Book Review: Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson

Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Publish Date: November 14, 2011

Hardcover, 400 pages 
Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
 ISBN: 978-0316198738
Alex Cross # 18

My Review:
Alex Cross, I have been with him since my step-father-in-law told me about this amazing book he read called Along Came a Spider back when I was in college and it was amazing and it introduced me to thrillers and series books.  Until then I had been bumping along reading horror by Stephen King, Dean Koontz (remember when he wrote horror books) and John Saul just to name a few) but James Patterson opened a whole new world to me that started with my beloved Alex Cross.  Now I will admit there have been some bumps along the way and truthfully nothing compares to those first books like Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls.  But some of that was just the newness too.  With all of that said I really enjoyed my yearly Alex Cross fix in Kill Alex Cross.

What do I love, I love that Alex is settled down now.  I love that Nana mama is still around and kicking and can still make everyone tow the line.  We all need someone like her in our lives, someone who loves us enough to tell us when we are messing up.  I like seeing the glimpses of Alex's private life.  But most of all I like seeing Alex on the case and I got plenty of that in this one.  As usual with the short chapters we have all come to know James Patterson for, this one reads quick (I appreciate short chapters with kids because it makes a book easier to put down to do things).  I flew through this even though I didn't want to because it means another year before I visit with Alex again.

Kill Alex Cross is also interesting because there are two storylines going through it that may or may not be connected.  First the President's children have been kidnapped, but there are also strange terror attacks going on in Washington DC that have the city on edge as well.  So it's a given to say that there is plenty of action and suspense in this one.

If you enjoy Alex Cross books, then grab this one when it comes out - it's a great addition and reminded me of some of the books of old.  I enjoyed it, but then again I like most of the Alex Cross books just because I find sheer entertainment value in them and it is like visiting with an old friend once a year, a friend that has been with me for over 16 years now at least.  Wow - it doesn't seem like that long, but I remember sitting in Pullen Park off of N.C. State's campus reading Along Came a Spider one day before class, (yes mom I probably should have been studying thermo) just like it was yesterday.  Ahhh, book memories.

My Rating: 4.25/5.0


About the Book:
Kill Alex Cross is faster, more exciting, and more tightly wound than any Alex Cross thriller James Patterson has ever written!

The President's son and daughter are abducted, and Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene. But someone very high up is using the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA to keep him off the case and in the dark.

A deadly contagion in the water supply cripples half of the capital, and Cross discovers that someone may be about to unleash the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced. As his window for solving both crimes narrows, Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes – one that may alter the fate of the entire country

About the Author: 

The subject of a Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 16 million books sold in North America alone. In 2007, one of every fifteen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title. In the past three years, James has sold more books than any other author (according to Bookscan), and in total, James's books have sold an estimated 220 million copies worldwide. He is the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's lists and is the only author to have five new hardcover novels debut at #1 on the list in one year—a record-breaking feat he's accomplished every year since 2005. To date, James Patterson has had nineteen consecutive #1 New York Times bestselling novels, and holds the New York Times record for most Hardcover Fiction bestselling titles by a single author (63 total), which is also a Guinness World Record.

From his James Patterson Pageturner Awards (which rewarded groups and individuals for creative and effective ways to spread the joy of reading) to his website ReadKiddoRead.com (which helps adults find books that kids are sure to love) to his regular donations of thousands of books to troops overseas, Patterson is a lifelong champion of books and reading. His first foray into books for all ages was the critically acclaimed Maximum Ride series, which debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list at #1 and remained there for twelve straight weeks. The series has so far made appearances on The New York Times bestsellers lists ninety-four cumulative times, proving that kids of all ages love page turners. He captured the attention of boy readers with the Daniel X series, and his third series for readers of all ages debuted in December 2009 with Witch & Wizard, which spent five consecutive weeks atop the New York Times bestsellers list.

Patterson is the creator of the #1 new detective series of the past dozen years, featuring Alex Cross and including the Hollywood-adapted "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls," starring Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. He is also the creator of the #1 new detective series of the past five years, featuring Lindsay Boxer and the other members of the Women's Murder Club, from which the ABC television drama series was adapted. He has authored books behind six films on the Hollywood fast-track, including the upcoming Maximum Ride movie forthcoming from Avi Arad, the producer of X-Men and Spiderman.

He is the author of novels—from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005)—that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award, and the Reader's Digest Reader's Choice Award. And, he has won a Children's Choice Book Council's Children's Choice Awards "Author of the Year" award (2010).

One of Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100, James made a guest appearance on the popular FOX TV show "The Simpsons" in March, 2007

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FTC Information: I received this book from through Once Upon a Twilight Book Tours for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.