Looking for the Brian Freeman books in order? This guide covers all of Freeman’s major series, his standalones, his women’s fiction titles under pen names, and the Jason Bourne novels he’s written for Robert Ludlum’s estate. His catalog is broader than a lot of readers expect, but most of it still lands in the same wheelhouse: dark, twisty thrillers with strong hooks and plenty of momentum.
The easiest way to work through Freeman’s books is by series first, then the standalones. That way you can keep long-running characters in the right order, avoid spoilers in the connected books, and still get a clear picture of how his career has expanded from Jonathan Stride to Frost Easton, Shelby Lake, and Bourne.
Jump to:
- Brian Freeman Books in Order by Series
- Brian Freeman Standalone Books
- Brian Freeman Anthologies
- Who is Brian Freeman?
Brian Freeman Books in Order by Series
Jonathan Stride Books
The Jonathan Stride series starts with Freeman’s debut novel and remains his longest-running set of books.
These novels follow Duluth homicide detective Jonathan Stride and his partner, Maggie Bei. Each book has its own case, but publication order works best because the character arcs carry forward and later entries can spoil earlier ones.
- Immoral (2005)
- Stripped (2006)
- Stalked (2007)
- In the Dark (2008)
- The Burying Place (2009)
- Spitting Devil (2012) (Short Story)
- The Cold Nowhere (2013)
- Turn to Stone (2014) (Novella)
- Goodbye to the Dead (2015)
- Marathon (2017)
- Alter Ego (2018)
- Funeral for a Friend (2020)
- The Zero Night (2022)
Cab Bolton Books
Following his debut, the next series Freeman wrote was about Cab Bolton, a quirky detective. In the first book, Cab is helping a woman who is positive her husband is not the killer in a murder on an island off the shores of Lake Michigan. In the next book, Cab is trying to prevent the repeat of a political public execution in central Florida.
- The Bone House (2010)
- Season of Fear (2014)
Frost Easton Books
Freeman’s next series follows a homicide detective, Frost Easton, in San Francisco over the course of several years. It is very important to read these books in order of publication because there are recurring characters. Reading the books in a different order will also contain spoilers for the previous books.
- The Night Bird (2017)
- The Voice Inside (2018)
- The Crooked Street (2019)
Shelby Lake Books
The Shelby Lake books are dark, atmospheric thrillers set in a small-town world full of buried secrets, trauma, and suspicion. They’re more intimate than some of Freeman’s other series, but they still have the same strong mystery hook and uneasy tension running underneath everything.
- The Deep, Deep Snow (2020)
- The Ursulina (2022) (Prequel)
Jason Bourne Books
Brian Freeman also writes in the Jason Bourne franchise for Robert Ludlum’s estate. The books below show only Freeman’s Bourne novels, so if you want the complete series reading order, check out my full Jason Bourne books in order guide.
- The Bourne Evolution (2020)
- The Bourne Treachery (2021)
- The Bourne Sacrifice (2022)
- The Bourne Defiance (2023)
- The Bourne Shadow (2024)
- The Bourne Vendetta (2025)
- The Bourne Escape (2025)
- The Bourne Revenge (2026)
Brian Freeman Standalone Books
These standalones keep the same dark, twisty suspense as Freeman’s series fiction, but with new protagonists in each book. Instead of following recurring detectives, these novels center on people from very different backgrounds who get pulled into dangerous, high-stakes situations.
- Spilled Blood (2012)
- Thief River Falls (2020)
- Infinite (2021)
- I Remember You (2022)
- Break Every Rule (2024)
- Photograph (2025)
Women’s Fiction Standalones
These two books are the outliers in Brian Freeman’s catalog. Instead of psychological thrillers, they lean into women’s fiction and were published under pen names: The Agency as Ally O’Brien and West 57 as B.N. Freeman.
They still revolve around personal conflict and high-stakes drama, but they sit well outside the darker suspense lane that defines most of Freeman’s work.
- The Agency (2009)
- West 57 (2015)
Brian Freeman Anthologies
Finally, Brian Freeman has contributed to a handful of anthologies throughout the course of his career. While most have since gone out of print, links to second-hand copies have been included.
- Corpse Blossoms (2005) (Out of Print)
- The Crane House (2012) (Out of Print)
- Writes of Spring (2012) (Out of Print)
- Reading Stephen King (2023)
Who is Brian Freeman?
Before Brian Freeman became a bestselling, award-winning novelist, he worked a range of jobs, including donor communications, mortgage banking, and corporate law-firm marketing. While working full time, he kept writing, and that persistence paid off when Immoral, the first Jonathan Stride novel, found an agent and sold for publication.
Freeman has said he started writing mystery fiction as early as sixth grade, shaped in part by a family full of readers and a grandmother who loved thrillers. He grew up in Chicago, later moved to California, and then returned to the Midwest for college, where he attended Carleton College and met his wife.
He now lives in Florida and writes full time. Over the years, he has built a substantial thriller career that includes multiple series, major award recognition, and the distinction of continuing the Jason Bourne franchise for Robert Ludlum’s estate. Immoral won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was also nominated for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry awards.
Film rights to Freeman’s 2021 thriller Infinite were sold to Universal Pictures, with Chris Morgan attached as a producer.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.