James Patterson

The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the presents are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married - and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day - she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.

But the wedding isn't the only surprise - there is one more unexpected gift, and it could change all their lives for ever.

Ruby Bozarth, a newcomer to Rosedale, Mississippi, is also fresh to the Mississippi Bar - and she faces an impossible task defending a college football star accused of murder.

The victim is a young woman from one of the town's oldest families, and Rosedale's upper crust are howling for blood.

Then news breaks of a second murder, and lurid, intertwining investigations unfold.

Ruby discovers that no one in Rosedale can be trusted, especially the twelve men and women on the jury.

They may be hiding the biggest secret of all.

Norbert Riddle lives in the United State of Earth, where normal means following the rules, never standing out, and being exactly the same as everyone else. He's been normal his whole life - until a moment of temporary hilarity when he does a funny impression of the country's dictator...and gets caught!

Now Norbert's been banished to the Astronuts Camp on planet Zorquat 3, where kids who defy the rules are exiled forever. He's been taught his whole life that different is wrong, but everyone at Astronuts seems crazy creative... or are they just plain crazy?

Former SAS soldier David Shelley has plans for a safer, more stable existence when he settles down to civilian life in London. But the shocking death of a young woman he used to protect puts those plans on hold.

The police rule the death a suicide, but the grieving parents can't accept their beloved Emma would take her own life. They need to find out what really happened, and they turn to their former bodyguard, Shelley, for help.

When they discover that Emma had fallen into a dark and dangerous world of drugs and online pornography, the father's need for retribution will take them into a war from which there may be no escape.

Hollows Bend is a picture-perfect New England town where weekend tourists flock to see fall leaves and eat breakfast at the Stairway Diner. The crime rate - zero - is a point of pride for Sheriff Ellie Pritchett.

The day the stranger shows up is when the trouble starts. The sheriff and her deputy investigate the mysterious teenage girl. None of the locals can place her. She can't - or won't - answer any questions. She won't even tell them her name.

While the girl is in protective custody, the officers are called to multiple crime scenes leading them closer and closer to a lake outside of town that doesn't appear on any map...

Two true-crime cases from the hit TV series Murder is Forever

Murder, Interrupted. Rich, cheating financier Frank Howard wants his wife dead, and he's willing to pay Billie Earl Johnson whatever it takes. But when the bullet misses the mark, Billie Earl and Frank will turn on each other in a fight for their lives...

Mother of All Murders. Dee Dee Blancharde is a local celebrity. Television reports praise her as a single mother who tirelessly cares for her wheelchair-bound, chronically ill daughter. But when Gypsy Rose realises she isn't actually sick and Dee Dee has lied all these years, the daughter exacts her revenge...

Two true-crime cases from the hit TV series Murder is Forever

Murder Beyond the Grave: Stephen Small has it all – a Ferrari, fancy house, loving wife and three sons. But the only thing he needs right now is enough air to breathe. Kidnapped, buried in a box, and held for ransom, Stephen has forty-eight hours of oxygen. The clock is ticking....

Murder in Paradise: High in the Sierra Nevada mountains, developers Jim and Bonnie Hood excitedly tour Camp Nelson Lodge. They intend to buy and modernise this beautiful rustic property, but the locals don't like rich outsiders changing their way of life. After a grisly shooting, everybody will discover just how you can make a killing in real estate...

David and his best friend Michael were tagged with awful nicknames way back in preschool when everyone did silly things. Fast-forward to seventh grade: 'Pottymouth' and 'Stoopid' are still stuck with the names - and everyone in school, including the teachers and their principal, believe the labels are true.

So how do they go about changing everyone's minds? By turning their misery into megastardom on TV, of course! And this important story delivers more than just laughs - it shows that the worst bullying doesn't have to be physical, and that things will get better.

Jimmy loves reading so much that he's inspired to start a book company for kids - run by kids. It's a big dream for a twelve-year-old boy - some would even say it's laugh-out-loud ridiculous!

But that doesn't stop Jimmy from dreaming even bigger! His company will be as imaginative and fun as Willy Wonka's chocolate factory... with a Ferris wheel instead of an elevator, a bowling alley in the break room, and a river filled with floating books! He just has to believe in himself and his idea. And maybe win the Lottery.

The most respected citizen in Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. Everything changes when she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South.

Criminally, it's open-and-shut. Ethically, there is no middle ground. Essentially, it's a choice between life and death.

No judge can satisfy everyone. It would be dangerous to try. But Judge Stone is willing to fight to bring justice to the people and place she loves.

A rare masterpiece by Picasso is about to go to auction, and the whole world is watching.

But bright art student Halston Graham sees an opportunity. One that could secure millions for her future - and freedom for her wrongly imprisoned father…

To pull off the crime of the century, she must assemble an unlikely crack team: an expert in forgery, a ruthless mob boss, and an eccentric fashion designer.

In a game where trust is a luxury and failure is not an option, will Halston's brilliance be enough to outsmart her enemies?

Written by the world's bestselling storyteller James Patterson, this is the original and definitive account of how Epstein built his fortune, abused his power, and evaded justice for years - hiding in plain sight among the global elite.

Drawing on original police interviews, court documents and victims' testimonies, the book traces the earliest investigations, Epstein's guilty plea and the shockingly lenient sentence that allowed his crimes to continue. Filthy Rich is also a chilling examination of how power protects itself - and how institutions failed those most vulnerable.

An instant New York Times bestseller and the basis of the hit Netflix documentary series, this updated edition includes a new introduction covering Epstein's final arrest and death in custody.

A missing patient is a hospital ward's worst nightmare - until even more people disappear . . . Senior Midwife Lucy Ryuan is used to guiding expectant mothers through pregnancy. But when two kidnappings and a vicious stabbing happen on her watch, her focus abruptly changes. Something has to be done, and Lucy is fearless enough to try. As rumours and accusations fly around Manhattan, Lucy teams up with a sceptical NYPD detective to solve the case. But the truth is far more twisted than either of them could ever have imagined.

From coastal California to upstate New York, a killer is plotting a devastating path of destruction . . . Michael and Megan Fitzgerald are siblings who share a troubling past. Both adopted, and now adults - Michael is a long-haul truck driver, Megan a college student majoring in psychology - they trust each other before anyone else. They've had to. 

When a young woman is found murdered in Michael's LA apartment, he is the chief suspect and quickly arrested. But then there's another killing that is strikingly similar. And another. And not just in LA - as the spree spreads across the country, the FBI become involved in a manhunt for a cold-blooded serial killer. Racing against time, the LAPD and FBI desperately search for a way to prevent a string of murders that seems unstoppable.

Attorney Rhonda Bird returns home to LA to bury her estranged father, and discovers that he left her two final surprises . . . The first is a private detective agency; the second is a teenage half-sister she has never met. Going into his old office to close down the business, Rhonda gets drawn into a case involving a young man who claims he was abducted. But what at first seems to be a simple investigation, soon takes Rhonda to a dark and dangerous place . . .

Two children have been kidnapped from an elite Washington DC private school. Detective Alex Cross must find them. But as he pursues the sinister kidnapper, Gary Soneji, Cross is pulled deeper into a tangled web of lies. Is Soneji really just a maths teacher with a get-rich-quick scheme – or is he something far more dangerous?    Book 1 of series.

Washington D.C. is under siege. A controversial Senator is found murdered in his bed, and a little girl is savagely beaten to death. Detective Alex Cross is under pressure from two fronts. Faced with an impossible choice, Cross has to come up with something incredible – because right now, nobody in Washington is safe, and it’s only a matter of time before the killer sets their sights on the ultimate target…

A series of meticulously planned bank robberies ends in murder, and detective Alex Cross must pit his wits against the sadistic mastermind behind the crimes. Torn between dedication to his job and commitment to his family, Cross cannot ignore the case, despite the risks he knows will come with hunting down a killer - and the heartbreaking cost.  Book 6 of series.

Whilst on holiday, Alex Cross gets a call to say that a city in Nevada has been annihilated. A Russian criminal known as the Wolf claims responsibility. Cross joins with Scotland Yard and Interpol, in a race against time, to track down the Wolf.   Book 10 of series.

A well-known actress has been shot outside her Beverly Hills home. Shortly afterwards, the Los Angeles Times receives an email describing the murder in vivid detail. It is signed Mary Smith. More killings follow and as the case grows FBI agent Alex Cross and the LAPD scramble to find a pattern before Mary can send another chilling update.  Book 11 of series.

Alex Cross was a rising star in Washington, DC, Police Department when an unknown shooter killed his wife, Maria, in front of him. Years later, his former partner, John Sampson, calls in a favour. John's needs Alex to help find a serial rapist. But the case triggers a connection to Maria's death. Could Alex have a chance to catch his wife's murderer? Will this be justice at long last? Or the endgame in his own deadly obsession?  Book 12 of series.

Just when Alex Cross's life is calming down, he's drawn back into the game to confront the Audience Killer - a terrifying genius who stages his killings as public spectacles in Washington, DC and broadcasts them live on the net. Contains some explicit language.  Book 13 of series.

A killer's trail leads Detective Alex Cross to Africa - and a whole new world of danger...

Detective Alex Cross is called in to investigate a massacre in Washington DC and is shocked to discover an old friend amongst the victims. His pursuit of justice leads him to the Niger Delta, right into the den of the psychopathic perpetrator: the Tiger. As Alex travels deeper into this dangerous world of corruption and conspiracy, his own survival is on the line...

Alex Cross is one of the nation's foremost detectives. But fighting for justice runs in the family, and it's time for Cross to tell the story that was passed down to him from his grandmother - the story of his great-uncle Abraham. Ben Corbett is lawyer to the underprivileged and downtrodden in 1900s Washington, DC. Out of the blue, President Theodore Roosevelt invites Ben to the White House, asking him to investigate a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in Ben's own home town. Ben returns to Mississippi, and there he meets Abraham Cross and his granddaughter, Moody. Abraham and Moody reveal to Ben the hidden side of this sleepy Southern town, where the Black community lives in constant fear. In a battle against entrenched hatred, what sacrifices will need to be made to break this reign of terror?

Book 15 in the Alex Cross series.

They came for his family. Now Detective Alex Cross is out for vengeance.

Cross is met with shocking news that his niece has been brutally murdered. He vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that his niece was mixed up in one of Washington's wildest scenes where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in.

Cross finds himself confronting some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain - they will do anything to keep their secrets safe. As Cross closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable - a revelation that could rock the entire world.

Alex Cross is planning his wedding when the killings begin. Two of the capital’s most corrupt politicians, slain by a sniper’s bullets – and there are more to come. Public opinion is divided: is the marksman a murderer or a hero? As Cross battles over jurisdiction with an FBI rival – he receives a call from the Mastermind, his deadliest adversary. Cross’s worst fears are coming true: the Mastermind is in D C, and this time he won’t stop until Cross and his family are dead…

The President's children are abducted, and Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene. But someone very high up is using the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA to keep him off the case and in the dark. Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes – one that may alter the fate of the entire country.  Book 18 of series.

On the night before Christmas, Detective Alex Cross is at home celebrating with his family. But when Cross's phone rings, he knows that this won't be a merry Christmas.

A father has taken his children and ex-wife hostage. Armed to the teeth and high on crystal meth, the man is dangerously unstable. The lives of everyone in that house are hanging by a thread.

As this suburban nightmare is unfolding, another far greater threat is approaching. It will be a terrorist attack on a scale never before seen in Washington, DC, and when nobody expects it.

Book 19 in the Alex Cross series.

Three killers are on the rampage in the capital and dead bodies are piling up. Alex Cross is in charge of all three investigations, but with a crisis at home that threatens to tear his family apart, his attention is divided. While Cross tracks the killers, he doesn’t notice that someone is tracking him.  Book 20 of series.

Alex Cross's whole world is crashing down around him. He has been hunted, stalked like prey, his predator priming himself for the kill. Detective Alex Cross is a family man at heart ? nothing matters more to him than his children, his grandmother, and his wife Bree. His love of his family is his anchor, and gives him the strength to confront evil in his work. One man knows this deeply, and uses Alex's strength as a weapon against him. As a police detective, he has made many enemies, but never like this. Everything he loves is being taken from him. Soon he will have nothing and no one left.

When his cousin is accused of an unthinkable crime, Detective Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in over three decades.

As he tries to prove his cousin's innocence in a town where justice is hard to find, Cross unearths a family secret that forces him to question everything he's ever known.

Chasing the ghosts of his past, Cross gets pulled into a case involving a string of murders. Now he's hot on the trail of a cold-hearted killer - and the answers he finds could be fatal.

Book 23 in the Alex Cross series.

Shots ring out in the early morning hours in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and a prominent police official lies dead, leaving the city's police force scrambling for answers. Alex Cross must take the law back into his own hands before the city he's sworn to protect descends into utter chaos.  Book 24 of series.

Charged with gunning down followers of his nemesis, Gary Soneji, in cold blood, Alex Cross is wrongly portrayed as a trigger-happy, corrupt cop. He struggles to prove to a skeptical jury and dwindling supporters that his actions were in self defence.  Book 25 of series.

A sniper's bullet strikes a devastating blow to the heart of Washington with the assassination of a prominent Senator. The President calls on Alex Cross to lead an unparalleled FBI investigation to help capture America's most wanted criminal. The stakes have never been higher as his courage, training and his capacity for battle are stretched to their limits in the most important case of his life.  Book 26 of series.

Only hours after witnessing the execution of a killer he helped put behind bars, Alex Cross is called to the scene of a copycat murder. A note signed 'M' rests on the corpse: 'You messed up big time, Dr. Cross.' Was an innocent man just put to death? As the executed convict's family launch a vicious campaign against Cross, his abilities as a detective are called into question. The enigmatic 'M' lures Cross out of Washington, DC to the sites of multiple homicides, all marked with distressingly familiar details that conjure up decades-old cases and Cross family secrets. 

Book 27 in the Alex Cross series.

When a glamorous socialite and a high school principal are found murdered, the shocking double homicide dominates tabloid headlines. Detective Alex Cross knew both victims well, especially Kay who had been his patient once. And maybe more. Alex's former Metro Homicide Partner tracks the slain principal's final movements to Alabama where Alex investigates Kay's past. They discover that although she had many enemies, all of them needed her alive. The more the investigators push, the more resistance they find, and Alex is left facing a desperate choice between breaking trust and losing his way.