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Private Series Reading Order.

Quick Answer

Start Private Series by James Patterson with "Private", then follow the publication sequence. This order preserves the intended narrative twists and world-building progression.

Jack Morgan runs Private, a global investigation agency that handles sensitive cases for the world's elite.

Reader's Guide

This series spans 18 main titles released between 2023 and 2017. For the best experience, we recommend following the Publication Order below to preserve key plot reveals.

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Official Verdict

Short Answer:
Start with "Private"

To experience the narrative as intended, read the main sequence in Publication Order.Ignore novellas and side stories until you finish the first 3 core novels. This resolves all timeline confusion and preserves every major twist.

Community Consensus

Low Debate

"For all multi-volume series recommended (e.g., Street Cultivation, Mage Errant, The Threadlight series, The Lord of Stariel, Chronicles of the Black Gate), the reading order is strictly the standard chronological sequence, beginning with the first book in the series (Book 1). No alternative or non-linear reading orders are suggested for these series. Several highly recommended individual books are suggested as excellent entry points into the independent fantasy genre."

Key Reddit Advice

Always start with Book 1 for any series mentioned. Highly recommended starting books include: 'Iron Prince' (for adrenaline sci-fi), 'Street Cultivation' (for urban progression fantasy), 'The Lord of Stariel' (Book 1 of 4), 'Mage Errant' (start with the Publisher's Pack or Book 1), 'Voice of War', 'The Wrack', and 'The Thirteenth Hour'.

Why This Order Is Confusing

Many reading lists for Private Series conflict because early publishers often labeled short story collections as standalone novels, or rearranged internal chronologies for marketing. This guide follows original author intent and narrative continuity to settle the debate for good.

Can I skip the short stories?

Technically yes, but we strongly advise against it for Private Series. The shorter volumes often establish the core character motivations and world-building that the main saga assumes you already know.

I watched the show/movie first — where should I start?

Ignore the screen adaptations' timeline. Start with "Private" to see the original depth of the world. The books offer a significantly different (and usually more complete) experience than the on-screen versions.

Why do people disagree on the order?

Disagreement usually stems from the conflict between purely chronological order and publication order. Most long-term fans recommend publication order to preserve the emotional arc and mystery reveals.

Curator's Strategy

Recommended Reading Order Strategy

The authoritative way to read the "Private Series" series is in Publication Order. Start with the first published book. It's the way the author intended the world to be revealed.This ensures you experience character reveals and plot twists exactly as the author intended.

Complete Series Reading Order

Publication Reading Order18 Titles

Why Publication Order?We recommend reading in Publication Order (default). This follows the author's release schedule, ensuring you experience plot twists, character growth, and world-building exactly as intended without spoilers.
Best Start Here
1

Private

Pub: 2023

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!From the New York Times bestselling author of Jackie, Janet & Lee comes a fresh and often startling look at the life of the legendary former first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.Based on hundreds of interviews with friends, family, and lovers over a thirty-year period—as well as previously unreleased material from the JFK Library—Kennedy historian J. Randy Taraborrelli paints an unforgettable new portrait of a woman whose flaws and contradictions only serve to make her even more iconic. “I have three lives,” Jackie told a former lover, “public, private and secret.” In this revealing biography, readers will become intimately familiar with all three. New insights from the book include:· Jackie’s cold feet before her wedding to Jack Kennedy and her secret plan to avoid moving into the White House with him.· Jackie's plan to meet with the woman with whom her husband, Aristotle Onassis, was again having an affair, Maria Callas...and why, in the end, she decided against it.· The truth about the nude photos of Jackie which scandalized her in the 1970s...and which family member had betrayed her by selling them.· Her unusual relationship with Maurice Templesman, which was never what outsiders believed it to be.· The never-before-reported, last-ditch efforts to save Jackie’s life with experimental cancer treatments, and the doctor who wouldn’t risk jail time in order to treat her.Decades after her death and over sixty years after the assassination of President Kennedy, Jackie delivers the last word on one of the most famous women in the world.

2

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private".

The elite Private agency opens its London branch, immediately grappling with high-stakes murders involving powerful figures and explosive international secrets.

3

Private Games

Pub: 20123

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private London".

"Private, the world's most renowned investigation firm, is providing security for the 2012 Games in London. Hours away from the opening ceremony, Private investigator Peter Knight gets called to the scene of a ruthless murder. A member of the Games organizing committee has been killed - in a crime of precise calculation and execution." -- Back cover

4

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Games".

The Berlin office of the world's most renowned investigation firm looks into the disappearance of an agent, Chris Schneider, whose last case involved an unfaithful billionaire, a cheating soccer player and a seedy nightclub owner. Chris, a superstar agent at Private Berlin, tackles the most high-profile cases, and when Chris disappears, the investigation becomes dangerous. The plot contains profanity and graphic violence. The coauthor is Mark Sullivan. Book #4

5

Private L.a.

Pub: 2015

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Berlin".

"Thom and Jennifer Harlow are the perfect couple, with three perfect children. They maybe two of the biggest mega movie stars in the world, but they're also great parents, philanthropists and just all-around good people. When they disappear without a word from their ranch, facts are hard to find. They live behind such a high wall of security and image control that even world-renowned Private Investigator Jack Morgan can't get to the truth. But as Jack keeps probing, secrets sprout thick and fast--and the world's golden couple may emerge as hiding behind a world of desperation and deception that the wildest reality show couldn't begin to unveil. Murder is only the opening scene"--

6

Private Vegas

Pub: 2015

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private L.a.".

"Las Vegas is a city of contradictions: seedy and glamorous, secretive and wild, Vegas attracts people of all kinds--especially those with a secret to hide, or a life to leave behind. It's the perfect location for Lester Olsen's lucrative business. He gets to treat gorgeous, young women to five-star restaurants, splashy shows, and limo rides--and then he teaches them how to kill. Private Jack Morgan spends most of his time in Los Angeles, where his top investigation firm has its headquarters. But a hunt for two criminals leads him to the city of sin--and to a murder ring that is more seductively threatening than anything he's witnessed before. PRIVATE VEGAS brings James Patterson's Private series to a sensational new level"--

7

Private India

Pub: 2016

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Vegas".

When Santosh Wagh isn't struggling out of a bottle of whisky he's head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world's finest investigation agency. In a city of over thirteen million, he has his work cut out at the best of times. But now someone is killing women -- seemingly unconnected women strangled in a chilling ritual, with strange objects arranged carefully at their death scenes. As Santosh and his team race to find the killer, an even greater danger faces Private India -- a danger that could threaten the lives of thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.

8

Private Paris

Pub: 20163

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private India".

When Jack Morgan stops by Private's Paris office, he envisions a quick hello during an otherwise relaxing trip filled with fine food and sightseeing. But Jack is quickly pressed into duty after a call from his client Sherman Wilkerson, asking Jack to track down his young granddaughter who is on the run from a brutal drug dealer. Before Jack can locate her, several members of France's cultural elite are found dead - murdered in stunning, symbolic fashion. The only link between the crimes is a mysterious graffiti tag. As religious and ethnic tensions simmer in the City of Lights, only Jack and his Private team can connect the dots before the smouldering powder keg explodes.

9

Sydney

Pub: 2021Optional

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Paris".

Best-selling author Jacqueline Davies tells the story of two unlikely friends: Sydney and Taylor, a skunk and a hedgehog who strike out to discover the great unknown, despite how afraid they are of it. Charming illustrations and a laugh-out-loud story make this chapter book perfect for fans of the Mercy Watson and Owl Diaries series. Sydney is a skunk and Taylor is a hedgehog, but no matter how odd the pairing may seem, their friendship comes naturally. They live happily in their cozy burrow . . . until the day Taylor gets his Big Idea to go see the Whole Wide World. From mountains taller than a hundred hedgehogs, valleys wider than a thousand skunks, to the dangers that lie in the human world, Sydney and Taylor wanted to see it all. With a map and a dream, they bravely set off, soon discovering that the world is much bigger than they realized.

10

Private Rio

Pub: 2003Optional

Plot details hidden until you finish "Sydney".

Rio de Janeiro is renowned as one of the world's most alluring and sophisticated cities of exciting high life, but beyond its veil of glamour, the city discreetly conceals a hidden world of history and tradition, artistic treasures, and a solid cultural inheritance unknown to most outsiders. And now, for the first time, this book opens the doors to the great private residences of Rio and its surroundings, giving the reader a privileged view into one of the most alluring places in all of the Americas. Twenty-one of Rio's most captivating homes and their gardens, representative of over 300 years, from colonial times through the monarchy and to the present, grace the pages of Private Rio. While the book illustrates the whole range of Rio's living styles, from townhouses in the city to penthouses high above it, and from beach houses to lavish country homes, each one has been chosen not only because of its obvious physical charm or beauty, but also because it has played a role in the history or in the lives of important personalities of Rio's social, economic, or political evolution.

11

The Private Down Under

Pub: 2023Optional

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Rio".

The employees of the Sydney, Australia office of the investigation company Private are celebrating their office's incorporation when a bloody young man staggers into the building and the agency's caseload suddenly fills up.

12

Plot details hidden until you finish "The Private Down Under".

In this action-packed thriller, an invitation from an old friend draws Private Investigative agency founder Jack Morgan into a deadly conspiracy. On a cold January morning, Jack Morgan stands inside the New York Stock Exchange with his former US Marine comrade whose company is being launched onto the market, eagerly awaiting the opening bell. But before the bell rings, a bullet rips through the air and finds its mark.In the aftermath of the murder, the victim's wife hires Jack to find the killer. As the head of Private, Jack has at his disposal the world's largest investigation agency. What he discovers shakes him to his core. Jack identifies another murder in Moscow that appears to be linked. So he heads to Russia, and begins to uncover a conspiracy that could have global consequences. With powerful forces plotting against him, will Jack Morgan make it out alive?

13

Private Gold

Pub: 2017Optional

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Moscow".

From the world's #1 bestselling author, Private Johannesburg's Joey Montague is hoping for an easy job, but when he tries to protect an American woman, nothing is what it seems in a web of money, betrayal, and murder ...   Hired to protect a visiting American woman, Joey Montague is hoping for a routine job looking after a nervous tourist. After the apparent suicide of his business partner, he can't handle much more. But this case is not what it seems ... and neither is his partner's death.   BookShots—original, lightning-fast stories by James Patterson, designed to be devoured.  

14

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Gold".

A star-studded movie premier in L.A. descends into chaos when a shooter opens fire on the crowd. The culprit escapes and boards a plane to Dublin, Ireland. Jack Morgan, the head of the world's largest private detective agency, is at the premiere and his partner Justine is badly wounded in the shooting. Following the gunman to Dublin, Jack soon realises that this is much bigger than a single shooter. What Jack thought was a random act of violence was actually a targeted attempt on his life. To ensure the safety of those he loves most, Jack must find the person who is so intent on his downfall -- and eliminate them once and for all. _______________________________ PRAISE FOR THE PRIVATE THRILLERS 'Great action sequences ... breathtaking twists and turns' ANTHONY HOROWITZ 'An unmissable, breakneck ride' JAMES SWALLOW 'Exhilarating, high-stakes action' LESLEY KARA 'An exhilarating and totally satisfying read' NB MAGAZINE 'A breakneck fast, brutally good page-turner' DAILY MAIL 'Hits the ground running and the pace never misses a beat' DAILY EXPRESS 'Yet another fine outing from the master of thrillers' CITY A.M. Private Dublin was picked as one of 25 novels for 2025 by Sunday Independent, Ireland

15

Private Rogue

Pub: 2022

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Dublin".

'Breathtaking twists and turns' Anthony Horowitz'An unmissable, breakneck ride' James Swallow'Exhilarating, high stakes action' Lesley Kara__________________________In Afghanistan, a US Special Forces pilot is shot down during a covert mission. In New York, a mother is forced to flee with her two young children. A wealthy businessman approaches Jack Morgan, head of Private - the world's largest investigation agency - with a desperate plea to track down his daughter and grandchildren, who have disappeared without a trace. What at first seems to be a simple missing persons case soon escalates into something much more deadly, when Jack discovers the daughter is being pursued by highly trained operatives. As Jack uncovers more of the woman's backstory, the trail leads towards Afghanistan - where Jack's career as a US Marine ended in catastrophe . . . Jack will need to face the trauma of his past to save a family's future.__________________________Readers love Private Rogue: 'Yet again James Patterson gives us a fast-paced, easy to read thriller''A fast-paced thriller that does not fail to please with its twists and turns''It's fast paced, authentic and grabbed me from the first page. Roll on the next one''The kind of brilliant storytelling that makes me power to the last page'

16

Private Rome

Pub: 2024

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Rogue".

A priest is murdered and a Private agent is the number one suspect. Jack Morgan is in Rome celebrating the opening of a new local Private office, when the party takes a deadly turn. Private agent Matteo Ricci is found at the party standing over the body of a dead priest with a gun in hand, swearing he did not kill the man. As Jack tries to prove Matteo's innocence, he uncovers a much deadlier conspiracy - which leads him straight to the heart of the Vatican. With corruption closing in on all sides, Jack must decide who he can trust before the city falls. ___________________________________________ PRAISE FOR THE PRIVATE THRILLERS 'Great action sequences ... breathtaking twists and turns' ANTHONY HOROWITZ 'An unmissable, breakneck ride' JAMES SWALLOW 'Exhilarating, high-stakes action' LESLEY KARA 'An exhilarating and totally satisfying read' NB MAGAZINE 'A breakneck fast, brutally good page-turner' DAILY MAIL 'Hits the ground running and the pace never misses a beat' DAILY EXPRESS 'Yet another fine outing from the master of thrillers' CITY A.M.

17

Private Royals

Pub: 2016Optional

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Rome".

James Patterson's BookShots. Short, fast-paced, high-impact entertainment. Jack Morgan is visiting Peter Knight and the team in the London branch of his investigation agency, Private. At a cocktail party the night before the Trooping the Colour parade for the Queen's 90th birthday, Jack receives a phone call from the Duke of Aldershot saying that his daughter, Abbie, has been kidnapped. He needs Private on the case - one word to the police and Abbie will be killed. Jack will have to find Abbie before 11-00 a.m. the next morning, or the kidnapping will turn to murder.

18

Private Royals 2

Pub: 2017Optional

Plot details hidden until you finish "Private Royals".

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is it okay to skip books in the Private Series series?

We recommend ignoring novellas and short stories until you finish the core sequence. However, main sequence novels should never be skipped as they contain critical character development and plot progression.

What is the best order to read Private Series?

The final answer for the best experience is to start with "Private" and proceed in publication order. This sequence preserves character developments and plot reveals exactly as James Patterson intended.

Can I read Private Series books in any order?

No. The main narrative is strictly sequential. Skipping volumes or reading out of order will lead to significant plot spoilers and confusion regarding character arcs.

Are there spin-offs or companion books?

Yes, the Private Series universe includes several companion works. These are marked as 'Optional' in our guide and can be read at any time without disrupting the main storyline.