11 Thrilling James Patterson Books That Are Perfect Summer Reads

1. 1st to Die

Homicide inspector Lindsay Boxer, medical examiner Claire Washburn, assistant D.A. Jill Bernhardt, and Cindy Thomas are working together to stop a string of murders in San Francisco. The problem is that they seem to be limited in their roles so they decide to take matters into their own hands.

They form a Women's Murder Club and begin collaborating in a way they weren't able to before. The more they track down the killer, the closer they get. The most devastating thing about their discovery is that it'll change everything they knew about crimes.

2.The Postcard Killers

Jacob Kanon is a NYPD detective who seems like he's spending a beautiful summer in Paris. However, he's not there to see the city as a tourist. Instead, he can't help but look at the places the killer of his daughter visited.

Unfortunately, Kanon's daughter and her boyfriend lost their lives while vacationing in Rome. However, their deaths were just the beginning. Several other young couples in places like Copenhagen and Stockolm have been discovered dead.The only thing that makes sense in the case is a single postcard shared with the media about who'll be the next victims.

Kanon joins forces with Dessie Larsson, a Swedish reporter, who received the latest postcard. It's up to them to get the next victims to safety before the killer can strike again.

3. Along Came a Spider

Homicide detective Alex Cross is as intelligent as they come. He's also tough and rarely takes crap from anyone, but his soft spot belongs to his kids. He usually doesn't get distracted, but then he meets Jezzie Flanagan.

She's the supervisor of the Secret Service in D.C. and she's just as tough as Alex. She's also intoxicatingly beautiful and has a long history of hidden secrets that are hard to crack.

Unable to resist each other, Alex and Jezzie begin seeing each other in secret. At the same time they decide to pursue their passion for each other, Gary Soneji starts closing in on his next crime that'll hurt an unsuspecting parent.

He's the first person that'll throw Alex off his game and he's just getting started.

4. Invisible

It's suspected that Emmy Dockery isn't the most sane woman in the world after she takes a sabbatical from her job as a FBI researcher. She's not losing it though. She's just convinced people — like her field agent ex-boyfriend Harrison "Books" Bookman — are overlooking a possible connection between horrible crimes.

She doesn't stop her tedious search and eventually finds a lead that no one can ignore. The issue is that reports of murders are increasing and time's running out to uncover who's responsible.

5. Zoo

Something is dreadfully wrong with the animals, and it's weighing heavy on biologist Jackson Oz's heart. His intuition is telling him there's a dark plot at hand, so he teams up with ecologist Chloe Tosignant to confirm his suspicions. Their findings is so alarming that Jackson deduces the world's leaders need to know what's happening before humankind ceases to exist.

He doesn't know how they'll stop the vicious attacks, but he knows they're not going to stop unless the powers that be are on the same page.

6.The Midnight Club

The Midnight Club is a fast-paced read about the intertwined lives of a psychopathic killer, a journalist, and a detective who has a personal vendetta.

The killer has managed to shake the police in the U.S. and in Europe, but the detective will stop at nothing to see justice served. Caught in the middle, a journalist will suddenly find her life in danger as she continues reporting what's happening.

7.The First Lady

Top secret service agent Sally Grissom takes her job seriously. She leads the Presidential Protection team, so she knows how much responsibility is on her shoulders. But nothing prepares her for what she learns in a private meeting with the President and his Chief of Staff. The First Lady has gone missing in the middle of the public revelation of the president's cheating scandal.

They think they're able to exhale because it seems like the First Lady just wants to be left alone, but her finger attached to a ransom note sends an electric shockwave through the White House. Now they have to find out who would want to harm the First Lady before more body parts show up.

8.Three Women Disappear

Accountant Anthony Costello has a terrible habit of being manipulative. He employs the same tactics at work and in his personal life to twist fate in his favor. It's not shocking when he's discovered dead, but there's no way to pinpoint a killer yet. The only people who were home at the time were all women — personal chef Sara, his wife Anna, and his maid Serena. But, they're nowhere to be found.

Detective Sean Walsh has to figure out who could've had a motive to kill Anthony and where the three missing women are. His personal ties to the case is already an issue, but he'll soon realize why the women are missing in a strange series of events.

9.The Ninth Month

Emily Atkinson is a bright marketing exec whose life in New York teeters between glamour and unpredictability. The only thing that slows her down is discovering she's pregnant.

With the help of her best friend, nurse Betsey, Emily finds other ways to enjoy life. She starts running again and even begins enjoying quiet evenings spent at home.

Everything's going perfect until she notices that the women around her disappearing. Unsure of what's next, Emily decides she needs to figure out why these women are gone, who's taking them, and if she's at risk.

10.When the Wind Blows

Veterinarian Frannie O'Neill doesn't want to think about much else after the murder of her husband David. She's been focusing on work and nothing else until FBI agent Kit Harrison informs her of another mysterious murder. It's like she's reliving what happened to her husband all over again, but what really sends chills down Frannie's spine is the discovery of a young girl named Max.

There's something different about Max, and it seems like she knows something that will take Frannie and Kit by storm.

11.Lion & Lamb

Everyone's shocked because a tragedy struck a town's beloved couple. Everyone knew star quarterback Archie Hughes and his wife, the award-winning Francine Hughes, so it's shocking when one of them is found dead. It shouldn't make sense that the other is a suspect, but who else would be responsible?

The only people capable of finding out what happened are private investigator Cooper Lamb and prosecutor Venna Lamb. They're at the top of their game and have a way to uncovering things people try to hide.

More Notable James Patterson Books

• The Angel Experiment: A Maximum Ride
• School's Out — Forever
  
• 10th Anniversary
• Mistress
• Burn
• The Beach House
• 4th of July
• Judge & Jury
• The Big Bad Wolf
  
• The 8th Confession
  
• Four Blind Mice
  
• Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure
  
• I, Alex Cross
  
• Honeymoon
  
• 12th of Never
  
• Unlucky 13
  
• Now You See Her
  
• Run For Your Life
  
• Swimsuit
  
• Cross My Heart
  
• The Black Book
  
• You've Been Warned
  
• Private #1
• Cross the Line
  
• Second Honeymoon

Upcoming James Patterson Books

• Lies He Told Me — September 30, 2024
• Murder Island — October 8, 2024
• Raised by Wolves — November 5, 2024
  
• The House of Cross — November 25, 2024
  
• Holmes Is Missing— January 6, 2025
  
• The Texas Murders: Everything Is Bigger in Texas — January 14, 2025
  
• Paranoia: The Most Beloved Family — February 10, 2025