Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

James Patterson (Author), Alton Fitzgerald White (Reader), Michael Cumpstey (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Alex Cross | Publication Date: April 1, 2001

A missing little girl named Maggie Rose. A family of three brutally murdered in the projects of Washington, D.C. The thrill-killing of a beautiful elementary school teacher. A psychopathic serial kidnapper/murderer who calls himself the Son of Lindbergh. He is so terrifying that the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police cannot outsmart him-even after he's been captured.

Gary Soneji is a mild-mannered mathematics teacher at a Washington, D.C., private school for the children of the political and social elite. He's so popular that the kids all call him "Mr. Chips." And he's very, very smart. Growing up, he always knew he was smarter than the rest of them-he knew that the Great Ones always fooled everybody. He kidnaps Maggie Rose, the golden-haired daughter of a famous movie actress, and her best friend, Shrimpie Goldberg, the son of the secretary of the treasury, right out from under the noses of their two Secret Service agents. But Gary Soneji is not surprised at his skill. He's done it before. Hundreds of times before.

Alex Cross must face the ultimate test as a psychologist: how do you outmaneuver a brilliant psychopath? Especially one who appears to have a split personality-one who won't let the other half remember those horrific acts?

Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This second big winter thriller by a writer named Patterson (see Fiction Forecasts, Oct. 19) features a villain (a multiple-personality serial killer/kidnapper) whom the publisher hopes will remind readers of Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter, and a hero who is compared to those of Jonathan Kellerman. Unfortunately, the novel has few merits of its own to set against those authors' works. Hero Alex Cross is in fact a black senior detective in Washington, D.C., who is also a psychiatrist and has a facile but not entirely convincing line of sentimental-cynical patter. The villain is Gary Soneji/Murphy (read Hyde/Jekyll), who kills for recognition, and finally kidnaps the kids of prominent parents. Alex is soon on the case, more enraged by Gary's killing of poor ghetto blacks than by the Lindbergh-inspired kidnapping, and becomes involved with a gorgeous, motorcycle-riding Secret Service supervisor who is not what she seems. Soneji/Murphy is eventually captured--but can the bad part of him be proven guilty? There is even a hint at the end that he may survive for a sequel, though the reader has virtually forgotten him by then. Spider reads fluently enough, but its action and characters seem to have come out of some movie-inspired never-never land. If a contemporary would-be nail-biter is to thrill as it should, it urgently needs stronger connections to reality than this book has. Come back, Thomas Harris! 150,000 first printing; Literary Guild main selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Alex Cross, a black Washington, D.C., police detective with a Ph.D. in psychology, and Jezzie Flanagan, a white motorcycling Secret Service agent, become lovers as they work together to apprehend a chilling psychopath who has kidnapped two children from a posh private school. The psychotic villain, who aspires to become more notorious than Lindbergh baby kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann, is effectively nightmarish. Atypical characters, sex, sometimes shocking violence, and several surprising plot twists are all attention-grabbing, while short chapters with a shifting viewpoint add brisk pacing and genuine suspense. Patterson's storytelling talent is in top form in this grisly escapist yarn. Highly recommended for public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/92.
- Will Hepfer, SUNY at Buffalo Libs.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Hachette Audio; Abridged edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586211080
• ISBN-13: 978-1586211080
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (390 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,654,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Patterson, James

More About the Author

From my publisher:

James Patterson...


* James Patterson holds the New York Times bestsellers list record with 63 New York Times bestselling titles.

* JP has sold more than 220 million books worldwide. And considering pass-along and libraries, it's safe to say many more people than that have read a Patterson!

* In 2010, JP was named by kids everywhere the Children's Book Councils' Children's Choice Book Awards "Author of the Year" in 2010. More than 15,000 kid and teen readers voted for JP in a category he shared with Suzanne Collins, Carl Hiaasen, Jeff Kinney, and Rick Riordan. His Witch and Wizard series saw the biggest launch of a series for young readers ever, surpassing sales of first installments of Twilight, Diary of A Wimpy Kid, and Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

* JP has grossed over 3 billion dollars in worldwide sales. This is larger than the worldwide theatrical gross of Avatar, the highest grossing film of all time.

* JP has had 43 New York Times hardcover #1 bestselling novels, also a publishing industry record.

* Last year, JP has sold more books than John Grisham, Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, and Stephen King combined (source: Nielsen BookScan).

* JP properties are gaining wide interest amongst film and TV producers. JP's award-winning series for young readers, Maximum Ride, is currently with Avi Arad (Spiderman, Iron Man) and Universal Pictures. Lloyd Levin (Green Zone, Watchmen) is attached to produce a feature film adaptation of JP's newest young readers series, Witch and Wizard, and James Patterson Entertainment is set to produce the next Alex Cross film, I, Alex Cross which will feature Idris Elba (The Wire, The Losers) as Alex Cross. And, a television adaptation of JP's 2007 love story Sundays At Tiffanys aired in December 2010 starring Alyssa Milano and Eric Winter.

* JP's books are licensed in 43 countries worldwide, and are in print and actively sold in 100 countries.

* According to a 2010 Bowker Sisters in Crime Survey, JP is the favorite mystery writer amongst readers under 50...AND over 50! Survey respondents comprised American men, women and teens who bought at least one mystery fiction title in 2009 and/or 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

168 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Exciting Page Turner, March 23, 2000

By 

D. Jones "Dan-X !" (Denton, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Along Came A Spider (Mass Market Paperback)

This book flies. I had just read a couple of books that I thought were pretty lame and needed something fast and exciting. A woman I work with recommended James Patterson to me. I did a little research and found that this book is the first in a series for fictional detective Alex Cross. (I hate to read a series out of order, even if the stories are independent and don't continue from book to book.) Along Came A Spider is a perfect "fun" read. It moves at a very rapid pace. (The chapters are usually just a few pages.) It has pretty well developed characters considering its quick pace and more plot twists than you'll ever anticipate. Just when the romance element in the book started to bore me Patterson turns it on its ear. Another thing that makes this book so good is that despite the surprising plot twists everything is fairly believable within the context of the story. I read a lot of mystery/suspense and one of my biggest complaints is that I'll get really into a book and the climax will be totally ridiculous. You know, the killer will turn out to be the sister of the girl that was accidentally drown in the rich family's pool the night of the prom thirty-five years before but nobody recognizes her because she's a master of disguise or whatever! Along Came A Spider has none of that. It's consistent, quick and exciting! Read it!

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TNT PERFORMANCES OF THIS EXPLOSIVE TALE, April 11, 2001

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross) (Audio Cassette)

Whether read by actor, director, writer Charles Turner as is the unabridged version of James Patterson's spellbinding thriller or by Alton Fitzgerald White and Michael Cumpsty on the abridged release, each performer brings a persuasive depth to this horrific tale. It's a story that grabs listeners with the opening lines and doesn't let go until the last syllable is uttered.

Calling himself the Son of Lindbergh, a psychopathic kidnapper/killer seems able to elude the FBI, the Secret Service, and local law enforcement officers. This brilliant sicko has kidnaped the daughter of a famous movie star and the son of the Secretary of the Treasury. He nabbed them despite their ever watchful Secret Service guardians. He knew he could do it, and he did.

Determined to commit the crime of the century, this Mr. Peepers like math. teacher evidently has a split personality, apparently at times incapable of remembering the heinous crimes he has committed.

What a challenge for homicide detective Alex Cross despite his degree in psychology. Another challenge for Cross is mysterious, beautiful, intelligent Jezzie Flanagan, supervisor of the Secret Service. There's attraction with a capital A between these two, but meanwhile a maniacal killer is on the loose.

TNT performances by all in their rendering of this explosive tale.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FIRST RATE SUSPENSE, October 22, 2000

By 

Gerard T. McGuire - See all my reviews

This review is from: Along Came A Spider (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read everything by Michael Conelly and Jeffrey Deaver, I was looking for a master of suspense with an imaginative and intellectual lead character. I found both with James Patterson's Along Came A Spider and Dr. Alex Cross.

Alex Cross is a lead detective with the Washington Police Department. He is also a very able licensed psychologist. While investigating a series of murders he is called out to take the lead in the investigation of the kidnapping of a politician's son and a movie star's daughter (Maggie Rose). It isnt long before he finds out the murderer and the kidnapper are one in the same. The manhunt for Gary Sonjei and the search for little lost Maggie Rose have Cross teamed up with the FBI and the Secret Service. Sonjei proves to be evil incarnate with a master plan and a high I.Q. The plot thickens and surprises abound, keeping interest at a high level throughout the book.

Patterson delivers what every suspense reader wants.... a vulnerable and loveable good guy along with a bad guy that has you afraid to turn out the lights at night. Just when you think you have it all figured out he kicks up the intensity another notch.

The book is a smooth read. There are little to no dull spots. You will finish this book wanting to read another Alex Cross novel. I know I did. FIVE STAR THRILLER !!