Suspense book series in reading order

by James Grippando

by Andy McNab

by Eric Wilson

by Don Easton

by John Gilstrap

by Brad Thor

by J.A. Jance

by Donald E. Westlake

by Jon Land

by Mick Herron

by Mary Higgins Clark

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

by Abigail Roux

by Randy Wayne White

by Barry Eisler

by M.J. Arlidge

by Chris Carter

by Andy McDermott

by Simon Beckett

by J.A. Kerley

by Ken McClure

by James Patterson

by Paul Doiron

by Tom Wood

by John Connolly

by Alex Berenson

by Tasha Alexander

by Jack Higgins

by Alex Kava

by David Hagberg

by John Lawton

by Andrew Peterson

by Mike Lawson

by Mick Herron

by P.J. Tracy

by Jeff Abbott

by Barbara Hambly

by Sara Blaedel

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.

Christopher Nicole was a British novelist, born on 7 December 1930 and died on 2 September 2017, who published more than 200 novels and non-fiction books from 1957 onward. Nicole wrote under many pseudonyms, among them Andrew York, Peter Grange, Caroline Gray, Alan Savage and Leslie Arlen, and used Max Marlow for books co-written with his wife Diana Bachmann. The catalogue here lists 213 titles between 1961 and 2017, opening with Shadows in the Jungle. Historical sagas, wartime suspense and espionage dominate, through series such as Jonas Wilde: Eliminator, the Russian Saga and the Anna Fehrbach novels.

James Hadley Chase was the pen name of Rene Lodge Brabazon Raymond, an English crime writer who lived from 1906 to 1985. Ninety-six books are catalogued between No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1939) and Hit Them Where It Hurts (1984), and some early titles appeared as by Raymond Marshall. Recurring characters carry the series: Vic Malloy, Steve Harmas, Dave Fenner, Frank Terrell, Tom Lepski, Mark Girland, Helga Rolfe and Don Micklem. Fifty of the books have been filmed, the work was widely translated into Russian, and Chase was called the king of thriller writers in Europe. The median book runs 204 pages.

Iris Johansen writes crime fiction, suspense and romance, and was born on April 7, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri. The catalogue lists 120 books from Stormy Vows (1983) to Wait and See (2026), with the 1980s as the busiest decade. Eve Duncan, Kendra Michaels and Catherine Ling are the recurring characters, and facial reconstruction and women sculptors appear among the subject headings. Johansen's series also include Sedikhan, Wind Dancer, Clanad and Delaneys.

Nora Roberts

279 books• 37 series

Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950, is an American writer of romance under that name. As J. D. Robb, Roberts writes police procedurals with science-fiction elements, and has also published as Jill March and, in the UK, as Sarah Hardesty. This listing carries 280 Roberts books, opening with Irish Thoroughbred (1981); The Missing is scheduled for 2027. Series on the page include the In Death Universe, the MacGregors, Night Tales, the Calhoun Women, the Chesapeake Bay Saga, Irish Hearts and the O'Hurleys.

Stephen King

223 books• 25 series

Horror fiction is the field most closely tied to Stephen King, an American author born on September 21, 1947, and nicknamed the "King of Horror". King's work also reaches into suspense, crime, science fiction, fantasy and mystery, and includes roughly 200 short stories, most later gathered in collections. Carrie (1974) was the debut that set King in horror; Different Seasons (1982), four novellas in one volume, marked the first major step outside it. The catalogue lists 223 books from 1971 to 2026, starting with The Blue Air Compressor, a short story, and reaching Other Worlds Than These (2026). Series on file include Holly Gibney, the Bill Hodges Trilogy, Green Mile, Shining and Talisman.

Dean Koontz, born on July 9, 1945, is an American novelist of suspense thrillers that mix in horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery and satire. Koontz published early work under pen names including Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer, Leigh Nichols, David Axton and Brian Coffey. The catalogue holds 164 books, from Star Quest / Doom of the Green Planet (1968) to The Friend of the Family (2026), with A Storm So Bright and Beautiful set for 2027. Jane Hawk, Nameless and Dean Koontz's Frankenstein are Koontz series, and Odd Thomas appears among the characters. Fourteen Koontz hardcovers and sixteen paperbacks reached number one on The New York Times list, and sales top 500 million copies.

Donald Eugene Pendleton (December 12, 1927 to October 23, 1995) was an American author of fiction and non-fiction who created Mack Bolan, a character with hundreds of millions of copies sold since a 1969 debut. From 1980, other authors wrote the Bolan books under the Pendleton name, at first with Pendleton's editorial guidance. Pendleton also wrote six Joe Copp, Private Eye novels and six Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective novels. Early titles include The Insatiables (1967), War Against the Mafia (1969) and Miami Massacre (1970).

Clive Cussler

104 books• 9 series

Clive Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. Cussler founded and chaired the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), which has located more than 60 shipwreck sites. Cussler's thrillers, many of them featuring Dirk Pitt, reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than 20 times. The catalogue lists 105 books under Cussler's name, beginning with The Mediterranean Caper (1973), with The Serpent's Eye due in 2027. Robin Burcell shares credit on 6 of them, Jack Du Brul on 5 and Grant Blackwood on 3. Series include Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, Oregon Files and Sea Hunters.

J.A. Huss writes romantic suspense, erotica and science fiction, often mixing them. Rook and Ronin and its spinoff, Dirty, Dark, and Deadly, Creeping Beautiful and Bossy Brothers cover the romance and thriller side; I Am Just Junco and Harem Station carry the science fiction. One hundred and eight books span 2012 to 2026, from Clutch to Skulls and Lace, and Huss remains actively publishing.

Alex Archer is the name on the Rogue Angel series, 66 catalogued books published between 2006 and 2025. Annja Creed, a woman archaeologist, is the recurring character, and the books mix antiquities, adventure and suspense with fantasy. Destiny (2006) opens the run, followed by Solomon's Jar (2006), The Spider Stone (2006) and a rapid 2007 sequence including Forbidden City, God of Thunder, Provenance, Secret of the Slaves, Serpent's Kiss, The Chosen and The Lost Scrolls. Shadow Highlanders (2025) is the newest title, at a median of 320 pages.

Historical romance and FBI suspense make up Catherine Coulter's two main bodies of work. Regency and medieval romances such as the Sherbrooke Brides and Medieval Song sequences date back to the 1979 debut The Rebel Bride, while the FBI Thriller series and A Brit in the FBI follow government investigator Dillon Savich. Coulter's catalogue runs to 95 books, reaching The Heir of Whitestone in 2026.

Kay Hooper, born in 1957, is a New York Times bestselling American author credited with more than 60 books. The catalogue counts 86 Hooper books between Lady Thief (1981) and Curse of Salem (2021), several early titles appearing under the name Kay Robbins. Subjects include romance, suspense, the Loveswept imprint, psychics, serial murders and the fictional investigator Noah Bishop. Series include the Bishop Files, Hagan, Shamrock Trinity and Once Upon A Time..., and no new title has been listed since 2021.

Lee Child

78 books• 15 series

Lee Child is the pen name of James Dover Grant, a British thriller writer born on 29 October 1954. The Jack Reacher novels follow a former American military policeman who drifts across the United States. Killing Floor (1997), the first novel, won the Anthony Award and the 1998 Barry Award for Best First Novel, and Die Trying (1998) and Tripwire (1999) came next. The catalogue runs to Chain Reaction (2026), with Zero Margin listed for 2027. Andrew Child shares credit on a line of Jack Reacher short stories and novellas, and a Frances Neagley line also appears. Subjects include military police, ex-police officers, private investigators and murder.

James Grippando writes legal thrillers set largely in Miami, with the defence lawyer Jack Swyteck at the centre. The Pardon (1994) opens a catalogue of 36 books that reaches The Right to Remain in 2026, alongside standalone novels, novellas and plays. Missing persons, suspense and the work between attorney and client supply the plots.

The Tom and Liz Austen Mysteries head Eric Wilson's catalogue: Canadian children's detective stories that move the Austen siblings from city to city, through Vancouver Nightmare (1978), Terror in Winnipeg (1979), The Lost Treasure of Casa Loma (1979) and The Ghost of Lunenberg Manor (1981). Murder on The Canadian (1976) opens the run. Four further groupings share the same catalogued name - Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy, Aramis Black Mysteries, By the Numbers and a set of standalone novels - taking the total to 41 titles through 2023.

Stuart Woods

104 books• 9 series

Crime and detective thrillers make up Stuart Woods's catalogue of 104 titles, running from Blue Water, Green Skipper (1977) to Finders Keepers (2025). The Barrington Universe, built around the recurring character Stone Barrington, is the largest strand; Teddy Fay, Ed Eagle and Rick Barron head further series, with standalone novels and non-fiction beside them. Private investigators, police and New York settings recur through the subject tags.

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.

Mary Higgins Clark

62 books• 8 series

Mary Higgins Clark, born Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins, was an American suspense novelist who lived from December 24, 1927 to January 31, 2020. Where Are the Children? (1975) was the debut suspense novel, and by 2015 that book was in its 75th printing. Each of Clark's 51 books was a bestseller in the United States and in European countries. The catalogue starts with Aspire to the Heavens / Mount Vernon Love Story (1968) and reaches It Had to Be You (2024). Alvirah and Willy are recurring characters, and Under Suspicion is a Clark series. Clark worked as a secretary, a copy editor and for one year a Pan-American Airlines flight attendant, and short stories supplemented the family income.

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.

Montana features in the names of B.J. Daniels's series, including Cahill Ranch/Montana Cahills, Buckhorn, Montana, Beartooth, Montana, Montana Hamiltons, Cardwell Ranch: Montana Legacy and the Whitehorse, Montana sets. B.J. Daniels writes romantic suspense and western romance, with 150 books catalogued from Outlawed (1995) to Calling His Bluff (2026). Colt Brothers Investigation is another series. Subject tags include cowboys, sheriffs, murders and mystery.

Andy McNab is the pen name of Steven Billy Mitchell, born 28 December 1959, a British novelist and former Special Air Service soldier. Public recognition came with Bravo Two Zero, an account of a Gulf War mission McNab led with the SAS, for which the Distinguished Conduct Medal followed; the Military Medal had come in 1979 for gallantry with the Royal Green Jackets in Northern Ireland. The catalogue lists 57 titles, among them two autobiographies, thrillers built around the intelligence officer Nick Stone, and books for younger readers in the Boy Soldier and Street Soldier sequences. The Rescue (2023) is the newest entry, and no further title is scheduled.

Robert Goddard

33 books• 4 series

Robert Goddard, an English novelist born in 1954, writes mystery and suspense. Past Caring (1986) was his first novel, and the catalogue has grown to 33 titles through to This is the Day They Dream Of (2025). Four series carry recurring figures: James "Max" Maxted, Harry Barnett, Umiko Wada and Inspector Taleb. Long Time Coming took the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Original Paperback, and the Crime Writers' Association gave Goddard its Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2019.

Sharon Sala has written under the Sharon Sala name and as Dinah McCall, with more than 85 books in print since a first publication in 1991. Sala is a seven-time RITA finalist and a Janet Dailey Award winner, and Romance Writers of America gave Sala its Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. The catalogue holds 144 Sala titles, from Sara's Angel (1991) to Reckoning (2026). Series include Blessings, Georgia; Mossy Creek; Jubilee, Kentucky; Jigsaw Files; Justice Way; Cat Dupree; Storm Front and Rebel Ridge. Romantic suspense and contemporary romance appear among the subject tags.