Fear No Evil (Alex Cross #29) by James Patterson

Synopsis

Alex Cross enters the final showdown with the relentless killer who has stalked him and his family for years.​

Dr. Alex Cross and Detective John Sampson venture into the rugged Montana wilderness—where they will be the prey. They’re not on the job, but on a personal mission. 

Until they’re attacked by two rival teams of assassins, controlled by the same mastermind who has stalked Alex and his family for years. 

Darkness falls. The river churns into rapids. Shots ring out through the forest. 

No backup. No way out. Fear no evil. 

Another installment in the Alex Cross series! Unfortunately, this one didn't really do it for me like most of the others have. 

The parts that were most interesting to me were when it flashed to Bree on her new job assignment in Paris. I love to see her character going down a different path from where she had been with DC Metro. 

Other than that, Alex and John were being hunted down by rival groups. But it didn't make much sense to me that they would be coming after them as hard as they were. And a lot of that storyline seemed to . . . out there and unrealistic to me. Even for a fiction novel. 

I was also angry that John's dream vacation got ruined. 

This was a book I just powered through because I care about the characters. It definitely wasn't a gem in the Alex Cross series. 

3/5 stars

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Deadly Cross (Alex Cross #28) by James Patterson

Synopsis

A scandalous double homicide in the nation's capital opens the psychological case files on . . . Detective Alex Cross.

Until Kay Willingham's shocking murder inside a luxury limousine, the Georgetown socialite, philanthropist, and ex-wife of the sitting vice-president led a public life. Yet few -- including her onetime psychologist -- had any inkling of Kay's troubled past in the Deep South.

Murdered alongside her is Randall Christopher, a respected educator whose political ambitions may have endangered both their lives. While John Sampson of DC Metro Police tracks Randall's final movements, Alex Cross and FBI Special Agent Ned Mahoney travel to Alabama to investigate Kay's early years.

They discover that although Kay had many enemies, all of them needed her alive. Alex is left without a viable suspect, and facing a desperate choice between breaking a trust and losing his way -- as a detective, and as the protector of his family.

A crime that reaches across so many different states with connections to many high-profile characters - including Alex Cross himself. 

Deadly Cross was one of those series installments that pulls you in right from the beginning and doesn't let go until you race through the pages. It featured a truly baffling crime that had so many potential suspects. And it kept me guessing until the very end. What a ride!

And we get a new level of character development for Bree Cross, which is always fun. If you enjoy the Alex Cross series, I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy this book. 

5/5 Stars

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Criss Cross by James Patterson (Alex Cross #27)

Synopsis:

In a Virginia penitentiary, Alex Cross and his partner, John Sampson, witness the execution of a killer they helped convict. Hours later, they are called to the scene of a copycat crime. A note signed "M" rests on the corpse. "You messed up big time, Dr. Cross."

Was an innocent man just put to death? Alex soon realizes he may have much to answer for, as "M" lures the detective out of the capital to the sites of multiple homicides, all marked with distressingly familiar details -- details that conjure up decades-old cases. Details that conjure up Cross family secrets. Details that make clear that M is after a prize so dear that -- were the killer to attain it -- Alex's heart would no longer have reason to beat.

This was a fun read! Not only is it always great to jump back into the Alex Cross universe and spend time with that family, but the story was intriguing and terrifying and kept the pages turning.

We also get to see Alex go almost a bit rogue now that he’s mostly an advisor and working just in this psychologist business. You can never take the action away from the Cross family though.

I feel like Criss Cross was unique in that almost every single character in the book had a major role. Of course the standouts were Alex, John, and Bree. But, the kids had a bigger role. And, Nana Mama was sassy as ever.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

M is a huge project for Alex to solve, and I guess we will have to wait for the next book to see if he does!

5/5 Stars

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Cross the Line by James Patterson

Synopsis:

Shots ring out in the early morning hours in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. When the smoke clears, a prominent police official lies dead, leaving the city's police force scrambling for answers.
 Under pressure from the mayor, Alex Cross steps into the leadership vacuum to investigate the case. But before Cross can make any headway, a brutal crime wave sweeps across the region. The deadly scenes share only one common thread – the victims are all criminals. And the only thing more dangerous than a murderer without a conscience, is a killer who thinks he has justice on his side.
 As Cross pursues an adversary who has appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner, he must take the law back into his own hands before the city he's sworn to protect descends into utter chaos.

This book was really strange for me. Before starting it, I read the cover synopsis as I usually do. From reading that, I thought this book would be a lot more intense than it actually was. I was expecting major conflict between Alex and Bree and Alex’s life to be severely threatened.

Maybe it is just me, but I don’t really think I got any of that out of this one.

That being said, I did enjoy it. It was nice having another Alex Cross book that wasn’t a book shot. There was plenty of action, and the storyline was actually interesting. I think my reading experience may have been lessened just from me expecting something more intense to happen. I am upset by that, because there was actually a lot going on, but I was just expecting more.  This is probably my own fault, and I wasn’t looking forward to conflict between Alex and Bree at all. You’d think I would be happy that it didn’t happen.

If you are a fan of Alex Cross, you will enjoy this read. Maybe just don’t read the cover synopsis like I did.

3.5/5 Stars

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Cross Justice by James Patterson

Synopsis:

Alex Cross left his hometown, and some awful family tragedies, for a better life with Nana Mama in Washington, DC. He hasn't looked back.

Now his cousin Stefan has been accused of a horrible, unthinkable murder, and Cross drives south with Bree, Nana Mama, Jannie, and Ali to Starksville, North Carolina, for the first time in thirty-five years. Back home, he discovers a once proud community down on its luck, and local residents who don't welcome him with open arms. As Cross steps into his family home, the horrors of his childhood flood back--and he learns that they're not really over. He brings all his skill to finding out the truth about his cousin's case. But truth is hard to come by in a town where no one feels safe to speak.

Chasing his ghosts takes Cross all the way down to the sugarcane fields of Florida, where he gets pulled into a case that has local cops needing his kind of expertise: a string of socialite murders with ever more grisly settings. He's chasing too many loose ends--a brutal killer, the truth about his own past, and justice for his cousin--and any one of the answers might be fatal.

In Cross Justice, Alex Cross confronts the deadliest--and most personal--case of his career. It's a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that proves you can go home again--but it just might kill you.

This book was very different from the rest of the series. It was almost refreshing. We get to learn a lot more about Alex’s past than we have before and get to meet a lot of his family.

It took me awhile to get through this book, and I’m not even sure why. Perhaps because it was a lot different than the others, or maybe I am just in a reading slump. But, I would pick it up and only read a few chapters at a time. But than vanished when I was about halfway through the book. Once I hit that point, I could just not put it down!

I am still not really sure what the purpose of Coco as a villain was to this book. I know it helped to bring Alex together with a pretty significant character, but that was about it. I was waiting for that story to have a huge twist that made it integral to the book’s plot, and it really didn’t. It was interesting, but I didn’t think it was all that necessary.

My complaint is that there was almost no Sampson in this book, but it wouldn’t have made sense for him to be in it. I just like Alex and John’s interactions.

Overall, Cross Justice is a really solid book in the Alex Cross series. Maybe one of the best in awhile!

4/5 Stars

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Cross Fire by James Patterson

Synopsis:

Wedding bells ring

Detective Alex Cross and Bree's wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington D.C.'s most corrupt: a dirty congressmen and an underhanded lobbyist. Next, the elusive gunman begins picking off other crooked politicians, sparking a blaze of theories--is the marksman a hero or a vigilante?

A murderer returns

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 they are the work of a professional who has detailed knowledge of his victims' movements--information that only a Washington insider could possess.

Caught in a lethal cross fire

As Alex contends with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in D.C. and will not relent until he has eliminated Cross and his family for good. With a supercharged blend of action, deception, and suspense, Cross Fire is James Patterson's most visceral and exciting Alex Cross novel ever.

I didn’t know what to think of this book for the longest time while reading it. It wasn’t the best and it wasn’t the worst. It was just somewhere in the middle.

It was more of a suspense novel that kept you guessing. It kept you guessing the backstories of the killers and also when a big reveal would eventually take place.

I spent most of my time reading just waiting for the bomb to drop.

Max Siegel is one of the most important characters in this book and not in a good way. It was almost frustrating knowing the truth before Alex did because you wanted him to just guess what was going on.

That being said, it was still very entertaining. There was a lot of action and a lot of character growth with Bree’s character. We got to see more of her and her interactions with the Cross family which was nice.

Once I got to the end, I was beyond excited. I wont post spoilers here, but I will put them under the cut. I cannot wait to read the next one now.

4/5 stars

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Read ahead for Spoilers

Double Cross by James Patterson

Synopsis:

Just when Alex Cross's life is calming down, he is drawn back into the game to confront a criminal mastermind like no other. The elaborate murders that have stunned Washington, DC, are the wildest that Alex Cross and his new girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, have ever seen. This maniac adores an audience, and stages his killings as spectacles in public settings. Alex is pursuing a genius of terror who has the whole city on edge as it waits for his next move. And the killer loves the attention, no doubt-he even sets up his own Web site and live video feed to trumpet his madness.

And in Colorado, another criminal mastermind is planning a triumphant return. From his supermaximum-security prison cell, Kyle Craig has plotted for years to have one chance at an impossible escape. If he has to join forces with DC's Audience Killer to get back at the man who put him in that cell--Alex Cross--all the better.

Kyle Craig is like an annoying gnat that will not go away. It is kind of nice to have the continuity of one of Alex’s enemies throughout the series, but he is just so annoying. So, I cannot really tell if keeping him around is a pro or a con, but he did make this book pretty interesting.

The continuous guessing game throughout the book keeps you guessing until the end. There are so many little pieces that go into the crimes that are being committed, that it becomes really interesting when it is all revealed.

There was less family time in this one. Over the past few books, Alex has been with his family almost as much as he has been solving crimes. It was nice to go back to Alex just working on cases. I do love his family, but I think a book like this was a needed break.

I feel like I still don’t really know the reasons behind all of the murders, the first one in particular. I feel like it was starting to get explained and then never did aside from the murderers wanting to be famous. I wanted a better explanation of their connection to Kyle Craig as well.

Overall, it was a good read and kept me turning the page until the end. I wish there would have been a bit more explanation, but it was entertaining and I liked how it was more about the crimes/criminals than about Alex and his life outside of work.

4/5 Stars

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