Detective Alex Cross faces the biggest challenge of his career when an obsessed criminal kidnaps his entire family. Detective Alex Cross is an investigator for the Washington DC Police Department and thanks to several high-profile cases, he's also a well-known public figure. That type of attention attracts a certain kind of killer and now one of the worst has target Cross and his family.
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Marcus Sunday has Cross and his family under surveillance and he is assembling a database of information about all of them. Bree is Alex's wife and also works as a detective for the Washington DCPD. They have three children: college-age Damon, a teen girl named Jannie, a young son named Ali and grandmother Nana. Sunday has plans for them all and he has the help of an equally insane female lover/sidekick.
Alex and Cross are investigating two seemingly unconnected crimes: the murder of four people at a local massage parlor and the kidnapping of two babies. But Sunday is familiar with the crimes and taunts Alex by sending him some hints about the murders. As he watches, Alex and Bree link the crimes and are able to track down the killer and stop him before he kills the babies.
But just as Alex and Bree feel like celebrating, Sunday strikes. He and his partner systematically kidnap each member of the Cross family and use bugs planted inside the Cross home to force Alex to stay inside as he's sent photos of his family being murdered. Alex is near the breaking point, but as it turns out the photos are a fake. He gets some help from the FBI and is convinced that his family might still be alive. But the clues they've uncovered so far lead to a man killed by Sunday. While he doesn't know it yet, Alex and the FBI might have a suspect, but it's not the right one. Alex promises himself that he won't rest until his family is safe. But that story will have to wait for the next book.
Best part of story, including ending:
I don't have a problem with story lines that span a couple of books. But there is no hint that this book will have a cliffhanger until the end, when Alex Cross realizes his family isn't dead and the book ends with a simple "we'll get them back." Aaaargh!
Best scene in story:
The scene in which Alex and Bree's daughter Jannie runs her first competitive race. She and her entire team is surprised to see how good she is and the conversation between her, her coach and her parents is touching.
Opinion about the main character:
I've read a number of Alex Cross books and I like the character a lot. But he felt a bit tired and predictable in this book, as if he basically walking through the scenes until it was time for his family to get kidnapped.
