Product Description

Detective Alex Cross is pulled out of a family celebration and given the awful news that his niece, Caroline, has been found brutally murdered. Cross vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that Caroline was mixed up in one of Washington's wildest scenes. And she was not this killer's only victim. The hunt for her 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. Alex and Bree are soon facing down some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain - they will do anything to keep their secrets safe. As Cross closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable - a revelation that could rock the entire world. With the unstoppable action, unforeseeable twists, and edge-of-your-seat suspense that only a James Patterson thriller delivers, "I, Alex Cross" is the master of suspense at his sharpest and best.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #104 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
James Patterson is unquestionably one of the world's most successful crime writers, with a following (and sales) that are the envy of many of his peers. His secret, of course, is his immense readability: Paterson has a narrative grasp that ensures total reader commitment from first page to last. So as his new book, I, Alex Cross, appears, it is tempting to speculate on what his response will be to the words being uttered by many of his admirers; ‘It's a Patterson-only outing again -- thank God!’ As the author’s solo books are almost always more authoritatively written than the legion of novels he produces with an army of collaborators, one wonders why he feels the need to sustain this highly profitable writing factory (some might argue that this question is answered by the word ‘profitable’, but Patterson comfortably outsells most of his rivals, and acquiring even more revenue can't be such a pressing need, can it?) But to the business at hand: here's a new Alex Cross novel, and that's always a cause for celebration.

In I, Alex Cross, Patterson's eponymous hero is dragged from a family celebration and given some very unwelcome news: Caroline, his niece, has been savagely killed. Cross makes an instant promise: he will use all his resources to track down the murderer. But disturbing facts begin to emerge: Caroline was involved with a particularly strange endeavour in Washington, an organisation that promises to fulfil every fantasy of its participants, however outlandish. As Alex learns, the people involved in this sinister dream factory are both powerful and influential, and only those with the most copper-bottomed credentials are allowed to join the party. With the aid of his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, Alex Cross gets closer and closer to these mysterious figures, and the reason behind Caroline's brutal murder. But (as so often before), he realises that he is up against people who will stop at nothing to maintain the clandestine nature of their activities. What's more, Alex discovers there is far more at stake than just a modern day version of the hellfire club -- there are revelations in store which could shake the foundations of society.

As the above suggests, James Patterson's return to solo writing has obliged him to raise his game in terms of the reach of this latest Alex Cross outing. If the book doesn't seem, perhaps, to be in the class of some of the vintage Alex Cross outings, that may (to some extent) be due to our familiarity with the character – it’s more difficult to ring the changes. What isn't in dispute, though, is the author’s total professionalism, and his ability to comprehensively grip the reader remains undimmed. --Barry Forshaw

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 lives in Florida with his wife and son. James is passionate about encouraging both adults and children alike to read. This has led to him forming a partnership with the National Literacy Trust, an independent, UK-based charity that changes lives through literacy.

Customer Reviews

Not at the usual high standard of the rest of the series
During a birthday celebration, Detective Alex Cross is given the shocking news that his niece, Caroline, has been found brutally murdered. The investigation to find his niece's killer leads Cross into a world where people's wildest fantasies (including murder) are explored by Washington's most exclusive clients.

I've been a huge fan of this series for years and the new addition to the Alex Cross series is always the book I am most looking forward to each Autumn. James Patterson has been known to have ghost-writers for his books over the past few years but this series was always the one which was well above the standard of "his" other novels as these were written by the man himself. This year's novel I, ALEX CROSS could have fooled me though as this is one of the worst in the series so far. The story was fairly slow so, unlike his other Cross books, this took me a couple of days to get through and I wasn't as gripped as I would of expected to be. The killer, Zeus, was not all that interesting and when his identity is revealed at the end it wasn't a surprise at all. The Nana-Mama side-story was very dull and felt a lot like a filler just to make the book a bit meatier. The action is all over too quickly too as the big scenes start and finish all in one chapter - for example, the chapters are all 3-4 pages long so a gun fight or a chase will be over with in no time.

It does however have all of the regular, familiar characters in it such as the Cross family, Bree Stone and John Sampson, so I did get the feeling of meeting with old friends like I usually do with these books. There's also some continuality too, however the absence of Kyle Craig (other than a very brief appearance) left me disappointed but excited too to read the next one (the epilogue is probably the best bit of the whole book).

Overall this isn't a bad book, in fact if this wasn't part of the Alex Cross series it would probably have gotten a slightly higher score from myself, but as this is part of such a high quality series this does unfortunately fall below the standard I'd expect. It is definitely worth a read if you've been following the series but I think Alex Cross may have met his match with Patterson's other new series starring New York Detective Michael Bennett, as the two books so far in that series (STEP ON A CRACK and RUN FOR YOUR LIFE) were a lot better than the last two entries in the Cross series (CROSS COUNTRY and I, ALEX CROSS).

I, Alex Cross
Not the best Alex Cross book in my opinion. The very short chapters still irk me but I thought the story line lacked the usual depth of a James Patterson novel.

Alex Cross is back!
Alex Cross is a character that has been one of James Patterson's longer running themes. He returns in this blockbuster along with a few familiar faces.

They are celebrating Alex' birthday in the opening chapter, but as usual are interrupted with the phone call they always dread...Work! Alex and his long time girlfriend Detective Briana Stone along with his kids Ali and Jannie (who live at home), and the ever faithful Nana are welcomed back. Nana and his children have been the one consistence in his life that has brought him stability, support and love, however his love for his job sometimes gets him putting his priorities the wrong way round. The call he receives becomes personal as Alex finds out that a killer has got to one of his own. His niece has been murdered and they want him in on the case. He throws himself into the case head first and discovers that this serial killer won't be so easy to catch. This is no ordinary serial killer and Alex soon discovers that the whole case is wrapped up with some high rollers who are protected by those around them. That means breaking the rules and doing what needs to be done to catch the killer. Alex realises that to do his job he has to trust nobody and do things his own way.

I have on a few occasions' mentioned that I was unsure what James Patterson was doing to quality of his own work, due to the sheer volume of novels he seems to produce or complete with a co-author. My opinion has been in the past that his novels (especially the Cross ones) seem to decline the more books he produces. This book showed me glimpses of some of the great work that he has produced in the past, however still left me undecided as to whether his work is back to its usual quality. His chapters are short and sharp but keep the pages turning. The story was a good one and flowed throughout, with the added bonus of ending the book on a great opening for the next one.

I did enjoy this and think it is better than his last Alex Cross Novel (Cross Country). However, although still an avid James Patterson fan I find that I am leaning towards his other follow on books with the lead character of Michael Bennett (e.g. Run for your life). I will continue to read James Patterson's work and can only hope that the Alex Cross books continue to catch the audience. This book can be read as a stand alone but I would advise that if you enjoy this, that you try some of his other earlier books.