Right after I finished Alex Cross, I came across the sequel Kill Alex Cross. It was a quick read; a paperback masquerading as a hardcover, with big print and lots of space on the page. You know you are going to read it in a few hours, in fact I read it the same day and the next day traded it in for some other books. Kill Alex Cross is the 18th in the series.
In Kill Alex Cross, someone has kidnapped the president's children from an elite school in Washington. A Muslim couple has travelled to the US to join Al Ayla (The Family), a terrorist group using couples as suicide units to carry out the acts. They plan on poisoning the water supply and releasing sarin gas in the subways. The wife is especially rabid for US destruction, even having a little marital bliss while CNN reports on the bombings. Alex must figure out who kidnapped the kids, and how to stop the terrorists. There should have been lots of intrigue, all the elements are there, but it all comes off pretty dull.
Again, it was nice to spend time with Alex's family. Alex's grandmother, Nana Mama, has her purse snatched and after tracking down the culprit, she invites the teen into the Cross home. She has some great speeches in this book, and while it's not in the same tone of the rest of the book, the diversions were entertaining.
Kill Alex Cross received very negative reviews when it came out, and I think it's very weak as well. The main theme is that it felt phoned in, with lack of character development and no substance. There is a new baddie to hiss at and he may reappear in another novel. If only, somewhere in the whole book, someone said the line "Kill Alex Cross"... I was waiting for it! Look at the cover, which practically screams it at you. At one point someone thinks it's a good idea, but Alex isn't the center of an assassination plot - there is no active plan to Kill Alex Cross.
This is not a great book ~ It's a pretty weak entry and not the one to start the series with. I will continue to read Alex Cross books though, there are sometimes misses with the hits.
An interesting note: Jay Conner on GoodReads.com mentioned my Patterson co-author problem, and offered some insight for me. I thought I was the only one who felt this way...
"I used to go after anything with James Patterson’s name on it. But his output exceeded his ability to maintain quality. To up the quantity he brought on a whole slew of “co-authors.” To have Patterson tell it … he was still the driving creative force behind the franchise efforts. He seemed to care not a was whit about the final product. The finishes his subcontractors delivered were shoddy…the seams between the drywall plot points showed and the character weather-stripping leaked badly."
Thanks Jay.
2011 / Hardcover / 384 pages
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