Is it necessary to start from the very begining Does he write all his novels in series? What would be a good novel to start w/ (if it's not necessary to start at he begining)? Thanks for helping. Sorry for posting here if he is not mystery/thriller. Just curious.

=),

Kenjii

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Hi Kenjii

You should definitely read them in order. Here is a link to his page on Fantastic Fiction. It lists all the books in the order they came out

James Patterson

I feel you don't  have to read them in order  he does have quite a few  books that are not in a series. I would start with one those before you dive into one of his series, If you have never read any of  his books.

Fantastic Fiction  will help you find all of his books in order if you prefer to read them that way.  His older  stuff is  easier to find here  then his newer stuff.

If you want to  start a series  I  started with The woman's Murder  Club series. 

Hope this helps

Tammy

He has tons of books out. You should read his murder club series in order starting with 1st to Die -- he's up to 7th Heaven now. 

The Alex Cross is his largest series and those I have not read in order even though I'm normally a stickler for reading in perfect order with no deviation.

He also has When the Wind Blows and The Lake House - that is a two book series. Those should be read in order.

The rest (if I'm not forgetting something) are not a series and there is no reason to read them in order.  I use stopyourekillingme.com to get the order of all mystery/thriller books. It's a great site - full of fun stuff.

Alright! Ty for everything. I will see what I can find.

=),

Kenjii

I would say read Alex Cross books in order or you will spoil the earlier ones for yourself.  There are reoccuring bad guys and such.  Along Came a Spider is first.

When the Wind Blows and The Lake House are really good!

Women's Murder Club doesn't feel as important to go in order as the other two (although there is at least one major event that can spoil earlier books if you go out of order).   1st to Die is first.

The rest of his books stand alone.  I love most of his books (except some of his recent co-authored stuff).

Don't forget the Maximum series which actually takes off from When the Wind Blows and The Lake House. This is a great series that is light and fun.

I'm a big James Patterson fan and you can't go wrong with any of his books although I haven't read any of the co-authored books yet. 

Big thumbs up on the Fantastic Fiction site too. I use them all the time. :)

His murder club series has an ongoing case that runs through all the books so far - also much of it centers on the women's lives and what happens to them (some pretty serious things) so for me it was (and is) imperative to read them in order. Just like the Cross series ( although I'm the opposite of Christina) you can spoil some things by reading the later books first.

Also, if you're interested, Woman's Murder Club is a TV show now too. They follow the books with the ongoing case I mentioned in each episode plus they follow the personal lives fairly accurately from what I've seen of the couple times I've been able to watch it. So far, anyhow.

It was on here Friday nights .... it's on hiatus now though maybe.

I think there will be more of the show this year if I remember correctly.  Its on hiatus due to the strike but should be back soon.

I got Wind the Wind Blows. I had ordered it and forgot about it. When it came, I was like, "What is this???" LOL. So once I am sorted thru reading some of these other series I will start w/ that one and probably read the women's murder club series. i have one alex cross book on tape. I started it but have not finished it. ROSES ARE RED I believe is the title.

=),

Kenjii

I hope you enjoy it, Kenjii!

I think the series are best if read in order. Not all of his books are series. I think his older books are better. Some how when he writes with another author I don't think the books are as good. Just my opinion. I do like his books. Barb

I keep hearing that about his books with other authors. I have a few of those in my tbr pile. I guess I'll have dig one out and see if I agree.

I wonder why he does that? Money?? Are they just putting their name on the book for sales or do they really have some part in writing the book? Since Evanovich did this also, I have been wondering.

or do they really have some part in writing the book?

I definitely think they have a part in writing the book. There are times I've been able to tell who wrote which chapter in a book. I also think it does it to give lesser known authors a chance.  He co-wrote a few books with Andrew Gross who has since written two solo books which were AMAZING! Would I have read them if he hadn't written soemthing w/ James Patterson - maybe? Did I read the first one because he co-wrote w/ James Patterson - absolutely!!!!   He has an amazing career ahead of him as a "solo" author - who knows how much that has to do w/ having co-written a few books w/ James Patterson ?!?!?!?

I have to agree about reading the series in order.  Although I haven't started the Alex Cross series yet (I know, crazy) I am collecting them and plan to read them someday in order!!!

Women's Murder Club I definitely think should be read in order because of the ongoing story and also the development in the lives of the characters.  I think reading these out of order would most definitely take away from them.

Also about the co-authors.  As Lori said, there are times where I can tell the difference between authors, so they absolutely do co-write!!!!  Lori sent me the first Andrew Gross book and I loved it and have the 2nd sitting here waiting for my chaotic personal life to tone down so I can actually concentrate enough to read it!!!! 

I have most of his Alex Cross books on my shelf if you care to take a look.  I love the Alex Cross series!  I have read the first 2 in the Women's Murder Club series, and am working on collecting the rest of those.  I did not enjoy the two books in the When the Wind Blows series nearly as much as the others.

I really like the Women's Murder Club tv shows, but then I have liked Angie Harmon (who plays Lindsay Boxer) ever since her Law & Order days.  I do hope this series will continue now that the writers' strike is over.

A couple of the Cross books have been made into Movies.  I saw Kiss the Girls at the theater when it first came out, and have caught it several times on tv.  Along Came a Spider was also made into a tv movie.  Morgan Freeman makes an excellent Alex Cross, in my opinion.

lol, I always thought Morgan Freeman made a horrible Alex Cross just because in the books Cross is much younger, bigger and more attractive? That is just the feeling I get when I read them. Morgan is a great actor but not the hunk (to me anyway) that I picture for Cross. The movies were great though and I just view them as totally unrelated. :)

I saw Kiss the Girls before reading any of the Alex Cross books. I thought Morgan F. did a good job until I got to know Alex in the books. Now I think Mr. Freeman is way too old. Anyway, I am a big fan of reading everything in order. When in doubt just do it that way. There are a couple of books that have continuing bad guys (plot lines). Like Roses are Red. It ends just about when Violets are Blue starts. It would be a little disappointing to read those backwards. The Women's Muder Club on the other hand....Yes please read them in order definitely. Big plot twist within the books about half way through the series that determins the way the last few books go.

I highly recommend the women's murder club series as well.  It was fantastic.  I also, would like to add that I ahev read several of his co-auhtor books and they were just as good.