Triple Cross

Triple Cross by James Patterson

First I have to say I love Alex Cross, one of my favorite characters. This installment of the Cross series did not disappoint. Moving at a steady pace building to a slow burn.

The characters are well developed, the dialog is engaging and true to life, with a compelling plot. Just the right amount of surprises makes this the perfect crime thriller.

Overall I enjoyed Triple Cross and highly recommended to fans of James Patterson and crime thriller lovers. A very good read.

Triple Cross, James Patterson, author; Wayne Carr, Mela Lee, Inger Tudor, Kiff VandenHeuvel, narrators
In this thirtieth book of the Alex Cross series, the married couple, Detective Alex Cross and former Chief of Police, Bree Stone, find that the cases they are working on are also married, but it takes them a very long time to discover that fact.
Alex Cross and his partner, John Sampson, are investigating “The Family Man” murders. The serial killer has so far avoided capture, to the consternation of all those involved with the investigation. They keep hoping to find a clue that will identify the cold-blooded killer, but so far, there have been no major breaks in the case. There is a serial killer out there who breaks into homes and show more murders whole families, sometimes the children, parents and grandparents, for no apparent reason. The killer just seems to enjoy the savagery. Will they be able to find a clue to trap this murderer?
Elena Martin, CEO of the Bluestone Group, is Bree Stone’s boss. She asked Bree to investigate designer Frances Duchaine. She may be responsible for enticing young, vulnerable men and women to modeling careers, then encouraging them to engage in plastic surgery with false promises of lucrative jobs to come. When their debts piled up and no jobs were offered, they may have been “encouraged” further, to engage in sexual slavery, by this very same designer and her associates, in order to meet their obligations. An anonymous person had hired Martin’s firm and specifically requested Bree to be the investigator. The lawyer, that represented the client, demanded absolute secrecy in the investigation. As it proceeded, there were suddenly assassinations of people in the industry, and they occurred at the events Bree attended.
As both Bree and Alex searched for answers, bodies continued to pile up, but answers did not. An author Thomas Tull, became a suspect in Alex’s case. An editor, Suzanne Liu, spurned by him, came forward and accused him of committing the murders in his true crime books. At the same time, Bree and Detective Rosella Salazar are investigating the fashion designer and getting no real results either. Who was behind all of these reckless murders? What, if any, was the fashion industry’s possible connection to the family man murders?
Finally, a common denominator suddenly appears. A high-tech organization that is engaged by law enforcement as well as private companies, seems to be involved in both of these investigations. There is a company called Paladin that does data mining using artifical intelligence. Theresa May Alcott is the grandmother of one of Duchaine's victims, and she is also the aunt of the man who runs Paladin, Ryan Malcomb. Paladin has been used by Alex Cross in law enforcement and Frances Duchaine in the fashion industry is now involved with the firm in some way. Does something connect them all that is the key to solving the crimes?
At the same time as the mystery evolved, there were far too many tangents. Extraneous personal details of the Cross family were examined. They seemed a bit melodramatic and did nothing to add to the book. Jannie Cross’s athletic success was nice to know, but it went on for far too long and seemed to be included for the purpose of informing the reader that she chose Howard University to run track, rather than other highly prominent Universities that had also offered her a free ride. Nana Mama’s efforts and influence on the family was a nice warm touch, but unnecessary in this book. Ali’s eavesdropping had nothing to do with anything either. The involvement of the mob made the story a bit too complicated at times and a bit too obvious at others. There was just too much information included that was not pertinent to the investigations, and it clouded the picture being drawn, often making me lose interest. It was possible to ignore a good deal of the story and still not really miss a thing, like watching a soap opera whose characters move on so slowly, that even after time passes in real life, it hardly moves forward on the screen. By the time the book got around to revealing that the organization Paladin was working both sides of the street and was involved in both investigations, another reader might have given up.
Finally, at the end, when Ryan Malcomb, who supposedly had Muscular Dystrophy, miraculously gets up out of his wheelchair and walks away, after demanding all evidence be destroyed, the reader gets no closure. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that there is another book planned which will explore the connection of the unknown “M” or Maestro, to complete this thread. The head of the spider that called the shots, enabling the heinous crimes, seems to have remained at large. show less

Triple Cross is the thirtieth outing in the Alex Cross series and was published in 2022. Another good thriller from James Patterson. We see once again to see the growing Cross family with Nana Moma still being 90-something.

Cross is in the middle of the Family Murders that have been occurring across Washington. The killer has not left one single clue no evidence at the crime scene nothing but dead bodies including children. Cross and the police just cannot catch a break. While Bree has been given a job investigating a New York fashion designer, who seems to be all about looking good rather than the business side of things. The client she is working for is well resourced, but Bree does not know who that is or why she has been tasked with show more the investigation. What she does discover is a very murky world. Cross and Sampson are still trying to grapple with their evidence and when a witness approaches them. It seems to be far to good to be true but at least they may learn something which is better than nothing.

Unusually Patterson does telegraph who the family killer is and there are some sideways looks at the evidence. Will Cross ever get close to? Patterson lays it all out for the reader. The family is getting older and some taller. A fantastic read. show less

Got a little lost with the twists and turns at the end to have it be what I thought in the beginning.. almost too many distractions thrown in but liked that Bree connected to M finally

Detectives Alex Cross investigates a murder who targets families, including children. He has the nak of being able to get past security systems, leaving no trace.
A successful author of crime seems to have the inside information of the cases.
Suspects are integrated and the victims are not connected in any way. Family man.
Bree Stone Crosses wife is commissioned by a mysterious billionaire to investigate a fashion house owner who's business are not doing well. The fashion icon attracts young models who need surgery, get into dept and end up as call girls/boys. The billionaire s granddaughter is a victim. We are left with another plot who is the controller "M"
Good plot expertley delivered.

Alex Cross and John Sampson are on the hunt for the “Family Man,” a killer who murders entire families. But they aren’t the only ones investigating these murders. So is writer Thomas Tull, a true crime author wanting to chronicle the murders and maybe the capture of the killer, if Cross and Sampson are successful. Meanwhile, Cross’s wife Bree is on a secret assignment. It’s a dangerous time for the Cross family, but they still manage to watch their talented daughter run races. Fans of this series will love this thriller, with its twists and turns. And while issues are resolved, it ends with a teaser for the next book. And while the book can be read as a standalone, reading the series from the beginning will aid readers in show more understanding the lives of the main characters. show less

Not the best Alex Cross book. I gave 21/2 stars because the first part of the book fits the Patterson thriller mode. From then on there's a sub plot about Bree and the fashion industry and his daughter's running track and trying to decide which school to attend. Neither of these sub plots are mentioned in the inside cover description of the story.