TheWell Bookshop

Series · mystery

The Naturals

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes has 5 known books (5 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Naturals (2013). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Bad Blood. The next announced book, Dangerous Impulses, is due 3 November 2026.

Books
5 known books (4 novels + 1 short story)
Published
5
First published
2013
Status
ongoing
Shelved under
Mystery & Crime
Last checked

Start here: The Naturals (2013) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of The Naturals

The Naturals (2013)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Naturals

    Novel

    The Naturals (2013) introduces Cassie Hobbes, a teenager who can read people the way most people read a book, recruited alongside three other gifted teens into an off-the-books FBI program profiling cold cases -- Jennifer Lynn Barnes's dark procedural hook opens the series.

    View book

  2. Killer Instinct

    Novel

    The Naturals continues with Killer Instinct, the second entry, released in November 2014 at 378 pages, adding a fresh case for the team while advancing Cassie's own mystery and the group's tangled relationships.

    View book

  3. All In

    Novel

    All In (2015) is the third book in The Naturals, coming before Bad Blood and pushing the serial killer's game aimed at Cassie -- tangled with her mother's disappearance -- further toward its resolution.

    View book

  4. Bad Blood

    Novel

    Bad Blood is the fourth and final main novel in The Naturals, published in 2016, delivering the season-finale-style reveal the series builds toward across Cassie's personal mystery and the team's cases.

    View book

  5. Twelve

    Short story

    Following Bad Blood, Twelve is a short e-novella continuing The Naturals, published in 2017, offering a bonus case for the team best read once readers already know the main cast.

    View book

About The Naturals

Cassie Hobbes can read people the way most people read a book -- a natural profiling talent she's used mostly to hustle strangers at diners, until an FBI program recruits her alongside three other uncannily gifted teenagers to help solve cold cases. Working real, unsolved murders under the guidance of agents who see the teens as an unofficial, off-the-books resource, Cassie and the other Naturals are drawn into a serial killer's game that turns out to be aimed squarely at her, tangled up with the disappearance of her own mother years earlier.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes builds the series around a genuinely dark procedural hook -- teenagers profiling real killers -- layered with a will-they-won't-they love triangle and tight, cliffhanger-driven pacing that made it a natural fit for readers who wanted Criminal Minds with a YA cast. Each book adds a fresh case for the team to crack while advancing Cassie's personal mystery and the group's own tangled relationships, building toward a season-finale-style reveal in Bad Blood.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in The Naturals series?

Four novels -- The Naturals, Killer Instinct, All In, and Bad Blood -- plus the e-novella Twelve, as of August 2026. A fifth novel, Dangerous Impulses, is scheduled for November 3, 2026.

What order should I read The Naturals in?

Publication order: The Naturals, Killer Instinct, All In, Bad Blood, then the novella Twelve.

Is The Naturals connected to The Inheritance Games?

No. It's an earlier, unrelated Jennifer Lynn Barnes series about teen FBI profilers, with its own cast and premise.

Is The Naturals series finished?

No, it's ongoing -- a fifth novel, Dangerous Impulses, is due November 3, 2026.

Reading order last verified .