Serial murders book series in reading order

by Chris Carter

by Robert W. Walker

by P.J. Tracy

by Patricia Highsmith

by Rex Miller

by Jo Nesbo

by Mark Billingham

by Ken Bruen

by M.J. Arlidge

by John Verdon

by Sheila Quigley

by Patricia Cornwell

by Jonathan Kellerman

by Michael Connelly

by Kim Harrison

by J.T. Ellison

by Angela Marsons

by Alafair Burke

by Andrew Taylor

by J.A. Kerley

by Linda Ladd

by Chris Simms

by Rick Reed

by James Patterson

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

by Kathy Reichs

by Thomas Harris

by Rhys Bowen

by John Connolly

by Ngaio Marsh

by Michael McGarrity

by Susan Hill

by Alex Kava

by Jonathan Santlofer

by Paul Doherty

by Lynda La Plante

by Quintin Jardine

by Linda Fairstein

by Jon Land

by Andrea Kane

by Simon Beckett

by Kate White

by S.J. Bolton

by Rennie Airth

James Patterson

510 books• 73 series

James Patterson, born on March 22, 1947, is an American writer whose catalogue here holds 514 books published from 1976 to 2027. The run opens with The Thomas Berryman Number (1976), and Along Came a Spider (1992) and Kiss the Girls (1995) follow later. Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, Witch & Wizard, NYPD Red, Private, Middle School and the Women's Murder Club are among the Patterson series, alongside standalone thrillers, non-fiction and romance. Marshall Karp shares the credit on 5 of the books. Patterson's sales exceed 425 million copies, and Patterson was the first person to sell one million e-books. Forbes ranked Patterson the highest-paid author in 2016, for a third year running, and the National Book Foundation gave Patterson the Literarian Award in November 2015. 27 Stars is scheduled for 2027.

Lisa Jackson

189 books• 27 series

Lisa Jackson, born Susan Lisa Jackson in 1952, is an American author of romance and romantic suspense novels, with more than 75 to that name. The catalogue holds 189 Lisa Jackson books, from A Twist of Fate (1983) to Not What It Seems (2026). Subjects across the list include serial murders, women detectives, Montana and contemporary romance. Jackson's series include Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli, McCaffertys, Cahills / San Francisco, Savannah and the Dark Jewels Trilogy, plus a historical trilogy issued as Susan Lynn Crose. New Jackson titles continue to appear.

Jeffery Deaver, born May 6, 1950, is an American writer of mystery and crime fiction. Deaver holds a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. from Fordham University, and worked as a journalist and then a lawyer before turning to novels. Awards include the Crime Writers' Association Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger, the Nero Award and three Ellery Queen Reader's Awards for Best Short Story of the Year. The catalogue counts 121 Deaver books from 1984 to The Collateral Heart (2026), with Freeze Frame due in 2027. Lincoln Rhyme, Kathryn Dance, Colter Shaw and John Pellam are recurring characters.

Heather Graham is the name under which Heather Graham Pozzessere, an American writer born on 15 March 1953, publishes mainly romance fiction; Shannon Drake is a further pen name. Graham's work has been published in about 25 languages, with more than 75 million copies printed. The catalogue records 311 books from Tender Taming (1983) to Destiny Rising (2026). Krewe of Hunters, Harrison Investigation, Cafferty & Quinn, Alliance Vampires, Keepers: L.A., New York Confidential and Finnegan Connection are among the Graham series. Subjects span historical, paranormal, contemporary and suspense romance.

Mary Burton grew up in a Southern family that loved telling stories, and that interest led to an English degree from Hollins University in Virginia, completed in 1983. The catalogue lists 48 Burton books, from A Bride for McCain (2000) to Trust No One (2026). Burton's series include Criminal Profiler, Morgans of Nashville, Forgotten Files, Texas Rangers and Senseless Duo. Subjects on the books cover romantic suspense, historical romance, serial murder investigations and police work.

Tim Dorsey

28 books• 2 series

Serge A. Storms, a Florida serial killer, runs through all of Tim Dorsey's novels, which are catalogued as humorous crime fiction. Florida Roadkill (1999) opens a 28-book run that ends with The Maltese Iguana in 2023. Florida itself is the constant setting, and the 2010s were the busiest decade. No new Tim Dorsey title has appeared since 2023.

Beverly Barton was the pen name of Beverly Marie Beaver, née Inman (December 23, 1946 – April 21, 2011), an American author of romantic suspense. Barton wrote more than thirty contemporary romance novels and created The Protectors series for Silhouette's Intimate Moments lines. Yankee Lover, the first book, came out from Silhouette Desire in July 1990. Series in the catalogue include Griffin Powell, Raintree, Cherokee Pointe Trilogy and 3 Babies For 3 Brothers. Serial murder investigations, bodyguards and Tennessee are recurring subjects, and the listing carries titles dated as late as Poisoned (2018).

John Lutz

66 books• 6 series

John Lutz (1939-2021) was an American writer in mystery, crime and suspense, with a career past fifty years, at least fifty books and roughly 250 short stories to it. Three private investigators carry the series work, Alo Nudger, Fred Carver and Frank Quinn, with St. Louis, Florida and New York among the settings. SWF Seeks Same, filmed in 1992 as Single White Female, is his best known title, and Lutz led both the Mystery Writers of America and the Private Eye Writers of America as president. The catalogue holds 66 books, from The Truth of the Matter (1971) to Single White Female Seeks Same (2022).

Debra Webb, born 1958, is an American author of suspense novels and a USA Today bestseller. The catalogue credits Webb with 180 books from 1999 to 2026, starting with Tempting Trace (1999). Series include Colby Agency, Faces of Evil, Undertaker's Daughter, Shades of Death, Lookout Mountain Mysteries and Winchester, Tennessee. Subjects cover romantic suspense, private investigators, serial murderers and missing persons. The Woman I've Become (2026) is the newest title.

Rita Herron writes romantic suspense, with subjects that include serial murders, police, twins, missing children and ranchers. Series include Detective Ellie Reeves, Nighthawk Island, Slaughter Creek, Cold Case, Badge Of Justice, Heroes Of Horseshoe Creek, Bucking Bronc Lodge, Demonborn and Manhunt. Fiction titles include Thief of Hearts (1997), Send Me a Hero (1998), Her Eyewitness (1999) and Forgotten Lullaby (2000). Midnight Ridge (2026) is the newest title.

Lisa Gardner, born in 1972, is an American suspense novelist and a #1 New York Times bestseller. Gardner started out in romantic suspense under the name Alicia Scott, and three series here carry that pseudonym. The domestic thriller The Perfect Husband (1997) was the breakthrough. Gardner's series follow Detective D.D. Warren, Tessa Leoni and Frankie Elkin, and police investigations, missing persons and Boston recur in the subjects. The catalogue counts 48 books from Walking After Midnight (1992) to You'll Be Sorry (2026). Gardner's novels appear in more than 30 countries, and screen credits include At the Midnight House, The Survivors Club and Hide.

Mariah Stewart writes women's fiction and romantic suspense. The Chesapeake Diaries, Wyndham Beach, the Hudson Sisters, Mercy Street, Enright and Last are the series in a catalogue of 50 titles, which opens in 1995 with Moments in Time and reaches Wake-Up Calls (2026). Maryland settings, federal investigators, serial murders and family life fill the subject tags.

Ken Bruen has 47 books in the catalogue, from Funeral: Tales of Irish Morbidities (1992) to Galway's Edge (2025). Bruen, an Irish author of hardboiled and noir crime fiction, was born on 3 January 1951 and died on 29 March 2025. Series include Jack Taylor, Inspector Brant and Max and Angela. Early titles include Rilke on Black (1997), The Hackman Blues (1997), A White Arrest (1998) and The Guards (2001). Subjects include private investigators, ex-police officers, Ireland, London and the characters Detective Sergeant Brant and Chief Inspector Roberts.

Cynthia Eden writes romantic suspense and paranormal romance, and the catalogue runs from The Vampire's Kiss (2005) to Ice Covered Heart (2026). Subjects include vampires, serial murder investigation, the FBI and Atlanta. Series include Wilde Ways, Ice Breaker Cold Case, Shadow Agents: Guts and Glory, LOST/Last Option Search Team, Killer Instinct, Lazarus Rising, Battling McGuire Boys, Bad Things, Trouble For Hire and Phoenix Fire. Early titles include The Wizard's Spell (2006), Hotter After Midnight (2008) and Midnight Sins (2008). The listing also carries several volumes of the Secrets anthology from 2005 to 2008.

Michael Connelly

60 books• 10 series

Michael Connelly is an American crime novelist, born July 21, 1956. The catalogue lists 60 Connelly books, running from The Black Echo (1992) to Ironwood (2026). LAPD detective Harry Bosch and defence attorney Mickey Haller are the recurring leads, and the listed series include Bosch Universe, Lincoln Lawyer and Safe Man. The Black Echo won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Clint Eastwood directed and starred in a 2002 film of Blood Work. Subject headings cover police procedurals, legal fiction, serial murder and Los Angeles.

Allison Brennan, an American writer born in 1969, writes romantic thrillers; her first book was published in 2005. The catalogue lists 74 of her books through Make It Out Alive, with One Last Warning announced and the list reaching 2027. Lucy Kincaid and Max Revere are recurring figures. Series listings include the Predator Trilogy, Quinn & Costa Thriller, Angelhart Investigations, River City Mysteries, Regan Merritt and Moreno & Hart Mysteries. Subjects include the FBI, serial murders, women journalists and romantic suspense.

Peter May

33 books• 5 series

Peter May, born 20 December 1951, is a Scottish novelist, crime writer and television screenwriter. The Blackhouse won the U.S. Barry Award for Crime Novel of the Year and France's Cezam Prix Litteraire, and The Lewis Man took Le Telegramme's Grand Prix des Lecteurs. Entry Island won two awards in 2014, and May received France's Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in 2025. Sales exceed twelve million copies. The catalogue lists 33 books, from The Reporter (1978) to The Black Loch (2024), with the China Thrillers, the Enzo Files and the Lewis Tetralogy among the series.

Chris Carter is catalogued as the author of the Robert Hunter series, with police procedurals, serial murder investigation and Los Angeles among the recorded subjects. Catalogued titles include The Crucifix Killer (2009), The Executioner (2010), The Night Stalker (2011), The Death Sculptor (2012), One by One (2013), An Evil Mind (2014), I am Death (2015) and The Caller (2017). Hide and Seek (2026) is the newest title, and the catalogue is ongoing. Carter's standalone novels are listed alongside the series, and the books have a median length of 480 pages.

Wendy Corsi Staub's catalogue lists 87 books between 1993 and 2026, beginning with Summer Lightning and ending with Toil and Trouble. Lily Dale Mystery, Mundy's Landing, Nightwatcher, Live To Tell, Foundlings, Psychic Killer and Campus Life 101 are among the series, and one series appears under the name Wendy Morgan. Thrillers, serial murders, psychics and New York share the subjects with children's fiction, women college students and chick lit. Witch Hunt (1995) and Help Me! (1995) are among the early titles.

Carla Cassidy, born Carla Bracale in Kansas, is an American romance novelist who has published since 1988. The first novels carried the maiden name Carla Bracale, later ones the married name Cassidy, and one fantasy novel appeared under the name Carla Cook. The catalogue lists 184 books, from Falling for You (1988, as Carla Bracale) to The Final Victim (2026). Series include Cowboys of Holiday Ranch, Wild West Bodyguards, Scarecrow Murders, Mustang, Montana, Lawmen of Black Rock, Cherokee Corners, Men of Wolf Creek and Kings of Coyote Creek. Subjects include romantic suspense, cowboys, bodyguards and serial murderers.

Jeff Lindsay

19 books• 6 series

Jeff Lindsay is the pen name of Jeffry P. Freundlich, an American crime novelist and playwright. His best known creation is Dexter Morgan, a Miami police forensic analyst who is himself a psychopath and who kills serial killers. The Dexter novels begin with Darkly Dreaming Dexter in 2004, and the first of them became the Showtime television series that ran from 2006 to 2013 with Michael C. Hall in the role. Lindsay also wrote the Billy Knight novels and the Riley Wolfe thrillers. The catalogue holds 19 titles, running from Tropical Depression in 1994 to The Fourth Rule in 2023.

Richard Montanari is an American crime writer, born in 1952 in Northeast Ohio, where he still lives. His debut Deviant Way (1995) won the Online Mystery Award for Best First Mystery. In 2005 Montanari began a Philadelphia police procedural series with The Rosary Girls, set inside the homicide unit of the Philadelphia Police Department and introducing detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. An earlier series follows Jack Paris. The catalogue holds 15 books dated 1995 to 2018, built on serial murder and crime investigation, and has been translated into close to 30 languages.

Marie Ferrarella is an American romance writer, born Marie Rydzynski in Germany on 28 March 1948. Ferrarella has also written as Marie Nicole, Marie Michael and Marie Charles, and the novels have been translated into at least seven languages. The catalogue lists 328 books from 1983 to 2024, beginning with Scenes from the Heart, issued as Marie Charles. Series include Cavanaugh Justice, Matchmaking Mamas, Forever Texas, Baby of the Month Club and ChildFinders, Inc. Subjects include contemporary, western and suspense romance, police, physicians, single fathers and single mothers. Cavanaugh Justice: Cold Case Squad (2024) is the newest title.

John E. Douglas

20 books• 2 series

John E. Douglas is a retired FBI special agent, born in 1945, who served as a unit chief in the Bureau's Behavioral Science Unit and helped build criminal profiling in the United States. Mindhunter (1995) is the best known of 20 catalogued books, which open with the Crime Classification Manual (1992) and end with When a Killer Calls (2022). Sexual Homicide (1993), Unabomber (1996), Journey Into Darkness (1997) and The Anatomy of Motive (1999) work through serial murder investigation as case studies.