Category: Alex Cross

Cross Fire
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2010
Pages: 356
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 26 – June 28, 2011
Challenge:  What’s in a Name 4 Challenge
Yearly Count: 32
Format: Print

First Line: It had been months since Kyle Craig had killed a man.

Blurb: Detective Alex Cross and Bree Stone’s wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington, DC’s most corrupt: a dirty congressman and an underhanded lobbyist. Next, the elusive gunman begins picking off other crooked insiders, sparking a blaze of theories – is the marksman a hero or a vigilante? The case explodes, and the FBI assigns Agent Max Siegel to the investigation. As Alex and Siegel battle over jurisdiction, the murders continue. It becomes clear that the killings are the work of a professional who has detailed knowledge of his victims’ movements – information that only a Washington insider could possess. As Alex contends with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in DC and will not relent until he has eliminated Cross and his family for good.

Review: Without a doubt, this is my absolute favorite series. Ever. This particular installment was better than the last few have been. Kyle Craig is back in the forefront in this book and that always makes for a good story! We see Alex in such a happy place, as happy as I think he’s ever been since his wife was murdered. Every single time that I read these books it really makes me wonder how many more there will be. My biggest fear is that the series will eventually end. I know it’s inevitable, but I don’t want to have to think about it. Also, without revealing any spoilers, there’s something really interesting on the last page that makes me look forward to future books! I would highly recommend this book and this series overall!

I, Alex Cross
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 360
Rating: 4/5
Read: March 14 – 17, 2011
Challenge: TBR Dare; Mystery & Suspense Challenge
Yearly Count: 13
Format: Print

First Line: Hannah Willis was a second-year law student at Virginia, and everything that lay ahead of her seemed bright and promising – except, of course, that she was about to die in these dark, gloomy, dismal woods.

Blurb: Pulled out of a family celebration, Detective Alex Cross gets awful news: A beloved relative has been found brutally murdered. Vowing to catch the killer, he quickly learns that she was mixed up in one of Washington, D.C.’s wildest scenes. And she was not this killer’s only victim … The hunt for the murderer leads Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, to a place where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in. Soon they confront some very important, very protected, and very dangerous people who will do anything to keep their secrets safe. As Alex closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable – a revelation that could rock the entire world.

Review: Wow, let me just start by saying that the ending to this book is absolutely scandalous! I loved it! And honestly, it came a little bit out of left field for me, I usually have a pretty good grasp on the bad guys in Patterson’s books, but this one had an interesting ending for me. It’s classic James Patterson – short, enjoyable chapters. Engrossing plot line. Great characters. This is my all-time, absolute with a doubt, favorite series ever. I just love every single book a little more and more. This particular installment had quite a bit of sadness through the storyline, although something that will be inevitable if this series continues for much longer. After I finish every book in this series I keep asking myself: how many more will there be? Eventually the series will need to end, it’s just a matter of when and how. Of course, I will probably shed a slight tear when that day comes, but until then, I will continue to enjoy this series – I am trying to get my hands on the most recent installment, Cross Fire, but my library only has the audio book version, and the waiting lists at PBS/BookMooch are unreal (and I refuse to pay $12.99 for a Nook Book that I will devour in 2-3 days’ time).  Anyway, I highly recommend this series to anyone who may be living under a rock and have not experienced these books 🙂

Cross Country     
by James Patterson 

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 403
Rating: 3/5
Read: Jan. 17 – 23, 2011
Challenge: Mystery & Suspense Challenge; TBR Dare
Yearly Count: 4
Format: Print

First Line: Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The surname of the family was Cox, the father a very successful trial lawyer, but the target was the mother, Ellie Randall Cox.

Blurb: Detective Alex Cross pursues the most ruthless killer he’s ever encountered – to a land of sheer terror and back. It’s the worst crime scene Alex Cross has ever seen, and then more killings, each one more ruthless than the last, quickly follow. After one death comes terrifyingly close to home, Alex realizes he’s chasing a horrible new breed of killer. Digging deeper into the case, Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, uncover a shocking Washington, D.C., underworld: a gang of teenage thugs headed by a warlord known only as the Tiger. When the Tiger’s elusive trail turns up in Africa, Alex knokws that he must follow. Unprotected and alone, can Alex manage to both survive and catch the killer?

Review: Okay, I’m not going to lie, this was not my favorite Alex Cross book at all. In fact, I actually considered putting it aside at one point. The entire portion of the book in which Alex was in Africa was not my cup of tea. I was a little sick of how cocky Alex got when he was in Africa. I mean, the guy is in a foreign country, not at all wanted there, and yet he goes around thinking that just because he’s a police officer in Washington D.C. will actually mean anything in Africa. It doesn’t work that way in foreign countries. Yet, Alex didn’t seem to comprehend that whatsoever. There is a lot of violence in this book, just a warning to anyone easily offended. I also felt like it was just a little too political for a fiction book. It just really wasn’t all that great in my opinion. I hope that the next book in this series is better, because this installment has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Double Cross
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 402
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 1 – 5, 2011
Challenge: Criminal Plots Challenge; Mystery & Suspense Challenge; TBR Dare
Yearly Count: 1
Format: Print

First Line: At the time of his formal sentencing in Alexandria, Virginia, for eleven known murders, the former FBI agent and pattern killer Kyle Craig, known as the Mastermind, was lectured and condescended to by U.S. District Judge Nina Wolff.

Blurb: Alex Cross rejoins the D.C. police force to confront two of the most diabolical killers he’s ever encountered. Just when his life is calming down, Alex Cross is drawn back into a lethal game like no other. In Washington, D.C., a maniac stages his killings as spectacles in public settings. Alex is pursuing a genius of terror who has the whole city on edge. And the killer loves the attention – he even sets up his own web site and live video feed to trumpet his madness. In Colorado, another brilliant madman is planning a triumphant return. From his supermaximum-security prison cell, Kyle Craig has plotted for years an impossible escape. If he has to join forces with D.C.’s Audience Killer to get back at the man who put him in that prison – Alex Cross – all the better.

Review: Spoilers possible. This is the 13th in the Alex Cross series. This is one of my absolute favorite series *ever*. It’s amazing what kind of trouble Alex always ends up in (or rather, what kind of trouble always finds Alex…). In this particular installment, The Mastermind (a.k.a. Kyle Craig) makes another appearance – in the form of a pretty interesting prison escape. Alex is also having to deal with helping his girlfriend, Bree, and best friend, Sampson, with the Audience Killer case in Washington, D.C. I thought it was very interesting how Kyle Craig was brought back onto the scene by the author. But what’s even more interesting is that at the end of the book, he is still at large! It sometimes seems a little improbable in regards to how many big cases Alex Cross and the Washington D.C. police department have to deal with. And even though some of the situations that the author poses to the reader seem almost entirely impossible, I still love this series! As soon as I finish an Alex Cross book, I’m always interested to know where Alex will go in the next book. This is one of the few series that I have found that has not really gone downhill as it progresses. I highly recommend this book and series.

Cross
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 377
Rang: 5/5
Read: Oct. 25-29, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Finish That Series Challenge;  RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 57

First Line: “I’m pregnant, Alex.”

Alex Cross was a rising star in the Washington, D.C. Police Department, when his wife was gunned down by an unknown assailant. He wanted revenge, but his children needed him. So he poured himself into his job. But eventually he burned out. That’s what has led him to resign from the FBI and take up practicing psychology full-time. Things are going well in his life for the first time in a long time … at least until his old partner, John Sampson, shows up with a serial rape case asking for help. When a connection to Maria’s death pops up during the investigation, Alex may finally get the chance to seek vengeance for his wife’s death. Will he finally be able to get his answers?

This is the twelfth in the Alex Cross series and I still can’t get enough of this series! Overall I enjoyed this book. I’m glad that there was some closure for Alex regarding Maria’s death. But I have to admit, I didn’t really care for the way this book began. It was kind of confusing in places. But overall, it was still great. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a good, quick read.

London Bridges
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2004
Pages: 378
Rating: 3/5
Read: July 5-10, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 34

First Line: Colonel Geoffrey Shafer loved his new life in Salvador, Brazil’s third-largest city and some would say its most intriguing.

One of Alex Cross’s worst nightmare has come true: the Wolf and the Weasel are working together and what they are capable of together is incomprehensible. It begins when a small Nevada town is completely destroyed by a bomb. The Wolf takes credit for the destruction. This automatically brings Alex Cross in on the case. But the Wolf is far from done; he is giving law enforcement four days to come up with some serious money or else he will obliterate major cities, including London, Paris, and New York. Alex will run like crazy for those four days in order to figure out the identity of the Wolf and end this once and for all.

This is the 10th book in the Alex Cross series. Overall, I was not as impressed by this book as I have been with other books in this series. I had some serious problems with the plot, it felt a little more forced and choppy in places than other Alex Cross novels. There seemed to be a lot of jumping around back and forth and I had some trouble following where Alex was at a few times. There also seemed to be quite a few too many false leads and bad guys, I understood why Patterson chose to write this book in that fashion, but I just didn’t care for this strategy. That’s not to say that the book wasn’t enjoyable, because it was good. But I was just a little bit disappointed with it.

The Big Bad Wolf
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 398
Rating: 5/5
Read: Apr. 27-30, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; 2010 Celebrate the Author Challenge; Finish That Series Challenge;  RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 21

First Line: There was an improbable murder story told about the Wolf that had made its way to the police lore and then spread quickly from Washington to New York to London and to Moscow.

Alex Cross is having a little trouble adjusting to his new career in the FBI. It’s almost as if he’s halfway on the fast track when it comes to his agent training. But his first case as an agent has everyone confused. Throughout the country, beautiful women are being kidnapped. But it gets worse than that, these women are actually being purchased as slaves. Behind all this, is someone known only as the Wolf. No one really knows who the Wolf really is, although there are pretty good suspicions that he’s somehow involved in organized crime. Struggling with some issues in his home life as well as feeling slightly out of the loop in regards to this case, Alex Cross has to figure this out before the Wolf comes after Alex.

This is the 9th book in the Alex Cross series. This series has got to be my absolute favorite in the world, Mr. Patterson has really created some monsters in his Cross books! And the Wolf is no exception! I love that I still don’t know who the Wolf actually is, it makes me look forward even more to the next book in this series. I know some people aren’t too fond of Patterson’s books, but for me they are great! If I’m stuck in a reading slump, a Patterson book will usually draw me in with the first few pages. The suspense is always great and the twists and turns that come with the Alex Cross books are amazing. I just love them!!

Four Blind Mice
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2002
Pages: 383
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 18-22, 2010
Challenge:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; Finish That Challenge Series; RYOB 2010; Thriller & Suspense 2010
Yearly Count: 3

First Line: The District Attorney for Cumberland County, North Carolina, Marc Sherman, pushed the old wooden captain’s chair away from the prosecution, and it made a harsh, scraping eeek in the nearly silent courtroom.

Alex Cross is ready to resign from the D.C. police force. But there will be one last case that he simply can’t refuse before he can resign. His best friend and partner, John Sampson, comes to Alex asking him to help him prove that a good friend of John’s has been framed for murder and will be executed. His accusers are the United States Army. Tackling such a case will be more of a challenge than they could ever imagine. And this case goes deeper than either of them would have ever thought.

I love this series, and this was another good installment. While this one was not as good as my personal favorite in the series (Roses are Red) this one was still a good strong book. I like the direction that Alex Cross is going in in regards to his personal life. It will be interesting to see how things end up for John and Alex in the next few books.