Along Came a Spider

(Alex Cross 1)

By: James Patterson

Narrated by: Ako Mitchell

Brought to you by Penguin.

Now an Amazon Prime series starring Aldis Hodge as Alex Cross. This is the very first thriller in James Patterson's international bestselling series featuring forensic psychologist Alex Cross.

Two children have been kidnapped from an elite private school in Washington DC, and Detective Alex Cross is charged with finding them.

The kidnapper's identity is quickly determined as one of the children's teachers. But capturing him is the true challenge.

As Cross gets pulled deeper into the strange world of the kidnapper, it becomes clear he is far more dangerous than anyone could have anticipated.

'Alex Cross is a legend' Harlan Coben
'A character for the ages' Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
'Alex Cross. . . only gets better and better' Lisa Scottoline
'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it' Lee Child

© James Patterson 2017 (P) Penguin Audio 2018

Critic reviews

Brilliantly terrifying! So exciting that I had to stay up all night to finish it! Packed with white-knuckle twists.

An incredibly suspenseful read with a one-of-a-kind villain who is as terrifying as he is intriguing. One of the best thrillers of the year. (CLIVE CUSSLER, bestselling author of the Dirk Pitt Adventures)

I wrote, "Along Came a Spider is the best thriller I've come across in many a year. It deserves to be this season's no. 1 bestseller and should instantly make James Patterson a household name." A household name, indeed. (NELSON DEMILLE)

Terror and suspense that grab the reader and won't let go. Just try running away from this one. (ED MCBAIN, bestselling author of the 87th Precinct series)

[Alex Cross] has become one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, a character for the ages. (DOUGLAS PRESTON and LINCOLN CHILD)

Behind all the noise and the numbers, we shouldn't forget that no one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it. (LEE CHILD, international bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series)

Alex Cross is a legend. (HARLAN COBEN)

It's no mystery why James Patterson is the world's most popular thriller writer: his uncanny skill in creating living, breathing characters we truly feel for and seamless, lightning-fast plots. I do this for a living, and he still manages to keep me guessing from the first to last page ... Simply put: Nobody does it better. (JEFFERY DEAVER)

Every once in a while a writer comes along and fundamentally changes the way people read. He or she is so bright, so innovative, so industrious that what they envision and create becomes the measure by which all others are judged. In 1993 one such writer - James Patterson - began to do just that ... James Patterson is the gold standard by which all others are judged. (STEVE BERRY, bestselling author of the Colton Malone series)

Patterson boils a scene down to the single, telling detail, the element that defines a character or moves a plot along. It's what fires off the movie projector in the reader's mind. (MICHAEL CONNELLY)

4.5 Stars

This was a strong start to the Alex Cross series and a great return to crime fiction for me.

The story is dark, fast paced, and emotionally grounded. The stakes are high right from the beginning, and the investigation feels serious and unsettling rather than sensational. I appreciated how the book handled power, privilege, and whose lives get prioritized when crimes happen.

The narration kept me engaged throughout, and the story held my attention from start to finish. A solid, satisfying listen for anyone who enjoys psychological crime and murder thrillers.

Although it's not really my genre, enjoyed it!

Understand why people like this book / James Patterson's style. Fast paced, lots of surprises and events. Likeable characters. Jokes.

briljant and captivating

Great caracters, well reseached story with a gripping plot and great ending. Well read

This one didn’t really work for me

While I liked the characters and I didn’t mind the plot, this novel left me feeling a bit disappointed. It’s not even that the writing was particularly terrible, but the story was so all over the place that it became a bit exhausting. I felt that the author kept trying to tell me how to feel about the plot, rather than make the plot credible. They kept talking about the ‘perfect crime’ which felt weird and chaotic and anything but perfect and how smart the bad guy was (who felt like an idiot to me) None of it came together well and I was constantly aware I was reading a story rather than being sucked into the plot. Will try the next novel in hopes that it gets better (but only because I had already bought it)

good read

gripping storyline with Twista and turns. narration was really good. it's a keeper. could easily happen!