James Patterson has a position that is unassailable -- as one of America's most reliable crime and thriller writers, his best-selling status is assured. But it has to be said that he has tested the patience of his long-time readers by the series of books written in collaboration with other, lesser-known writers, in which it seemed that his own participation was the least important element. True Patterson fans will always welcome books such as Cross as the real deal: unadulterated James Patterson, sans collaborators.

Here we have Patterson's favourite protagonist, Alex Cross, in the days when he was making his mark in the Washington, DC Police Department. To his horror, he witnesses his wife being murdered in front of him by an unknown killer. Years pass, and Cross has left the FBI for his former profession as a psychologist. He feels he has come to terms with the events of the past, but then receives a call from his ex-partner John Sampson, requesting a favour in tracking down a serial rapist in Georgetown. Soon, the case presents connections to the death of Alex's wife -- is he finally being given the chance to catch her murderer?

This is James Patterson, doing what he does best: delivering a narrative in which there is not an ounce of wasted fat. Alex Cross is always, of course, a strong protagonist, and the personal element here energises an already kinetic storyline. James Patterson, we are reminded, needs no collaborators. --Barry Forshaw

The latest powerful thriller about the FBI agent Alex Cross. Alex has quit his job with the FBI but can't seem to stay away. When a series of brutal rapes are committed across Washington and none of the victims will talk, Sampson calls on Alex for help. Alex uses all his skills as a psychologist to persuade one of the women to tell how the attacker scared her into silence. Cross's hunt for the rapist leads him to 'the Irishman' Michael Sullivan, the deadly hitman from his past, who's returned to Washington planning to kill the new mob Don, John Maggione. How many people will meet a gruesome end while the Irishman evades the FBI, the mob hit team and Alex - still haunted by the loss of his first wife and the unsolved mystery of who killed her?

2008-04-04 Formulaic but effective lightweight thriller

'Cross' is the latest episode in a long running series about Alex Cross, a psychologist who's been a police detective, FBI man and now is operating freelance. It's an entirely by-the-numbers thriller. Doesn't miss a beat. It clips along at a good pace, is written in easily accessible English, and builds up the level of threat and tension as the bad guy's vendetta takes shape -- and Alex Cross has to unravel the mystery and solve it.

The bad guy is irredeemably bad (sadist, rapist, murderer, hitman for the mob) while Alex Cross is impossibly heroic (loving father to his young family and loving grandson to his wise-but-spiky grandma). The supporting cast are all present and correct (police detective chum who has Alex's back at the vital moment; love interest where things don't go exactly to plan). Plus Alex Cross suffers the emotional baggage from a previous trauma (could this killer be the same man who killed Alex's wife all those years ago?)

The chapters are kept clipped and brief, and almost all of them end on a mini-cliffhanger so you're compelled to keep turning the pages. Even though I recognise the style and device and don't particularly like it, I found myself belting through the chapters, staying up later than expected; carried along by the drive of the plot.
And that pretty much sums up the effectiveness of Cross. It's not an intellectual or philosophical debate. It's a chase-the-bad-guy flat-out romp. Easy to read. The perfect book for an airplane or train ride. You don't need to have read any of the others in the series to enjoy it.
It's not literature, but it's entirely enjoyable pulp fiction.
6/10