Along Came a Spider
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4.4 • 1.7K Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Discover the classic thriller that launched the #1 detective series of the past twenty-five years, now one of PBS's "100 Great American Reads"
Alex Cross is a homicide detective with a Ph.D. in psychology. He works and lives in the ghettos of D. C. and looks like Muhammad Ali in his prime. He's a tough guy from a tough part of town who wears Harris Tweed jackets and likes to relax by banging out Gershwin tunes on his baby grand piano. But he also has two adorable kids of his own, and they are his own special vulnerabilities.
Jezzie Flanagan is the first woman ever to hold the highly sensitive job as supervisor of the Secret Service in Washington. Blond, mysterious, seductive, she's got an outer shell that's as tough as it is beautiful. She rides her black BMW motorcycle at speeds of no less than 100 mph. What is she running from? What is her secret?
Alex Cross and Jezzie Flanagan are about to have a forbidden love affair-at the worst possible time for both of them. Because Gary Soneji, who wants to commit the "crime of the century," is playing at the top of his game. Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?
Gary Soneji is every parent's worst nightmare. He has become Alex Cross's nightmare. And now, reader, he's about to become yours.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This second big winter thriller by a writer named Patterson (see Fiction Forecasts, Oct. 19) features a villain (a multiple-personality serial killer/kidnapper) whom the publisher hopes will remind readers of Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter, and a hero who is compared to those of Jonathan Kellerman. Unfortunately, the novel has few merits of its own to set against those authors' works. Hero Alex Cross is in fact a black senior detective in Washington, D.C., who is also a psychiatrist and has a facile but not entirely convincing line of sentimental-cynical patter. The villain is Gary Soneji/Murphy (read Hyde/Jekyll), who kills for recognition, and finally kidnaps the kids of prominent parents. Alex is soon on the case, more enraged by Gary's killing of poor ghetto blacks than by the Lindbergh-inspired kidnapping, and becomes involved with a gorgeous, motorcycle-riding Secret Service supervisor who is not what she seems. Soneji/Murphy is eventually captured--but can the bad part of him be proven guilty? There is even a hint at the end that he may survive for a sequel, though the reader has virtually forgotten him by then. Spider reads fluently enough, but its action and characters seem to have come out of some movie-inspired never-never land. If a contemporary would-be nail-biter is to thrill as it should, it urgently needs stronger connections to reality than this book has. Come back, Thomas Harris! 150,000 first printing; Literary Guild main selection.
Customer Reviews
Along Came a Spider
In this legal thriller, serial killer Gary Soneji kidnaps two children, Maggie Rose Dunne (the daughter of a famous actress) and Michael Goldberg (the son of the Secretary of Treasury). Psychologist-turned-detective, Alex Cross, and his partner, John Sampson, try to rescue the children in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that will leave the reader in unbearable suspense.
The novel is laced with adrenaline-inducing scenes, tearful chapters, and occasional comic relief, thanks to the likable Sampson.
If I had any criticism of the book, it would be these things:
1. The book contains very explicit and excessive descriptions of sex. In-fact, the sexual aspect of the book somewhat took away from the story, and it didn't compliment the crime/thriller genre at all. I could have done without the romance entirely.
2. The dialogue was somewhat lacking and unoriginal. I would have liked a few more engaging conversations.
3. I would have liked to have seen some stronger character development in some of the minor characters; however, I will admit that Patterson's beautiful invention of the admirable Detective Cross compensates for it, as he is a really strong and inspiring character. It is no surprise to me that he has been featured in dozens of other novels, as he makes the whole book worth the read.
I also really appreciated the surprising twists and turns; just when things started getting predictable, there was a shocking twist that really kept me engaged in the story, and that is nothing short of brilliance on Patterson's work.
Overall, Along Came a Spider is a suspenseful crime thriller, drenched with mystery, clever twists, and an exciting story, that will leave your eyes glued to the pages.
Excellent story
Excellent story. Good character development, and I look forward to the following stories with Detective Cross. Only complaint is that the gratuitous sex was unnecessary; cheapened the story in my opinion.
Wow!
Amazing book these Alex Cross books have gotten a younger adult into reading like never before!