Author: James Patterson
Release Date: November 22, 2021
Publisher: Little Brown & Company
Alex Cross ventures into the rugged Montana wilderness where he will be the prey. He's not on the job, but on a personal mission—until he's attacked by two rival teams of assassins, controlled by the same mastermind who has stalked Alex and his family for years. Darkness falls. The river churns into rapids. Shots ring out through the forest. No backup. No way out. Fear no evil.
“Someone had dipped a rolled-up section of that morning’s Los Angeles Times in the blood pooled on the floor and used it to scrawl these words on the wall . . . Las Familias Muertas No Cuentan Cuentos . . . Dead families tell no tales . . .”
This is the 29th installment of bestselling author James Patterson’s wildly successful Alex Cross thriller series. Patterson is known as the world’s bestselling author and has created more enduring fictional characters than any other novelist living today. The Alex Cross series was first published in 1993 with Along Came a Spider.
The main protagonist in the series, Alex Cross, is a highly intelligent and rational detective and specialist in forensic psychologist based in Washington, D.C. He started as a homicide detective but eventually becomes a senior agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During the series, he eventually returns to private psychology practice but continues to work with the local police department as needed. Each novel contains an entirely new plotline, however, there are references to prior narratives in each new novel.
Fear No Evil is somewhat unusual in that Cross and his associates find themselves caught in the crosshairs of two warring drug cartels. They are pulled into a case where the body count rises precipitously. Cross, et al, soon become the targets for both groups, and they end up in the wilds of Montana.
“I want someone who can help me understand the situation enough to halt the needless killing. . . . You do know that you can never stop that kind of violence, Señor Cross. I’ve spent my whole life in it. Never once stopped. Oh, maybe a week here, a week there. But violence, fighting for what’s yours, building an empire, becoming as king—that is the natural course of life. How are you going to stop life doing its violent things?”
Throughout the entirety of the Alex Cross series, Patterson has consistently included the strong bond of friendship and love, and this continues with Fear No Evil. Cross is still the supportive husband to Bree and a good friend and longtime partner to John Sampson, always there in their times of need.
Kudos to Patterson for creating yet another exciting chapter in the Alex Cross saga. A master of his craft, Patterson slowly builds the plot with a series of set pieces, well-timed reveals, and a final twist that climaxes in a heart-pounding and tense ending. Fear No Evil is a compelling and captivating read. A sure-shot bestseller. An action-packed suspense-filled crime thriller that will have you racing through every page. A must-read for all James Patterson and Alex Cross fanatics.
Review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on November 28, 2021 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/fear-no-evil-alex
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