Earlier this year, #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson, the world’s most successful storyteller, released what is now the first book in a new series when Holmes, Marple & Poe (co-authored by Brian Sitts) hit bookstores back in January. Though it’s unclear if the mystery novel, which stars a trio of high-profile Private Investigators who embody many characteristics and traits found in some of the most prominent “Golden Age” detectives, was supposed to launch a new franchise for Patterson, we now know for certain that that’s exactly what’ll happen, as the highly-anticipated sequel, Holmes Is Missing, is set for release on January 6th, 2025.
It’s been one heck of a year for James Patterson. In addition to publishing Holmes, Marple & Poe, an instant bestseller and fan-favorite, the famed storyteller also scored the #1 book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the Times list with Eruption—a novel that was started by Michael Crichton before his passing, and recently finished by Patterson—which exploded into bookstores earlier this summer.
And yet, somehow, Patterson is only just getting started.
Before year’s end, Patteson will release Hard To Kill (A Jane Smith novel co-authored by Mike Lupica) in July, Lies He Told Me (A psychological thriller co-authored by David Ellis), Murder Island (another team-up with Sitts, this time in the Doc Savage universe) in October . . . and his thirty-third Alex Cross novel, The House of Cross, in November.
(More below, including cover art and plot details for Holmes Is Missing)
Hard To Kill
Release Date: July 29th
Jane Smith is being hailed as James Patterson’s greatest character yet, a tough-as-nails attorney up against a relentless killer. Hard to Kill features possibly the author’s most stunning twist ever.
Attorney Jane Smith is mounting an impossible criminal defense.
Her client, Rob Jacobson, is the unluckiest of the unlucky. No sooner is he accused of killing a family of three in the Hamptons than a second family is gunned down.
It’s not double jeopardy. It’s not double murder. It’s double triple homicide.
Jane’s career has spanned from NYPD beat cop to Hamptons courtroom. She’s tough to beat. She’s even tougher to kill.
The defense may never rest.
Lies He Told Me
Release Date: September 30th
An attorney and mother of two discovers her husband’s secret life—and it might cost them all their lives.
Everyone in Hemingway Grove, Illinois, knows David and Marcie Bowers.
David owns the local pub.
Marcie is a former big-city lawyer who practices family law.
When David jumps into Cotton River to save a drowning stranger, he’s celebrated as a hero. His muscled physique, shaved head, and piercing blue eyes are broadcast on every news outlet.
For most people, newfound fame is a lifeline.
For David Bowers, it’s a death sentence.
For Marcie Bowers, it’s a test.
A wife knows the difference between a loving husband and father and a cold-blooded assassin. Right?
Murder Island
Release Date: October 8th
They thought they found heaven on earth. They discover a living hell.
When professor turned crime-fighter Brandt “‘Doc'”Savage and his girlfriend Kira Sunlight land on a desert island in the middle of the Atlantic, they think they’ve found a perfect utopia. An escape from their tumultuous pasts.
But they don’t have long to enjoy their newfound peace before they are violently separated and dragged to opposite ends of the Earth.
Doc’s search for Kira takes him from the coast of Brazil to northern Europe and the jungles of the Congo, and he discovers they are entangled in a global conspiracy that is bigger he ever could have imagined.
The House of Cross
Release Date: November 25th
Supreme Court candidates are being murdered. Alex Cross and John Sampson are handed the case.
In Washington, DC, the president-elect is planning her inauguration.
The list of Supreme Court candidates is highly confidential—until it becomes evidence in Detective Alex Cross’s toughest investigation.
One candidate is gunned down. A second is stabbed. A third is murdered near midnight on a city street.
Cross is the FBI’s top expert in criminal behavior. For the sake of his family, his city, and his country, he must put himself in the most dangerous place there is: inside the mind of a diabolical killer.
Altogether, Patterson is putting together a historic run, and with Holmes Is Missing on deck to kick off 2025, it’s clear the former ad man has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
Release Date: January 6, 2025
Little, Brown and Company
Meet the most original and exciting team of investigators ever— three modern detectives armed with the methods of the greatest of all time. Brilliant detective Brendan Holmes has gone missing, along with many of the most powerful people in New York. Can Margaret Marple and Augustus Poe use their legendary skills to save the A-listers’ lives and, while they’re at it, rescue Holmes?
Success has come quickly to Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations, a Brooklyn-based elite team of three detectives with famous names and mysterious pasts.
At two a.m., Auguste Poe, the “muscle” of the trio, speeds across the Williamsburg Bridge toward a fresh NYPD crime scene, called by Detective Helene Grey. His passenger, Margaret Marple, is the “eyes” of their operation—a PI whose contact list is rivaled only by her keen powers of observation.
Six infants are missing.
So is the “brain” of their agency, Brendan Holmes.
When the two PIs arrive at the scene, they’re confronted by a perplexing abduction case.
Poe whispers to Marple, “Of all the times to be one brain short!”
If only they could consult with the errant Holmes—before the kidnappers strike again.
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, and collaborated most recently with Michael Crichton on the blockbuster Eruption. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and is building a growing community on Twitch. His debut thriller, FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” is now available. His second novel, LETHAL RANGE, is also in bookstores, and his third book, OUT FOR BLOOD, was released on June 4th. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. To interact with other readers and talk about your favorite books and authors, join The Real Book Spy’s Discord server.
Homes marble and Poe third book when will it be available