The next book in my ‘Charity Box’ happened to be Cross by James Patterson.
Goodreads provide a very good description of the 12th Novel in the Alex Cross series. READ HERE.
Alex Cross was a rising star in the Washington, DC, Police Department when an unknown shooter gunned down his wife, Maria, in front of him. The killer was never found, and the case turned cold, filed among the unsolved drive-bys in D.C.’s rough neighborhoods.
Years later, still haunted by his wife’s death, Cross is making a bold move in his life. Now a free agent from the police and the FBI, he’s set up practice as a psychologist once again. His life with Nana Mama, Damon, Jannie, and little Alex is finally getting in order. He even has a chance at a new love.
Then Cross’s former partner, John Sampson, calls in a favor. He is tracking a serial rapist in Georgetown, one whose brutal modus operandi recalls a case Sampson and Cross worked together years earlier. When the case reveals a connection to Maria’s death, Cross latches on for the most urgent and terrifying ride of his life.
From the man USA TODAY has called the “master of the genre,” CROSS is the high-velocity thriller James Patterson and Alex Cross’s fans have waited years to read – and the pinnacle of the bestselling detective series of the past two decades.
If I were to be asked to summarise my opinion of this book in one word or phrase, I would say lacking.
It is almost there. Cross is almost interesting and absorbing as earlier books in the series. The novel is almost there but not quite.
I read it quickly. I have to give it to James Patterson, his writing is easy, the language is light, the pace is dynamic. I read it quickly and put it aside. This book did not leave an aftertaste behind. I did not feel like I need to find the next book in the series and read it NOW (even though I have the next book in the series).
The narration, especially the part about Maria’s (Cross’ wife) murder is muddled up, spead up and hurriedly put together. Sometimes it felt like author just wanted to get to the end no matter what. Too bad, I loved Cross and Patterson.
All in all, I do not feel like I’ve wasted my time reading Cross. However, the book is still going into ‘Charity Box’
Svetlana Tishchenko 