Alex Cross reading order

A plan for the whole series

34 volumes, 14,020 pages, about 255 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 11 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “Jack & Jill” (by 49%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2025. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

17 stages, with 16 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 21, 2027, about 2 months later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 117 habout 3 weeksby November 20, 2026

   • 1. Along Came a Spider1993 · 454 pages · 8 h
   • 2. Kiss the Girls1995 · 464 pages · 9 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by November 30, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 216 habout 3 weeksby December 21, 2026

   • 3. Jack & Jill1996 · 432 pages · 8 h
   • 4. Cat and Mouse1997 · 451 pages · 8 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 25, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 315 h20 daysby January 15, 2027

   • 5. Pop Goes the Weasel1999 · 423 pages · 8 h
   • 6. Roses Are Red2000 · 414 pages · 8 h
6. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by January 18, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 415 h19 daysby February 6, 2027

   • 7. Violets Are Blue2001 · 393 pages · 7 h
   • 8. Four Blind Mice2002 · 404 pages · 7 h
8. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by February 11, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 514 h19 daysby March 2, 2027

   • 9. The Big Bad Wolf2003 · 396 pages · 7 h
   • 10. London Bridges2004 · 391 pages · 7 h
10. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by March 6, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 615 h20 daysby March 26, 2027

    • 11. Mary, Mary2006 · 425 pages · 8 h
    • 12. Cross2006 · 400 pages · 7 h
12. Short breakTo Be Taught, If Fortunate · Becky Chambers · 153 pp. · score 8.33 h, by March 31, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 715 h20 daysby April 20, 2027

    • 13. Double Cross2007 · 435 pages · 8 h
    • 14. Cross Country2008 · 397 pages · 7 h
14. Short breakThe Importance of Being Earnest · Oscar Wilde · 102 pp. · score 8.22 h, by April 24, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 814 h19 daysby May 13, 2027

    • 15. Alex Cross's Trial2009 · 408 pages · 7 h
    • 16. I, Alex Cross2009 · 374 pages · 7 h
16. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by May 17, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
17. 9
    Stage 920 habout 4 weeksby June 13, 2027

    • 17. Cross Fire2010 · 351 pages · 6 h
    • 18. Kill Alex Cross2011 · 384 pages · 7 h
    • 19. Merry Christmas, Alex Cross2012 · 352 pages · 6 h
18. BreakBorn a Crime · Trevor Noah · 304 pp. · score 8.96 h, by June 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
19. 10
    Stage 1015 h21 daysby July 13, 2027

    • 20. Alex Cross, Run2013 · 407 pages · 7 h
    • 21. Cross My Heart2013 · 432 pages · 8 h
20. Short breakThe Prophet · Kahlil Gibran · 116 pp. · score 8.22 h, by July 17, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
21. 11
    Stage 1115 h21 daysby August 6, 2027

    • 22. Hope to Die2014 · 400 pages · 7 h
    • 23. Cross Justice2015 · 445 pages · 8 h
22. Short breakThe Screwtape letters · C. S. Lewis · 106 pp. · score 8.22 h, by August 10, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
23. 12
    Stage 1215 h20 daysby August 30, 2027

    • 24. Cross the Line2016 · 400 pages · 7 h
    • 25. The People vs. Alex Cross2017 · 432 pages · 8 h
24. Short breakA Short Stay in Hell · Steven L. Peck · 80 pp. · score 8.21 h, by September 2, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
25. 13
    Stage 1315 h20 daysby September 22, 2027

    • 26. Target: Alex Cross2018 · ≈ 412 pages · 8 h
    • 27. Criss Cross2019 · 400 pages · 7 h
26. Short breakThornhedge · Ursula Vernon · 122 pp. · score 8.22 h, by September 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
27. 14
    Stage 1415 h20 daysby October 16, 2027

    • 28. Deadly Cross2020 · 408 pages · 7 h
    • 29. Fear No Evil2021 · 400 pages · 7 h
28. Short breakSmall Things Like These · Claire Keegan · 112 pp. · score 8.12 h, by October 20, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
29. 15
    Stage 1517 habout 3 weeksby November 11, 2027

    • 30. Triple Cross2022 · 416 pages · 8 h
    • 31. Cross Down2023 · 496 pages · 9 h
30. Short breakNumber the Stars · Lois Lowry · 149 pp. · score 8.13 h, by November 15, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
31. 16
    Stage 1615 h20 daysby December 5, 2027

    • 32. Alex Cross Must Die2023 · 400 pages · 7 h
    • 33. The House of Cross2024 · ≈ 412 pages · 8 h
32. Short breakRoadside Picnic · Arkady Strugatsky · 179 pp. · score 8.13 h, by December 11, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
33. 17
    Stage 178 h10 daysby December 21, 2027

    • 34. Return of the Spider2025 · ≈ 412 pages · 8 h
34. The end of the series

    December 21, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.1 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: Kiss the Girls (7.6, 235 ratings). Weakest: Along Came a Spider (7.5). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 49%. The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2025. The last volume (7.5) scores close to the series average or above it.