(updated Dec. 2012)

James Patterson has written a Lot of books, some good, some ehh and some that are truly remarkable. He’s also written a few with co-authors like Andrew Gross. It can be a little confusing trying to figure out the order to read them (although many of his stories are quite independent). So we’ve put together a James Patterson Book List.

It can also be tricky just making sure that you have them all. Some James Patterson books have multiple titles depending on where they where published sop you may even think you have two of his books when it is really the same. I will also share some thoughts down at the bottom on exactly how Patterson goes about publishing so many books (does he even write anymore?). On to what you came for. Here now – James Patterson Books in chronological order.

This is a Full List of James Patterson books in order. Just below the master list you will find Alex Cross books in order as well as Patterson’s other series. We will also group his titles by the Co-Authors in case you like books written by specific co-writers.

1976

• The Thomas Berryman Number

1977

• Season of the Machete

1979

• The Jericho Commandment (also titled: See How They Run)

1980

• Virgin (also titled Cradle & All)

1986

• Black Market (also titled Black Friday)

1989

• The Midnight Club

1992

• Along Came a Spider

1995

• Kiss The Girls

1996

• Hide & Seek
• Miracle on the 17th Green (with Peter de Jonge)
• Jack & Jill

1997

• Cat & Mouse

1998

• When the Wind Blows

1999

• Pop Goes the Weasel

2000

• Roses Are Red

2001

• 1st to Die
• Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas
• Violets are Blue

2002

• Second Chance
• The Beach House (with Peter de Jonge)
• Four Blind Miced

2003

• The Jester (with Andrew Gross)
• The Lake House

2004

• The Big Bad Wolf
• 3rd Degree (with Andrew Gross)
• Sam’s Letter to Jennifer
• santaKid (illustrated by Michael Garland)
• London Bridges

2005

• Honeymoon (with Howard Roughan)
• Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
• 4th of July (with Maxine Paetro)
• Lifeguard (with Maxine Paetro)
• Mary, Mary

2006

• The 5th Horseman (with Maxine Paetro)
• Beach Road (with Peter de Jonge)
• Maximum Ride: School’s Out-Forever
• Judge & Jury (with Andrew Gross)
• Cross

2007

• Step on a Crack (with Michael Ledwidge)
• The 6th Target (with Maxine Paetro)
• Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
• The Quickie (with Michael Ledwidge)
• You’ve Been Warned (with Howard Roughan)
• Double Cross

2008

• 7th Heaven (with Maxine Paetro)
• Maximum Ride: The Final Warning
• Sundays at Tiffany’s (with Gabrielle Charbonnet)
• Sail (with Howard Roughan)
• The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (with Michael Ledwidge)
• Against Medical Advice, non-fiction (with Hal Friedman)
• Cross Country

2009

• Run For Your Life (with Michael Ledwidge)
• Maximum Ride: MAX
• The 8th Confession (with Maxine Paetro)
• Swimsuit (with Maxine Paetro)
• Daniel X: Watch the Skies (with Ned Rust)
• Alex Cross’s Trial (with Richard Dilallo)
• The Murder of King Tut (with Martin Dugard)
• I, Alex Cross
• Witch & Wizard (with Gabrielle Charbonnet)

2010

• Worst Case (with Michael Ledwidge)
• Maximum Ride: Fang
• Med Head, non-fiction (with Hal Friedman)
• The 9th Judgement (with Maxine Paetro)
• Private (with Maxine Paetro)
• Daniel X: Demons & Druids (with Adam Sadler)
• The Postcard Killer (with Liza Marklund)
• Don’t Blink (with Howard Roughan)
• Cross Fire
• Witch and Wizard: The Gift

Alex Cross books in order

• Along Came a Spider (1993)
• Kiss the Girls (1995)
• Jack & Jill (1996)
• Cat and Mouse (1997)
• Pop Goes the Weasel (1999)
• Roses are Red (2000)
• Violets Are Blue (2001)
• Four Blind Mice (2002)
• The Big Bad Wolf (2003)
• London Bridges (2004)
• Mary, Mary (2005)
• Cross (2006 )
• Double Cross (2007)
• Cross Country (2008)
• Alex Cross’s Trial (2009)
• I, Alex Cross (2009)
• Cross Fire ( 2010)
• Kill Alex Cross (2011)
• Merry Christmas Alex Cross (2012)

Women’s Murder Club books in order

• 1st to Die (2001)
• 2nd Chance (2002, with Andrew Gross)
• 3rd Degree (2004, with Andrew Gross)
• 4th of July (2005,  with Maxine Paetro)
• The 5th Horseman (2006, with Maxine Paetro)
• The 6th Target (2007,  with Maxine Paetro)
• 7th Heaven (2008, with Maxine Paetro)
• 8th Confession (2009, with Maxine Paetro)
• The 9th Judgment (2010, with Maxine Paetro)
• 10th Anniversary (2011,  with Maxine Paetro)
• 11th Hour (2012 with Maxine Paetro)

Jack Morgan series in order

• Private (2010, with Maxine Paetro)
• Private London (2011)
• Private Games with Mark Sullivan (2012)
• Private: #1 Suspect (2012)

Michael Bennett series in order

• Step on a Crack (2007, with Michael Ledwidge)
• Run For Your Life (2009, with Michael Ledwidge)
• Worst Case (2010, with Michael Ledwidge)
• Tick Tock (2011, with Michael Ledwidge)
• I, Michael Bennett (2012, with Michael Ledwidge)

Gabrielle Charbonnet

• Sundays at Tiffany’s (2008)
• Witch & Wizard (2009)

Peter de Jonge

• Miracle on the 17th Green (1996)
• The Beach House (2002)
• Beach Road (2006)

Richard Dilallo

• Alex Cross’s Trial (2009)
• The Christmas Wedding (2011)

Martin Dugard

• The Murder of King Tut (2009)

David Ellis

• Guilty Wives (2012)

Hal Friedman

• Against Medical Advice, non-fiction (2008)
• Med Head, non-fiction (2010)

Chris Grabenstein

• Daniel X: Armageddon (2012)
• I Funny (2012)

Andrew Gross

• The Jester (2003)
• 3rd Degree (2004)
• Judge & Jury (2006)

Michael Garland, Illustrator

• santaKid (2004)

Marshall Karp

• NYPD Red (2012)

Michael Ledwidge

• Step on a Crack (2007)
• The Quickie (2007)
• The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (2008)
• Run For Your Life (2009)
• Worst Case (2010)
• Now You See Her (2011)
• I, Michael Bennett (2012)
• Zoo (2012)

Liza Marklund

• The Postcard Killer (2010)

Maxine Paetro

• 4th of July (2005)
• Lifeguard (2005)
• The 5th Horseman (2006)
• The 6th Target (2007)
• 7th Heaven (2008)
• The 8th Confession (2009)
• Swimsuit (2009)
• The 9th Judgement (2010)
• Private (2010)
• 10th Anniversary (2011)
• 11th Hour (2012)
• Private: #1 Suspect (2012)
• Confessions of a Murder Suspect (2012)

Howard Roughan

• Honeymoon (2005)
• You’ve Been Warned (2007)
• Sail (2008)
• Don’t Blink (2010)

Ned Rust

• Daniel X: Watch the Skies (2009)
• Daniel X: Game Over (2011)
• Witch and Wizard: The Gift (2010)

Adam Sadler

• Daniel X: Demons & Druids (2010)

A few notes on the methodology or business plan used by James Patterson.

This from Entertainment Weekly

But Patterson, of course, is more than just a proverbial book factory. He’s an actual book factory, typically using credited co-authors to compose “first drafts” from elaborate outlines that he sends (as he detailed in a 2006 Time profile). Like Patterson himself, most of his collaborators have a background in advertising: There’s Richard DiLallo on the Alex Cross thrillers, Michael Ledwidge on the Michael Bennett thrillers and the Daniel X young-adult series, Maxine Paetro on the Women’s Murder Club mysteries, and Howard Roughan on various standalone thrillers. And while there is no co-author listed on the cover of the popular Maximum Ride YA series, about a group of kids who are part bird and part human, the copyright on those books is listed not as “James Patterson” (as it is on most of his titles) but the cryptic “SueJack, Inc.”  full article…

And a little more insight provided by USA Today

And for the first time, Patterson has done a joint interview with a collaborator — opening a window for USA TODAY on how two people write a novel when one is famous and one isn’t. Sitting with Ledwidge in a New York hotel suite, Patterson mentions his 3-inch-thick folder filled with story ideas.

“It’s a nice problem to have,” says Ledwidge, 36, who has written three crime novels on his own. Their combined sales were about 20,000 copies, he says. The first printing for his collaboration with Patterson is 1.25 million.

They met a decade ago when Ledwidge was a doorman in Manhattan, trying to publish his first novel. Both had been English majors at Manhattan College in the Bronx (Patterson, class of ’69; Ledwidge ’92), and the would-be novelist used that connection to ask Patterson for advice. Patterson helped him find an agent, and in 1998, Ledwidge’s The Narrowback was published by Grove Atlantic. He went on to publish two more crime novels. With three children, he kept his day job and eventually became a telephone repairman.

When Ledwidge asked Patterson to look at a draft of what he hoped would be his fourth novel, Patterson had a counteroffer: Would he be interested in collaborating on a novel Patterson had in mind?

Ledwidge says he agreed “at about the speed of light.”  Full Story…

I will say one thing about James Patterson, he’s no sham artist. He is quite frank about the system he uses when collaborating on a story. He freely admits that he does none of the actual writing. He comes up with a plot then reviews drafts submitted by an author.  For an interesting and fairly in-depth article with Patterson from The Guardian read on…

There is plenty of room in the comments below. Let us know what you think of this new trend of Book Marketing.