I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Paperback 2009, 361 pages
December 18, 2010
Hong Kong

Caroline Cross, Alex’s niece, was murdered and ran through a woodchipper. Turns out the murderer is the “First Gentleman,” the president’s husband, called Zeus. He is a rich and powerful man who is also a serial killer. He hires many people to clean up after him; these hired guns do an excellent job of killing anyone connected to the murders. One of the victims escapes and hides in Alabama. The case is solved when somehow Alex Cross tracks her down. The killer is then killed by a secret service agent loyal to the president; the agent is then killed by other agents charged with protecting the president. The story ends there, it is left to the imagination of the reader to decide if there are further developments, e.g., if the president is aware of her husband’s actions. I imagine most readers can weave together a story better than Patterson can, so he wisely leaves the task to them.

A side story is Nana, Cross’s mother, gets very sick, is in a coma for a while, but manages to pull through. This is a relatively short novel, so Patterson must have felt obliged to throw another story in there. Wonder how many readers of the Cross series care? Another thing is Bree agreeing to marry Alex, another issue of unknown importance to the reader.

In any case, by making this a rather straightforward story, Patterson manages to produce one of his more readable books. An average thriller, but above average for this author.