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."
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