Cross Country (Alex Cross Novels)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
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.

Customer Reviews: Read 49 more reviews...

1 out of 5 stars

Where is Alex Cross? November 20, 2008
28 out of 34 found this review helpful

This is one of the most poorly thought-out, unbelievable books I have read in a long time. Almost from the beginning, I had the odd feeling that I had just stepped into the most contrived situation imaginable. Horrible grisly murder after horrible grisly murder, unexpected poorly thought out action, characters that you never really get to understand or don't even want to, overuse of the exclamation point to underline the action(!); felt like a cheap harlequin thriller to me.

The Alex Cross series was a great one; this doesn't even feel like it is written in the same voice. Alex is a gritty smart introspective detective; the Alex Cross in this book was something of an idiot -- blindly forcing himself into situations he had no business even thinking of entering into, all without that careful forethought we have been treated to in the past. I would skip this one, or at least wait until you can find it in the bargain bin.

2 out of 5 stars

Crossed Out November 18, 2008
21 out of 26 found this review helpful

It jumped all over and was very difficult to read. Why would anyone take so many risks, be on death's door repeatedly and still survive. The story line was very unbelievable. Don't waste your money on this one. This is not the Alex Cross we have grown to love. Please bring him back.

4 out of 5 stars

Another Patterson winner November 17, 2008
12 out of 17 found this review helpful

I have been a James Patterson - and more specifically Alex Cross fan from day one. As soon as I finish one Alex Cross and close the book, I am already looking forward (and sighing) to the next one.

Cross Country is a little different from any of the other Alex Cross novels. For one thing, most of the action takes place - you guessed it! Across the country, more specifically in Africa. I was a little surprised at this storyline - for me - what works so well with the Cross books is the interaction Cross has with the people in his life and, obviously, this would (and is) limited in this book.

Most of the story does take place in Africa and I have to say that if Patterson's idea was to inform the public about the dangers and horrible goings on in Africa, he has succeeded with me. I had no idea that things were that horrid out there. Parts of this book are actually difficult to read because the description of the brutal murders are so graphic and senseless. It makes me so grateful to life in North America where we have our rights as human beings.

I loved this novel, but I have to say that there is so much going on, that I felt as though Alex was kind of lost in the middle of it all. He spends an inordinate amount of time in jails and when not jailed he is being beaten up. It is also a little hard to follow all the players as they travel from one hot spot to another. It just felt to me as though Cross was more of a bit player behind the bigger story - that of the horrible violence in Africa.
Nonetheless, it is impossible NOT to get involved in the book and the story is as thrilling as any I have read involving Alex.

Eventually Alex will get back to the US and will be faced with a very difficult situation upon his return. This is a bit of a twist that I did not expect - and I had hoped that Patterson would take the "hard" way out of this twist, but in the end - he did not - and this was a bit of a disappointment to me as this would have made for some very interesting future books.

I am still not feeling the love between Cross and Bree and I am not sure why Patterson feels the need to ALWAYS make sure Cross has a girlfriend?????
This book is chock full of action and goes a thousand miles a minute - it is also very graphic and difficult to read - but all of this simply added to the mystery that is Alex Cross and made for a thought provoking, roller coaster of a book.
Now (sigh!) I have to wait another year for the next one (again!).
Run to the bookstore and get this one

4 out of 5 stars

Hunter or Hunted? November 17, 2008
12 out of 16 found this review helpful

In the fourteenth installment of the Alex Cross series, James Patterson delivers an action-packed suspense which doubly entertains and heightens the reader's socio-political awareness. Cross Country opens as Alex arrives on scene to investigate the brutal and sadistic mass murder of a Georgetown family. The case immediately becomes personal when he recognizes the matriarch as his collegiate lover, Ellie, an established professor and published author. Quite naturally, he vows to find the killer(s) to avenge Ellie and her family.

When within a few hours murders of other prominent diplomatic families are slain in the same manner; Cross finds a strong lead in an African mercenary known as the "Tiger;" a man who uses "lost" Sudanese boys as his henchmen. Taken from today's headlines and other books (A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, What Is The What by Dave Eggers), these "lost boys" are orphaned children who are often taken from camps where they are then drugged, trained to kill, and perform horrific acts toward their countrymen and peers. Alex follows the Tiger to Nigeria and within minutes of landing, he is kidnapped, beaten and imprisoned for three days; only to be rescued by a cocky, obnoxious, and seemingly indifferent CIA operative. Just as innocent victims are starved, dehydrated, and stripped of all their money and belongings as well as their inalienable rights, so is Alex. In this episode, he suffers from terrible physical and mental abuse. He is threatened and tortured, but that does not stop his relentless pursuit of the Tiger through the streets of Lagos, the jungles of Sierra Leone, and the refugee camps in the Sudan (Darfur).

Despite the governmental corruption, ugly politics, corporate greed, and police brutality, Alex manages to befriend a few brave, good-natured people. A maimed diamond mine worker with a prophetic name (Moses) and a beautiful Nigerian journalist, both act as his guide and savior in some very tight situations. Cross Country satisfies a promise Alex (and perhaps Patterson) makes to several of his African benefactors -- a promise to live to tell their stories, recount the atrocities (genocide, rapes, torture, starvation, amputations, etc.), and witness the depravation of their human rights.

Surprisingly, Alex is on the defensive throughout most of the novel. Although he was anxious to see the "Motherland," there was no one to greet him with a warm embrace, nor was there time to bask in the sun -- he was fighting for his life constantly. The plot ends in typical Patterson fashion -- there is a rather weak climax and somewhat predictable plot twist (I was disappointed that so much was "told" to us in a few pages of Epilogue rather than "shown" to truly wrap up the loose ends neatly) and obviously culminating with Alex, our hero, living for another crime frighting episode. I think fans of the series will be pleased with this offering.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub

2 out of 5 stars

Is Alex Cross Getting Senile, Or Just Plain Stupid? November 23, 2008
11 out of 14 found this review helpful

I have to admit that I had been eagerly awaiting this new Alex Cross detective thriller for awhile now and purchased it right when it came out. Not only was I surprised when I read it, but also very disappointed! I rated this novel two stars, one because of the novel itself (yes, it really is that bad) and one star because of the very pleasant surprise of an old character appearing in the last few pages of the book, which promises to be a teaser for a return to the great Alex Cross novels of the past.

I will freely admit that if the author had put in a single sentence into the beginning of this book, it would have made the story actually much better without changing anything else. What single sentence could have possibly made this story better you ask, well here it is.

"Due to the recent brain trauma suffered by Alex in a recent car accident, his doctor advised that his decision making ability may be somewhat impaired for a few weeks."

This would have explained Alex's total lack of intelligence on many levels and in numerous situations. Primarily, going to a third world country and expecting to be able to do exactly what you normally do here in the good old US of A. The other thing that really got under my skin was the mentality of trying to "reason with" or perhaps I should say "not kill first" those that are intent upon killing you, regardless of age. I mean come on now holding back from killing someone who is solely intent on killing you. What a pile of horsepucky! At least Bree got it right from the start.

I would not recommend this book at all, and although I normally don't like posting any kind of spoiler, I am going to do so in this case as that was the real highlight for me with the book. So without further ado, here comes the spoiler.

Kyle Craig is back and is only referenced twice near the end of the book. The first time when Alex mentions him in his thoughts, and the other when Kyle actually calls him to let him know that he was actually in the bad guy's house with him just moments before. What great fun! I really can't wait for that novel. I have sincere hopes that it will be written in the old Alex Cross style, which will be a welcome relief from this book.

I would also like to ask Mr. Patterson to please resurrect "The Wolf" as he was a very intriguing character and would be easy to do since it has already been stated that he used more than one double.

Shawn Kovacich
Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

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