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The name Jonathan Stride refers to a series of psychological suspense novels written by Brian Freeman. Brian Freeman was 41 when his debut novel, the first book in the Jonathan Stride series, was published.
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Order of Jonathan Stride Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Immoral | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Stripped | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Stalked | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | In The Dark | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Burying Place | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Spitting Devil (Short Story) | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | The Cold Nowhere | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | Turn to Stone (Short Story) | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | Goodbye to the Dead | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | Marathon | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | Alter Ego | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
| 12 | Funeral for a Friend | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
| 13 | The Zero Night | 2022 | Description / Buy |
But it didn’t take him long to become a master of the psychological thriller with books that have been sold in over 40 countries around the world. Freeman imputes his success to his penchant for writing character-driven stories.
Freeman’s characters are strongly emotional beings and they always have secrets. When their haunting personalities are paired with the lightning-fast pace of the author, magic happens.
Freeman is at his best when he is forcing his heroes to reveal their most intimate motives to the people closest to them. And the author doesn’t really appreciate good and evil as a concept. His goal is to drive his story down a morally gray center. Freeman isn’t happy until his cast is making difficult decisions that test their morality.
And there is plenty of that in the Jonathan Stride Series. The books tell the story of a homicide detective by the names of Jonathan Stride. Stride is introduced in Immoral when a girl goes missing.
This case presses all the wrong buttons for Stride because that isn’t the first time a teenage girl has gone missing. The detective was put on a similar case earlier in the year. But that first girl seemed to vanish without a trace because Stride never found her.
Driven by the guilt of his failure, Stride pursues this new case with fervor. Along the way, he uncovers secrets that change his life forever.
Stride is initially operating out of Duluth, Minnesota with his partner Maggie Bei. The two get along splendidly, with Maggie’s funny, ball-busting personality making her a favorite. Then Stride meets a homicide detective from Las Vegas by the names of Serena Dial.
They fall in love during a case and Stride’s infatuation is such that he ends up moving to Las Vegas and taking up a position with the LVPD to be with Dial. However, circumstances eventually drive Stride back to Minnesota. This is as Dial leaves the LVPD and becomes a private investigator.
By then, Maggie has a new partner. The crimes that surround Jonathan Stride are often heavily infused with sex, an element that hasn’t gone unnoticed amongst Brian Freeman’s fans. Freeman seems to have an affinity for the subject of sex.
And while he doesn’t necessarily get too graphic, he isn’t afraid to go to dark places with that particular subject.
Jonathan Stride Awards
Immoral, Freeman’s debut novel and the first book in the Jonathan Stride series, won a Macavity Award for Best First Novel. It was also nominated for Anthony, Gold Dagger, and Edgar Allan Poe Awards.
The Burying Place was a Thriller Award finalist. The Cold Nowhere was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award.
Best Jonathan Stride Books
The Strength of the Jonathan Stride books comes down to Brian Freeman’s haunted characters and tightly wound plots, with some of the best books in the series including:
Stalked: Lieutenant Jonathan Stride is back in Minnesota, and it seems like his partner Maggie Bei has a secret. She was involved in a deadly crime but she refuses to provide crucial information that might eliminate the cloud of suspicion around her.
Meanwhile, Stride must also unravel the case of a seductive young woman who went missing and left a cryptic message behind. While Stride tries to follow her trail, his lover, a former police officer turned private detective is hunting for a blackmailer that seems to know the secrets of everyone in the city.
In The Dark: Thirty years ago, Jonathan Stride met and fell in love with Cindy Starr, the woman who became his first wife. They cemented their love on the 4th of July. On that same night, Laura, Cindy’s older sister was murdered. The case was never solved.
When Tish Verdure, Laura’s best friend comes to Duluth to write a book about the murder and reveals information that makes Stride question his first marriage, the homicide detective realizes that the mistakes of the past might have consequences for the present day.
Other Book Series You May Like
The “Theresa MacLean” Series by Lisa Black is another great read. Theresa MacLean is a gutsy forensic investigator with a nose for trouble. Rather than spending her days in her lab playing with beakers, Theresa makes it a point to venture out into the world, using her skills to catch bad guys that elude the police.
You may also enjoy the “Orphan X” Series by Gregg Hurwitz. Evan Smoak was taken from a group home when he was 12 and trained to be an assassin. He eventually escaped and reinvented himself as the Nowhere Man, a figure who uses his skills to help the desperate and deserving.
What Is The Next Book in The Jonathan Stride Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Jonathan Stride Series. The newest book is The Zero Night and was released on November, 1st 2022.