James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. He is largely known for his novels about fictional psychologist
Alex Cross, the protagonist of the
Alex Cross series. Patterson also wrote the
Michael Bennett,
Women's Murder Club,
Maximum Ride,
Daniel X, and
Witch and Wizard series, as well as many stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction and romance novels. His books have sold more than 300 million copies and he holds the
Guinness World Record for being the first person to sell 1 million
e-books.