Alex Cross Series

This series follows a brilliant psychologist and investigator as he delves into the darkest corners of the human mind to catch elusive criminals. With each new case, he confronts complex puzzles and personal demons that test his resolve and intellect. The suspense escalates as he closes in on the truth, often at the peril of his own safety. Fans of gripping, psychologically driven thrillers will appreciate this series for its clever plots and compelling protagonist.

Recommended Reading Order

Along Came a Spider
James Patterson
448 pages
16 hours of reading
The classic thriller that launched the Alex Cross series, the #1 detective series of the past twenty-five years! A missing little girl named Maggie Rose . . . a family of three brutally murdered in the projects of Washington, D.C. . . . the thrill-killing of a beautiful elementary school teacher . . . a psychopathic serial kidnapper/murderer who is so terrifying that the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police cannot outsmart him - even after he's been captured. Gary Soneji wants to commit the crime of the century. Alex Cross is the brilliant homicide detective pitted against him. Jezzie Flanagan is the first female supervisor of the Secret Service who completes one of the most unusual suspense triangles in any thriller you have ever read. Alex Cross and Jezzie Flanagan are about to have a forbidden love affair--at the worst possible time for both of them. Because Gary Soneji is playing at the top of his game. The latest of the unspeakable crimes happens in Alex Cross's precinct. It happens under the noses of Jezzie Flanagan's men. Now Alex Cross must face the ultimate test: How do you outmaneuver a brilliant psychopath?
1
4.2
Kiss the Girls
James Patterson
451 pages
16 hours of reading
The second book in the #1 bestselling Alex Cross series! In Los Angeles, a reporter investigating a series of murders is killed. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a beautiful medical intern suddenly disappears. In Washington D.C. Alex Cross is back to solve the most baffling and terrifying murder case ever. Two clever pattern killers are collaborating, cooperating, competing--and they are working coast to coast.
2
4.0
Jack and Jill
James Patterson
448 pages
16 hours of reading
Alex Cross, the detective hero of Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, Cat and Mouse and Pop Goes the Weasel, makes his third appearance in the explosive international bestseller from one of the world's most popular thriller writers -- now reissued in striking new cover style.
3
4.0
Cat and Mouse
James Patterson
502 pages
18 hours of reading
Alex Cross is back-and so is a raging and suicidal Gary Soneji. Out of prison and dying from the AIDS virus he contracted there, he will get revenge on Cross before he dies. In addition, we are introduced to a new pair of rivals whose paths cross that of Alex and Soneji. Thomas Augustine Pierce has been chasing his demon, Mr. Smith, since the savage murder of his fiancee. Mr. Smith is a unique monster, with actions toward his victims so insane-so unimaginable-that he is thought of as "not of the earth." Pierce, known in the business as St. Augustine because of his track record for catching killers and his invaluable status to the FBI and Interpol, may even be better than Cross.When things heat up and Alex is in a near-death coma following an attack in his own home, Pierce goes to Washington to help with the investigation. But just as he begins to piece together the mystery of how Gary Soneji could have mortally wounded Cross after he was believed to be dead, he is summoned to Paris with a postcard from Mr. Smith inviting him to a very special killing.The body count is high, the tension the highest, and the two killers on the loose are watching every move their pursuers make. Who is the cat, and who is the mouse? What and where is the final trap? And who survives?
4
3.8
Pop goes the weasel
James Patterson
512 pages
18 hours of reading
In POP GOES THE WEASEL, James Patterson has created a formidable villain every reader will see in the shadows when the lights are out, a tender love story, a plot powered by relentless suspense and psychological thrills kicked up to an all-time high. 'It's all just a game, darling. I play with three other men. Their names are FAMINE, WAR and CONQUEROR. My name is DEATH. You're a very lucky girl - I'm the best player of all.' Geoffrey Shafter: a man who never loses, he is prepared to play the game of games for the highest stakes of all. Alex Cross: senior Washington, DC homicide detective, he 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.
5
4.0
Roses are Red
James Patterson
448 pages
16 hours of reading
The sixth novel in the Alex Cross detective seriesA 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.
6
4.1
Violets Are Blue
James Patterson
468 pages
17 hours of reading
Two joggers have been found dead in San Francisco - bitten and hung by their feet to drain the blood. Further murders in California, and then on the East Coast as well, completely baffle Alex and the FBI. Is this the work of a cult, or role players, or even of modern-day vampires? Desperate to stop the deaths, Alex teams up with Jamilla Hughes, a savvy woman detective, and the FBI's Kyle Craig. But 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.
7
4.0
Four Blind Mice
James Patterson
416 pages
15 hours of reading
Detective Alex Cross is on his way to resign from the Washington, D.C., police force when his partner shows up at his door with a case he can't refuse. One of John Sampson's oldest friends, from their days together in Vietnam, has been arrested for murder. Worse yet, he is subject to the iron hand of the United States Army. The evidence against him is strong enough to send hem to the gas chamber.
8
4.0
The big bad wolf
James Patterson
432 pages
16 hours of reading
Alex Cross battles the most ruthless and powerful killer he has ever encountered - a predator known only as "the Wolf. "Alex Cross's first case since joining the FBI has his new colleagues stymied. Across the country, men and women are being kidnapped in broad daylight and then disappearing completely. These people are not being taken for ransom, Alex realizes. They are being bought and sold. And it looks as if a shadowy figure called the Wolf - a master criminal who has brought a new reign of terror to organize crime - is behind this business in which ordinary men and women are sold as slaves. Even as he admires the FBI's vast resources, Alex grows impatient with the Bureau's clumsiness and caution when it is time to move. A lone wolf himself, he has to go out on his own in order to track the Wolf and try to rescue some of the victims while they are still alive. As the case boils over, Alex is in hot water at home too. His ex-fiancee, Christine Johnson, comes back into his life - and not for the reasons Alex might have hoped.
9
4.0
London Bridges
James Patterson
416 pages
15 hours of reading
Alex Cross must face the world's most dangerous agents, criminals, and assassins. The fate of the world rests in his hands. In broad desert daylight, a mysterious platoon of soldiers evacuates the entire population of Sunrise Valley, Nevada. Minutes later, a huge bomb detonates a hundred feet above the ground and lays waste to homes, cars, and playgrounds: a town annihilated in an instant. The Russian supercriminal known as the Wolf claims responsibility for the blast. Alex Cross is on vacation in San Francisco with his girlfriend, Jamilla Hughes, when he gets the call. World leaders have just four days to prevent an unimaginable cataclysm. Racing down the hairpin turns of the Riviera in the most unforgettable finale James Patterson has ever written, he confronts the truth of the Wolf's identity, a revelation that even Cross himself may be unable to survive.
10
4.0
Mary, Mary
James Patterson
403 pages
15 hours of reading
FBI agent Alex Cross is on vacation when he gets a call from the Director. An actress has been shot outside her home in Beverly Hills. Afterward, an editor for the Los Angeles Times receives an e-mail recounting the murder in shocking detail, signed Mary Smith. Her calling card - The authorities fear this is only the beginning. Mary Smith is targeting Hollywood stars and power brokers, and she is getting better every time. This case is like nothing Alex has ever confronted before. Could this be the plan of an obsessed fan or a spurned actor, or is it part of something much more terrifying? And how could a woman be capable of these vicious crimes?
11
4.0
Cross
James Patterson
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, Alex finally feels his life is in order... Until his former partner, John Sampson, calls in a favour. John is 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? Will this be justice at long last? Or the endgame in his own deadly obsession. From the man the Sunday Telegraph called 'the master of the suspense genre', CROSS is the ultimate, high-velocity, high-emotion thriller, and the one Alex Cross's fans waited years to read.
12
4.0
Double cross
James Patterson
320 pages
12 hours of reading
From the man the Sunday Telegraph called the 'master of the suspense genre' comes the next high-velocity thriller in the Alex Cross series - James Patterson and Alex Cross fans cannot wait to read DOUBLE CROSS. Alex Cross rejoins the DC police force to confront two of the most diabolical killers he's ever encountered. Just when Alex's life is calming down, he is drawn back into the game to confront a criminal mastermind like no other. The elaborate murders that have stunned Washington, DC, are the wildest that Alex and his new girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, have ever seen. This maniac adores an audience, and stages his killings as spectacles in public settings. Alex is pursuing a genius of terror who has the whole city on edge as it waits for his next move. And the killer loves the attention, no doubt - he even sets up his own website and live video feed to trumpet his madness. And in Colorado, another criminal mastermind is planning a triumphant return. From his supermaximum-security prison cell, Kyle Craig has plotted for years to have one chance at an impossible escape. If he has to join forces with DC's Audience Killer to get back at the man who put him in that cell - Alex Cross - all the better.
13
4.0
Cross Country
James Patterson
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. At the centre of this terrifying world, Cross finds the Tiger - the psychopathic leader of a fearsome gang of killers who are not what they seem. As Cross tracks the elusive Tiger through Africa, he must battle against conspiracy and untold violence. Alex Cross is in a heart-stopping chase that takes him across a vast and uncompromising landscape and finds him not only hunting for a horrific killer, but also fighting for his own survival.
14
3.7
Alex Cross's trial
James Patterson
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. Arriving in Eudora, Mississippi, Ben meets the wise Abraham Cross and his beautiful daughter, Moody. Ben enlists their help, and the two Crosses introduce him to the hidden side of the idyllic Southern town. Lynchings have become commonplace and residents of the town's black quarter live in constant fear. Ben aims to break the reign of terror - but the truth of who is really behind it could break his heart. Written in the fearless voice of Detective Alex Cross, Alex Cross's Trial is a gripping story of murder, love, and, above all, bravery.
15
3.9
I, Alex Cross
James Patterson
374 pages
14 hours of reading
Determined to capture the psychopath responsible for murdering his niece, Alex Cross discovers that the young woman was among a dangerous group of people and was not the only one to have disappeared, a case that draws Alex into the heart of an underworld fantasy club, in a book by a best-selling author.
16
4.0
Cross Fire
James Patterson
372 pages
14 hours of reading
Wedding bells ring Detective Alex Cross and Bree's wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington D.C.'s most corrupt: a dirty congressmen and an underhanded lobbyist. Next, the elusive gunman begins picking off other crooked politicians, sparking a blaze of theories--is the marksman a hero or a vigilante? A murderer returns The case explodes, and the FBI assigns agent Max Siegel to the investigation. As Alex and Siegel battle over jurisdiction, the murders continue. It becomes clear that they are the work of a professional who has detailed knowledge of his victims' movements--information that only a Washington insider could possess. Caught in a lethal cross fire As Alex contends with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in D.C. and will not relent until he has eliminated Cross and his family for good. With a supercharged blend of action, deception, and suspense, Cross Fire is James Patterson's most visceral and exciting Alex Cross novel ever.
17
4.1
Kill Alex Cross
James Patterson
384 pages
14 hours of reading
The President's son and daughter are abducted, and Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene. But someone very high up is using the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA to keep him off the case and in the dark. A deadly contagion in the water supply cripples half of the capital, and Cross discovers that someone may be about to unleash the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced. As his window for solving both crimes narrows, Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes - one that may alter the fate of the entire country. Kill Alex Cross is faster, more exciting, and more tightly wound than any Alex Cross thriller James Patterson has ever written!
18
3.9
Merry Christmas, Alex Cross
James Patterson
417 pages
15 hours of reading
The 19th novel in the bestselling Alex Cross seriesDetective Alex Cross is called into action on Christmas Eve - and he'll be lucky to see the New Year...Celebrating Christmas with his family, Alex Cross knows that his phone ringing means this won't be a Merry Christmas.
19
3.9
Alex Cross, Run
James Patterson
401 pages
15 hours of reading
Detective Alex Cross arrests renowned plastic surgeon Elijah Creem for sleeping with teenage girls. Now, his life ruined, Creem is out of jail, and he's made sure that no one will recognize him--by giving himself a new face. A young woman is found hanging from a sixth-floor window, and Alex is called to the scene. The victim recently gave birth, but the baby is nowhere to be found. Before Alex can begin searching for the missing newborn and killer, he's called to investigate a second crime. All of Washington, D.C., is in a panic, and when a third body is discovered, rumours of three serial killers send the city into an all-out frenzy. Alex's investigations are going nowhere, and he's too focused on the cases to notice that someone has been watching him--and will stop at nothing until he's dead. With white-hot speed, relentless drama, and hairpin turns, ALEX CROSS, RUN is James Patterson's ultimate thrill ride.
20
4.0
Cross My Heart
James Patterson
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.
21
4.1
Hope to Die
James Patterson
512 pages
18 hours of reading
Detective Alex Cross is being stalked by a psychotic genius, forced to play the deadliest game of his career. Cross' family - his loving wife Bree, the wise and lively Nana Mama, and his precious children - have been ripped away. Terrified and desperate, Cross must give this mad man what he wants if he has any chance of saving the most important people in his life. The stakes have never been higher: What will Cross sacrifice to save the ones he loves? Widely praised by the greatest crime and thriller writers of our time, Cross My Heart set a jaw-dropping story in motion. Hope to Die propels Alex Cross' greatest challenge to its astonishing finish, proving why Jeffery Deaver says nobody does it better than James Patterson.
22
4.2
Cross Justice
James Patterson
448 pages
16 hours of reading
The toughest cases are the ones that hit close to home. When his cousin is accused of a heinous crime, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in over three decades. As he tries to prove his cousin's innocence in a town where everyone seems to be on the take, Cross unearths a family secret that forces him to question everything he's ever known. Chasing a ghost he believed was long dead, Cross gets pulled into a case that has local cops scratching their heads and needing his help: a grisly string of socialite murders. Now he's hot on the trail of both a brutal killer, and the truth about his own past - and the answers he finds might be fatal.
23
4.3
Cross the Line
James Patterson
400 pages
14 hours of reading
Homicide Detective Alex Cross teams up with his wife to beat a D. C. criminal at his own game. Washington, DC, has never been more dangerous. After shots pierce the tranquil nighttime calm of Rock Creek Park, a man is dead: what looks at first like road rage might be something much more sinister. But Alex has only just begun asking questions when he's called across town to investigate a new murder, one that hits close to home: his former boss and the beloved mentor of Alex's wife, Bree. Now there's a killer on the loose, a long list of possible suspects, a city in panic, and nobody in charge of the besieged police force. . . until Bree gets tapped for the job. As Bree scrambles to find her footing and close two high-profile cases, new violence stuns the capital. What should be a time for her to rely on Alex for support and cooperation is instead a moment of crisis in their marriage as well as their city when their investigative instincts clash and their relationship reaches a breaking point. And the fiendish mind behind all the violence has appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner, with a terrifying master plan he's only begun to put in motion. To beat him at his own game, Alex and Bree must take the law back into their own hands before he puts them both out of commission . . . permanently.
24
4.1
The People vs Alex Cross
James Patterson
Detective Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law. Charged with murdering followers of his old nemesis Gary Soneji, Alex Cross becomes the poster child for trigger-happy cops. 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
25
4.1
Target Alex Cross
James Patterson
448 pages
16 hours of reading
As Chief of Detectives, Alex's wife Bree Stone faces an ultimatum: solve the case, or lose her job.TARGET: ALEX CROSSThe new President calls on Cross to lead an unparalleled FBI investigation to help capture America's most wanted criminal.
26
3.9
Criss Cross
James Patterson
432 pages
16 hours of reading
Could a ghost from his past take everything away from Alex Cross? 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
27
4.2
Deadly Cross
James Patterson
448 pages
16 hours of reading
A scandalous double homicide in the nation's capital opens the psychological case files on Detective Alex Cross. Until Kay Willingham's shocking murder inside a luxury limousine, the Georgetown socialite, philanthropist, and ex-wife of the sitting vice-president led a public life. Yet 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 whose political ambitions may have endangered both their lives. While John Sampson of DC Metro Police tracks Randall's final movements, Alex Cross and FBI Special Agent Ned Mahoney travel to Alabama to investigate Kay's early years. They discover that although Kay had many enemies, all of them needed her alive. Alex is left without a viable suspect, even as he faces a desperate choice between breaking a trust and losing his way, as a detective, and as the protector of his family
28
4.2

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4.0
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3.7