Cross by James Patterson

Alex Cross was originally published as Cross, but has been reissued as a movie tie-in. It is number twelve in the 33 book series, and so I find the characters at an earlier place than previously reviewed Cross Fire.

It begins with a flashback: Alex's pregnant wife, Maria, was shot by an unknown killer, who he assumes is a mob hitman, Michael Sullivan, aka The Butcher.

Fast forward to 2005, with Alex leaving the force for private practice. He sets up an office and begins taking clients. Meanwhile, the crazy Michael Sullivan continues to do hits for the mob and has a side hobby of terrorizing young women. Alex begins to investigate the rape and murder cases in DC and quickly returns to his detective work against the wishes of Nana Mama and his children. This villain isn't a cunning, cold hitman, but more of an overgrown, immature teenager who does it all for kicks. Michael soon realizes he has been set up by his mob bosses and eliminates them as well. The plot flips back and forth between Alex's family life, detective work, private practice, and the rampage of Michael Sullivan.

This has a very different tone than the later Cross Fire. I can see why they picked this as the novel to base the movie on. The action is more graphic, the hero disillusioned, and the maniacal sociopathic killer just a little over the top. The Butcher is ruthless, running around with his scalpel and taking pictures of his victims with a Polaroid, and the novel is packed with action.

I was glad to read the lighter, character-driven Cross Fire first. There is more with his partner John Sampson in this novel. I can see how any of these characters could be spun off into their own novels. Alex discovers what happened to Maria, and the Michael Sullivan story is wrapped up.

In his spare time, Alex sits down to watch The Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which is interesting with the star of Diary, Tyler Perry, playing Alex in the movie.

This is a solid entry in the series, and I'd recommend it if you like action and thrills.

2008 / Paperback / 416 pages