Review: Cross Justice

Cross Justice by James Patterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn’t get into this latest installment of the Alex Cross series as quickly as I usually do, and it took me longer to read than usual. But it was Alex Cross, after all, so I stuck with it and the reward was worth the journey.

The story starts with Alex and his family heading to his hometown in North Carolina, where he hasn’t been for more than 30 years. He’s agreed to help his niece Naomi, a lawyer, work on a murder case. Alex’s nephew Stefan Tate is accused of brutally – and I mean brutally! – raping and killing a teenage boy. It’s clear fairly early on how the case will turn out but the “how” and the “why” remain the big questions.

While Alex and his wife Bree are investigating the murder case (unofficially, of course) Alex also learns things about his parents and their deaths that he didn’t know before, and it really shakes him up. If you don’t cry when this part of the story reaches its conclusion there’s something wrong with you. (Not really, but it is very emotionally charged.)

While Alex is looking into the circumstances surrounding his father’s death in Florida he also runs into a couple of cops working on a bizarre murder case and helps them with that.

Also, Alex’s 15-year-old daughter Jannie gets a bigger role in this story than she’s had in quite a while. She’s a budding track star being courted by at least one college already. Something that happens to her ties into the Stefan Tate case, and goes a long way toward the solving of it.

As I said, I didn’t get into this book as quickly as I usually do. Patterson usually grabs me on Page 1 and I’m hooked until then end – more often than not staying up all night to finish. I’d say I didn’t really start getting into this one until about Page 120. But I’m so glad I stuck with it, and now I’m anxiously awaiting the next Alex Cross book.


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