Alex Cross books in order

Reading order

Alex Cross is a psychologist and detective in Washington D.C. who gets pulled into cases involving serial killers, kidnappers, and conspiracies. James Patterson created him in 1993 with Along Came a Spider, and the character has appeared in over 30 novels since.

Cross works for the D.C. Metro Police, later joins the FBI, and eventually returns to private practice. His family anchors the series: his grandmother Nana Mama, who raised him, and his children who grow up over the course of the books. Patterson uses the family to humanize Cross between cases.

The books follow a formula. A killer appears. Cross investigates. The case turns personal. Violence follows. Patterson’s short chapters and cliffhanger endings keep pages turning fast. Each book runs about 400 pages, which readers burn through quickly.

Morgan Freeman played Cross in two films, Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001). Tyler Perry took over the role in Alex Cross (2012). Idris Elba signed on for a Prime Video series launching in 2025, promising yet another interpretation.

Patterson wrote the early books alone. Later entries have co-authors, a standard practice for Patterson’s operation. The series continues to hit bestseller lists despite critics questioning how much Patterson actually writes. Readers don’t seem to care. They want more Cross, and Patterson keeps delivering.