Cross: a novel by James Patterson

Who killed Cross's wife? *** February 4, 2007

The Patterson book factory continues to churn them out. This time it's a return to the Alex Cross series but dropping the nursery rhyme title because this time the book focuses on Cross, Alex Cross.

Alex Cross was a rising star in the Washington, DC, Police Department when an unknown shooter gunned down his wife, Maria, in front of him. The killer was never found, and the case turned cold, filed among the unsolved drive-bys in D.C.'s rough neighborhoods. Years later, still haunted by his wife's death, Cross is making a bold move in his life. Now a free agent from the police and the FBI, he's set up practice as a psychologist once again.

In this novel we are given details about Maria's killing that we never knew before. we are also introduced to Michael Sullivan, better known as the Butcher, who does contract killings for the mob.

Is The Butcher Maria's killer? The clues point in that direction but then the clues are sometimes misleading.