Deadly Cross: (Alex Cross 28)

Alex Cross is one of my favourite sleuths and he has a career as extensive as that of Poirot. This is already the 28th book in this series and I’ve read only a couple of those but could follow everything in this story without any problem. Alex Cross is a psychotherapist who consults for Metro PD and his wife is chief of detectives. In the past, he has been both an FBI analyst and a homicide detective. The book starts with two 16-year-olds robbing a couple that has been shot. The man is a local principal, famous for his involvement in the community. The woman is the ex-wife of the vice-president who still loves and respects her and becomes involved in the investigation. It’s a long time unclear if it is the past of either victim is the reason for the murder. There are also 2 other cases going on that need time from Cross. There are several girls from the same area raped and murdered over a long period. On top of that, rich and influential men are being shot at and a few take a shot up their rear end. When this happens to a friend of the commissioner, it’s all hands on deck. That’s a lot of things to investigate. I’ve got to say that in this story there’s more slowly evolving, hard grafting policework than elaborate psychological theories. Patterson is famous for his short sharp chapters that turn out to be a real honeytrap for me. When taking a book to bed, it’s far too tempting to read just that one extra chapter and before long it’s hours later. So, yes another all-nighter here. For long-term readers, it should carry a warning that we have to say goodbye to a beloved character in the series. It’s a very clever story that combines 3 different cases, emotional heartache and a satisfying solution. Cross and many characters are African-Americans. As a European, I always wonder about that strange US term ‘African-American’. I’ve never heard the word ‘African-English’ (other than to describe a language that is, never a person) or ‘African-Belgian’. Those people are merely Belgian or English without any emphasis on their skin colour. We just don’t have this obsession with race. I’ve never heard the term ‘Caucasian-American’ neither if you want to be that politically correct. It gives me bad vibes that make me think about apartheid. I received a free ARC from NetGalley and Century and this is my honest and unbiased review of it.