Plenty of Shocks and Predictability in I, Alex Cross

Author:  James Patterson
Title:  I, Alex Cross
Publisher:  Little, Brown and Company

James Patterson's success in the mystery fiction genre is legendary. No one has ever produced more New York Times bestsellers. His novels Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls have been adapted into Hollywood blockbusters. He's one of Forbes Magazine's Celebrity 100. Now, Patterson continues his well-known Alex Cross franchise in I, Alex Cross, his latest fiction novel published by Little, Brown and Company.

I, Alex Cross works as a stand-alone novel, but continues the story of brilliant and hard-edged Washington, D.C. police detective Alex Cross. Detective Cross holds a Ph.D. in psychology and uses his combination of intelligence and street smarts to profile and take down the most twisted and cunning of killers. This time, however, his skill and moxie are put to the test in a case that really gets under his skin—the gruesome murder of his estranged niece.

A number of adult escorts have gone missing in the city, and the clues say they are connected—to each other and to his niece. Cross battles his own swirling emotions as he unravels a series of disappearances that take him deep into a hidden world of sex and power in the nation's capitol.

As Cross and his girlfriend detective work to crack the case, Washington's elites fuel a brutal cover-up that goes all the way to the top. Alex Cross will stop at nothing to get the truth and his surprisingly powerful opponents will stop at nothing to keep their secrets. Chills and surprises mount as the battle of wits and wills escalates to an ending you might not see coming.

Emphasis on might.

I, Alex Cross feels like a Hardy Boys mystery for adults. There are the creepy places. There are the clever criminals who are foiled by their pride and an over-looked detail. There is the clever detective who makes the riddles of the case look a bit too easy. Yes, plenty of shocks and surprises spice up the novel, but most of them come from the grizzly descriptions of murders rather than clever twists of plot.

Patterson's perennial place on bestseller lists proves he is a skilled storyteller who finds ways to connect with his readers and keep them coming back for more. Those who are familiar with the Alex Cross series will likely be satisfied with Patterson's continuation. However, those of us who are being introduced to James Patterson for the first time may find that our mystery appetites have been spoiled by a relative newcomer to the genre—a guy you may have heard of named Dan Brown.

Perhaps that comparison is unfair. But, the similarities between I, Alex Cross and Brown's The Lost Symbol invite such comparison. Both works continue a series. Both are set in D.C. Both feature a smart Ph.D. who solves puzzles and gets tangled up with powerful people.

Brown simply does more with less. Less gore, less language, less predictability. More suspense, more surprises, more intelligence. In I, Alex Cross Patterson is good, but not the best. The work rests on its author's reputation more than it builds upon it. Perhaps such a comparison between Patterson and Brown signals a changing of the guard in suspense fiction.

If you are a fan of the Alex Cross series, you will want to continue the saga with James Patterson in I, Alex Cross. If you are new to the franchise, or to Patterson's work, you will want to be advised that the plot includes plenty of descriptive violence and contains considerable attention to the adult themes. Whether you are a veteran reader or a new recruit seeking creeps and chills, Detective Cross has just the case for you.

     
**This review first published on December 1, 2009.