James Patterson, you either love him or hate him, but you can’t take away the fact that he is a very successful author of several book series, standalone crime thrillers as well as books for children. So successful, he has sold in excess of 375 million copies of his books. I am a fan of his books, especially his book series of Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club and the Private series, but some of his standalone novels have been a bit hit and miss.
Detective Alex Cross is a big favourite of mine and I have loved reading the very successful series, there have even movies of some of the books.
Merry Christmas, Alex Cross is the nineteenth book in the series and is a race against time to stop Christmas being ruined for one particular family and millions of citizens in Washington DC, including his own.
It’s Christmas Eve and Detective Alex Cross is at home with his family. They are all relaxing and looking forward to the big day, there is nothing better than spending Christmas Day with the ones that you love. But his plans are ruined with one phone call and he has to attend a dangerous hostage situation.
A top lawyer who has fallen from grace has taken his ex-wife, his kids, her new husband, a congressman’s wife hostage and is threatening to kill them on Christmas morning. Fuelled with drugs and well-armed it is a very volatile and dangerous situation.
Just as that situation reaches its peak, a second more dangerous situation explodes and one that Alex really has to deal with. An international terrorist is planning a disaster at a train station and Alex must do everything that he can to stop her. But the train station is not her entire plan. Alex must get involved in things he doesn’t agree with to get to the main target and prevent death on an even larger scale, millions of innocent civilians lives are at risk.
Overall, Merry Christmas, Alex Cross is another fantastic novel by James Patterson, this is Patterson on top of his game and at his very best. If you are familiar with Patterson’s style of writing, this one is no different with its short, fast paced chapters making it a fast and thrilling read. The story is very intense and grips you from the very first few pages, keeping you engrossed and absorbed in the story from start to finish.
It starts with a mundane crime of stealing from a church charity box, quickly building up into a hostage situation and then into the very dangerous world of international terrorism which threatens to ruin much more than just Christmas. But Alex Cross is a very clever and seasoned detective, so it is all in a day’s work for him.
Merry Christmas, Alex Cross is an extremely thrilling and gripping read. As always, with James Patterson novels, the short chapters and the fast and exciting storyline keep you wanting to read more and more.
Another excellent and heart-pounding, thrilling addition to the Detective Alex Cross series.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £19.99 (Hardback) / £8.99 (Paperback) / £5.99 (Kindle)
For more information, visit www.jamespatterson.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
