I, Alex Cross

James Patterson
Little, Brown and Company (2009)
ISBN 9780316018784 
Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (12/09)

 

James Patterson does it again with his Alex Cross novels!  This is his 16th installment in the Alex Cross series and I have read all of the other books and found this one to be as intriguing and well written as the rest. 

The Cross family is growing up, with the oldest boy, Damon, away at boarding school, and the ninety-plus-year-old Nana’s health starting to fail.  With Alex’s girlfriend Bree a member of the household, the Cross family is still very close.  They plan a fun birthday celebration for Alex, but when the phone rings it turns into anything but that.  He gets called to Virginia to identify the body that has been brutally murdered and horribly mutilated.  He is incensed by what he sees and vows to find the killer.  As he begins his investigation, he uncovers things he never wanted to know about the Washington, D.C. powerful and elite. 

The trail keeps leading back to an upscale farm in Virginia where people can pay a high price for whatever pleasure they are seeking.  It turns out that one individual, with the code name of Zeus, has been using the farm to do horrendous things to the high-paid call girls working there, including killing them. 

Alex quickly realizes that the client list of the farm contains individuals so high up in the government that it is going to make solving the case that much harder.  As soon as he starts uncovering facts about Zeus that lead back to the White House, people that are in the know about the farm start mysteriously disappearing. 

I can usually figure out who the killer is, but wasn’t able to in this case.  The conclusion is jaw-dropping and James Patterson at his best.  Of course the final page leaves the reader with a call from Kyle Craig, Alex’s biggest nemesis, who taunts him letting him know to enjoy his time now because he is coming back soon  to play with Alex.  So my question now is….when is the next Alex Cross novel going to be ready?????    

I highly recommend “I, Alex Cross” for Alex Cross and James Patterson fans and those who enjoy a fast-paced, well-written thriller.

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