Mystery/Thriller Series - Ali Reynolds

J.A. Jance (Creative Commons)

Judith Ann Jance, born 1944, is an author of three different mystery series, all written under her own name. Alison Reynolds is the protagonist in this series. She begins the series as a news reporter for a TV station in the Los Angeles area.

Recurring characters of note:
Alison Reynolds, Ali
Edie, her mother
Bob, her father- her parents run a restaurant in Sedona
Christopher, her adult son.

#1 Edge of Evil (2006)

#2 Web of Evil (2007)
A man is left on railroad tracks in the trunk of a car where he is subsequently killed by the train. Ali passes the emergency vehicles in the middle of the night, having no idea what the commotion is. She is on her way to a meeting of all parties to finalize her divorce proceedings from Paul Grayson. Paul needs the divorce to go through because he's scheduled to marry the next Mrs. Grayson the very next day. That woman, April, is 8 1/2 months pregnant with Paul's child. But Paul does not show up for the meeting.

#3 Hand of Evil (2007)

#4 Cruel Intent (2008)

#5 Trial By Fire (2009)

#6 Fatal Error (2011)

#7 Left for Dead (2012)

#8 Deadly Stakes (2013)

#9 Moving Target (2014)

#10 A Last Goodbye (novella) (2014)

#11 Cold Betrayal (2015)

#12 No Honor Among Thieves (novella) (2015)

#13 Clawback (2016)

#14 Random Acts (novella) (2016)

#15 Man Overboard (2017)

#16 Duel to the Death (2018)

#17 The A List (2019)

#18 Credible Threat (2020)

#19 Unfinished Business (2021)

#20 Collateral Damage (2023)

Mystery Series - Alex Cross

James Patterson

James Patterson, born 1947, is one of the most prolific and richest authors of all time. He has written or co-authored well over 100 books. There are currently 32 books in the Alex Cross series.

Alex Cross is a psychologist and police detective, an FBI agent, and one of the most popular fictional black heroes. He's a large man with plenty of brains to go with his imposing presence. His family is highly important to him. Since his first wife was killed, he is continually searching for another woman.

These are police and/or psychological thrillers with plenty of gory and disturbing details.

Recurring characters of note
Maria- Cross' first wife, the mother of Damon and Jannie
Nana Mama- Cross' grandmother who has always been in charge
Damon- his oldest child
Jannie (Janelle)- his daughter
Ali (Alex Junior)- son by his second wife
John Sampson- Cross' partner, they've been friends since childhood, a 6'9" giant
Kyle Craig- an enigma who fills several roles throughout the series
Adele Finaly- Alex's own therapist
Gary Soneji- a recurring nemesis

#1 Along Came a Spider (1993)
#2 Kiss the Girls (1995)
#3 Jack & Jill (1996)
The book begins with an immediate introduction into two high-profile cases. There are a man and woman who are killing people in Washington, DC, apparently chosen at random as part of a bizarre game. Also, someone is murdering small children who attend the same school as Cross' son.

There is more than one twist to the plot before the cases are resolved.

The spectre of Gary Soneji is never far from Alex's mind.

We learn how Alex's parents died and why Nana Mama raised him since he was nine years old. It is mentioned how Alex's first wife died, but this contradicts the details given in Cross. He meets Christine.

#4 Cat and Mouse (1997)
There are two intertwined plots in this book. Alex's nemesis Gary Soneji is still around and intent on mass murders with more apparent abandon then previously. Cross figures out why the man has changed and tries to get ahead of his thinking. Another murderer, dubbed Mr. Smith, has been methodically killing and dismembering one person at a time across the globe. Thomas Pierce is brought in by the FBI, as his amateur study of the killer is most thorough.

Soneji meets his own supposed death, but vows to reach out and kill Cross from beyond the grave. The very next day, the detective is brutally attacked.

Cross is healing from the death of his first wife, the mother of his children. He begins to fall in love with the prinicpal of his children's school, Christine.

#5 Pop Goes the Weasel (1999)
#6 Roses are Red (2000)
#7 Violets Are Blue (2001)

#8 Four Blind Mice (2002)
This book has only one story, and the reader is told right up front what is going on. An Army officer is found guilty of murdering three women. He swears he is innocent, and he is a friend of John Sampson. So Cross, who is trying to resign from being a detective, agrees to look into it. We immediately learn that the murders were done by a group of three other ex-military men, code name Three Blind Mice.

How are they finally brought to justice, why did it all happen, and who is the Fourth Mouse?

We learn about John Sampson's childhood. Nana Mama is 82 and may finally be showing her age. Alex's current flame is a Detective from SanFrancisco named Jamilla.

#9 The Big Bad Wolf (2003)
#10 London Bridges (2004)
#11 Mary, Mary (2005)

#12 Cross (2006)
This book begins with a flashback to when and how his first wife Maria died, killed by a hit man's bullet.

Then it jumps ahead to 2005 when Alex sees a hit man take a bow before he disappears. The hit man turns out the be "The Butcher," who works for the mob, freelances, and is a serial rapist for kicks. He leaves no one alive who threatens him. Is there a connection to Maria's death? Cross and Sanders embark on a long quest to hunt down "The Butcher."

#13 Double Cross (2007)
Bizarre murders begin happening that appear to be staged, literally, as in the murderer is committing them as if he is an actor on a large stage. There seems to be some clue left by the killer at each one, but Cross is having a hard time figuring out what it means.

Also, Alex is in jeopardy from Kyle Craig, despite the man being in prison.

His current girlfriend is named Bree, who is also a Detective.

#14 Cross Country (2008)
This is one of the more horrific and brutal books in the series. Alex investigates two incidents in Washington, DC, where the entire family was killed. He knows one of the victims. His search for justice takes him to Africa where he witnesses the insanity and injustice of anarchy in Siera Leone, Niger, and the Sudan. In fact, he becomes the victim of a fair amount of brutality himself.

He finally returns home, beaten both literally and in his quest for justice. There, he learns that his family has disappeared and he is kidnapped yet again.

Warning- this is a seriously violent story.

#15 Alex Cross's Trial (2009)

#16 I, Alex Cross (2009)
Alex's neice, whom he has not seen for quite a few years is murdered, and her body is disposed of in a most brutal manner. Cross gets involved in trying to solve this crime which leads him to an exclusive sex club. It involves all the alphabet soup agencies, and even the White House.

Meanwhile, Nana Mama, who is in her 90s although she won't admit to an exact age, has a heart attack.

#17 Cross Fire (2010)

#18 Kill Alex Cross (2011)
The children of the US President manage to evade their Secret Servce protectors and while out of their sight, Ethan and Zoe are kidnapped. A van is seen speeding from the school, a chase and crash ensue, but when the van is cut open, the children are not there.

Meanwhile, terrorism on US soil rachets up a notch with a potential attack on the water supply.

Alex is still with Bree.

#19 Merry Christmas, Alex Cross (2012)
#20 Alex Cross, Run (2013)
#21 Cross My Heart (2013)
#22 Hope to Die (2014)
#23 Cross Justice (2015)
#24 Cross the Line (2016)
#25 The People vs. Alex Cross (2017)
#26 Target: Alex Cross (2018)
#27 Criss Cross (2019)
#28 Deadly Cross (2020)
#29 Fear No Evil (2021)
#30 Triple Cross (2022)
#31 Cross Down (2023) (co-written with Brenden DuBois; also a John Sampson solo book)[2]
#32 Alex Cross Must Die (2023)

Mystery Series - Travis McGee

John D. MacDonald

John D. MacDonald (1916-1986) wrote thrillers and various standalone crime stories from 1936 on. In 1964, the first Travis McGee book appeared. McGee is not a detective, but a salvage consultant living on a boat in Florida. McGee is 6'4" tall, ex-military, and has a commanding presence. He consistently gets pulled into high-stakes adventures, usually to solve problems that are beyond the reach of the law. These are rather hard-boiled stories with lots of action and some sex (not explicit), but there is a cerebral element to all the problems he is called upon to solve. His sidekick is Meyer, an economist, with whom he shares everything. He has few emotional ties, but two women do appear in the series, both of whom have an impact on his life before they are abruptly removed (for different reasons). All the books in this series have a color in the title.

Recurring Characters of Note
G. Ludweg Meyer, economist and his best friend
Puss Killian, one of the few women Travis really loved
Gretel, another of the few women Travis loved

#1 The Deep Blue Good-by (1964)
#2 Nightmare in Pink (1964)
#3 A Purple Place for Dying (1964)
#4 The Quick Red Fox (1964)
#5 A Deadly Shade of Gold (1965)
#6 Bright Orange for the Shroud (1965)
#7 Darker than Amber (1966)
#8 One Fearful Yellow Eye (1966)
#9 Pale Gray for Guilt (1968)
#10 The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (1968)
#11 Dress Her in Indigo (1969)
#12 The Long Lavender Look (1970)
#13 A Tan and Sandy Silence (1971)
#14 The Scarlet Ruse (1973)
#15 The Turquoise Lament (1973)
#16 The Dreadful Lemon Sky (1975)
#17 The Empty Copper Sea (1978)

#18 The Green Ripper (1979)
The Green Ripper is a child's mispronunciation of The Grim Reaper. McGee has been living aboard his boat with Gretel, one of his true loves. She has temporarily moved to a location closer to her new job as an all-purpose-person at a health spa. She is telling Travis and Meyer about an odd occurance where she recognized a man from her past with one of the owners. A few day later, the man is dead from a fall off his bicycle and Gretel is in the hospital with an unexplained flu-like disease. Her condition worsens, and the pathogen can not be identified.

When Gretel does not survive, Travis insists on an autopsy, and a clever murder is revealed.

McGee embarks on a quest to find the man Gretel recognized, find out what's going on and exact revenge. His quest takes him to a militant terrorist "church" in California with a chilling agenda.

#19 Free Fall in Crimson (1981)
#20 Cinnamon Skin (1982)
The Travis McGee Quiz Book (compiled by John Brogan, introduction by MacDonald) (1984)

#21 The Lonely Silver Rain (1985)
This is the final book in the series. It's not exactly clear if MacDonald intended to end the series, but it does make a nice conclusion. The final chapter takes place in a rain so heavy it bounces off the pavement. Travis calls it a "lonely silver rain."

A friend of McGee asks him to try to recover his custom yacht that was stolen. It's a real long shot, because stolen boats are usually quickly transformed so as to be unrecognizable. However, the custom build of this one does suggest a method to find it. When McGee finds the boat, there are three dead bodies aboard, and someone in the drug smuggling world seems to want to blame McGee and the boat owner for the murders.

McGee travels to Mexico to try to keep from being killed by finding out who is really to blame.

Meanwhile, someone is leaving whimsical pipe-cleaner cats in various colors on his own boat.