The Big Bad Wolf
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In this thrilling novel from a New York Times bestselling author, Alex Cross battles the most ruthless and powerful killer he has ever encountered: a predator known only as the Wolf.
Alex Cross's first case since joining the FBI has his new colleagues baffled. Across the country, men and women are being kidnapped in broad daylight and then disappearing completely. These people are not being taken for ransom, Alex realizes. They are being bought and sold. And it looks as if a shadowy figure called the Wolf-a master criminal who has brought a new reign of terror to organized crime-is behind this business. Even as he admires the FBI's vast resources, Alex grows impatient with the Bureau's clumsiness and caution when it's time to move. A lone wolf himself, he has to go out on his own in order to track the Wolf and try to rescue some of the victims while they are still alive. As the case boils over, Alex is in hot water at home too. His ex-fiancee, Christine Johnson, comes back into his life-and not for the reasons he might have hoped.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a recent column in Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King cited Patterson's thrillers as the example of "dopey" bestsellers. We hope that doesn't mean that those who enjoy them are dopes, because this new one is vastly entertaining. Alex Cross, Patterson's black lawman hero, has left the D.C. police force for the FBI. But Cross was a star cop, so when the Bureau becomes aware that attractive white women are disappearing at an unusually high rate in the nation's capital, Cross, despite still being in training at Quantico, is brought onto the case and is personally mentored by the Bureau's director, earning the ire of some Feds but the support of others. Behind the disappearances is a sexual slavery operation run as a sideline by one of the more believable and most compellingly evil villains in the Patterson universe, the Wolf, a mysterious former KGB man who's now the world's top mobster. The narrative throughout is swift and varied, as Patterson cuts among the diabolical schemes of a Russian magnate who may be the Wolf, the plight of several kidnap victims, the dogged pursuit by Cross and company of the Wolf, and the hideous designs of the members of an encrypted computer chat room who pay the Wolf fortunes to snatch women who fit their fantasies. And there's domestic drama, too, as the mother of Cross's young son, Alex, decides that she wants her boy back. Full of plot surprises and featuring a balanced mix of intrigue, hard action and angst, the novel, on which Patterson notably does not share cover credit, grips from start to finish. The Alex Cross series remains Patterson's finest, and this is the finest Cross in years. Maybe we're dopes, but we're smiling ones. (One-day laydown Nov. 17)
Customer Reviews
Can’t put ‘em down!
What’s not to love? There’s action, intrigue, suspense, surprise … and even humor and love. I don’t know where James Patterson keeps getting his fresh ideas for new story lines, but I hope he keeps writing for many years to come!
As a 55 year old woman, I have to admit I had heard of him and had watched the movies “Along Came a Spider” and “Kiss the Girls”, starring Morgan Freeman. I’m so glad that I FINALLY started reading his books from the Alex Cross series. Not only are the books MUCH better than the movies (aren’t they always?), but they just have a way of drawing you in, captivating your imagination and making you WANT to know what’s going to happen next.
I used to wonder how people could be chain smokers and light one cigarette after another … well, now I understand. I’ve become a chain READER of James Patterson’s Alex Cross series. Thank you, Mr. Patterson! You’re truly a very gifted writer!
Great read! Absolute nail-biter!
It's was really hard to put the book down. What a cool story.
AWESOME!!!
Great author, great book. I haven't read a book by James Patterson that I haven't loved so far. This is by far the best series I have ever read