Series · legal thriller

Jane Smith

The Jane Smith series by James Patterson has 3 books and is best read in publication order, starting with 12 Months to Live (2023).

Books: 3 books
First published: 2023
Status: ongoing
Last checked: 14 August 2026

Start here: 12 Months to Live (2023) — then read straight through in publication order.

Reading order

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

Book 1:
12 Months to Live
Novel2023
Alternative text for cover: Cover of 12 Months to Live
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Book 2:
Hard to Kill
Novel2024
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hard to Kill
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Book 3:
The Hamptons Lawyer
Novel2025
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hamptons Lawyer
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About the Jane Smith series

Jane Smith is a defense attorney given twelve months to live by a terminal diagnosis -- and decides to spend what's left of her life going after the man who destroyed her family. James Patterson and sportswriter-turned-novelist Mike Lupica built the series around that premise's mix of legal thriller mechanics and ticking-clock urgency, with Jane's health becoming as much a plot engine as any of the cases she takes.

12 Months to Live (2023) sets up her diagnosis and vendetta; Hard to Kill (2024) and The Hamptons Lawyer (2025) continue her fight from Long Island's East End as both her legal troubles and her medical situation keep escalating. The series has been optioned for television, with Renée Zellweger attached to star.

How to read this series

Read in publication order starting with 12 Months to Live (2023) -- Jane's diagnosis, her vendetta and her legal jeopardy all build directly across the series, so this is not one to sample out of order. Each book advances the same continuous timeline rather than resetting with a new self-contained case.