Series: Alex Cross
(#10)
Publisher: Little,
Brown and Company
Publication Date: February 18, 2013
Publication Date: February 18, 2013
Review: James Patterson is known as much for his fast paced, escapist thrillers
as he is for his prolific output and controversial use of co-authors. The Alex
Cross series, perhaps Patterson's most popular creation, is notable in that it
is the only series that Patterson continues to author on his own. With Alex
Cross, Run, the twentieth entry in the series, Patterson continues to give
readers everything they have come to expect from this fantastic character.
Plastic surgeon Elijah Creem's life is in a
downward spiral. It began when detective Alex Cross busted him in an underage
sex scheme. In an instant, he lost his career, wife, and children. Now he is
determined to escape. He turns to an old college friend for help. Together they
begin to revive a game that they played years ago. Using his expertise of the
human body and ability to disguise his looks, Creem's game soon takes a deadly
turn, leaving bodies across D.C for Cross to discover.
But Alex has more pressing matters to deal
with. Readers of the series will recall the way Patterson uses Cross's family
as a means to manipulate his emotions and distract him from his job. He does
this again, this time using the Cross Family's newest edition, Ava. Ava is a
foster child who lost her mother the previous year. Despite her cautious
personality, she seems to be adapting to her new family well. All of this
changes when she does not make it into the prestigious private school that
Jannie, Alex's daughter, is accepted to. Soon she becomes withdrawn and the
Cross family fears she is using drugs. Unfortunate circumstances surrounding
Alex's job soon force the state to remove Ava from the Cross home. Now Alex
must try to solve the gruesome murders while dealing with an increasingly
stressful personal life.
Recently I've noticed a shift in focus within
this series. Before, it seemed that Patterson's main intent was providing the
most thrilling and original mysteries that he could. Recently, probably
beginning with, Cross, he has shifted his focus to his main character, Alex
Cross. Originally I praised this decision, as it brought a fresh perspective
and much needed depth to the series. This is the first time, however, that I
feel this focus on character development has actually made the mystery suffer.
I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy the book, but I feel that the
crimes, and there were a lot of them, took a backseat to Alex's personal
problems. Hopefully the next installment will get back to the kind of unique
mystery that made me fall in love with this series from the first book. Still,
this is a fine continuation of Alex Cross's story.
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