The climax of the book is exciting and rewards readers who didn’t jump ship with Cross My Heart, like a few people in the Goodreads reviews section said that they were going to do, and Patterson finds a way of pulling back readers who had a waning interest in the series. Taut with tension, with a rocketing pace and unique twists throughout, it was heart thumping and thrilling. In a race against time, he must defeat Mulch, and find his wife and children - no matter what it takes. Hope to Die is one of the best Alex Cross novels, with an intimate and equal portrayal of all the main characters.

Cross follows the leads wherever they take him, tracing the killer's secret history into the back country and eventually down into the bayous of Louisiana. With his entire squad behind him, working the case with feverish speed; the FBI and every law enforcement agency getting into the act; still Cross felt helpless.He has written many other number one bestsellers including collaborations with President Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, stand-alone thrillers and non-fiction. In Cross My Heart, Cross is investigating a string of murders, but also being stalked and provoked by an elusive other psychopath fixated with him and determined to torment him by getting to his family, which forms the plot for Hope to Die.

He is the author of some of the most popular series of the past two decades – the Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club, Detective Michael Bennett and Private novels – and he has written many other number one bestsellers including romance novels and stand-alone thrillers. Racing down the hairpin turns of the Riviera in the most unforgettable finale James Patterson has ever written, he confronts the truth of the Wolf's identity, a revelation that even Cross himself may be unable to survive. Alex's investigations are going nowhere, and he's too focused on the cases to notice that someone has been watching him-and will stop at nothing until he's dead. Detective Alex Cross is being stalked by a psychotic genius, forced to play the deadliest game of his career.

A leader has fallen, and Alex Cross joins the procession of mourners from Capitol Hill to the White House. But is he willing to sacrifice everything, including his morals, and ultimately his mind, to get his family back? This is certainly different writing than any of the books that he has been co-authoring for the past few years with other authors and this book is written like he wrote it alone. When the home of Alex Cross's oldest friend, Ellie Cox, is turned into the worst murder scene Alex has ever seen, the destruction leads him to believe that he's chasing his most dangerous enemy yet. It's funny now when I read a JP book on my kindle, it seems the first 5% is taken up just listing his previous books.

This is apparent as the story continues in the same vein and in the same JP trademark short chapters. If he’s to get his family back Alex may be forced to play by the killer’s own rules, and what follows is an incredibly intense game of cat and mouse that nearly tips Alex over the edge.As the diplomat engages in a brilliant series of surprising countermoves, in and out of the courtroom, Alex and his fiancée become hopelessly entangled with the most memorable nemesis Alex Cross has ever faced. The worst part of bad writing/non-editing is the chapter dealing with Alex Cross having to kill someone at the direction of Marcus Sunday (the antagonist).

Nana Mama, Bree, and his three children have been kidnapped, and he has been given photos showing they were executed.So as not to reveal anything that might spoil the book for anyone who has not read it, I am going to stick to the flaws in the editing that make this a terrible read. Atticus Jones is a delightful character and Patterson introduces a new detective in Tessa Aalijah who proves quite resourceful. On his visits home, Alex must confront another, more harrowing mystery: what's the matter with Nana Mama?