Product Description

Alex Cross is back-and so is a raging and suicidal Gary Soneji. Out of prison and dying from the AIDS virus he contracted there, he will get revenge on Cross before he dies. In addition, we are introduced to a new pair of rivals whose paths cross that of Alex and Soneji. Thomas Augustine Pierce has been chasing his demon, Mr. Smith, since the savage murder of his fiancee. Mr. Smith is a unique monster, with actions toward his victims so insane-so unimaginable-that he is thought of as "not of the earth." Pierce, known in the business as St. Augustine because of his track record for catching killers and his invaluable status to the FBI and Interpol, may even be better than Cross.When things heat up and Alex is in a near-death coma following an attack in his own home, Pierce goes to Washington to help with the investigation. But just as he begins to piece together the mystery of how Gary Soneji could have mortally wounded Cross after he was believed to be dead, he is summoned to Paris with a postcard from Mr. Smith inviting him to a very special killing.The body count is high, the tension the highest, and the two killers on the loose are watching every move their pursuers make. Who is the cat, and who is the mouse? What and where is the final trap? And who survives?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17798 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 6.75" h x 1.00" w x 4.25" l, .50 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780446606189
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Amazon.com Review
Alex Cross, the Porsche-driving doctor-detective-profiler-psychologist and single father of two must save his own life as well as the lives of his lover and family in a deadly game of Cat and Mouse. Cross meets up again with his old nemesis Gary Soneji, the ruthless, bloodthirsty megalomaniac from Along Came a Spider. Apparently, Soneji isn't too happy with Cross for putting him away and keeping him out of the violent crime loop for five years, so he's back with a bone to pick and a couple of fish to fry--or innocent bystanders to shoot, stab, or bludgeon. Soneji goes on a commuter killing spree in hopes of luring Cross down a bloody trail that ends at the good detective's own home. Cross is hot on the case and hot for Christine Johnson, his children's babe-a-licious principal who happens to be the widow of George Johnson, one of Soneji's victims. Never mind the coincidence; is Christine a bad-luck charm? Is there another killer? If so, is she or he in cahoots with Soneji? Once again, Patterson delivers a fast-paced, action-packed thriller that's sure to keep the pages flying.

From Library Journal
Fans of Patterson's Alex Cross series will be delighted with this latest installment. Reappearing is Christine Johnson, seen in an earlier Cross novel, Jack & Jill (LJ 8/96) and the principal at his children's school, and Cross has fallen in love with her. Gary Soneji, the creepy kidnapper and murderer from another Cross book, has broken out of jail and embarked on a new killing spree, again taunting Cross that he can't stop him. And one of his intended targets is Cross and his family. If that isn't enough, there's a new serial killer whose murders are so inhuman that the news media are suggesting that he's an alien from another planet. All story lines connect in this thriller, whose driving plot will distract you from thinking about its implausibilities and keep you turning pages to the last, when you'll find yourself impatiently awaiting the arrival of the next Cross novel. Recommended for public libraries.?Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Archly improbable multiple psychokiller tale featuring Patterson's dignified Washington, D.C., detective, Alex Cross (Jack and Jill, 1996, etc.). Gary Soneji, the hyperactive bad boy who escaped from prison at the end of Along Came a Spider (1993), has AIDS. Before he dies (or even suffers any of the disease's ghastly symptoms), he wants to avenge himself on Cross, who helped capture him. After creeping into the Cross family cellar and ominously rifling the laundry, Soneji, who (we learn) developed a psychotic fixation with trains when he was denied a Lionel set as a child, departs on a series of cinematic massacres along Amtrak Metroliner stops, leaving drops of Cross's blood as clues. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, another psychokiller, calling himself Mr. Smith, is literally cutting a swath through Paris and London, pursued by the fanatically methodical, ponytailed FBI profiler Thomas Pierce. Cross doggedly pursues Soneji to New York, pausing between crime scene visits to romance recently widowed school principal Christine Johnson at the Rainbow Room. Patterson's soulless, breathlessly plotted exercise in bait-and-switch manipulation reaches the first of many false climaxes beneath Grand Central terminal, where Cross apparently kills Soneji. A few pages later, the widower Cross and his family are nearly murdered by a masked man claiming to be Soneji. Enter twitchy Thomas Pierce, who must make one too many references to the Twin Peaks TV show before revealing that he and Mr. Smith might be the same man. A bulky pack of unsolved plot puzzles and ludicrous butchery, ending in a shameless cliff-hanger. Having reached the peak of his popularity, Patterson is spinning his wheels. ($1,000,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild main selection; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.