Ritual of the Stones

James Patterson – Cross the Line

As many of you know I find something inherently comforting about reading James Patterson’s Alex Cross series. Alex Cross was the first series I really invested in many moons ago.

Over the years the series has gone from excellent, to having a major dip as the character of Alex Cross seemed to become too unwieldly for Patterson to handle. As an author Patterson made the smart move of stripping the series down to the basics and letting his protagonist concentrate on more intimate threats. As a result, there has been a considerable increase in quality.

The blurb:

Shots ring out in the early morning hours in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. When the smoke clears, a high-ranking cop lies dead.

Under pressure from the mayor, Alex Cross steps into the leadership vacuum to investigate the audacious killing. But before Cross can make any headway, a wave of murders erupts across the city. The victims have one thing in common – they are all criminals.

And the only thing more dangerous than a murderer without a conscience is a killer who thinks he has justice on his side.

Opening Sentence: He change identity like many warriors do before battle.

Days to read: 13

I really enjoyed this latest entry in the series. I prefer the Alex Cross novels when the antagonists are less cartoonish and the threats are more personal. In Cross the Line however, the villains are neither. They are criminals with a conscience believing they are ridding the world of a nasty presence and thus making the world a better place. For once they don’t have a personal vendetta against Alex Cross and could not care less who he is. As a result, it reminded me of the earlier novels where Alex had to solve the crime like a normal detective without worrying about his family.

 Why is this so refreshing I hear you ask? For the simple reason that it allowed the other members of his family to breathe and have their own story arcs: Janine continues to pursue her running career and faces more hurdles (excuse the pun), Little Alex has a bit more substance to him whilst Bree struggles in her new promotion. It serves to provide a more rounded picture of the Cross family and makes you more invested in the characters.

 The pace of the novel is as fast paced as usual. Cross and Sampson work well together but they appear more vulnerable in this novel. Their age is catching up with them a little and they survive encounters more by luck than ability. Again, this is nice to see.

 The end is extremely satisfying as we get a good old fashion chase and slugfest. I always say with James Patterson you know what you are getting. A nice, comfort read that ticks enough of the boxes for you to enjoy yourself a lot and come back for more.

My rating: 8.6