by James Patterson

A Mystery/Thriller, 2024 by Little Brown and Company, 416 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

Despite reading all the books that came previous to this, I feel like I keep forgetting the details of who M is and what he’s done. Maybe it’s because we’ve had so many big, bad villains in this series or maybe it’s a me thing. Either way, I had to Google it to remind myself.
I think part of the danger of the series has dipped as we get further away from realism or true police procedure. At this point we know, no matter how bad it seems, the major players are always safe.
There’s not enough of the psychologist side of Cross being used in this book. That’s what set him apart from everyone else so it’s sad to back away from that.

As always, fast moving action and short chapters make this one go quickly. It’s like being on a roller coaster.
The storyline is intense and does rely on technology, which is written well. There’s no question this would be a terrifying situation for law enforcement.
As always, I love the characters and their relationships. At the end of the day this series gets love because you feel like you know the cast.

Alex Cross fans, obviously.
If you like detective thrillers with big bad guys, lots of danger, and slightly loose cannon detectives (but with good motives) this series is great. Start with Along Came a Spider for maximum enjoyment.