The Naturals (book series)

The Naturals is a series of young adult novels by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Beginning with 2013's initial novel of the same name, the series follows the life of Cassie Hobbes, a 17-year-old girl who is contacted by the FBI to join a special program. The other members consist of Dean Redding (profiler), Lia Zhang (human lie detector), Michael Townsend (emotion reader), and Sloane Tavish (human dictionary). Each one of them has a traumatic past, it's how they learned to have a certain skill used to help the FBI.

The initial book was followed by Killer Instinct, published in 2014. The third book, All In, came out in 2015, and the fourth and final book, Bad Blood, was published in 2016. A novella, titled Twelve, was published in 2017.

Reception
Alex Winters of The State Journal-Register praised the series and said, "If you enjoy suspenseful crime thrillers and whodunnits with a dash of teen melodrama, then this is the book series for you." The New York Times best-selling author Ally Carter said the series was "a must-read for anyone who likes books about real teens who have no superpowers and yet aren’t quite typical either." Reviewing the first novel, Kirkus Reviews wrote:

"This savvy thriller grabs readers right away. Cassie’s outsider feelings are convincing and give credence to her actions throughout the story. There is enough violence, grisly description, and plot surprises to keep crime-show devotees reading. Unanswered questions will have those readers on tenterhooks for the next in the series."

Also reviewing the first novel, Publishers Weekly lauded the writing by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, stating that "Barnes shows every card at just the right moment, catching readers off-guard at the final reveal. It’s a stay-up-late-to-finish kind of book, and it doesn’t disappoint."

Kristi Elle Jemtegaard, from Booklist, wrote in her review for the initial book that "Nevertheless, teens looking for a fast-paced heart-stopper may find the pace slow at first, but then the thrills and chills kick in—only to leave listeners hanging, as this is the initial volume of a projected series."