How to Read the Brian Freeman Books in Order

Brian Freeman is the author of several psychological suspense and crime mystery series, including Jonathan Stride, Frost Easton, and Cab Bolton. The author also wrote a few standalone novels and novellas, and most recently he took over the Jason Bourne series after Eric Van Lustbader left the franchise. The Brian Freeman books in order are listed below starting with his first novel, Immoral.

New Brian Freeman Books

The Deep, Deep Snow, 2020

Jonathan Stride Series

1. Immoral, 2005
2. Stripped 2006
3. Stalked, 2007
4. The Watcher (aka In the Dark),  2008
5. The Burying Place, 2009
6. Spitting Devil, 2012 (novella)
7. Turn to Stone, 2014 (novella)
8. The Cold Nowhere, 2013
9. Goodbye to the Dead, 2015
10. Marathon, 2017
11. Alter Ego, 2018
12. Funeral for a Friend, 2020

Cab Bolton Series

1. The Bone House, 2010
2. Season of Fear, 2014

Frost Easton Series

1. The Night Bird, 2017
2. The Voice Inside, 2018
3. The Crooked Street, 2019

Jason Bourne Series

1. The Bourne Evolution, 2020

Standalone Brian Freeman Books

• Spilled Blood, 2012
• The Souls of the Ships, 2013 (novella)
• The Agency, 2009 (Tess Drake #1)
• West 57, 2015 (Tess Drake #2)
• Thief River Falls, 2020
• The Deep, Deep Snow, 2020
• Infinite, 2021

Brian Freeman Biography

Brian Freeman was born in 1963, in Chicago, Illinois. As a child, he loved reading books by authors like James Michener, Leon Uris, and Irving Wallace. He wanted to write books all his life. It was his lifelong goal to become an established writer. Brian credits much of his success to his grandmother, who was a major crime fiction reader, and his 8th-grade composition teacher who gave him free rein to write whatever he wanted and let him bypass the actual class material. During that class he wrote his first crime mystery about the murder of a chess grandmaster.

He started writing his first novel while he was in high school, and he completed it as he just finished his school. He attended Carleton College, from where in 1984 he graduated in English with Magna Cum Laude. After school, he started working for Faegre & Benson, a law firm where he became director of marketing and public relations. He also worked as a communication strategist and a business writer of freelance articles for a Twin Cities business magazine. He kept writing books, but he couldn’t find an agent to publish his work. Brian was hoping that this job would give him some much-needed connections in the field.

This move proved to be the ticket for Brian Freeman. A colleague liked his manuscript and he passed it on to a literary agent. That book would become Immoral, the author’s debut thriller, which was published when Brian Freeman was 41. It would become the first in his Jonathan Stride and Serena Dial series. After publication, it was so successful right out of the bat that it not only was a finalist for the Edgar Award, but it also won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel.

Over the years, Brian Freeman wrote over 20 books, most in what he calls the psychological suspense genre, where he focuses on psychological issues in his novels. The author deals with people’s emotions, the dramas that occur due to the various decisions they take, and the characters’ backgrounds, and how those impact their decisions. At some point, he mentioned, “My stories are about the hidden, intimate motives that draw people across some terrible lines.”

For each book, he does in-depth research on the location and setting of the books, so that the readers, even if they’ve never been in a place, will feel, smell, and experience that location as if they were there, experiencing the story live.

For example, while researching for Immoral, a courtroom drama, the author had several talks with a Minnesota county attorney regarding trial strategies. The lawyer even shared with him transcripts of trials.

For his 2020 standalone novel Thief River Falls, which takes place in the actual town in Minesotta, Brian Freeman noted that he visited the town once back some 20 years ago, and he immensely enjoyed the place.

As an interesting sidenote, Brian Freeman also wrote two chick-lit books titled The Agency and West 57 in the series Tess Drake, under the pseudonym Ally O’Brien.

His books have so far been sold in close to 50 countries around the world and have been translated into over 20 languages, and several have been nominated or have received various awards, including the Macavity Award twice. He also got an award presented by the International Thriller Writers Organization for Spilled Blood.

Reading the Brian Freeman books in order for his series, while recommended, is not crucial. In an interview, Brian mentioned that, in each book, he tries to make new readers acquainted with the main characters, which will allow them to get to know them better, just like in real life. This will help people get into the shoes of the character, and connect with them much better.

In addition to his acclaimed series, Brian Freeman is also continuing the Jason Bourne series after Eric Van Lustbader announced that he would end his contribution to the series. Now, Brian has written a new book published in 2020 with the title The Bourne Evolution, which moves the author from his usual psychological suspense genre into spy thrillers.

When he was chosen for writing the immensely popular Jason Bourne series, he mentioned,

I’ve been a lifelong (author Robert) Ludlum fan, and ‘Bourne Identity’ is one of my favorite books of all time,” Freeman said. “It is a huge responsibility, but it’s the kind of thing you sort of have to put aside while writing. You just have to realize that no matter what you do there will be a contingent that will never be happy. Bourne is such a beloved, iconic character.

Currently, the author Brian Freeman lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, Marcia, where he works on his next books. Marcia is the author’s full-time partner in that she also coordinates his book-related events.

Praise for Brian Freeman

This guy can tell a story. (Michael Connelly on Immoral)

Smart, wickedly suspenseful and full of truly shocking twists, Thief River Falls is also a moving tale about family—and with a thriller writer at its center. How could I help but love it? (Alison Gaylin for Thief River Falls)

Freeman delivers quite a shock before this fantastic psychological thriller comes to an end. (Suspense Magazine on Marathon)

Freeman proves once again he’s a master of psychological suspense. (Lisa Gardner on Spilled Blood)

Some of the most literate and stylish writing you’ll find anywhere today (Jeffery Deaver on Immoral)

References

• Official Brian Freeman author website
• Scripts & Scribes podcast interview with Brian Freeman
• Twin Cities newspaper report on the Jason Bourne series

Books Reading Order » Crime Mystery Authors » How to Read the Brian Freeman Books in Order