Sail: Library Edition About the Author James Patterson is one of the most popular writers of all time, with more than 350 million copies of his books sold worldwide. He holds the record for most New York Times bestsellers and is the author of the two most popular detective series of the past decade, the Alex Cross novels and the Women's Murder Club. Patterson has won an Edgar Award, the mystery world's highest honor, and his novels Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider were made into feature films.