Another popular Patterson series is Women's Murder Club, which was adapted into a short-lived TV show in 2007. Patterson has also written a number of books about a New York City detective, Michael Bennett, with 10 adopted children. Both Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry have portrayed Alex Cross in movie adaptations. Other Cross books include Kiss the Girls (1995), Pop Goes the Weasel (1999), Violets Are Blue (2001), Mary, Mary (2005) and Cross My Heart (2013). Many of Patterson’s books have featured Detective Alex Cross, the protagonist of Spider. In 1996, Patterson left his life as an executive in order to focus on writing. Patterson used his work experience to orchestrate a television ad campaign for the novel, which helped it become a best seller. Patterson penned several other novels, but it was not until 1993 that he achieved breakout success with Along Came a Spider. It won an Edgar Award, a top prize for mystery writers. His first published book, The Thomas Berryman Number, came out in 1976. Though Patterson climbed the company ranks, eventually becoming its North American CEO, he also wrote fiction in his spare time. Patterson left Vanderbilt after a year, and then took a job as a copywriter at ad agency J.

He attended Manhattan College as an undergraduate before starting coursework for a master's degree in English literature at Vanderbilt University. Patterson was a good student but didn't enjoy reading until after he graduated high school. Patterson was born in Newburgh, New York, on March 22, 1947. Patterson holds the Guinness World Record for having the most books on The New York Times' best-seller list. While being a published author, he continued moving up the ranks of the advertising world until 1996, when he decided to leave his life as an executive to focus on writing full time. James Patterson is a prolific author who has written detective stories, thrillers, science fiction, romance and young adult novels.

James patterson spider