Cross Fire by James Patterson

In Cross Fire, by James Patterson, Detective Alex Cross and Bree’s wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington D.C.’s most corrupt: a dirty congressmen and a scheming lobbyist. Next, the elusive marksman begins picking off other crooked politicians, sparking a blaze of theories–is the marksman a hero or a vigilante?

The case explodes and FBI agent Max Siegel battles Alex for jurisdiction. As Alex struggles with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in D.C. and will not relent until he has eliminated Cross–and his family–for good. With a supercharged blend of suspense, action, and deception, CROSS FIREis James Patterson’s most exciting Alex Cross novel ever.

“[Patterson’s] books don’t pussyfoot around when it comes to the villains. These are bad, bad people… [I, Alex Cross] is political, with a lot of intrigue in high places.” — Al Roker, The Today Show

“I truly believe that James Patterson has an IV hooked up to his writing arm and Great Ideas, Great Plots, and Great Characters dribble constantly into his bloodstream…I, Alex Cross stuns.” — TheReviewBroads.com

James Patterson had been working as a very successful advertising copywriter when he decided to put his Masters degree in English to a somewhat different use. Inspired by bestselling hair-raising thrillers like The Day of the Jackal andThe Exorcist, Patterson went to work on his first novel. Published in 1976, The Thomas Berryman Number established him as a writer of tightly constructed mysteries that move forward with the velocity of a bullet. For his startling debut, Patterson was awarded the prestigious Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel — an auspicious beginning to one of the most successful careers in publishing.

A string of gripping standalone mysteries followed, but it was the 1992 release ofAlong Came a Spider that elevated Patterson to superstar status. Introducing Alex Cross, a brilliant black police detective/forensic psychologist, the novel was the first installment in a series of bestselling thrillers that has proved to be a cash cow for the author and his publisher.

Examining Patterson’s track record, it’s obvious that he believes one good series deserves another…maybe even a third! In 2001, he debuted the Women’s Murder Club with 1st to Die, a fast-paced thriller featuring four female crime fighters living in San Francisco — a homicide detective, a medical examiner, an assistant D.A., and a cub reporter. The successful series has continued with other numerically titled installments. Then, spinning off a set of characters from a previous novel (1998’s When the Wind Blows), in 2005 he published Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment. Featuring a “flock” of genetically engineered flying children, the novel was a huge hit, especially with teen readers, and spawned a series of vastly popular fantasy adventures.

In addition to continuing his bestselling literary franchises, Patterson has also found time to co-author thrillers with other writers — including Peter de Jonge, Andrew Gross, Maxine Paetro, and Howard Roughan — and has even ventured into romance (Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, Sam’s Letters to Jennifer) and children’s literature (santaKid). Writing at an astonishing pace, this prolific author has turned himself into a one-man publishing juggernaut, fulfilling his clearly stated ambition to become “the king of the page-turners.”