Product Description

Just when Alex Cross’s life is calming down, he’s drawn back into the game to confront the Audience Killer – a terrifying genius who stages his killings as public spectacles in Washington, DC and broadcasts them live on the net. 

In Colorado, another criminal mastermind is planning a triumphant return. From his maximum-security prison cell, Kyle Craig has spent years plotting his escape and revenge. Craig prefers to work alone, but if joining forces with DC’s Audience Killer helps him to get the man who put him away – Alex Cross – then so be it. 

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4171 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

About the Author
James Patterson is one of the best-known and biggest-selling writers of all time. He is the author of some of the most popular series of the past decade: the Women's Murder Club, the Alex Cross novels and Maximum Ride, and he has written many other number one bestsellers including romance novels and stand-alone thrillers. He has won an Edgar Award, the mystery world's highest honour. He lives in Florida with his wife and son.

Customer Reviews

One of the best in the series
'Double Cross' is the 13th book in the Alex Cross series and is without a doubt one of the Patterson's best yet.

The story begins when Alex is forced out of retirement when his new girlfriend, Bree Stone, is the lead detective on a series of vicious murders where the killer likes to show off his "work" in pubic places, giving him the title The Audience Killer/DCAK. If that's not enough, Alex's old nemesis, Kyle Craig has escaped from the maximum security prison where he was being held and is now on the loose again.

I've been a huge fan of the Alex Cross series since the beginning and know all the books well and I can honestly say that 'Double Cross' is easily up there with Along Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls when it comes to quality. The chapters are as short and fast-paced as usual, which keeps the tension very high and never lets the excitement slip. All the usual characters return and the new killer, DCAK, is also full of surprises and is truly one sick individual, as is Kyle Craig. Throughout the whole book there isn't one dull chapter and once you start reading it is impossible to stop. Whether or not you are a regular reader of the Cross series this book is simply un-missable!

More of the same, but nowt wrong with that!
There's no doubt that James Patterson has another sure-fire winner & money-spinner with this latest outing for Alex Cross. All the usual elements are present. There's no doubt Mr Patterson has a winning formula & isn't afraid to use it. Anyone reading this is probably already familiar with the life & work of Alex Cross: ex-FBI, ex- DC Police, now psychologist in private practice. You know about his beautiful family; the inimitable Nana Mama; Cross's best friend, (John) Sampson; his not-so-perfect love life.

To be honest, you probably pretty much know what to expect from this book, & you won't be disappointed featuring, as it does, not one but two (or more?) serial killers, including Cross's arch-nemesis Kyle Craig. OK, so KC is locked up in ADX Florence, from where "nobody had ever come close to breaking out". Well, we know what THAT means!

We also know that that pesky police pager will go off just as things are getting interesting between Cross & new love, senior homicide detective Brianna (Bree) Stone. But, dependable as always, we know Cross won't be able to avoid (resist?) becoming embroiled, like it or not (LIKE it - I reckon!), in another twisted-bloody-body-strewn pursuit of another vicious serial-killer. But this time (well, every time - be honest) it's personal.

And we've got the usual Patterson-patented extreme chapter-fest (126 plus prologue & epilogue), designed to keep the pulse racing, the heart pounding, the page turning.

So, is it any good? Well, if you enjoyed all the others, you'll probably love this one just as much. It's a great ride. And will Cross & his near-perfect family survive unscathed? Maybe; maybe not. But I suspect that, as long as we keep lapping `em up, Mr Patterson will keep churning `em out. And, in my opinion, that's no bad thing.

Alex Cross deserves better!
I have read all the Alex Cross books and look forward to them - Alex is a great character. This one however is a huge disappointment. I feel betrayed by the author who seems to assume we will just go on buying them regardless of quality and he in turn has betrayed his Alex Cross character. It is so predictable, not at all exciting, no real twists and turns. It also seems to lack the family element that previously made the books more "personal", reducing Nana and the kids to mere ciphers. Patterson has become a money-making machine like so many before him. I recommend Dean Koontz to anyone who wants to read a really intelligent and cliff-hanging book.