After James Patterson's last Alex Cross novel London Bridges, I was beginning to think that the Cross character had perhaps run its course. So with a little trepidation, I picked up Mary, Mary from the library. It now appears that London Bridges was an anomaly, and Patterson/Cross are back on track.
Alex Cross is vacationing with his kids and grandmother at Disneyland, when he gets a call asking for a short one day consult on a celebrity killing in LA. Reluctant to give up his vacation time, he decides to make this one exception. That was his first mistake... While he was gone, the mother of his 3 year old shows up and takes the child back to Seattle, while also petitioning the court for permanent custody. His ongoing romance to Jamilla is also floundering, so he's left with little social life and a feeling that his personal life as a father is failing. The Mary Smith killer is keeping him occupied however. Pretty soon he finds himself traveling coast to coast on a regular basis helping the LAPD analyze the emails and clues as to who "Mary Smith", the killer, might be, as well as who might next be in the sights of the killer. And even when they have a person in custody who fits all the evidence, Cross isn't quite sure there isn't something else going on...
The action part of the story line for this novel was good. There are a number of characters that Patterson puts "in play" as potential suspects, and there's really not much elimination until the end. I was completely surprised at the twist ending, which was good. From a character standpoint, Patterson has set up Cross for some significant romantic changes ahead. All the regular players are moved out of the picture, and a few new ones make their appearance. All goes to show that Patterson isn't done with this series... And if they continue to play out along these lines instead of London Bridges, that will be a good thing...
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