Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the famous author of The Naturals book series, had already made a considerable name for herself before this one came along. The Squad duology in 2008 and Tattoo and Fate in the surrounding years put her on the list as a YA crime thriller.
The Naturals skyrocketed her popularity. In the years following its publication, the first book earned nominations for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, Missouri Gateway Readers, and the Lincoln Award. She continues to enjoy success with her most recent, The Inheritance Games series.
This young adult series enraptures audiences of all ages. The main character, Cassie Hobbes, works with an elite group of highly skilled individuals for a secret FBI program. Together, they work on cold cases and face highly skilled and horrible killers.
The Naturals – The Start of the Adventure
The first book in his popular series was published in 2013 and immediately attracted attention. Publisher’s Weekly called it a “stay-up-late-to-finish kind of book,” and thousands of readers seem to agree. What was it about this novel that attracted teens and adults so much?
With clever writing, Barnes introduces an everyday teen girl, Cassie Hobbes, who has an intriguing gift of reading people’s most secret details and desires. Her mother, a victim of a horrific crime herself, taught her many of these skills growing up. The action starts when FBI operatives invite her to a secret program focused on solving cold cases their experts haven’t been able to crack.
The premise intrigues from the start, and the skilled writing contributes to the excitement and energy of the story. What started as cold case investigations heated up when a new, tricky killer emerged. The crime-solving tale transforms into a high-stakes thriller with Cassie and the whole team of talents working together toward a satisfying ending. At the same time, readers get to know the diverse characters and root for their personal favorite in the Cassie-Dean-Michael love triangle, and they keep wondering, “What’s next?”
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ller Instinct (The Naturals Book Series #2)
Published a year later in 2014, Killer Instinct continues the story of the FBI crime-solving group and Cassie specifically. Their focus on cold cases takes an emotional turn when another member of the team, Dean Redding, who is a master profiler. His father is in jail, but a serial killer on the loose uses the father’s methods to act out his horrific crimes.
The copycat challenges not only all the team members’ unique skills, but also their psyches. The Naturals need to outsmart him before he kills more people or destroys Dean’s peace of mind. As with all Barnes’ work, the second in the The Naturals book series offers plenty of twists and turns, high adventure, and a young adult feel. It does step back a bit from the personal mystery of what happened to Cassie’s mother and introduces Dean’s father’s dark history.
All In (The Naturals Book Series #3)
Casinos and mysterious codes draw the reader into a new adventure for Cassie and the whole crime-fighting team: The Naturals. Instead of dealing with a killer who uses specific and personalized techniques for every murder, this one switches things up constantly. The only thing in common is a strange number series tattooed on the victims’ wrists. They need to work together to crack the code before the serial killer strikes again.
Set in the exciting world of Las Vegas, All In offers excitement and intrigue at the same level as other books in the series. It also provides a touch of heart and feeling. In this novel, Cassie’s personal history comes into play. Her mother was murdered years ago, and a sudden break in the case distracts the teen and causes tensions to rise. Finding her mom’s killer was the original impetus for joining The Naturals, after all, but she has to balance that desire with responsibilities to the group and the FBI.
Bad Blood (The Naturals Book Series #4)
Rather than face off against a single serial killer or criminal with dark hungers and devious methods, this third book in The Naturals book series throws the group up against the evil behind everything. Another group works in the shadows, orchestrating death and kidnappings for their own horrific ends over multiple generations. Amidst this growing threat, Cassie experiences a spark of hope: Her mother is alive and being held captive.
What might have been an intriguing rescue and crime-stopping novel is transformed by Jennifer Lynn Barnes into a purely thrilling adventure full of twists, turns, and mysteries that keep readers on the edge of their seats and turning pages far into the night? This book in the series also tied up many personal backstories and interests of the team members. Her ability to keep the action rolling while exploring characters in depth and injecting gripping emotion has rightfully earned her a place on the bestseller lists.
Twelve (A Novella in The Naturals Series)
Sometimes called Book 4.5, the fifth story in this popular series offers only 100 pages to fans of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ writing. It was published in 2017. Cassie Hobbes’ tale as one of the crime-fighting Naturals has transformed into something new. At twenty-one years old, she runs the program and is responsible for seeking new talent while solving cases.
This traumatic tale introduces a young Mackenzie McBride, twelve, who has the skills to stop a serial death spiral in Maine. The locals dismiss them as suicide, but this young girl knows better. Her traumatic youth parallels Cassie’s history and makes the team believe her more than anyone else. Another adventuresome and heart-tugging threat looms, and The Naturals are there to stop it.
In the future, will there be more in The Naturals book series? Probably not. Jennifer Lynn Barnes has gone on to write a few more series, including well-loved books like Little White Lies, The Fixer, and The Inheritance Games. She has been a bestselling author multiple times and continues to attract an audience of both teens and adults. While her books are generally categorized as young adults literature, they transcend age groups and grab reader attention with every publication.
Searching for your next read? Take a look at our previous articles featuring famous book series, such as The After Book Series, The Shatter Me Book Series, and The Cartel Book Series, or check a list of the best dark romance books to dive into the abyss.
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