TheWell Bookshop

Series · thriller

Instinct

by James Patterson

The Instinct series by James Patterson has 3 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Instinct (2017).

Books
3 books
First published
2017
Status
ongoing
Last checked

Start here: Instinct (2017) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of Instinct, the first book in Instinct

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. Instinct

    Novel

    View book

  2. Killer Instinct

    Novel

    View book

  3. Steal

    Novel

    View book

About the Instinct series

Dr. Dylan Reinhart is a Yale professor and former CIA operative -- an academic authority on criminal psychology who gets pulled back into fieldwork when NYPD Detective Elizabeth "Lizzie" Needham needs an outside mind on cases too strange for standard procedure. James Patterson and thriller novelist Howard Roughan built the series around that professor-and-cop pairing: Dylan's analytical, criminology-classroom read on a killer's psychology set against Lizzie's street-level instincts, working a string of elaborate serial cases across New York.

The first novel was originally published as Murder Games in 2017 and later reissued under the title Instinct to match its 2018 CBS television adaptation starring Alan Cumming; both editions are the same book. Killer Instinct (2019) and Steal (2022) continued the Dylan-and-Lizzie partnership, keeping the series' blend of academic criminal-profiling insight and conventional Patterson thriller pacing.

How to read this series

Read in publication order starting with Instinct (the retitled edition of 2017's Murder Games) -- it's the same novel under two titles, so make sure you don't accidentally pick up both editions thinking they're different books. Dylan and Lizzie's working partnership and mutual trust develop across the three novels, so reading in sequence is worthwhile even though each book's central case wraps up on its own.

No new entry has been announced since Steal (2022), so newcomers can treat this as a complete trilogy for now rather than an open franchise still adding books.

Frequently asked questions

How many Instinct books are there?

Three novels: Instinct (2017, originally published as Murder Games), Killer Instinct (2019) and Steal (2022).

What order should I read the Instinct books in?

Publication order, starting with Instinct/Murder Games. Dylan Reinhart and Lizzie Needham's partnership develops across the three books.

Is Instinct the same book as Murder Games?

Yes -- Murder Games (2017) was reissued as Instinct to tie in with the 2018 CBS TV adaptation. They are the same novel.

Is Instinct connected to the CBS TV series of the same name?

Loosely -- the 2018 CBS show Instinct, starring Alan Cumming, was inspired by the novel but developed its own separate storylines for television.

Is there a fourth Instinct book coming?

No further title has been announced since Steal (2022) as of this writing.

Reading order last verified .