Along Came a Spider - (Alex Cross Novels) by James Patterson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Discover the classic thriller that launched the bestselling detective series from the world's most popular storyteller.

Alex Cross is in a race against time after two private-school children are kidnapped by their teacher--a man looking to commit the crime of the century.

The inspiration for the Prime Video show, Cross.

Alex Cross is a homicide detective with a Ph.D. in psychology. He works and lives in Southeast D.C. and looks like Muhammad Ali in his prime. He's a tough guy from a tough part of town who wears Harris Tweed jackets and likes to relax by banging out Gershwin tunes on his baby grand piano. But he also has two adorable kids of his own, and they are his own special vulnerabilities.

Jezzie Flanagan is the first woman ever to hold the highly sensitive job as supervisor of the Secret Service in Washington. Blond, mysterious, seductive, she's got an outer shell that's as tough as it is beautiful. She rides her black BMW motorcycle at speeds of no less than 100 mph. What is she running from? What is her secret?

Alex Cross and Jezzie Flanagan are about to have a forbidden love affair-at the worst possible time for both of them. Because Gary Soneji, who wants to commit the "crime of the century," is playing at the top of his game. Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?

Gary Soneji is every parent's worst nightmare. He has become Alex Cross's nightmare. And now, reader, he's about to become yours.

Review Quotes

"Along Came a Spider will satisfy mystery and thriller fans, as well as students of the human condition. In Patterson's Washington, there's not a cartoonish powerbroker or marble monument in sight... Patterson also creates, in Alex Cross, a lead character rich in dimension... Ultimately, the novel's foundation is the character of Alex Cross, detective, psychologist, and family man."--George P. Pelecanos, Washington Post

"Cross is one of the great creations of thriller fiction."--Dallas Morning News

"James Patterson does everything but stick our finger in a light socket to give us a buzz in Along Came a Spider."--New York Times Book Review

"Patterson knows how to sell thrills and suspense... In Alex Cross, this Edgar Award winner has created a most compelling hero, a brainy cop afraid neither to bare his emotions nor to admit procedural error."--People

"When it comes to constructing a harrowing plot, author James Patterson can turn a screw all right."--New York Daily News

About the Author

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.