Cross Justice
James Patterson
Little, Brown & Associates 2015

I was a Patterson fan at the beginning of the Alex Cross series. I then lost interest in this mystery series. Cross Justice, the 2015 instalment of the long-running saga is a decent read but not going to make me go back to Patterson. Cross Justice (Alex Cross Book 23) on Kindle

The premise is interesting. A relative is accused of a horrible crime so Alex Cross returns to the small North Carolina town where he grew up and which is the source of all his family drama. While helping defend a cousin, Cross must confront some old ghosts, one of which may or may not or may or may not be a ghost.

Patterson seems to have a particular affection for names that end with the e sound. Cross Justice features Bree, Naomi, Jannie, Patty, Sydney, Connie, Hattie, Cece, Pinkie, Randy, and I probably missed a couple of much lesser character. This makes it really hard for the reader to remember who is who, especially for secondary characters who are nonetheless important for the plot. I think it is just lazy on the author’s part.

The sections having to do with Cross’ past are very interesting, much more so than the crime that brought Cross home. Patterson also introduces a secondary plot line taking place in Florida and presented from the criminal’s point of view. This is to introduce a couple of Florida detectives halfway through Cross Justice.

I thought this was also a clumsy way for James Patterson to introduce a new series as detectives Drummond and Pendelini are an interesting pair. It serves instead to set-up the most implausible, improbable, unbelievable, incredible, inconceivable, impossible resolution. I would have thrown Cross Justice across the room just to make a point but I was visiting a friend and didn’t want to cause any collateral damage.

This James Patterson Alex Cross mystery left me cross.