Search - Cross Country (Alex Cross, Bk 14)

I have always read James Patterson's Alex Cross series. And even though I have felt his writing is getting very bad I usually have no problem reading his books.

This one was so violent and Alex Cross seemed so stupid that I just could not take it anymore. The problems in Africa are a serious subject and even though fiction can bring to life real issues I felt that this book was too badly written to do justice to the subject.

Reviews of this book speak to the intensity of the action, the drama of the plot. While the reviews are correct, the main issue Patterson addresses is the utter ignorance of the American people regarding what is taking place on the continent of Africa.**

Patterson takes Alex Cross into Nigeria in search of a particularly vile murderer, and in doing so he exposes Alex (and the reader) to a world unknown prior to reading this book. The chaos of war, the misery of the displaced-persons camps, the lawlessness that is fed by lack of structure in the higher echelons of government, all of this forms part of the plot of this very quick-moving story. Prepare yourself for entertainment as you read the words Patterson has written, and settle in for quite a read. I doubt that you'll be able to put down this book because you are drawn into the plot from the very beginning. In my most humble opinion, this is one of Patterson's better books--in addition to plot twists and turns, there is a very real message given to the reader.

** it is not so much that we're unwilling to learn about what's going on, it is that the media which are supposed to bring us news tend to avoid much in-depth discussion of current events in Darfur, Nigeria, etc.,.

This is the most intense of the Cross books. It's a really fast read, but the subject is really creepy. Great for those of us who love the creepiness...James Patterson can't write fast enough for me!!!

While this novel was my least favorite book in the Alex Cross series, due to the violence portrayed in Washington, DC and in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Darfur, I truly couldn't put it down! This time Mr. Patterson really wrote a thriller! When an old acquaintance of Alex and her entire family are slaughtered, a bloodthirsty mercenary with a gang of boy-killers is suspected. "The Tiger" is a ruthless killer with no emotion as he unleashes his gang of little boy- throwaway boy-pre-teen killers upon any targets he is paid to eliminate. Alex Cross is led to Africa o investigate, where he is immediately pursued/imprisoned/tortured/beaten, etc until the "CIA" contact for the area intervenes. Without knowing whom to trust or turn to for help, the situation quickly becomes dire. I was literally unable to stop reading this book until 2:00 a.m. until I finished it.

Great Cross Series Book

When the home of Alex Cross's oldest friend, Ellie Cox, is turned into the worst murder scene Alex has ever seen, the destruction leads him to believe that he's chasing a horrible new breed of killer. As Alex and his girlfriend, Brianna Stone, become entangled in the deadly Nigerian underworld of Washington D.C., what they discover is shocking: a stunningly organized gang of lethal teenagers headed by a powerful, diabolical man--the African warlord known as the Tiger. Just when the detectives think they're closing in on the elusive murderer, the Tiger disappears into thin air. Tracking him to Africa, Alex knows that he must follow. Alone.

From the author Time magazine has called "the man who can't miss," CROSS COUNTRY is the most heart-stopping, speed-charged, electrifying Alex Cross thriller yet.