One Surprise After Another: Books I Read in 2026, Vol. VIII

 

JACK & JILL
James Patterson

"In the middle of the night, a controversial U.S. senator is found murdered in bed in his Georgetown pied-a-terre. The police turn up only one clue: a mysterious rhyme signed 'Jack and Jill' promising that this is just the beginning. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. homicide detective Alex Cross is called to a murder scene only blocks from his house, far from the corridors of power where he spends his days. The victim: a beautiful little girl, savagely beaten  -  and deposited in front of the elementary school Cross's son attends.

"Could there be a connection between the two murders?"

My answer to this question? Well, duh. But then I read the book and  -  spoiler alert  -  the only connection is that Alex Cross worked both of them. I will say that my well-of-course response wasn't the last time my plot expectations were wrong. Patterson knows how to write a twisty tale, to be sure. I especially appreciate that the longest chapters were still only 4 or 5 pages. Even if several chapters in a row were part of the same "scene", he breaks everything down into digestible beats. Probably what made it so easy to turn the first two Alex Cross thrillers into movies. Fair Warning: There seemed to be a bit more R-rated language in this third installment, but at least it was character-driven and believable...not just for the sake of making it "grittier."

First Line: Sam Harrison swung his agile body out of the silver blue Ford Aerostar, which he had parked on Q Street in the Georgetown section of Washington.

Page 56 / Line 5: I kept seeing her brutalized face.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: Always appear to belong, to fit in, and soon you will .

Last Line: Until next time.

Surprise Treat on the Title Page: This library find was autographed by the author!

"For Penny-- Hope this keeps you guessing, J Patterson"

Alex Cross Catches a Killer Casanova: Books I Read in 2025, Vol. VIII

 

KISS THE GIRLS
James Patterson

“In Los Angeles, a reporter investigating a series of murders is killed. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a beautiful medical intern suddenly disappears. Washington, D.C. detective Alex Cross is back to solve the most baffling and terrifying murder case ever. Two clever pattern killers are collaborating, cooperating, competing  -  and they are working coast to coast.”

The strange thing is, I KNOW I've seen the movie that was based on this book, but I don't have a single memory of it. In reading Kiss The Girls, I never once thought, "Oh, I remember how they did this in the movie." One thought I DID have, though, was, "How twisted does James Patterson have to be to even make up this kind of deviant behavior?!!?" The good news is, his prose is engaging and one turn of the page leads to another and another and another.

First Line: For three weeks, the young killer actually lived inside the walls of an extraordinary fifteen-room beach house.

Page 56 / Line 5: Ruskin got in the driver's seat.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: His body looked like polished rock.

Last Line: This one is a honey, Alex.

What an Amazing Start for a Book Series: Books I Read in 2024, Vol. XIV

 

ALONG CAME A SPIDER: An Alex Cross Thriller
James Patterson

It begins with the double kidnapping of the daughter of a famous Hollywood actress and the young son of the secretary of the treasury. Gary Soneji is a murderous serial kidnapper who wants to commit the crime of the century. Alex Cross is the brilliant homicide detective pitted against him. And Jezzie Flanagan is the female supervisor of the Secret Service who completes one of the most unusual suspense triangles in any thriller you have ever read. "James Patterson does everything but stick our finger in a light socket to give us a buzz." - New York Times

When I read The People vs Alex Cross, I said I wanted to back up and read all of Patterson's Alex Cross thrillers...and so here I am at the very first one. What an amazing start for a book series! Alex Cross is ALREADY a character of such depth and breadth, even in this first appearance.

I ran across something that kind of mystified me and gratified me at the same time. There I was, reading a paperback edition of this book from its 25th printing; at least 28 years after the original publication date. The publisher had 25 chances to get it right, and yet I still noticed several glaring typos like the appearance of "he" instead of "the" and from the penultimate page of the whole shebang, "If anyone served to be on death row, it was Soneji/Murphy." (Shouldn't it be "deserved"?)

Another curious thing: I know that I've seen the movie that was made from this book, but there wasn't a single scene in the book that brought to mind anything from the film. That might be a function of me having only seen the movie once...and that was several years ago. (Declaration: It has nothing to do with my age.)

First Line: The Charles Lindbergh farmhouse glowed with bright, orangish lights.

Page 56 / Line 5: Gary Soneji left the farmhouse around 11:30 P.M., right on his schedule.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: I never miss a good chance to shut up.

Last Line: Peanut Butter Man lives.

My First Non-Movie Encounter with Alex Cross: Books I Read in 2024, Vol. III

 

THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS
James Patterson

Detective Cross has always upheld the law, but now he's on the wrong side of it. He knows he acted in self-defense, but will a jury see him as another policeman gone over the edge?

As Cross prepares to prove his innocence, his former partner brings him a gruesome video tied to the mysterious disappearances of several young girls. Despite Cross's suspension from the department, he can't refuse the case. The illicit investigation leads them to the darkest corners of the Internet, where murder is just another form of entertainment.

This is another of those 4-for-a-dollar books I bought from the library. I first met the Alex Cross character in two movies starring Morgan Freeman, Along Came a Spider, and Kiss the Girls. Because I liked those movies (hello...Morgan Freeman...), I was eager to give this novel a shot. And now I want to back up and start reading the other Alex Cross books. All two dozen of them! (One complaint: I could only guess how to pronounce some of the names in this book: Gary Soneji, Paul Fiore, even Alex's young son, Ali. [ah-LEE? Alley? AWE-lee?])

First Line: From inside a rambling white Colonial home on a shaded street that smelled of blooming wildflowers, a woman called in a pleasant Southern accent: "TW-Two?"

Page 56, Line 5: "I should be talking to Sampson or your wife."

Last Line: I smiled and gazed beyond the breaking waves to the sea and the far horizon, feeling that these kinds of moments, these small triumphs, were more than enough to keep me working for the good in the world despite all the dark webs I'd been thrust into over the course of my life.