. Cross Justice (2015)
When his cousin stands accused of a terrible murder, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in thirty years.
As he strives to prove his cousin’s innocence amid small-town corruption and prejudice, Cross unearths a family secret that makes him question everything he thought he knew.
Chasing the ghosts of the past, Cross is pulled into a case baffling local police: a grisly string of murders, all of socialites. Hot on the trail of a brutal killer as well as his own past, Cross knows the answers he finds might be fatal…
Cross the Line by James Patterson
24. Cross the Line (2016)
Shots ring out in suburban Washington D.C. in the early hours. When the smoke clears, a senior police official lies dead, leaving his force scrambling for answers.
Under pressure from the mayor, Alex Cross steps up and takes command of the investigation – just as a brutal crime wave sweeps the region. There’s just one thing in common in these deadly scenes: the victims are criminals.
As Cross pursues a murderer who’s appointed himself judge, jury and executioner, he must take the law back into his own hands – because although this killer has a conscience, the city Cross has sworn to protect is rapidly descending into chaos…
The People vs Alex Cross by James Patterson
25. The People vs Alex Cross (2017)
Charged with murdering followers of his old nemesis Gary Soneji, Alex Cross becomes the poster child for trigger-happy cops.
He knows it was self-defence. Will the jury agree? Suspended from the police and fighting for his freedom, even Cross’s own family begin to doubt his innocence as shocking evidence mounts.
With everything on the line, Cross must go it alone. He’s the only one who knows that there’s a real murderer watching from the shadows, one Cross must stop – even if it means he can’t save himself…
Target: Alex Cross by James Patterson
26. Target: Alex Cross (2018)
Alex Cross and his family join men and women from across the nation lining the streets of Washington, DC to mourn the unexpected death of the President.
With the country still in shock, the assassination of a prominent Senator strikes another devastating blow to the heart of the nation’s capital. As Chief of Detectives, Alex’s wife Bree Stone faces an ultimatum: solve the case, or lose her job.
The new President calls on Cross to lead an unparalleled FBI investigation to help capture America’s most wanted criminal. But what follows will plunge the country into chaos, and draw Cross into the most important case of his life.
Criss Cross by James Patterson
27. Criss Cross (2019)
Mere hours after witnessing the execution of a killer he helped put behind bars, Alex Cross is called to the scene of a copycat murder. A note signed ‘M’ rests on the corpse: ‘You messed up big time, Dr. Cross.’ Was an innocent man just put to death? As the executed convict’s family launch a vicious campaign against Cross, his abilities as a detective are called into question.
The enigmatic ‘M’ lures Cross out of Washington, DC to the sites of multiple homicides, all marked with distressingly familiar details that conjure up decades-old cases and Cross family secrets. Details that make it clear M is after a prize so dear that – were the killer to attain it – Cross’s life would be destroyed.
Deadly Cross by James Patterson
28. Deadly Cross (2020)
Until Kay Willingham’s stocking murder inside a luxury limousine, the Georgetown socialite, philanthropist, and ex-wife of the sitting vice-president led a public life. But few — including her onetime psychologist — had any inkling of Kay’s troubled past in the Deep South.
Murdered alongside her is Randall Christopher, a respected educator with political ambitions that may have endangered both their lives. While John Sampson of DC Metro Police tracks Randall’s final movements, Alex and FBI Special Agent Ned Mahoney travel to Alabama to investigate Kay’s early years.
They discover that although Kay had many enemies, none of them had a full motive — all of them needed her alive. Alex is left without a viable suspect, and facing a desperate choice between breaking a trust and losing his way — as a detective, and the protector of his family.
Fear No Evil by James Patterson
29. Fear No Evil (2021)
Alex Cross ventures into the rugged Montana wilderness – where he will be the prey. He’s not on the job, but on a personal mission.
Until he’s attacked by two rival teams of assassins, controlled by the same mastermind who has stalked Alex and his family for years.
Darkness falls. The river churns into rapids. Shots ring out through the forest.
No backup. No way out. Fear no evil.
Triple Cross by James Patterson
30. Triple Cross (2022)
Detective Alex Cross is hunting a killer who targets families around Washington, DC. But Cross isn’t the only one investigating. A charismatic true-crime author has spotted patterns in the actions of ‘The Family Man’ that others have missed.
It’s up to Cross to determine whether the writer’s theories are fact or fiction.
Alex Cross Must Die by James Patterson
31. Alex Cross Must Die (2023)
When an American Airlines plane explodes in the sky, detectives Alex Cross and John Sampson are first on the scene. They don’t hear the gunfire. At first.
It soon becomes clear that the plane was taken down by a rare, stolen machine gun. The list of people who could operate the weapon is short. And time runs even shorter. But this isn’t the only case the pair must solve. They’re also tracking a serial killer who’s ambushing young men in what the media are calling the ‘Dead Hours’ murders.
The House of Cross by James Patterson
32.The House of Cross (Coming Autumn 2024)
It’s time to put the guns down, Detective Cross. Even if you knew the way out of this place, we would catch you. A serial killer is taking out America’s finest legals minds, and Alex Cross is called to investigate their brutal murders. But during a dangerous mission to track down the killer, his wife, Bree, and best friend, John Sampson, go missing.
To save the people he loves most, Cross has to find Bree and John, escape and survive. If he fails, there will be no one left in the House of Cross.
Plus…
Cross Down by James Patterson
Cross Down (2023)
A thrilling spin-off to the bestselling Alex Cross series.
When a series of military-style attacks erupt across the United States, Detective John Sampson is called in to investigate. The attacks are untraceable, with patterns too random to decipher. As Sampson finally discovers a lead through an ex-military contact, his partner Alex Cross is brutally side-lined, leaving him certain about one thing: he can trust no one.
With soldiers called on secret assignments and others mysteriously disappearing, Sampson must revisit his military past if he’s to save his country’s future.
There you have it – James Patterson’s Alex Cross books in order! How many have you read? Let us know in the comments below…
Love James Patterson? Take a look at the Private books in order here or the Women’s Murder Club books in order here.
Books Like James Patterson’s Alex Cross:
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I have read most of them, my dad loved your books too we used to pass them between ourselves until he sadly passed away. I also love the murder club books.
I have read every book apart from 12 months to live. Brilliant author, love all your books.
Every single one apart from his newest one
I enjoy alex cross .what book has alex and john sampson working at a soup kitchen sponsored by nana who won lotto and john sampson gets shot .cheers
Good day, I have read all of the series of Alex Cross and can not wait on the next one. Please Mr. Patterson keep them coming!!! Need a new one now. Thank you for the opportunity to read such fantastic books
Wheres Pop Goes The Weasel?
Hello! It’s book #5 in the series 🙂
The only one I haven’t read yet is Criss Cross. I love the Alex Cross books and love to hear about his family as much as I do about the crime! They all feel very real. I also love the way he keeps the pace up. My son (when he was much younger) used to sit with me and let me read three chapters at a time because he thought I’d enjoy them more if I took my time. I think he was right, although I cannot control that now he’s left home and serving in the Royal Navy
I have read all of them. I can’t wait for the next one to be released!
hi can you please tell me when you next Alex cross one is coming out because I cant wait to see when he gets Preston Elliot thank you I really love your books
I think James Patterson can write first class novels quicker than I can READ them!
Love all your books
When is the next Alex Cross book coming out, he needs his family back