One red herring after another has Alex Cross darting from one copy-cat murder and kidnapping scene to the next, all different except for one detail: an added taunt from an enigmatic psychopath calling himself M. Even the witnessed electrocution of a killer Cross put behind bars is followed by, “You messed up big time, Dr. Cross.” Can it be the man’s family out for revenge?
Slowly a noose of threat closes in on his family. Yes, that family beloved of all Alex Cross/Patterson followers; wife Bree, grandma Nana Mama, sixteen year old track star daughter, precocious ten year old son, Ali. That family. Then a kidnapping of a member of that family finally drives our detective/therapist to despair and drink, satisfactorily filmed by M to feed his desire for revenge…

James Patterson – author
I enjoyed this Cross rendition more than some of the previous in the series, and less than others, but never knowing what M’s motives were was a disappointment. Perhaps the only clue I can find is a reference to a fantastically good plastic surgeon, so, perhaps in the next adventure we’ll find out who crawls out of the woodwork. But the lead in to the follow up novel slightly weakened the finale, and, for me, made it uncomfortable.
Many thanks to Random House SA for an ARC. A Century Imprint.
ISBN 9781780899459.