The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson (Alex Cross #25)
The People vs. Alex Cross is the 25th and latest book in the popular Alex Cross series by one of my favorite authors, James Patterson. I was eagerly waiting for it to be published and then I grabbed it right away.
Unlike in the previous novels, this time around Alex Cross is on trial on two counts of murder and one attempted murder.
Apparently, his killing of a few Gary Soneji lookalikes was unjustified, although he claims innocence. Thankfully before the actual trial, Alex can stay at home without having to go to prison.
Btw, to learn about his arrest, you need to read the Bookshot Cross Kill. It is a bit confusing, as the short story was published before #24 Cross The Line, although in the timeline it comes after. Yeah, snafu, we know that.
He is on the wrong side on the room in the court and Alex knows it and feels it. He is also suspended from being a cop pending the outcome of the trial, so, as he doesn’t want to sit idle until his fate is decided, he goes back to his first love, that of being a counsel for troubled souls.
He does get a few clients through word of mouth, but his partner, Sampson, doesn’t leave him alow, claiming that he needs help with a string of weird kidnappings and murders involving blonde women. Alex is only eager to help. In addition, he becomes personally involved when he gets a new case of a man who claims to be the father of one of the abducted blond girls. He feels his daughter is still alive, and knowing that Cross is darn good at his job, pleads with him to help him find his daughter before it’s too late.
His wife, who is also Chief of Ds, Bree Stone, is not overly happy with Alex going after bad guys again, so he has to sneak out every time he meets Sampson or goes after the clues he’s found. Of course, Bree is not stupid and she figures out his ploy quite soon.
When his own case goes to trial, Alex Cross starts to doubt himself more and more. He claims that the bad guys had guns in their hands, but some videos discovered at the crime scene show that there were no guns in anyone’s hands. So how can he remember otherwise?
The actual trial story was in the last part of the book. The main part, however, was focusing on the abduction case that Alex was started to investigate with his buddy John Sampson. I was actually glad about it because I found the abduction story more interesting than the actual case the book title is referring to. This doesn’t mean that the trial case was not important. It was quite intense and I was on the edge of my seat all the time. And the last few pages around the trial were something else. I really didn’t see that part coming and I found a new respect for a particular someone whom I will not name here to not spoil it for you.
However, generally, I knew that Alex would win the trial. We all who read the book knew. Why? Because else he’d end up in prison and the story would probably be over. Alex usually wins in the books, so why would this be any different?
Throughout the book, I enjoyed his interaction with his family, especially with his son Ali, who took on quite the important role in this latest story. Alex is a very caring person and here it really shows.
Also, Alex and Sampson work so well together, they have such a good chemistry that I was glad they were back together, even if in an unofficial capacity.
Alex is one of my favorite characters overall, and he’s been one from Along Came a Spider. I was really sad when the book was over because now I’ll have to wait several months until Alex Cross #36. I have a few other James Patterson books to catch up to, at least, while waiting.
The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson
Series: Alex Cross #25
Published by Little
Published 2017
Genres: Crime Mystery
Source: Purchased
