Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Cross Justice
Alex Cross Series #23
James Patterson
Read by Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Little, Brown & Company / Hachette Audio
11/23/2015 / ISBN9781478928041
Suspense / Washington DC / Detective / Audiobook - Unabridged

Reviewed by Brenda Weeaks

 

In Cross Justice, Alex Cross, Special Investigator of the Washington Police, goes home. It begins with a chilling prologue; a fashionable killer heading to Palm Beach and another victim. Throughout the book, the storyline shifts back and forth between the fiendish killer, Coco, in Florida, and Alex Cross in North Carolina. The North Carolina storyline stayed with me long after the audio stopped.

The story shifts to Alex and his family heading to Starkville, North Carolina. The return sparks emotional memories for Alex and Nana Mama. Alex left Starksville after his parents died. Nana Mama is a former English teacher in Starkville. The family is coming home to assist Alex's cousin, Stefan Tate, a gym teacher accused of torturing and killing a student. Alex's niece, Naomi Cross, is defending Stefan. Naomi is Alex's late brother's daughter. After they arrive, Alex is greeted at gunpoint by the local police. Later that night, they witness older boys pulling younger boys with ropes around their neck down the road. Alex is frozen in time and doesn't assist. The stage of racism and entrapment is set, but does everyone have it wrong? Alex isn't sure, but he didn't come to set a man free, if he's guilty. Cross wants to make sure Justice is served to the right person. Cross and his niece head the investigation. They follow all avenues and realize what they're up against when a friend is killed due to mistaken identity. There are some tense scenes throughout which trigger frightening memories for Alex, but he decides to shake them off, which gives us the impression that either he can't piece them together or he's afraid to. Eventually, information about his own father leads him to Florida where he is asked to help with a case involving the socialite murders. Cross is about to step into his second nightmare… That deadly fashionista.

Patterson gives fans another mind-blowing Cross novel. Readers/listeners discover Alex's and Nana Mama's lives in North Carolina, and come to understand Alex even more. Patterson draws deep on the Southern history, both good and bad, to make his readers react. Once they are emotionally spent, he sets them up for the next Alex Cross novel.

Cross Justice was a fascinating listen. I couldn't turn it off.

The audio version is narrated by seasoned actor and narrator Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Hudson delivers this complex storyline with the strength and patience of Alex Cross. I believe this is the best Alex Cross narration, so far. Hudson recently starred in the movie Selma. He also played Lt King in the 2015 TV series "Public Morals," and as Captain Roy Montgomery on the TV series "Castle."

Reviewed 2016
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