Richard North Patterson Books In Order

Publication Order of Christopher Paget Books

Publication Order of Kerry Kilcannon Books

Publication Order of Martha's Vineyard Books

Chronological Order of Martha's Vineyard Books

Publication Order of Tony Lord Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

About Richard North Patterson:

Richard North Patterson is an American #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of many serious novels. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1968. He was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Citation by that university and also received the Alumni Achievement Award from his fraternity. He graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1971. The Case Western Reserve University awarded him the University President’s Award For Distinguished Alumni and the President’s Award For Excellence as well. He was an assistant Attorney General for Ohio State and worked for the Securities & Exchange Commission in San Francisco and Washington D.C. as a trial attorney.

Richard North Patterson was a practicing member of the San Francisco office of the firm McCutchen, Doyle, Brown, and Enerson. He left the firm in 1993 so that he could devote his focus to writing. He has studied with Jesse Hill Ford at the University of Alabama Birmingham to learn more about fiction writing. His first novel was The Lasko Tangent and in 1979 won an Edgar Allen Poe Award. He has served on law school and undergraduate school boards and served on the Family Violence Prevention Fund, PEN Center West, the National Partnership For Women And Families, and the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence.

“The Outside Man”

“The Outside Man” is Richard North Patterson’s second novel. It was first published in 1981. Adam Shaw is the so named protagonist in this novel, a society lawyer who is a Northerner in a jealous Southern town that has lots of gossip and secrets. His life gets more complicated when he discovers the dead body of the wife of his best friend, Lydia Cantwell. Lydia Cantwell is fabulously wealthy, and worse than that, his best friend Harry Cantwell is missing. The novel is a classic detective story that finds the Cantwell’s unstable son Jason as the prime suspect in the murder. However, Jason has an airtight alibi as his girlfriend claims that he was with her the whole night at the time of the implied murder.

Adam Shaw must get to the bottom of this secret in a town where the rich and genteel want anything except for their innermost secrets revealed. But the truth is going to have to come up in order for anyone or anything in this case to be laid to rest. Worse than that, more people are starting to turn up dead. The book involves many twists and turns as well as flashbacks. As the reader follows Adam Shaw in his quest to defend his friend and find his wife’s killer, they may think they are getting close to finding the murderer. But just when you think you know what’s going to happen, the book takes a turn. In the end, it’s all leading down to one ultimate show down that will reveal the truth for good.

“Escape The Night”

“Escape The Night” is Richard North Patterson’s third suspense novel. It was published in 1983 by Ballantine Books. The novel is an intense scandal, suspense, and intrigue. The novel follows the world of protagonist Peter Carey. In the book we meet both Peter Carey and the Carey family, composed of cold father John Carey, sons Charles and Phillip, daughter Allie, and charismatic, cute Peter. Peter’s parents are killed in a car accident and Peter develops amnesia and cannot recall anything about what happened that night. Now Peter is a wealthy heir, embroiled in the process of selling off the company that belonged to his father and having to contend with some shady characters that for all intensive purposes are out to get him.

Now nightmares are beginning to come back and the same one won’t leave him alone. Peter is faced by enemies lurking in the shadows all around and doesn’t know who he should trust. As Peter deals and talks with his former girl friend, Noelle, his psychiatrists, his father’s friend, and the mistress of his deceased father, the plot begins to thicken. As the nightmares continue to torment him and his demons take hold, Peter must find the key to his nightmares in his own mind, and find a way to fight them off his mental demons and his enemies for good.

Richard North Patterson Books That Have Been Made Into Movies

Two of Richard North Patterson’s books in the nineties were combined to make up a made for television mini series. NBC optioned his two books Degree Of Guilt, published in 1993, and his 1995 book Eyes Of A Child, to be combined into a television event that was called “Degree Of Guilt”. It premiered on NBC in October 29, 1995. Mike Robe directed the mini series which was written based on the book by Patterson and by Cynthia Whitcomb, who wrote the screenplay. It starred Daphne Zuniga as Terri Peralta and David James Elliott as lead attorney Chris Paget. Patricia Kalember plays Judge Caroline Masters.The movie focuses on Chris Paget, an attorney Chris and his assistant, the lovely Terri Peralta. Paget is asked by the mother of his child to come out and practice law again to defend her on trial for murder. It’s a difficult case, and Paget begins to get close to his assistant in the course of preparing the case and amid rumblings of trouble in her marriage. But when Peralta’s husband is murdered, Paget himself becomes a suspect in the case.

Richard North Patterson’s 1997 novel was turned into a full length movie for TNT in 2011. The film starred Dermot Mulroney as Tony Lord, Michael Cudlitz as Sam Robb and Anne Heche as Kate Robb. Peter Markle directed the movie. Richard North Patterson wrote the novel and Thomas Michael Donnelly wrote the screenplay for TNT. The movie premiered on December 7, 2011 on the TNT Network. Tony Lord is a defense attorney who goes back to his home town in order to defend an old friend from childhood. Sam Robb is a girls’ track coach who is under investigation for having allegedly murdered one of his students. This suspenseful film follows Tony Lord as he tries to solve this murder while wondering if a murder from the past isn’t so unconnected to what’s happening at all. Richard North Patterson also made a cameo in “Degree Of Guilt” as a court clerk.

7 Responses to “Richard North Patterson”

1. Sue Meyerhoff: 6 months ago

   Doing a book list for my husband. Did you write “Midwife Murders”?

   Reply
   • Graeme: 6 months ago

     He did not. That was co-written by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo.

     Reply
2. Alan Hunt: 2 years ago

   I’m a 68 year old man, been reading novels obsessively since 12. I read an average of 250 books a year. I just finished reading Protect and Defend five minutes ago… the best, most moving book I’ve ever read!

   Reply
3. Janet Thea True: 2 years ago

   I’ve read most of your books and loved them all. The recent victory of the Sandy Hook families over Remington bought me back to your character President Kilcannon. Unless I missed a book, the last we’ve read about him had him expecting a child and in his 1st term as president. Will we ever learn about his 2nd term or appointment to SCOTUS?

   Reply
4. Phyllis Phillips: 2 years ago

   I have been a reader since I was a kid, and have favorite authors of whom I am faithful. I hadn’t read a Richard North Patterson book in a while, but found one in our building’s library that I have become obsessed with and must tell others about…”Loss of Innocence”. When I finished it I had to go back to reading the beginning, then read the ending again. Great book! Thank you for writing it. Can’t wait to read the other two in the trilogy…

   Reply
5. Kathie Stevens: 3 years ago

   I just finished reading Degree of Guilt. Very good. I didn’t figure it out. Thanks for writing so great a book.

   Reply
6. Michael Rowlands: 3 years ago

   Protect and defend is a superb book.

   Reply